Greener Grounds has been busy on the festival circuit, heavy touring, a new album “Momentous” as well as an even more touring supporting your new album. Grateful Web had a chance to speak to Greener Grounds' bassist Jay Reiderm, drummer AJ Gillman, and guitarist Joe Shur leading up to their “Momentous” album release party at Cervantes Other Side on July 8th .
GW: You guys recently were signed to the booking agency Nimbleslick Entertainment. How did that come about and who are some of the other artists they represent, and what are you most excited about?
GG: We spent a lot of time trying to decide who to sign with as far as an agency. There are a lot of great agencies out there with rosters of amazing artists. We wanted to pick an agency that we knew would give us full attention and not get put on the back burner. Nimbleslick is one of those agencies that strategically books each client, and devotes the necassary time to build up each artist for the longevity of their career. With bands like Perpetual Groove, Aqueous, Broccoli Samurai, Mister F, and McLovins we feel we found the right agency for what we need.
Our manager has big plans for us in the next few months, a lot of which I can't talk about, a lot of which is also very exciting. So far from what we do have announced, I'm very excited for our stops in Ohio with Peridoni, our 3 night run with Wobblesauce in the northeast, and our play at Farm Music & Arts Festival in NJ. There's still much more to come!
GW: What’s your favorite story from the road this year?
GG: Being on the road, every experience throughout our travels was unique in it's own way. From the beautiful beaches in California to the biggest and busiest of cities in the northeast, it's practically impossible to pick a single experience to call a favorite. To me, the journey as a whole is the most spectacular story I could tell. From pit stop grill explosions to being picked by the fans and promoters to play the main stage slot before Boombox at Paradise Music Festival the journey as a whole is my story.
GW: What’s been the worst and best part of tour life so far?
GG: The best part of the tour life is building relationships with the people we meet in every city, and being able to reconnect with them again and again as we continue to tour the country. The most difficult thing about touring is all the obstacles we hit along the way such as vehicle troubles, theft, and all the unexpected delays.
GW: How much has touring influenced the writing of Momentous?
GG: Although most of the material for Momentous came about before we began touring so extensively, being on the road and performing regularly really helped us gain an understanding of how our individual roles in the band need to fall together to create inspiring music.
GW: What was the breakfast of champions on the road?
GG: In Philly it was Wawa haha our drummer got us hooked on that! Usually we just wake up and grab bagels, and then hit the grocery store to save money on the road.
GW: What have you been listening to while on tour?
GG: We usually pick up a lot of albums from bands that we either support or that support us at a show, and then give it a spin while on the road. In California we played with Shaky Feelin' and Zolopht so listed to their album's while cruising around, but then of course resorted to Umphrey's McGee, Perpetual Groove, the Disco Biscuits, and Lotus.
GW: What do you do when you're not on tour?
GG: Honestly, I listen to a lot of death metal, and spend a lot of time reworking my pedal rig and messing around with different tones. When I'm home I spend as much time with my family as possible and try and work as much as I can.
GW: Does anyone in the band have a hidden talent we should know about?
GG: If anyone in the band has a hidden talent, it has to be Matty Bee. He is very good at making claymation videos. Right now he's working on a special music video for one of our songs off the new album. When we go on tour, we sometimes spend late nights doing funny frame-by-frame videos on his iPad. Lots of shenanigans.
GG: Be sure to pick up a copy of our Momentous album that drops this Friday. The album will be available on all major listening platforms and physical discs will be available at all of our upcoming tour dates, and on our online merch store. Visit www.GreenerGroundsMusic.com for the latest updates, videos, tour dates, and more. Be sure to say what's up to us when we see you, we love to meet new fans and friends!
