Perry's Picks: Family of the Year

Welcome to another new feature of my website: Perry's Picks. The purpose of this segment is to prop a band that is on the rise in hopes that you will further check them out and support them in their quest for success. For those who have read my work in the past, you may remember my Perry's Picks blog and also my Perry's Picks Facebook group. Now that my focus has turned solely to this blog, I wanted to continue this tradition every Sunday on The Concert Buzz. 

With that said, my first Perry's Pick goes to a brand new group out of Los Angeles called Family of the Year. Formed less than a year ago, Family of the Year is already receiving heavy press, booking prime gigs, and are set to digitally release their first EP, Where's The Sun, this Tuesday. Originally forming under the name Bogie Ogreton and the Yogurt Drops, the group came to be when brothers Joe and Sebastian Keefe, formerly of the bands Unbusted and the Billionaires, met Vanessa Long at a bar in LA just after the Billionaires had split up. After Joe and Vanessa went on a songwriting binge together, the two decided to form another band and James Buckey, Christina Schroeter, and Brent Freaney were thrown into the mix. Musically, the band draws a variety of influences that stem from geographic backgrounds. Having grown up in Wales, the Keefe brothers also spent many more recent years in the island of Martha's Vineyard. Freaney and Buckey both grew up in the south, while Long and Schroeter reside in California, where Family of the Year is now based. Taking advantage of this mixed group, Family of the Year displays colorful "Pet Sounds" harmonies on tracks such as "Lets Go Down" and "Summer Girl." Vocally, each member plays a key role while instrumentally, they are quite versatile, using lap steel and keyboards to brighten and familiarize their sound. Despite forming early in 2009, the group already has a wide range of material, from the trippy, new-wave influenced "Psyche or Like Scope" to "Castoff," which highlights Long's voice and is reminiscent of tunes from groups like the New Pornographers or Broken Social Scene. Family of the Year has also recorded playful covers of Kid Rock's "Bawitaba" and James Taylor's "Shower the People." The group is releasing their EP on their own label, Washashore Records, and are also managed by Whitesmith Entertainment in Brooklyn, NY. This fall, Family of the Year will be coming to the east coast for a series of gigs in Boston and New York, including a headlining spot at the Whitesmith Showcase at this year's CMJ festival and a gig opening for Ben Folds at Boston's Symphony Hall. Check them out on tour this fall and be sure to pick up their new EP, Where's the Sun, this Tuesday. Also, if you would like to further financially support the band, they have set up a fundraiser where you can purchase a postcard that the band has designed and they will write a personalized note to you from the road and will scan it on their website before sending it to you. You can purchase a postcard or just visit the Family of the Year website at www.familyoftheyear.net or you can listen to some tunes at myspace.com/familyoftheyear.

Family of the Year Fall 2009 Dates

9/16 Los Angeles, CA @ Knitting Factory 
9/17 San Francisco, CA @ Great American Music Hall 
9/18 San Luis Obispo, CA @ Downtown Brewing Co.
9/27 Los Angeles, CA @ Knitting Factory
10/01 Cambridge, MA @ TT the Bear's
10/02 Boston, MA @ Symphony Hall (supporting Ben Folds)
10/12 Los Angeles, CA @ Troubadour
10/18 Vienna, VA @ Jammin' Java
10/20 New York, NY @ Whitesmith Entertainment/CASH CMJ Party @ Crash Mansion
10/21 New York, NY @ Whitesmith Entertainment/Indaba CMJ Showcase @ The Living Room