Gatsbys American Dream: “Erupting Into The Mainstream”

One disturbing trend that has arisen over the last decade or so in the music industry is the gross amount of rock bands (and pop acts) that sound the same. Once a band with a defining sound makes a mark in the mainstream, major labels will flock to any other act that has a close resemblance in the way they sound. A good example of this occurred in the late 1990s when Limp Bizkit started to sell records by the truck load.

Soon we were graced with an entire movement known as rap/rock and bands like Papa Roach, Linkin Park and Hed PE became stars. This likeness in sound between artists has continued, but one band that has gone to great lengths to create an original, creative and progressive sound regardless of current trends is the Seattle based group known as Gatsbys American Dream. The band is currently receiving lots of mainstream attention and deservedly so, with their unique sound and meticulous work ethic.

Since forming about six years ago in Seattle, Gatsbys’ sound has progressed and changed more than most bands do in an entire career. The group, who draw their name from the famous F. Scott Fitzgerald novel The Great Gatsby, began with the disintegration of two other Seattle based groups, One Point Two and Good For Nothing. Singer Nic Newsham and guitarist Ryan Van Wieringen were the two primary members of Good For Nothing, while Bobby Darling was playing guitar for a band called One Point Two.

Left without bands to play with, the three of them got together and started jamming together before rounding out their lineup with bassist Kirk Huffman formerly from the band K Through Six and drummer Dustin McGhye. The band started playing gigs in and around Seattle and were eventually noticed when Kaylan Cloyd, the guitarist for a band called Acceptance, heard a Gatsbys demo and passed it along to Darrick Bourgeois, owner of a local record company called Rocketstar Recordings. Based on the demo they heard, Rocketstar signed G.A.D. to a two album deal that resulted in the 2002 release of Why We Fight and its 2003 follow-up Ribbons and Sugar, a quirky concept record based on the famous George Orwell novel “Animal Farm.”

After the two album deal with Rocketstar and a brief, one record stint on LLR Records, G.A.D. chose to sign with Fearless Records, the former label of indie rock legends At The Drive In. The group’s signing with Fearless Records has also coincided with the 2005 release of perhaps their most original record yet titled Volcano. The album is another record based on the eruption of a volcano which is used as a metaphor for the intensity of human emotions.

Volcano ended up being a breakthrough of sorts for the band as they played over two hundred and fifty shows in 2005, many of which were to sold out crowds. The follow up to Volcano, a self-titled disc released in August, is less experimental but still examines a theme, this time it’s the theme of the music business and how it’s become simply a vehicle for mass producing and making money. So far the record has performed very well and it has received critical acclaim from many music publications. For a band with so much originality and music integrity, the members of Gatsby’s American Dream have sure made quite the career for themselves. Expect to see them on tour and reinventing their sound again sometime soon in the near future.  [ END ]