Green River Ordinance is an American rock band from
Fort Worth, Texas
Fort Worth is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Texas and the 13th-largest city in the United States. It is the county seat of Tarrant County, covering nearly into four other counties: Denton, Johnson, Parker, and Wise. Accord ...
, United States. Their name refers to
Green River Ordinance
A Green River Ordinance is a common United States city ordinance prohibiting door-to-door solicitation. Under such an ordinance, it is illegal for any business to sell their items door-to-door without express prior permission from the household. ...
s, laws which prohibit door-to-door sales unless the house's owner gives permission to do so.
History
Early years
Bassist Geoff Ice and guitarist Jamey Ice are brothers. Early in their career (circa 2003), the band regularly did opening gigs with
Flickerstick
Flickerstick is an American alternative rock band from Fort Worth, Texas.
Band history
Band formation and early years
Flickerstick was formed in Fort Worth, Texas, by high school friends Brandin Lea (lead singer, guitarist) and Cory Kreig (gu ...
in Texas, and by 2005 had toured with
Collective Soul
Collective Soul is an American rock band originally from Stockbridge, Georgia. Now based in Atlanta, the group consists of lead vocalist Ed Roland, rhythm guitarist Dean Roland, bassist Will Turpin, drummer Johnny Rabb, and lead guitarist J ...
and played with
Eisley
Eisley is an American rock band from Tyler, Texas, originally consisting of siblings Sherri DuPree, Chauntelle DuPree, Stacy DuPree and Weston DuPree. Remaining recording/touring members are their sister Sherri DuPree-Bemis and their cousin Gar ...
and
Mutemath
Mutemath (sometimes styled as MuteMath or MUTEMATH) is an American alternative rock project founded by American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and record producer Paul Meany. Originally co-founded as a band with Darren King in 2002, ...
, among others. The band's initial releases, a 2005 full-length and a 2007 EP, were both released on the small independent label For Mona. Their debut release for
Virgin Records
Virgin Records is a record label owned by Universal Music Group. It originally founded as a British independent record label in 1972 by entrepreneurs Richard Branson, Simon Draper, Nik Powell, and musician Tom Newman (musician), Tom Newman. It ...
, ''Out of My Hands'', was released in February 2009, and garnered comparisons to 1990s mainstream rock acts such as Sister Hazel,
Third Eye Blind
Third Eye Blind is an American rock band formed in San Francisco, California, in 1993. After years of lineup changes in the early and mid-1990s, the songwriting duo of Stephan Jenkins and Kevin Cadogan signed the band's first major-label reco ...
and
Matchbox 20
Matchbox Twenty (also known as Matchbox 20 and MB20) is an American rock band formed in Orlando, Florida, in 1995. The group currently consists of Rob Thomas (lead vocals, guitar, keyboards), Brian Yale (bass guitar), Paul Doucette (drums ...
The Fray
The Fray is an American rock band from Denver, Colorado, formed in 2002 by schoolmates Isaac Slade and Joe King. Their debut album, '' How to Save a Life'' released in 2005, was certified double platinum by the RIAA and platinum in Australia ...
. ''Out of My Hands'' peaked at No. 10 on the Billboard Heatseekers chart. The single "Come On" reached No. 17 on the Billboard
Adult Top 40
The Adult Pop Airplay (formerly known as Adult Pop Songs and Adult Top 40) chart is published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine and ranks "the most popular adult top 40 as based on radio airplay detections measured by Nielsen Broadcast Data Systems ...
late in 2009; the single "On Your Own" reached No. 37 on the same chart in 2010.
2009 and 2010
In 2009 and 2010, GRO saw two Top 40 radio singles, songs on over 20 television shows ("
So You Think You Can Dance
''So You Think You Can Dance'' is a franchise of reality television shows in which contestants compete in dance. The first series of the franchise, created by '' Idols'' producers Simon Fuller and Nigel Lythgoe, premiered in July 2005 and ha ...
The Young and the Restless
''The Young and the Restless'' (often abbreviated as ''Y&R'') is an American television soap opera created by William J. Bell and Lee Phillip Bell for CBS. The show is set in fictional Genoa City (not the real-life similarly-named Genoa City, ...
"), two music videos on MTV and VH1, as well as tours with several nationally touring artists, such as
Goo Goo Dolls
The Goo Goo Dolls are an American rock band formed in 1986 in Buffalo, New York, by guitarist/vocalist John Rzeznik, bassist/vocalist Robby Takac, and drummer George Tutuska.
After starting off as a cover band and then developing a punk sou ...
,
Collective Soul
Collective Soul is an American rock band originally from Stockbridge, Georgia. Now based in Atlanta, the group consists of lead vocalist Ed Roland, rhythm guitarist Dean Roland, bassist Will Turpin, drummer Johnny Rabb, and lead guitarist J ...
Train
In rail transport, a train (from Old French , from Latin , "to pull, to draw") is a series of connected vehicles that run along a railway track and transport people or freight. Trains are typically pulled or pushed by locomotives (often ...
American Idol
''American Idol'' is an American singing competition television series created by Simon Fuller, produced by Fremantle North America and 19 Entertainment, and distributed by Fremantle North America. It aired on Fox from June 11, 2002, to Ap ...
winners
David Cook David Cook may refer to:
Entertainment
* David Cook (game designer) (active since 1980s), American game designer for TSR
* David Cook (singer) (born 1982), winner of the seventh season of ''American Idol''
* David Cook (writer) (1940–2015), Briti ...
&
Kris Allen
Kristopher Neil Allen (born June 21, 1985) is an American singer and songwriter from Conway, Arkansas, and the winner of the eighth season of ''American Idol''.
Prior to ''Idol'', he self-released a 2007 album, ''Brand New Shoes''.
Allen's ' ...
. Billboard Magazine even stated, "Green River Ordinance has established itself as a pop-rock act to keep an eye on in 2010." GRO's original song "Rise Up" was featured on the AT&T Team USA Soundtrack (2010) alongside Mariah Carey, 3 Doors Down, Train, and
Rascal Flatts
Rascal Flatts is an American country music band founded in 1999. The band members were Gary LeVox (lead vocals), Jay DeMarcus (bass guitar, background vocals), and Joe Don Rooney (lead guitar, background vocals). DeMarcus is LeVox's second cou ...
. Their Capitol/Virgin Records debut album ''Out of My Hands'' and various singles were featured on Zune, Walmart.com, AmazonMP3, iTunes, Rhapsody, and Napster as Staff Picks, Song of the Day, What’s Hot, Track of the Week, and other promotions.
GRO left EMI on August 6, 2010 and 14 days later proceeded to go on tour with Goo Goo Dolls and Switchfoot. Also, they were featured on every episode of MTV's show "If You Really Knew Me" and also had their video "On Your Own" featured after shows during credits on MTV, all of this while being independent of any label ties. On September 6, 2010, GRO released "The Morning Passengers - Acoustic Sessions EP" to iTunes only, and it reached No 3 on the Billboard Heatseekers Chart, as well as the No. 39 on ''Billboard'' Independent Albums.
2011
After leaving EMI, GRO turned to Kickstarter to raise over $40,000 from their fans in order to produce a new album. While recording the new album, amidst touring, they released two additional EPs: ''Songs We Like From Before We Were Born'' and ''Waterhope''.
2012–2014
The band released their third studio album, ''Under Fire'', on February 28, 2012. They began a national tour, "Under Fire - The North American Tour," on March 29, 2012 in support of album, with Graham Colton as their opener. The album was fully funded by their fans, through the launch of a Kickstarter campaign over a year earlier. The album features the hit Texas Country song, "Dancing Shoes," as well as "Heart of Me."
2015–present
On September 23, 2015, the band announced that their fourth full-length studio album, '' Fifteen'', would be released on January 22, 2016, through Residence Music.
Charity work
In April 2010, Green River Ordinance launched their own charity site, in order to help make a difference for those less fortunate. Through this site, Green River Ordinance offers ten songs for purchase and information on five charities each member of the band picked. The consumer can select which of the songs they would like to purchase and select which band member's charity they would like their money to go toward. 100% of the proceeds go to the charity of the consumer's choice.
On October 8, 2010,
International Justice Mission
International Justice Mission is an international, non-governmental 501(c)(3) organization focused on human rights, law and law enforcement. Founded in 1997 by lawyer Gary Haugen of the United States, it is based in Washington, D.C. All IJM emp ...
released the compilation album ''Freedom'' exclusively through
Family Christian Stores
Family Christian (formerly called Zondervan Book Store, Family Book Stores, and Family Christian Stores) headquartered in Grand Rapids, Michigan is a Christian themed web retailer.Bon Jovi in Gulf Shores, AL as part of the BP-sponsored concert series "Concerts for the Coast," done in hopes of attracting tourists to the region in the off-season during the oil spill recovery. There were 37,000+ people in attendance.
Members
*Josh Jenkins - vocals, guitar, and piano
*Geoff Ice - bass and background vocals
*Denton Hunker - drums
*Joshua Wilkerson - guitar and background vocals
*Jamey Ice - lead guitar, mandolin, and banjo
Discography
Studio albums
Live albums
*''The Collection: Live & Unplugged'' (2014)
Extended plays
Singles
* 2009: "Come On"
* 2010: " Rise Up" (non-album single) featured on 2010 Winter Olympics' ''AT&T Team USA Soundtrack'' album
* 2010: "Don't Give Up" (non-album single) featured on International Justice Mission's charity album ''Freedom''
* 2010: "On Your Own"
* 2011: "Water Hope"
* 2012: "Heart of Me"
* 2015: "Red Fire Night
* 2016: "Simple Life"