September Hase is an American
alternative rock
Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from Popular culture, mainstre ...
band formed by singer/guitarist Al Janelle in 2005. Janelle formed the group as a three-man project with Adam Smith (bass/vocals) and Matthew Heller (drums) after the dissolution of his high school blues band.
[13WMAZ]
"Scene 13: Alan Walden and Blackbird visit the WMAZ Studios"
13WMAZ.com. August 21, 2008.
Over the course of the band's career, they appeared in the audition rounds of
Fox
Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush'').
Twelve sp ...
's ''
The Next Great American Band
''The Next Great American Band'' is a reality television talent show. The show premiered on October 19, 2007 and aired on Fox at 8 p.m. Eastern and Pacific times Friday nights. The show was taped at CBS Television City in Los Angeles on Wednesda ...
'' in 2007.
[The Next Great American Band]
"Blackbird - Chase the Sun"
. nextgreatband.msn.com. Retrieved August 26, 2008. They also signed a one-year management contract with
Alan Walden, Georgia Music Hall of Fame inductee and brother of
Capricorn Records co-founder
Phil Walden
Phil Walden (January 11, 1940 – April 23, 2006) was a co-founder of the Macon, Georgia-based Capricorn Records, along with former Atlantic Records executive Frank Fenter.
Biography
Walden received his undergraduate degree in economics from Mac ...
in 2008.
The band can currently be found touring the
southeastern United States
The Southeastern United States, also referred to as the American Southeast or simply the Southeast, is a geographical region of the United States. It is located broadly on the eastern portion of the southern United States and the southern por ...
.
History
Between 2002 and 2005, all three founding band members were part of the blues band at Tift County High School in
Tifton
Tifton is a city in Tift County, Georgia, United States. The population was 17,045 at the 2020 census. The city is the county seat of Tift County.
The area's public schools are administered by the Tift County School District. Abraham Baldwin Ag ...
,
Georgia, with Al Janelle playing guitar, Matthew Heller playing drums and percussion, and Adam Smith providing vocals.
[Rollins, Kenneth]
"Tifton band possesses stage presence, new name, and big backer"
macon.com. August 22, 2008. The blues band was dissolved in 2005 by school officials, and Janelle, Smith, and Heller teamed up to play in a high school talent show in November 2005. Their performance of "
Voodoo Child (Slight Return)" was well-received, and the band was born in Janelle's garage. In January 2006, Joel Jones was added as an additional guitar player and vocalist, and the band began working on original material as well as learning covers by artists including
Lynyrd Skynyrd
Lynyrd Skynyrd ( ) is an American rock music, rock band formed in Jacksonville, Florida. The group originally formed as My Backyard in 1964 and comprised Ronnie Van Zant (lead vocalist), Gary Rossington (guitar), Allen Collins (guitar), Larry Ju ...
,
The Allman Brothers Band,
Stevie Ray Vaughan
Stephen Ray Vaughan (October 3, 1954 – August 27, 1990) was an American musician, best known as the guitarist and frontman of the blues rock trio Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble. Although his mainstream career spanned only seven years, ...
, and the
John Mayer Trio.
[Janelle, Lauren]
"Blackbird Live at 550 Blues"
youtube.com. January 31, 2008. In May 2006, the band performed for the first time under the name "Blackbird", playing 10 songs at a free concert in Tifton.
[Thompson, Angie]
. tiftongazette.com May 16, 2006. They began performing at bars and festivals throughout south Georgia, and enjoyed local popularity when radio stations
WQBZ
WQBZ (106.3 FM) is a radio station broadcasting a mainstream rock format. Licensed to Fort Valley, Georgia, United States, the station serves the Macon area. The station is currently owned by iHeartMedia, Inc. and licensed to iHM Licenses, LLC. ...
(106.3 FM) in
Macon, Georgia and
WGLF (104.1 FM) in
Tallahassee, Florida
Tallahassee ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat and only incorporated municipality in Leon County, Florida, Leon County. Tallahassee became the capital of Florida, then the Florida Territory, in 1824. In ...
played their original songs "Chase the Sun" and "Watch Me (Break Away)" on Sunday nights.
In August 2007, the band was chosen to audition for producers of Fox's ''The Next Great American Band'' reality show. They made it to the top 20 but were not selected as a finalist.
Later that year, the band was introduced to future manager Alan Walden during a show at the 550 Blues bar in Macon. Walden, a retired manager of
Otis Redding, Lynyrd Skynyrd and
Outlaws
An outlaw is a person living outside the law.
Outlaws or The Outlaws may also refer to:
Film and television Film
* ''The Outlaws'' (1950 film), an Italian crime film
* ''Outlaws'' (1985 film), a French film
* ''The Outlaws'' (2017 film), a Sou ...
, had set up an audition showcase for the band with the intent of giving them a few pointers about the music industry. When he heard them play, however, he was blown away by their talent and potential.
"The first time I heard them play, I literally cried," Walden later said. "I had tears going down my face." The band signed a one-year management contract with Walden at The Red Tomato in Macon in July 2008.
During a performance at the Cox Capitol Theatre in Macon on August 22, 2008, the band announced that they were changing their band name from "Blackbird" to "September Hase". Also in late 2008, the band relocated to Nashville, Tennessee, where Janelle and Heller are enrolled in college at
Belmont University and
Middle Tennessee State University respectively. They also amicably parted ways with Jones.
From February 20–22, 2009, the band worked with producer
Rodney Mills
Rodney Mills is an American mastering engineer based in Atlanta, Georgia.
He has been involved in the music industry for over 50 years and has earned over 50 gold and platinum records for engineering, producing, and mastering.
Biography
A ...
at Southern Tracks Record Studio in
Atlanta
Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...
to produce a six-song demo that included a
cover
Cover or covers may refer to:
Packaging
* Another name for a lid
* Cover (philately), generic term for envelope or package
* Album cover, the front of the packaging
* Book cover or magazine cover
** Book design
** Back cover copy, part of co ...
of "
Use Me" by
Bill Withers and original songs "Chase the Sun", "Undone", "Moon Mountain", "Follow", and "Love Yourself".
[September Hase]
"Update"
. www.septemberhase.com. Retrieved May 15, 2009.
From October 2009 - April 2010, keyboard player Chris Norton performed with the band. He left in May 2010 to tour with
Zappa Plays Zappa
Zappa Plays Zappa is an American tribute act led by Dweezil Zappa, the elder son of late American composer and musician Frank Zappa, devoted to performing the music of Frank Zappa.
History
The band debuted in 2006 with shows in Europe, Canada ...
.
Musical Styles
When Janelle first started the band, the music pulled heavily from
blues rock
Blues rock is a fusion music genre that combines elements of blues and rock music. It is mostly an electric ensemble-style music with instrumentation similar to electric blues and rock (electric guitar, electric bass guitar, and drums, sometimes w ...
influences such as
Jimi Hendrix
James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. Although his mainstream career spanned only four years, he is widely regarded as one of the most ...
,
Cream
Cream is a dairy product composed of the higher-fat layer skimmed from the top of milk before homogenization. In un-homogenized milk, the fat, which is less dense, eventually rises to the top. In the industrial production of cream, this process ...
,
Stevie Ray Vaughan
Stephen Ray Vaughan (October 3, 1954 – August 27, 1990) was an American musician, best known as the guitarist and frontman of the blues rock trio Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble. Although his mainstream career spanned only seven years, ...
, and the
John Mayer Trio, with several songs following the standard
twelve-bar blues
The 12-bar blues (or blues changes) is one of the most prominent chord progressions in popular music. The blues progression has a distinctive form in lyrics, phrase, chord structure, and duration. In its basic form, it is predominantly based on ...
structure, like their original works "Mistaken for a Fool" and "So Cold". As the band received regional attention and the need for original material grew, the music started to shift from blues rock to a more alternative feel. The band has cited current influences like
Incubus,
Pearl Jam
Pearl Jam is an American rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1990. The band's lineup consists of founding members Jeff Ament (bass guitar), Stone Gossard (rhythm guitar), Mike McCready (lead guitar), and Eddie Vedder (lead vocals, guita ...
,
Primus and
Project Z as contributing to this musical shift. Members also draw inspiration from the long, often-improvised rhythmic grooves of the
Jam Band
A jam band is a musical group whose concerts (and live albums) are characterized by lengthy improvisational "jams." These include extended musical improvisation over rhythmic grooves and chord patterns, and long sets of music which often cr ...
genre and such artists as
Dave Matthews Band,
Moe
Moe, MOE, MoE or m.o.e. may refer to:
In arts and entertainment Characters
* Moe Szyslak, from the animated television show ''The Simpsons''
* Moe, leader of The Three Stooges, played by Moe Howard
* Moe Higurashi, supporting character in ''Yash ...
,
Umphrey's McGee,
Widespread Panic
Widespread Panic is an American rock band from Athens, Georgia. The current lineup includes guitarist/singer John Bell, bassist Dave Schools, drummer Duane Trucks, percussionist Domingo "Sunny" Ortiz, keyboardist John "JoJo" Hermann, and guit ...
and
Phish
Phish is an American rock band formed in Burlington, Vermont, in 1983. The band is known for musical improvisation, extended jams, blending of genres, and a dedicated fan base. The band consists of guitarist Trey Anastasio, bassist Mike Gordon ...
.
When September Hase relocated to Nashville, Tennessee, they began to experiment with fusing different musical elements, adding a progressive and experimental edge to their sound, citing influences from bands like
The Mars Volta,
Tool
A tool is an object that can extend an individual's ability to modify features of the surrounding environment or help them accomplish a particular task. Although many animals use simple tools, only human beings, whose use of stone tools dates ba ...
, and
Between the Buried and Me.
Band members
''Current''
*
Al Janelle - lead & rhythm guitars, lead & backing vocals
*Adam Smith - bass guitar, backing vocals
*Matthew Heller - drums, percussion
''Former''
*Joel Jones - rhythm & lead guitars, backing & lead vocals (2005–2008)
''Notable Guests''
*John Cravey - live sound engineer & tour manager (2006-2011)
*Matt Spinks - piano & organ (2007-2008)
*
Chris Norton
Chris Norton is a former American football defensive back who played Division III football for the Luther College Norse. His football career ended in 2010 when he became paralyzed while making a tackle during a kick off in a game against Centra ...
- keyboard, backing & lead vocals (2009–2010, left to join Zappa Plays Zappa)
Discography
*''Chase the Sun'' (2006)
*''September Hase'' (2009)
References
{{reflist, 1
External links
Official websiteMyspace page
Alternative rock groups from Georgia (U.S. state)