The Lonely Biscuits are an American

indie Indie is a short form of "independence" or "independent"; it may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Gaming *Independent video game development, video games created without financial backing from large companies *Indie game, any game (board ...

band. The band currently consists of Grady Wenrich (vocals, guitar), Sam Gidley (drums) and Nick Byrd (bass). The Lonely Biscuits formed in September 2011 at

Belmont University Belmont University is a private Christian university in Nashville, Tennessee. Descended from Belmont Women's College, founded in 1890 by schoolteachers Ida Hood and Susan Heron, the institution was incorporated in 1951 as Belmont College. It be ...

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the List of muni ...

, where Grady Wenrich and Sam Gidley were roommates. John Paterini, former singer/guitarist, came into the picture later in the month after hearing some of their music from his dorm room across the hall. Two months later, Nick Byrd joined the band as an official "biscuit" playing bass guitar.

History

Gravy and the Biscuits

The Lonely Biscuits was formed in September 2011 by Grady Wenrich and Sam Gidley, who were random roommates at Belmont University. John Paterini lived across the hall and heard them playing music. John's voice blended well with Grady's rap and the band formed under the name "Gravy and the Biscuits." The band quickly became known for their unusual blend of

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun ''soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest attes ...

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African Americans in the m ...

, hip hop and pop, with their first release "Butter" quickly reaching 25,000 views on

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

. About a month after the release they played their first live show at 'Elberta,' a Belmont student-house known for parties and live shows. Hundreds of Belmont students came to see them perform. They soon released an EP by the name of "Soul Food" which they made available as a free download.

The Lonely Biscuits

Shortly after the release of "Soul Food", Nick Byrd joined the band as an official "biscuit" playing bass guitar. The band also ran into potential legal issues with the name "Gravy and the Biscuits" and changed their name to "The Lonely Biscuits." They recorded and released a new single, "Chasin' Echoes," with an accompanying video. This release became one of their most downloaded songs and increased their exposure. The single was included on their follow-up EP, "Biscuit Buffet." In 2012 the band entered the

College Battle of the Bands College Battle of the Bands (CBoB) was a college-specific national Battle of Bands, battle of the bands competition in the United States that ran from 2009-2012. As of 2010 it was the only nationwide competition of its kind. Initially known as Ca ...

and won the Southeast regional title. The band went on to the finals in

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and took some time to play concerts in southern California. 2013 began with a nomination from

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

for the first ever

MTVu MTVU (formerly stylized as MtvU and mtvU) is an American digital cable TV channel owned by the MTV Entertainment Group, a unit of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. The channel was first known as VH1 Uno from 2000 to ...

College Artist Woodie. Online voting opened in February and the band was announced as the winner in early March. 2015 brought about a major lineup change for the band. After a highly successful summer tour, John Paterini decided to leave the band to finish his education and pursue other creative endeavors. John's departure from the band was announced via Instagram on 8 October 2015. The Lonely Biscuits moved forward with the remaining three original members and their next EP, Come Around, was released later that month containing new material without John's influence. Fall and Winter tours included Robbie Jackson from Keeps as a live guitar player.

Hurricane Sandy Relief

In late 2012, the band was personally affected by

Hurricane Sandy Hurricane Sandy (unofficially referred to as ''Superstorm Sandy'') was an extremely destructive and strong Atlantic hurricane, as well as the largest Atlantic hurricane on record as measured by diameter, with tropical-storm-force winds spann ...

: Grady Wenrich originally came from the New Jersey coastal area devastated by the hurricane. The band decided to release a song recorded in the summer of 2012, in Normandy Beach, NJ, along with an accompanying video. The song, "Everybody," was well-received and the band collected more than $3,000 in donations. All proceeds from the song were donated to hurricane relief on the New Jersey coast.

Musical style and influences

The Lonely Biscuits blend several genres of music to produce their sound; influences cited include

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Beastie Boys Beastie Boys were an American rap rock group from New York City, formed in 1978. The group was composed of Mike D, Michael "Mike D" Diamond (vocals, drums), Adam Yauch, Adam "MCA" Yauch (vocals, bass), and Ad-Rock, Adam "Ad-Rock" Horovitz (voca ...

Jurassic 5 Jurassic 5 is an American alternative hip hop group formed in 1994 by rappers Charles Stewart (Chali 2na), Dante Givens (Akil), Courtenay Henderson (Soup aka Zaakir), Marc Stuart (Marc 7); and disc jockeys Mark Potsic (DJ Nu-Mark) and Lucas Macf ...

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, and

Jack White John Anthony White (; born July 9, 1975), commonly known as Jack White, is an American musician, best known as the lead singer and guitarist of the duo the White Stripes. White has enjoyed consistent critical and popular success and is widely c ...

Discography

* ''Soul Food'' (EP, 2011) * ''Biscuit Buffet'' (EP, 2012) * '' A Girl Named Destiny'' (EP, 2013) - debuted at #25 on the iTunes Alternative Chart * '' Things Sure Have Changed'' (EP, 2013) - debuted at #36 on the iTunes Alternative Chart * '' Come Around'' (EP, 2015) * ''The Universe in You'' (Album, 2018)

Awards and nominations

MTVu Woodie Awards

The

Woodie Awards, is an annual music award show which recognizes "the music voted best by college students." , - , , 2013 , , The Lonely Biscuits , College Artist of the Year (First Year Award) ,

Band members

* Grady "Gravy" Wenrich - vocals, guitar * Sam Gidley - drums * Nick Byrd - Bass

Former Band Members

* John Paterini - vocals, guitar

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lonely Biscuits Rock music groups from Tennessee Musical groups from Nashville, Tennessee Musical groups established in 2011 Musical quartets Belmont University alumni 2011 establishments in Tennessee