14. The Green Boys, “The Morning”
When the Green Boys’ lead singer, Ryan Green, wrote the song “The Morning” about a year ago, the parts and harmonies fell together painlessly and the band took that as a good sign. “It’s a no-veil love song — pretty straightforward lyrically,” he says. “It’s about the back and forth between the ultimatum and the wait, the idea that she might just follow if you leave, but nah, it ain’t worth the risk of not seeing her around.” The four-piece Americana band centers on the Green brothers’ songwriting and the idea of “close” or “blood” harmony, much like the style of the Avett Brothers. “We tend to think of ourselves as ‘country revival,’ as we like simple songs with a lot of steel guitar and straightforward heart breaking.” Green says. The group’s first full length, “Oh Delia,” comes out in May with a CD release party at the Camel on May 17. The boys also will play FloydFest this summer.greenboysmusic.com. — Andrew Cothern
Richmond VA’s The Green Boys to Play Ashland on Friday
The Green Boys at Ashland Coffee and Tea
Friday, February 15, 2013
Doors 7pm, Showtime 8pm sharp
Tickets $10 at the door
When I describe The Green Boys to folks I find myself comparing them to The Avett Brothers, The Felice Brothers, and Nashville Skyline or Basement Tapes era Dylan. This isn’t exactly accurate though, because although they share some of the song-writing characteristics and charisma of those aforementioned artists, The Green Boys also bring a level of musical chops to the table that is more commonly found in bluegrass bands — not blue collar Americana groups.
Siblings Sean and Ryan Green share the bulk of the songwriting and vocal duties. Each has a unique, appealing voice; Ryan with his barrel-aged, aching tenor, while Sean rounds that out with a smooth, soothing tone. Mandolin maestro Zack Miller channels a rock n’ roll energy alongside a strong melodic sense, and multi-instrumentalist Mike Emmons adds subtlety and nuance to The Green Boys’ well-written songs. Mike also possesses a stage banter A-game.
To give you an idea, here’s a streamable live recording of The Green Boys from the Purple Fiddle in Thomas, West Virginia from just last week!
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| The Green Boys – Zack Miller, Sean Green, Ryan Green and Mike Emmons (L to R) |
The Green Boys have been hard at work on a new album containing a whole slew of new songs to be released some time this spring, and they are ready to perform this material for the AC&T audience. This will be their 2nd time playing this excellent venue. Their debut show there last year made a fan out of me, and I expect this upcoming performance to be even better!
2012 Watermelon Park Festival Competition Winners!
And the $1000 Band Contest winner is…
Congratulations to “The Green Boys” from Richmond Va. for winning this years band contest!
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An interview with….
Green Boys Sling Country Strings
October 5, 2012
What’s the one thing you and your hillbilly grandpa have in common?
Sure there’s the moonshine drinking and that weird bend in your nose, but think harder.
It’s music. The way the sweet sound of mountain strings makes your heart pound fast.
So go get gramps and come on down from the holler to see The Green Boys at the Listening Room on Tuesday.
Banjo in reposeA self-described “country revival” band, The Green Boys consists of brothers Ryan and Sean Green on upright bass and guitar, respectively, Mike Emmons on dobro and banjo and Zack Miller on mandolin.
Fresh off a first-place win in the band competition at the Watermelon Park Fest acoustic music festival, the Boys are pumped up and looking forward to releasing a new album in early 2013.
They’re also eager to return to the intimate Listening Room series at the Firehouse Theater – a favorite of theirs for good reason.
Emmons explains, “People listen. We’re a songwriting band primarily … so it’s important that people listen to lyrics and the music and how it’s all put together.”
Speaking of “put together,” the Boys are a fairly sharp-dressing group.
Asked whether they abide by a formally binding dress code agreement, Ryan Green responds, “We just try to look better than the flannel and jeans we used to do.”
Boots. Suits. Ties. Suspenders. Grandpa’s gonna love it.
The Green Boys play the Listening Room series at the Firehouse Theater, 1609 W. Broad St., on Tuesday Oct. 9 at 7:30 p.m. The show is free and all donations go toward the program’s maintenance.
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Liner Notes on September 16, 2011 at 11:00am
‘Fill your house with friends, I’ve done that too, all of my searching just to get to you’ (Run Time Blues)
Jim Stewart first introduced me to The Green Boys last year and their performance at The Listening Room this past April solidified them as one of my favorite Virgina bands.
Fronted by the brothers Green of New Kent: Ryan and Sean, the fine songwriting is credited to the entire band– a healthy sign of their cohesiveness and fraternity.
Ryan and Sean’s voices are both distinctive, yet with a familial resemblance: both are lyrical heart breakers– close to the bone and honest to god.
‘Stop My Roam’ starts off the record sounding like an antique recording, vintage 1930, and shifts to yet another classic resonance that only the combination of retro-fitted Wally Cleaver’s Studios, The Green Boys, and the guiding hand of engineer, and new owner of the Fredericksburg studio, Jeff Covert can accomplish.
Ryan on upright bass and Jonathan Burkett on drums keep close time–spot on, with a swing and sway true to the spirit of the Honky Tonk ghosts that haunt this record. In sync, they lay down a grounding that moves the music and, in the case of ‘The Run Time Blues,’ provides acute tempo shifts.
The talented Michael Emmons shines on both the dobro and banjo (Run Time Blues, The Queen of Hearts) with precise runs and leads that sound effortless and fit in right where they should.
It’s impressive how these guys lay it down on tape just as fitting fit as they do live. This nine song album is a fine debut. It’s rare when you can say ‘if you love these guys live, you’ll love this record,’ and vice verse, ‘if you love this record, you’ll love these guys live.’ This may be their first album, this band may be relatively new, Ryan and Sean may share the name, but these boys aren’t green–they’re tried and true.
‘Get a silver drum, and make like you love me, though you don’t anymore.’ (Song for Her)
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The Green Boys-self-titled
“Although their music may be old-timey, The Green Boys have been using the new-fangled technology of the World Wide Web to promote their new disc with preview-enabled downloads atcdbaby.com/cd/greenboys. (Physical copies currently on order will no doubt be available at the band’s upcoming shows, including one at Richmond’s Café Diem this Saturday.)
The “Nashville Skyline” influences of first track, “Stop My Roam,” are liable to smack listeners in the face right of the bat; yet, as the album progresses it becomes clear that brothers Sean and Ryan Green, the band’s co-frontmen, are more than just a Dylan redux.”
-Ben Sellers, youth editor of The Free Lance- Star
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“The maturity of the songwriting on this album suggests these boys are anything but green. I listened to a few of their songs on Myspace before the album’s release, and the final product exceeded my expectations. The instrumental components are fairly straightforward in keeping with the genre–you won’t be thrown for a loop. But what they do, they do awfully well. Really, though, it’s the timbre and delivery of the singers’ voices that brings something fresh but familiar, specifically reminiscent of Ryan Adams with all his well-placed aching cracks and croons. The result places this band a cut above many other bluegrass-folk bands. Strongly recommended for morning drives on country roads, afternoon picnics in meadows, and post-prandial cigarettes on the porch.”
-Stephen Premo, Fan
