By Garret Schuelke
Western Herald
Tonight, Nov. 5, local folk-rock band, Toro and the National Guard will debut their third album, “Ride Free” at The Strutt.
“It’s our first album [with which] we’ve really been able to create something we thought as cohesive,” said the band’s guitarist and vocalist, Grant Littler. “It sounds like the radio—something we never had before.”
“Ride Free” will be released through Strutt Records, and was recorded at Strutt Studios, which is located in the basement of The Strutt.
For band member, Andy Catlin, who produced, engineered, and mixed the album with the assistance of Bob Lau, the experience of recording “Ride Free” was more professional than the band’s two previous albums.
According to Catlin, the band’s first album, “Plum,” was recorded three years ago in three different locations, using a 4-track recorder.
Their second album, a faux-live album entitled, “At the Grand Inn”— the title being both a joke and a reference to a hotel that band members passed by as they traveled between Kalamazoo and Grand Rapids — was recorded in one night in the Kalamazoo’s self-proclaimed student ghetto, located in the Locust Street neighborhood with an 8-track digital recorder.
“Ride Free” features ten songs, consisting of both original tunes, and songs from “Plum” and “At the Grand Inn.” Catlin refers to these versions of the songs as the master versions.
Half of the album was recorded in one night during the summer of 2009, with the final tracks being recorded two weeks prior to the release date.
“This album started for us because we started to be a live band,” Catlin said. “We can now finally record versions [of songs] that would be of equal quality to our live shows.”
The album cover pictures an eagle riding a motorcycle through space.
The art is taken from a photo Grant Littler’s brother bought at a toy store in the early 1980’s because he thought it was particularly funny.
Aside from Toro and the National Guard’s signature folk-rock sound, “Ride Free” will feature elements of psychedelia, a horn section, and sound bites.
“We never try to get too serious. We thought ‘Ride Free’ gave that little element of humor we are doing,” Catlin said. “We are a band that’s about having fun.”
Also performing at the release party will be Grand Rapids-based musician Benjamin Riley, and local indie musician Graham Parsons.
Toro and the National Guard has formed a tight bond with Parsons, according to Catlin. They are Parson’s backing band, and have collaborated with him on songwriting.
“I have been feeling this band since I met them,” said Darren Bain, part owner of The Strutt. “[The album] is not overproduced, and it’s quite fun to listen to. There’s newness to it.”
“There are a lot of people in Toro and the National Guard,” Catlin said. “Every person put in their equal part to this album…that is what is cool about this album is that everyone comes together and it’s the sum of all the parts.”
The show starts at 9 p.m. Admission is free, and is open for persons 18 years of age or older. Copies of “Ride Free” will be available for $5.
For more information, The Strutt can be reached at 269-492-7200, or visit their Web site at www.thestrutt.com.
To learn more about Toro and the National Guard, visit their Myspace page at www.myspace.com/toroandthenationalguard.
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