Rebranded, The Go Rounds rock The Strutt

By Aaron Geer
Western Herald

Andy Caitlin stepped through the back door of the stage quietly at The Strutt Friday, Aug. 27. He placed himself at his keyboard as if to do sound check. After a minute or so of merely making noise, droning a chord over a slew of samples and loops, Tod Kloosterman made his way through that back door. He picked up his fretless five-string bass and slid his way up and down the neck, doodling over Caitlin.

The crowd filtered in from the back, through the doors from catching their breath, awaiting the arrival of The Go Rounds. But still, just noise.

Grant Littler appeared suddenly, grabbing his electric guitar, strumming incessantly. Then came Graham Parsons, songwriter, vocalist and guitarist of the band formerly known as Graham Parsons & the Go-Rounds. Parsons picked up his acoustic guitar and strummed, turning himself away from the crowd, now fervently waiting.

Now within a thick haze of noise, Adam Danis sat at his drum set and began to splash cymbals. The haze turned darker, louder, ear bending for a minute until it suddenly dissipated. Parsons stood in front of the microphone, gently singing the first words of “Say Something Stay,” “It ain’t hard to settle down, far as I know, far as I found.”

It seems like a contradictory statement for one of Kalamazoo’s finest collective of musicians. To settle down for The Go Rounds would be to not play music at all, and so far this summer they haven’t been able to, and the fall seems to be the same.

A little over a week ago they were up state in Wellston, Mich., playing Hoxeyville Music Festival. Mid-September, they will be trekking Michigan, hitting Lake City, Mt. Pleasant, Grand Rapids’ Prospecto Music Festival, Cadillac and maybe The Strutt every Tuesday for open mic night if they have nothing going on.

It’s their obsession with music that makes The Go Rounds seemingly undefined to a genre. During their two-set bill at The Strutt, they touched ambient, rock & roll, blues, folk and psychadelia. They are literally The Go Rounds, a collective of influences that stem from the same tree, but each with their own individual color of leaf.

Their self-titled record brings that same energy and spontaneity that their live shows are so full of. All of the tracks were recorded live at The Strutt on July 12. On the standout track, “The Robin,” the ambience of a crowd’s chatter flutters in the background during the moments before an explosion of noise erupts over Parson’s booming voice.

The Go Rounds’ next Kalamazoo appearance will be at Kalamazoo’s State Theatre for the Mighty Vine Music and Arts Festival on Sept. 10. They will be sharing the stage with all local acts, including Glowfriends, Who Hit John?, Aaron Young & His Night Jars and more.

More information on The Go Rounds and their new self-titled album can be found at www.thegorounds.com.

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Posted by HeraldAdmin on Aug 29 2010. Filed under A & E. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry

Cody Kimball
Web Manager: I'm a Communication Student at WMU, a SCUBA Diver, Boater, Ordained Minister, Notary Public, Web Designer, Film Maker, DJ, and of course a Journalist. Born and raised in Port Huron, MI and a graduate of SC4. http://www.codykimball.com