Family of the Year, hailing from Los Angeles via Wales and Boston, play a mix of Indie, folk, and Americana. The band has risen quickly following their formation in fall of 2009. The likes of CMJ and SPIN have sung their praises, and they landed a tour spot with Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros to support their debut. The band has released two EPs and an LP to date, and will release their second LP in 2011.They played a number of shows at SXSW this year, including a coveted Saturday night showcase at famed downtown Austin venue, Emo’s. Music-News.com caught up with brothers Seb and Joe Keefe before the gig.
Music-News: So you two were born in Wales? When did you move to the States?
Seb Keefe: We moved to the States when I was ten and Joe was 13, so the pivotal adolescent years. We grew up as Welsh boys, but grew into American men.
MN: So you guys had success in Boston before moving to LA, and have quickly achieved success in LA. How would you compare the two scenes, and which do you prefer, if either?
Joe Keefe: We were going for a different thing while we were in Boston, so it’s hard to compare the two scenes. Boston has a rock heritage, and we kind of took that up a little bit. Ya know, the clubs and the scene, you just get loud. Then when we moved to LA, we changed bands, and we just had a different feeling, I don’t know what it is. Maybe LA is just more eclectic, and it seems like it’s more California influenced music there now.
SK: I feel like our music wasn’t exactly the typical Boston rock thing, and we are maybe a little more well received in LA.
MN: Did moving to LA lead to a change in style?
SK: It changed the way we present ourselves as musicians and as a band, but it’s basically the same formula of taking Joe’s demos and turning it into whatever kind of band we sound like (laughs).
MN: What is next as far as recording and releasing anything?
SK: We just finished recording our second full-length album, which is yet to be titled, and we’re working on a release plan. It will most likely come out this fall.
MN: You just came back from a European tour of packed clubs. What were your favorite cities and countries?
JK: We had an amazing time in Paris. That is where our indie label is (Volvox Music). We got to meet all of them, and a lot of people there knew our music, so it was very exciting for us.
SK: We really enjoyed London too. We had a packed show at The Garage…
JK: The “Ga-ridge”.
SK: Right, The “Ga-ridge” during HMV’s Next Big Thing Festival. And the next night we played The Lexington.
JK: Ya, we loved the Lexington. They had a good plate of Bangers and Mash. A good pint of bitter at the bar. Nothing more you can ask for?
View all their releases to date at: http://familyoftheyear.net/
Follow them for updates at: http://www.facebook.com/familyoftheyear and http://twitter.com/#!/familyoftheyear
Check out the band debuting a stripped down version of a new song, "Bury Me", to be released on their forthcoming 2011 sophomore LP: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3pkO4EtUQDs
Check out their stop motion video for "Stupidland": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RCb088UsAWI
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