Futurebirds (Acoustic Trio)

Futurebirds (Acoustic Trio) on Friday, July 11 at The Wayfarer in Costa Mesa, CA!

"I'm movin' on," Daniel Womack sings during the first minute of Easy

Company, an album that finds Futurebirds — once the best-kept secret of

Athens, GA's music scene, now a beloved act on a national scale — back in

the driver's seat, speeding together toward some new horizon.

Momentum. Evolution. Expansion. Those are important traits for a critically-

acclaimed group that recently celebrated its 15-year anniversary. "When

you've been a band for as long as we have, there's a lot of moving on," says

Thomas Johnson. "We just keep going, because that's how you keep things

fresh. That's how you keep the spark." By matching the sharply-written songs

of three distinct frontmen with a progressive mix of rock & roll, electrified folk,

and cosmic American roots music, Futurebirds have built an audience that's

as wide as the band's own sound. With Easy Company, Futurebirds' fifth

studio album, that sound reaches a new peak.

Featuring four songs apiece from singer/songwriters Womack, Johnson, and

Carter King, Easy Company feels like a celebration of the tight-knit bonds that

have held Futurebirds aloft since 2008. Back then, the guys were college

students at the University of Georgia, building a buzz around town with shows

at fraternity houses and local bars. Years later, they've become headliners at

bucket-list venues like The Ryman and The Fillmore, collaborating with fellow

genre benders like My Morning Jacket's Carl Broemel along the way. They

team up with new partners on Easy Company, which was recorded with

producer Brad Cook in the border town of Tornillo, TX. The guest list includes

Waxahatchee's Katie Crutchfield, who trades verses with King on the album's

title track, and Drive-By Truckers co-founder Patterson, who delivers a

spoken-word monologue during "Soft Drugs." A brass section even makes a

brief appearance. The result is a bold blend of old and new, delivered by a

band of brothers who've never sounded so invigorated. Easy company,

indeed.

"We've made a concerted effort to challenge ourselves, always finding new

angles to look at this thing we've been doing for more than 15 years," says

King. "What hasn't changed is the core of this band. We still have three

songwriters. We still have our original bass player, Brannen Miles. When you

come this far together, your walls come down and you realize that these

friends know exactly who you are, and you know exactly who they are, and it'ssuch a relief

when everyone can just be themselves. It's great company to be

in, and it's so much better for the art."

Futurebirds kickstarted Easy Company's creation with a week's worth of live-

in-the-studio performances. For a group of road warriors who'd already logged

thousands of hours onstage, this was an opportunity to capture the sheer

energy of a Futurebirds show — the same show that prompted Rolling Stone

to dub the band "the most captivating rock act touring today" — on tape.

"People sometimes see us live and say, 'It sounds so energetic, big, and full

onstage, but some of your earlier records don't really capture that,'" King

explains. "That was something we talked to Brad Cook about. We wanted to

find that live magic in the recording studio. We wanted to move fast and stay

in the moment."

The results speak for themselves. Praised by USA Today for "mixing Neil &

Crazy Horse with My Morning Jacket" on their previous records, Futurebirds

defy comparisons altogether with Easy Company. "Colorados" pays tribute to

the Centennial State with sunny vocal harmonies and Kiffy Myers's searing

pedal steel. "Bloom" begins with a solitary acoustic guitar, then gives way to

thick, reverb-soaked soundscapes. Drummer Tom Myers take a bow during

"Solitaires," a song driven forward by deep, Deadhead-worthy grooves, while

keyboardist Spencer Thomas adds gauzy atmosphere to tracks like "Feel

Less Bad." It's easy to imagine those songs becoming highlights of the band's

concerts, joining audience favorites like "Trippin'" as setlist staples, but Easy

Company wears its studio-album status proudly. It also marks the first time

Futurebirds have handed over the reins to an outside producer. Free to focus

exclusively on the music itself, they've never sounded so dynamic. The

loudest moments reach a new peak of big-budget crescendo. The softer

moments evoke cozy campfires and front-porch guitar pulls. Brad Cook

captures the full range of those performances, but it's the bandmates

themselves who make Easy Company sound, well, easy.

"We've never thought of ourselves as one particular kind of band," says

Womack. "That's important for longevity, because we're always recreating

ourselves and finding ourselves all over again. I don't think we're done with

that process. We're always ready for more."For Futurebirds, the road goes on forever.

Easy Company is the latest stop on

a journey that's still unfolding, winding its own path through American rock &

roll, giving Futurebirds and the grassroots community they've created — the

Birdfam — a new place to land.

Also check out other Music events in Costa Mesa, Entertainment events in Costa Mesa, Concerts in Costa Mesa.