Episode 011: Gallows Bound

    Today’s episode is truly epic. I know that “epic” is perhaps the most misused and overused word in our vocabulary these days (yeah, bra), but I feel it’s justified. In today’s episode we have a chance to really get to know the people of Gallows Bound. I first met Aaron, the guitarist and bass drummer of the band, in 2006, when I first moved to our fair city. He, and much of his band of the time, Anarcoustic, lived across the street from my apartment. After a few chance encounters in some of my favorite local hangouts, we teamed up to work on an album, which lead to another album, and a really great friendship. Over the years their lineup changed, and eventually they decided to call it quits as a folk-influenced punk band and reform, retaining some members and swapping others, as Gallows Bound.
    As Gallows Bound, they have transformed into a band drawing on old country, folk, bluegrass, and roots music. It was hard to believe, before hearing them for myself, that the band I knew to play such loud punk music could be able to pull off something like they described to me, but within seconds of the beginning of “Empty Flask and Empty Heart” I was completely sold. As a group they look to the past, to the roots of the music they love today, and put traditional instruments and beautiful melodies together with the heartache and struggle they’ve always tackled in their songwriting. The songs in this episode show the wide range of their talents, going from the dark “Empty Flask…” to the brilliant, wordplay filled “Jesus”, to the uplifting “Love Fury”.
    In the interview they reenforce how this band is the embodiment of their love for this music, they play these songs because they love to and have a blast doing it. And of course, they issue the Forrest Drinking Challenge, to which I say best of luck ye who dares accept. To get back to the beginning, how I believe this episode to truly be epic, it’s because I’ve worked with this group through many iterations for half a decade, they’re one of the key groups (like many acts on this show) who are responsible for me becoming more serious about music production. And furthermore, this episode was taped in the very beginning of April, and is just now reaching your eyes and ears; in a word, epic. To find music from Gallows Bound, visit their bandcamp site gallowsbound.bandcamp.com and find them on Facebook to keep up with their live dates, here.