Austin Sound

The Georgian Company is fairly new to the scene, but they come from distinguished pedigree, most notably members of Just Guns. Currently working on their debut EP for release next year, the band has been honing their sound into a smooth and powerful country pulse, mellow and emotive with intricate layers and excellent steel guitar. The surprisingly tight sextet (now with two added backup vocalists!) is on the shortlist of bands we’re keeping on eye on in the coming year, and you can get a taste for yourself this Thursday, November 20 as they play the Continental Club in support of previously featured sound off band San Saba County, who are releasing their new album, and the incomparable rollicking folk rock of The Black.

Profile: The Georgian Company

Year Formed:

mid-2007

Members/Instruments played:

Adam Shallenberg: drums
Topher Hyink: bass + vocals
Travis Hyink: electric guitar
Chris Nine: vocals + keys
Phil (Alarmo) McJunkins: pedal steel + stuff
Jenny Kroening: back-up vocals
Dixie Riddle: back-up vocals
George Irwin: vocals, guitar + banjo

Former Bands/Side Projects:

Half of us were in Just Guns, which Topher and I started and for which we were the principal songwriters. That’s where we first started playing with Phil and then recruited Travis to play bass when he moved back to Austin. The Georgian Company started as a one-off solo show for me and some friends playing as “George & Company.” It went so well that after Just Guns dissolved I decided to recruit some more members and make it my main project. The name seemed a little too narcissistic to me, though, so I tweaked it.

In addition to The Georgian Company, Topher plays drums in You Were Always and bass with The Balcony, Phil contributes to Mice and Rifles and Chris plays keys and guitar with Scott Reynolds and the Steaming Beast and bass in the Karaoke Apocalypse band. Scheduling things is fun.

Albums:

Our first EP is coming out in February or March of 2009 on our little label, Pants of Fate (whose previous releases include the Just Guns records and the most recent You Were Always EP, Ghost Lanes). We don’t have a title for the upcoming EP yet, but it will be a Side A kind of release to be followed with Side B—to complete the album—in the fall.

Influences:

Mostly Yacht Rock, and then some of the following bands:
Kenny Rogers & the First Edition, Beta Band, Wilco, Manowar, Beachwood Sparks, Califone, The Band, The Pixies, The Beach Boys, Metallica, Okkervil River, Destroyer, Waylon Jennings, The Shins, Monahans, Rolling Stones, Yo La Tengo, Nick Drake, U2, Johnny Cash, Spoon

Strangest comment or comparison ever made about your music:

“The verses make you sad; the choruses make you horny.”

I’m not sure who said it… it was either Cam Houser or Britton Beisenherz. I’m sure they’ll either point fingers at each other or fight to take credit for the quote, though.

Favorite local bands:

All the aforementioned “side projects,” Trail of Dead, Monahans, White Denim, Grand Champeen, One Mississippi, Maneja Beto, Brothers and Sisters, Tia Carrera

Favorite local venue:

Stubb’s, Mohawk, Continental Club

Upcoming shows scheduled:

- This Thursday, November 20th at the Continental Club
- Saturday, December 13th at Stubb’s with Mice and Rifles and White Ghost Shivers.

Shows over the next month that you’re excited to see:

This is a hard question… there are too many shows, both local and roadshows, that are always happening here. It’s a great problem to have.

Some of your favorite albums from the past year:

Not in any kind of order; we’re bad at making hierarchical lists.

Liam Finn - I’ll Be Lightning
My Morning Jacket - Evil Urges
Elbow - Seldom Seen Kid
Fleet Foxes
Ashton Shepard - Sounds So Good
Tift Merrit - Another Country

Ideal band (past or present) to open for on a national tour:

Neil Young & Crazy Horse

Austin Sound questions:
Y’all are currently recording your debut. What can you tell us about it?

We’ve really been happy with the way it’s sounding. If I had to pick a word to describe it, it would be “BIG.” We allowed ourselves enough time to really track everything we wanted on the songs, including layers and layers of vocals. Working with Britton has been great; we kind of just hit it off from the start and he really gets our vision.

What exactly does the Georgian Company trade in, and how much of a government bailout are y’all looking for?

International Conflict Futures. However much we’ll need to pay someone off to get into NATO.

Song Introduction:

“Apology” was written as an actual kind of apologetic expression. I’d just started dating my fiancée, Dixie, and had a little too much to drink on the first night that I met a lot of her friends. At a party that night I ended up taking a bite out of a grapefruit-sized sculpture of a popcorn kernel (it just looked so good) and spitting it across the room, before having to tell Dixie’s friend that I’d ruined his sculpture. Later I broke a plate when falling onto a side table and had to go tell him that I broke his plate, too. I’m really not a drunk; it was just one of those nights. Dixie almost chucked me after that, and I was feeling pretty apologetic, I guess, and that’s where the song came from.

This is one of the songs that will be on the EP.

Sound Off:

I’m speaking for the whole band here, and there’s a lot of us. A pair of brothers, one married couple (soon to be two), and some good friends keeps things fun and interesting.

We’re all really excited about the new back-up gals, the EP and our show on Thursday. Give us a listen and come check us out!

Mp3:
Apology

Websites:
www.thegeorgiancompany.com
Myspace