Get Set Go

Get Set Go is a band formed in 2003 in Highland Park, Los Angeles, California. They are generally seen as indie rock. Their main songwriter is known as "Mike TV." They are known for a tendency to mix dark lyrics with upbeat or "catchy" melodies. They are perhaps best known for being heard on several episodes of Grey's Anatomy and both volumes of the series soundtrack.^[1]

1 Members
2 Biography
3 Discography
4 Web sources
5 External links

Members

Mike TV – Vocals, Guitar
Eric Summer – Viola, vocals
Dave Palamaro – Drums
Jeremy Keeler- Bass, vocals

Biography

When we started we couldn’t even get our girlfriends to come out regularly. It was us, and the Holliston Stops, and Otto – who would eventually become Arlo. Oh, and the Mash Notes. God bless the Mash Notes.

Mike TV

Get Set Go was formed in 2002. The original members were Mike TV, Dr. Modo, and Amy Wood. They were a three piece, pop-punky band that played catchy guitar-driven pop songs with a punk-rock back-beat and humorous, acerbic, self-deprecating lyrics. They were part of the Tuesday-Night Mr. T’s Bowl scene that thrived in Los Angeles from 1998 to 2008. It was a little known, little-written about community of over 300 bands. At its height, three hundred people, the majority of which were the members of the bands that played regularly, showed up every Tuesday night. The band Ozma (Kung Fu Records) mentions the night and Mike TV in their song Spending Time on the Borderline.

Demos (2002)

In early 2002, the band enlisted the help of Ben Vaughn, producer of Ween’s 12 Country Golden Greats and Arlo’s Stab The Unstoppable Hero, to record a 3-song demo. The three songs, "Jesus Christ Wore Leather", "Go To the Mattress", and "Kiss the Girl", included two of the band’s arguably most contentious and troubling song lyrics. "Go To The Mattress" told the story of an abusive relationship from the point of view of the abuser and "Jesus Christ Wore Leather" used flagrant vulgarity to illustrate the idea that Jesus, Gandhi, and others were human before they were elevated to super-human . The three-song demo was circulated amongst very few record labels before TSR Records signed the band in late 2002.

Ben Vaughn signed on to produce Get Set Go’s first record and the band went into the studio in November 2002. They tracked drums and bass at Stanley Recordings and guitar, vocals, piano, and overdubs at Mad Dog Studios. The album featured backing vocals by Nate Greeley, Sean Spillane, and Shmed from Arlo (SubPop) and Benny from New Maximum Donkey (Square Tire). At the time of the recording, the band cited musical influences as wide ranging as Yo La Tengo, The Cars, The Mr. T Experience, The Archer’s of Loaf, Pavement, Guided By Voices, The Beach Boys, the Pixies, The Ramones, and lyrically, Quasi, The Violent Femmes, and The Velvet Underground. There was also significant influences on the music by the Tuesday night Mr. T’s Bowl bands, particularly the band Arlo.

So You've Ruined Your Life (2003 - 2004)

By December 2003, the band was in crisis. Their first record, So You’ve Ruined Your Life, appeared in stores with little fanfare. The band did one national tour for their first album as well. TSR Records spent significant time and money trying to break the record via commercial radio, but managed only to secure limited play on specialty programs or in the late-night hours. Dr. Modo joyously announced shortly after the release that his wife was pregnant and that he would have to relinquish his role in the band. This was a devastating blow to Mike TV, as the two had been making music together since they were in high-school. Not long after, Amy Wood started filling in with the Dollyrots, becoming a permanent member a few months later.

I guess, in a way, you could say that Shonda Rhimes single-handedly saved'Get Set Go. Or maybe Susan Veil did. Anyway, one of those Grey's Anatomy folk saved the band.

Mike TV

For the next few months, Mike struggled with accelerating drug-addiction. However, being as poor as he was, his only outlet for entertainment was writing songs. His struggling came to an end in early 2004 when, with the help of his friends, Mike managed to sober up. Remaining practically destitute, and living off of the largess and generosity of his friends, Mike and TSR Records were ecstatic to learn that ABC’s new series, Grey’s Anatomy, had managed to get a copy of So You’ve Ruined Your Life and the show’s creator, Shonda Rhimes, was a fan. During a phone conversation, Shonda asked Mike if he had any more music. Mike did. He managed to write 64 complete songs during this period and many more partial tunes. He offered to send her a sampling of the acoustic demos that he had been recording over the past year. This sampling would form the backbone of Get Set Go’s second record, Ordinary World.

After reviewing Mike TV’s submission, Grey’s Anatomy requested a studio version of the acoustic demo for the song Sleep. Mike returned to TSR Records, told them of the conversation, and asked them if they were inclined to release another Get Set Go record. TSR agreed. However, Mike wanted to change the band’s sound substantially. He wanted to better reflect the tenor of the acoustic demos that he had been recording. The goal was to record an acoustic rock record, a la the Violent Femmes. During pre-production, Mike agreed to do fill an opening slot at Kiss or Kill. Hoping to turn Get Set Go’s fans on to the new sound, Mike put together an eight man line-up, composed entirely of friends from the scene. One of these friends was Eric Summer, the violist.

Ordinary World (2005 - 2006)

I think it was my idea to put all the songs with ‘Die’ in the title right next to each other. Also, for everybody who didn’t notice (i.e., everybody who isn’t in the band), the end of the last song reprises nearly every instrumental melody from every previous song on the album. And, if you play ‘So Sorry’ backwards, you’ll hear Richard Nixon’s resignation speech sung in Hindi. It’s those kinds of little touches that make a Get Set Go album. Well, that and the liberal use of the word ‘fuck.’

Eric Summer

Without a fully formed line-up, Mike went into the studio in June 2005. This time they would record fourteen songs at Stanley Recordings and another seven at Nate Greeley’s home studio. The cast of players was significant. Dr. Modo had already recorded bass tracks for the song Mean, which they decided to keep. John Would, the owner/engineer of Stanley and Amy Wood’s father, played bass and lap steel for all the other tunes. Amy Wood played drums on 14 tracks. Dave Palamaro, former drummer for The O.A.O.T’s and Artichoke, signed up as Amy’s replacement, tracking a handful of songs. Shmed, of Arlo fame, played keyboards, piano, percussion, accordion, and some guitar leads. Nate Greeley, of Arlo, who had joined the band just prior to the recording session tracked guitar and also recorded a number of the songs. Eric Summer tracked all of the viola for the entire record in one two hour session. And Mike TV played all the acoustic guitar. Mike’s goal was to fill up an entire 80-minute CD with music, which they did.

On January 17, Ordinary World hit stores. The artwork for Ordinary World was designed to look like a vinyl double-LP. One side was the actual album jacket, the other was designed to look like the old full size inserts. This was entirely missed by music critics. The track listings were broken into four groups, so as to suggest side A, side B, side C, and side D of an old double-album. One reviewer actually ridiculed this grouping, not understanding why they were broken into four parts.

In preparation for touring to support Ordinary World, Mike placed an ad in Craigslist for a bass player. They auditioned a handful of odd possibilities. One guy didn’t have a car and lived in Riverside County, an hour-and-a-half away. Another was particularly frightening, and had only a rudimentary understanding of the bass. But one prospect cited Paul McCartney, John Entwistle, and Elvis Costello’s bass player, Bruce Thomas as key influences. The band set-up an audition and after a short interview, brought Colin Schlitt into the fold as the band’s new bass player.

Since Get Set Go’s inception in 2002, Mike had wanted another guitar player but hadn’t found someone that could both play and sing that wasn’t currently in another band. However, not long after the band found Colin, they were contacted by Jim Daley. Jim had been a fan of New Maximum Donkey, one of Get Set Go’s good friends. Through them, Jim had heard that Get Set Go was looking for a guitar player. The band auditioned Jim, who was particularly strong in both playing and singing, and the line-up was finalized by August 2005.

The band toured extensively in 2006 and 2007. During this period, Grey’s Anatomy continued to license songs from Get Set Go. At final count, they licensed 6 individual songs, and repeatedly licensed "Wait and I Hate Everyone". The show also placed those two songs on their first and second soundtracks, respectively. Get Set Go did multiple regional and national tours. During a six-week national outing, the band began working on the songs that would form the band’s third studio effort, Selling Out & Going Home. They went into the studio in June 2006.

Selling Out & Going Home (2006 - 2007)

Selling Out & Going Home was another catharsis. I’m beginning to think that the records we put out are a weird and very expensive form of therapy.

Mike TV

They returned to Stanley Recordings, who had moved from their location in Venice Beach to a new home in Santa Monica. Again, Mike was hoping to change the band’s sound. He wanted a full-rock sound but without heavy distorted guitars. 2006’s Ordinary World was made up of songs about Mike’s drug addiction, and the intention for the third record was to be an album as honest and open about relationships as he had been about his drug use.

The third record, Selling Out & Going Home, was released in January 2007. Unfortunately, the momentum established by Ordinary World did not follow through with Selling Out & Going Home. Despite some critical success, the record under-performed both in college radio and in stores. The band continued to tour during this period, very often playing an in-store show during the day, doing one or two on-air performances at college stations, and then playing a nightclub at night.

Sunshine, Joy, and Happiness (2007 - 2008)

The band toured, blogged regularly on MySpace, played locally, and worked. Unfortunately, for all their effort, there was very little gain. However, in mid-2007 the band went back into the studio to record their fourth effort. This time, rather than working the sound of the record as a whole concept, the band decided to treat each song as its own separate entity.

While in the pre-production, the band spent a significant portion of their time working musical homages into the arrangements. There are musical references to The Beatles, Elvis Costello, The Pixies, XTC, The Cars, Devo, Paul McCartney, Weezer, the Muppet Show, The Zombies, Janice Joplin, Carly Simon, and more. The record is practically one giant homage, while simultaneously sounding entirely like a Get Set Go record.