St. Paul and The Broken Bones

St. Paul and The Broken Bones
Origin Birmingham, Alabama, United States
Genres Southern soul, soul
Instruments keyboard, bass guitar, guitar, drums, trombone, trumpet
Years active 2012–present
Labels Single Lock Records
Website stpaulandthebrokenbones.com
Members Paul Janeway
Jesse Phillips
Browan Lollar
Andrew Lee
Al Gamble
Ben Griner
Allen Branstetter

St. Paul and The Broken Bones is a seven-piece soul band based out of Birmingham, Alabama. The band is composed of Paul Janeway (vocals), Browan Lollar (guitar), Jesse Phillips (bass), Andrew Lee (drums), Al Gamble (keys), Ben Griner (trombone), and Allen Branstetter (trumpet). St. Paul and The Broken Bones formed in 2012.

History

Vocalist Paul Janeway and bassist Jesse Phillips met in the mid-2000s while playing in Birmingham, Alabama as a part of the alternative soul outfit The Secret Dangers.[1] In 2012, Jesse and Paul met back in Ol' Elegante Studios in Birmingham to start a new project. Janeway says of the project with Phillips, "It was going to be our last hurrah" before focusing on other careers, "but then something just clicked and we walked out of there with something."[2] As the two began working around Janeway's voice, they realized they were forming a soul outfit. As the project progressed, the pair brought in Browan Lollar, formerly of The 400 Unit, Andrew Lee, Ben Griner, and Allen Branstetter. Here, they recorded their first EP, Greetings from St. Paul and The Broken Bones before ever playing a live show.

After releasing Greetings from St. Paul and The Broken Bones, the band gained attention from managers and labels alike. In January 2013, they began recording their first full length album, Half the City, at the Nutthouse Recording Studios Sheffield, Alabama and Fame Studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama. While recording the album, the band brought in Al Gamble to play keys. Gamble continued to play with St. Paul and The Broken Bones and has been a full time member since January 2014. Half the City was produced by Ben Tanner of the Alabama Shakes.

In February 2013, St. Paul and The Broken Bones gained the attention of Traci Thomas of Thirty Tigers, who signed on as their manager. Shortly thereafter, they began weekend touring on their Greetings from St. Paul and The Broken Bones EP, waiting for the horn players to graduate college before embarking on more extensive touring.[3]

On February 18, 2014, the LP was released under Single Lock Records, a Florence, AL record label owned by Ben Tanner, Will Trapp, and John Paul White of The Civil Wars. Immediately, Half the City received critical acclaim from many national journalistic outlets including Paste magazine,[4] Garden and Gun,[2] Southern Living,[5] Rolling Stone,[6] and NPR.[7] In its first week of sales, Half the City reached #62 on the Billboard 200 charts. After major stories by NPR Morning Edition[8] and a national television debut on CBS This Morning: Saturday,[9] St. Paul and The Broken Bones' debut album reached #56 on Billboard 200 charts.[10]

St. Paul and The Broken Bones currently is touring North America and Europe on their Half the City tour.

Discography

Albums

EPs

References

  1. ↑ http://www.sonicbids.com/band/thesecretdangers/
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Hendrickson, Matt. "Homegrown Soul: St. Paul and The Broken Bones". Garden and Gun.
  3. ↑ Murrell, Sarah (April 2, 2014). "St. Paul and The Broken Bones get by with a little help from their friends". NUVO.
  4. ↑ Orr, Dacey. "The Best of What's Next: St. Paul and The Broken Bones". Paste Magazine (103).
  5. ↑ "St. Paul and The Broken Bones: Don't Mean a Thing". Southern Living.
  6. ↑ "48 Best Things We Saw at SXSW 2014". Rolling Stone.
  7. ↑ Powers, Ann. "First Listen: St. Paul and The Broken Bones, 'Half the City'". NPR.
  8. ↑ NPR Staff. "From Preacher to Grass Cutter to Earth-Shaking Soul Singer".
  9. ↑ "St. Paul and The Broken Bones perform "Call Me" off of their album "Half the City"". CBS.
  10. ↑ Billboard 200 "Billboard 200 - April 5, 2014". Billboard.

External links