Family of the Year

Family of the Year is an American indie band from Los Angeles, California consisting of members Sebastian Keefe, Joseph Keefe, Christina Schroeter, James Buckey and Alex Walker.

History

Though Family of the Year is currently based in Los Angeles, California, brothers Joseph and Sebastian Keefe were born in Wales, and moved to Martha's Vineyard. James Buckey is from Jacksonville, FL, while Christina Schroeter is from Orange County, CA. Prior to forming Family of the Year members Joeseph Keefe, and Sebastian Keefe enjoyed local Boston success in previous bands Unbusted and The Billionaires.

Family of the Year use melodic male/female vocal harmonies and folk tale-style lyrics. Family of the Year self-released their debut EP Where’s the Sun on their Washashore imprint in September 2009. The EP showcases a variety of Family's music, and includes "Let's Go Down," "Castoff," "Summer Girl," "What a Surprise," and "Psyche or Like Scope." Where’s the Sun is available for digital download at FamilyoftheYear.net for an optional donation. Contributions went directly toward the release of the band’s debut full-length album and continue to fund their collective life on the road.

In October, Family was handpicked out of 700 artists by Ben Folds and Keith Lockhart to open for Ben and The Boston Pops at Symphony Hall. Shortly after, the band flew west for California shows with Bell X1 before returning east for the CMJ Music Marathon, marking Family Of The Year’s New York debut. SPIN.com selected the band as one 25 Must-Hear Artists from the 2009 CMJ Festival.

In November, Family hit the road with Edward Sharpe and The Magnetic Zeros in support of Family's debut album, Songbook, also available for optional donation.

In January the band announced the release of an exclusive song every month through their e-mail list in 2010 and followed that with the digital release of their sophomore EP Through the Trees on March 9 under their own imprint, Washashore Records. The band retains their signature folk-inspired style while pushing the musical genre exploration for which they're known on the new EP, which also features friend and fan Willy Mason.

Singers Joe Keefe and Meredith Sheldon blend seamless harmonies in the Beach Boys-esque ballad, "Summer Girl," while "Stupidland" and "Let's Go Down" are upbeat, catchy folk tunes. Crossing boundaries, Through the Trees features the traditional Family sound, but will also include "The Barn," a synth-heavy rock song, as well as "The Princess and the Pea," which sports a laid-back yet catchy reggae sound.

Career

In September 2009, Family of the Year self released their debut EP titled Where's the Sun including songs such as "Summer Girl" and "What a Surprise."

In October 2009, the band was selected to open for Ben Folds and the Boston Pops at Symphony Hall in Boston, Massachusetts. The band was chosen out of 700 artists by Ben Folds and Keith Lockhart.[1] Also in October of that year, the band showcased at CMJ's Music Marathon at which they gained recognition by SPIN.com as one of their 25 Must-Hear Artists from the 2009 CMJ Festival.[2]

In November 2009, the band released their first full-length album titled Songbook, written, primarily, by Joseph Keefe and Vanessa Jeanne Long. The band toured with Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros in support of their debut.

Family of the Year has been recognized for independent fundraising. Donation-based sales for the band's first EP Where's the Sun helped fund the recording of their debut LP Songbook. To fund the bands touring, Family of the Year made $5 tour postcards available on the band's website. The band refers to their postcards as "the old-fashioned twitter".

In July 2012, they released a new album entitled "Loma Vista".

Their single, "Hero", has peaked at #14 on the Billboard Alternative Songs Chart.

Studio albums

• Where's the Sun EP (2009)

• Songbook (2009)

• Through the Trees EP (2010)

• Our Songbook (2010) (European version of Songbook)

• St. Croix EP (2011)

• Diversity EP (2012)

• Loma Vista (2012)

Media

In 2010, Advil began airing a national television commercial which featured the band's song "ChugJug."

Sebastian Keefe and Joseph Keefe appeared in a scene of the non-scripted dramatic feature "Hurricane Emma" directed by Alex Cassun and starring former Family of the Year band mate Vanessa Long. James Buckey also worked on the movie, engineering the ADR recording.[5]

In 2012, the group's song "Hero" was featured in an episode of MTV's Underemployed.

In 2012, their song "Everytime" was featured on the final episode of Weeds entitled "It's Time" (season 8 episode 12/13).

References

1. ^ http://www.bso.org/images/pressreleases/20090914.pdf
2. ^ http://www.spin.com/gallery/25-must-hear-artists-cmj-festival?page=9
3. ^ [1]
4. ^ [2]
5. ^ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1479683/

External links

• Familyoftheyear.net [3]