Modern Skirts
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Modern Skirts is an alternative rock band based in Athens, GA. The band consists of four members: Jay Gulley (guitar and vocals), JoJo Glidewell (guitar, piano, and vocals), Phillip Brantley (bass, guitar, and vocals) and John Swint (drums).
Formation and First Album
Formed in early 2004, the band quickly gained popularity and notoriety in the Athens music scene thanks largely to the buzz created by their high-energy live shows in the Athens area, mostly at the world-famous 40 Watt Club. August 2005 saw the independent release of their debut album, titled Catalogue of Generous Men. The album quickly became a standard in Athens, and won the band the first of several Athens Music Awards. The album has been praised in various media outlets, most notably in Paste Magazine and on National Public Radio. The vocal harmonies and subtle melancholy in songs like "Pasadena" and "Sugarpile" have helped to secure the groups success in Athens and around the Southeast. Modern Skirts prominent use of the piano derives from the significant influences of groups such as The Beach Boys, and their flexible use of song structure centers around catchy melodies and memorable hooks, similar to those used in Brit-Pop and by The Velvet Underground.
Current Plans
The band has spent the last two years touring intensively up and down the East Coast and across the South. The groups sophomore album, All Of Us In Our Night, was released in October 2008 and features "Soft Pedals" and "Radio Breaks." They enjoyed a successful mini tour in England in the fall of 2007 where they were filmed by producers from The Tube, who became interested in the band after R.E.M. bassist Mike Mills cited Modern Skirts as his favorite Athens band in a post Hall of Fame interview early 2007. During the summer of 2008 the band spent two weeks on a European tour, the highlight of which was opening for R.E.M. in Amsterdam and then again in Belgium. They still regularly play at the 40 Watt Club in Athens, 930 Club in Washington DC, Mercury Lounge and Pianos in Manhattan, Union Hall in Brooklyn and hundreds of other clubs across the country. The February 2008 issue of Q magazine featured a CD with a single off of All Of Us In Our Night. Modern Skirts' latest EP, "Happy 81" was released in July of 2010, with a full length album scheduled for release in the Fall of 2010.
Discography
- This Is Winning and Thinking (EP), 2004
- Catalogue of Generous Men, 2005
- Athfest Compilation, 2006
- Finest Worksongs: Athens Bands Play the Music of R.E.M, 2007
- Four More Years Ago (Single), 2007
- All Of Us In Our Night, 2008
- Happy 81 (EP), 2010
External links
- Touring with R.E.M.
- Modern Skirts' Official Website
- Modern Skirts on myspace
- Modern Skirts on Vox
- Modern Skirts Music Video on Blender