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Hey, b/r fans! STAY TUNED for shows in our hometown and outside of the NYC area this Summer/Fall! -b/r
Note: We also randomly put new stuff on our site at www.bornraised.com and www.purevolume.com/bornraised from time to time, which we make available for download - see keep an eye open and you'll be rewarded greatly!
AIMScreenName: bornraisedIM
Since forming, born/raised (pronounced "born and raised") have been called a lot of things by fans and critics, but most of them amount come to essentially the same conclusion: "born/raised play catchy powerpop/rock with a punk rock mentality and a knack for writing hook-driven songs that don't leave you gagging from the sweetener." Dubbed "in the mainstream world, the menage a trois love children of Jimmy Eat World, Foo Fighters and Switchfoot," born/raised are currently supporting their newest EP, "foreverandnever," recorded in early 2007 by Sean Kimon and Dean Baltulonis at Atomic Studios (The Hold Steady, Andrew WK, Lifetime, Bouncing Souls).
Matt Jeans (Vocals, R. Guitar) grew up in Chicago playing drums in local bands until moving to Brooklyn to study art and design – forcing him to learn how to play guitar and write songs instead of sticking with drums and running the risk of eviction. It was there that friends convinced him to start a band after hearing rough mixes of early songs that would become the band's first EP. Matt turned his acoustic demos into full-band electric songs and after recruiting local musicians to fill in the blanks, the EP was released to local praise as well as the courtship of local independant record labels.
Feeling like the true spirit of an actual band was missing, Matt set out to find the right mix of talent and personality to make the band shine. Mike Foulk (Drums) had been drumming in successful hardcore bands on the East Coast long before he was old enough to buy a ticket to the shows he was playing, graduating and eventually teaching at the world-renown Drummers Collective in NYC, where he was first introduced to the band. He was taken by the band's pop sensibilities and knew they had a chance to do something big. Dennis Greeley's (Bass) expertise, experience and most importantly, incredible bass skills round out the rhythm section while John Gaenzler (Lead Guitar/Backup Vocals), who had been a successful singer/songwriter in the Rochester area since his early teens, acts as the in-band producer.
Since 2005, born/raised have created a buzz on the local NYC scene with their energetic and honest live shows. As they became more in tuned with the local trends around them, they've had no problem giving a nod to a retro sound. But instead of emulating bands like Joy Division and the Cure, the band would rather take cues from popsters like Huey Lewis and the News and Hall & Oates. "Say what you will about Huey Lewis," Matt contends. "The man wrote hits." And born/raised hopes they're writing them, too.