Early Greenlight Highlights
It was a friends-of-friends cross-pollination that led to the meeting of guitarist Jason Bloodworth and vocalist Ross M. Hull. Bloodworths we should write some songs was not only a polite conversation maker, but what led to the formation of Greenlight Promise. Joined by a revolving rhythm section, the band hit the NY/NJ live circuit, working out chemistry kinks and developing an overall sound. (Look: you know that bands cringe at writers sound-defining adjectives. Lets say GP is rock thats a little alternative for starters, and agree to listen and decide for ourselves.)
The band soon entered the studio and didnt leave until completing the ambitious In A Mirror That Lied The Truth. The self-produced 13-song album is the product of a band moving forward in a way most bands today sadly move backward. Simply put, Greenlight Promise is a group actually focused on the craft of song writing.
In A Mirror...Reflections
The first minute of opener Full Circle (okay, its really the first 1:06) offers a good snapshot of the bands sound: out-front vocals, clever drumming, similar-but-different guitar parts and a pinned-down bass that all lead up to a memorable chorus. (Thats our most accessible one, Bloodworth reckons, and he may be right.)
Lest the listener get too comfy, In A Mirror ... takes left turns with the likes of the five-minute plus After The Sugar, where the four-string takes the lead, guitars get fuzzy and the lyrics more cryptic. The whole thing builds into a wall of sound that crumbles into a piano piece.
I dont like to say much, explains Hull regarding his lyrics, but he may be half lying: they do more than rhyme, and touch on universal themes of love found, lost, and found again, sometimes from all angles.
Production subtleties make In A Mirror ... a worthy repeat listen in its entirety; guitars, keys and even violins (And Everything) weave in and out of a spacious mix. The collection ends with the smart, atmospheric pop of A Song Is Worth A Thousand Pictures, which would fit in anyones iPod hit list.
Live Greenlight Promise
With In A Mirror That Lied The Truth finally completed and out there, Greenlight Promise is returning to live performing. Well be everywhere, says Bloodworth, who adds that in addition to club dates, the band is looking to appear on festival bills around the country.
Since the record's release, the band has been billed as the best local band by G106.3 FM and its listeners and Philadelphias City Paper has recently selected the band as one of the best 15 bands in the region stretching from Baltimore to New York. Selections for this years Millennium Music Conference (Harrisburg), Midpoint Music Festival (Cincinnati), and Mid Atlantic Music Conference (Charlotte) also show that the bands songwriting talent and intense live performances are starting to garner serious attention.
