It’s a common adolescent fantasy to start a rock band with your best friends and travel from club to club in a beat-up old van. What happened to the members of Jeremiah Freed when fantasy became reality?
“We bought a new van,” said Nick Goodale, the band’s lead guitarist.
The up-and-coming Maine natives will rack up the miles during an upcoming tour of the Northeast to promote their latest self-titled release on Universal Records. The tour includes a stop in Portland at the State Theatre on March 29.
“We’re really excited to be playing in our hometown,” Goodale said. “It’s going to help us gain some more confidence to go out there and really work.”
Alice Cooper and Ratt producer Beau Hill produced eight of the 12 songs on the alt rockers’ album while the band produced the remaining tracks themselves.
The first single “Again” was recently released to national radio after being heavily requested from listeners of local station WCYY.
Goodale believes the band’s success so far stems from their friendship.
“I don’t know another band (where they are) also best friends like we are. It’s amazing, we have this unspoken connection. We know where the other members are going musically, and we can work off each other.”
Singer Joe Smith and Goodale have been together since middle school, learning the songs of their parents’ youth. In high school they gained more members and became more serious. They later won a management deal in a band contest, which led to their exposure on WCYY, then to their record deal with Universal.
Their friendship comes across in their songs both lyrically and musically.
“The songs come together easily because we can read each other,” Goodale said. “We can capture the same feelings, the same emotions because we’ve been friends for so long.”
An example of that connection is the track “Out of Trust,” written for Smith’s father who recently lost his battle with cancer. The song deals with what Smith’s mother and father were going through during his illness.
“It’s a very emotional song,” Goodale said. “It relates to the personal experience and consciousness of his family at that time.”
Goodale describes their sound as “a derivative of classic rock bands. (It’s) good time rock ‘n roll.”
The band cites Lynard Skynard, Guns N Roses, Led Zeppelin and Aerosmith as their influences, which is apparent in songs like “Again” and “Rain.”
“We get people my parents’ age who say ‘it really brings me back to my generation. Your music sounds like what we used to listen to.’ That’s our point (as a band) to bring rock ‘n roll to it’s roots and be able to have a younger generation relate. It helps us connect with a wider audience.”
Despite the band’s median age, with all members graduating high school in June 2000, Goodale says they’re ready to prove their musical talents to the world.
“We’re swinging in the majors now. We’re taking things seriously and we can’t back off what were doing now.”
Staff Writer Nicolette Harding can be contacted at: [email protected]