Brooklyn-based trio, A Great Big Pile of Leaves got their start in 2007 when guitarist/singer Peter Weiland and drummer Tyler Soucy took time from their prior projects to start writing material of their own. The first six songs came together as the self-released EP The Fiery Works, which the duo put out as a free download on their Web site. As word spread online, the band’s fanbase grew along with Weiland and Soucy’s excitement to get back to recording. Continuing with the formula of self-producing, The Fiery Works II followed shortly afterward and was also released as a free download. Within the next year, the digital releases were downloaded over 12,000 times and the group prepared for a live setting with the addition of Tucker Yaro on bass. After playing several shows and writing a batch of new songs over the next few months, the newfound trio prepared themselves to record a full-length record Have You Seen My Prefrontal Cortex? With each member also taking on engineering, production, mixing and mastering duties, the record became a full collaboration of each member’s respective influences and knowledge. “We don’t like to set up any boundaries when writing; we don’t consciously come into it with any walls up” says Soucy. “The three of us have a rather eclectic background of musical influences and we like to explore that and have a good time. The only thing we knew coming into this record, is that we were in control and that we wanted to make the best record we could; something we would enjoy from beginning to end with no sense of filler.” Following the release of Have You Seen My Prefrontal Cortex? earlier this summer, the group have seen a rapidly growing fan base as well as praise on infuential sites such as absolutepunk.net where the record was reviewed with a 93% approval rating. The rest of the year will see a vinyl release of the album for hardcore fans as well as a large-scale fall tour that will showcase everything that this band has worked so hard for. “The positive reactions to our music have been pretty overwhelming so far, especially in a day and age when the Internet seems to be filled with a lot of negativity on message boards,” explains Soucy, “we haven’t really gotten much of that yet.” A Great Big Pile of Leaves will be hitting the road this Fall on their first national tour with Motion City Soundtrack, Say Anything,and Saves the Day. “This fall tour is exactly what our band needed to be doing and at the perfect time so we’re extremely grateful for the opportunity that we have,” Soucy continues when asked about those large-scale shows. “I spent most of high school listening to these three bands, so it’s going to be pretty surreal to walk off stage every night and watch the rest of the line-up,” he adds, “it’s going to be a great time.” |
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