It’s been a busy year for the Brighton-based band, Gentlemen Hall. They recently filmed their biggest music video to date in Boston, “All Our Love”, enlisting the help of their fans as extras and even a helicopter, right on the heals of a Boston Music Awards nomination for Video of the Year with “Close to Me”. The group was also featured in Billboard Magazine, and are currently occupying a spot on the Hollister in-store playlist at stores nationwide for the next few months, right alongside names like Tom Petty, KT Tunstall, and the Beach Boys.
Bass player Rory Given, who, along with lead singer Gavin McDevitt, originally hail from the Cleveland, Ohio area, remarked on the band’s exciting ride.
“It’s been a wild year full of a lot of highs but we are probably most proud to have finished and released our album, “When We All Disappear”. It’s taken us a long time to get to the finished product but the songs turned out just right. We’re also proud to have the Boston community hailing us as an influential part of the local scene. This city has given us so much and feeling like we’re giving something back is awesome,” said Given.
Gentlemen Hall
Given, along with McDevitt, Jacob Michael on guitar and vocals, Bradford Alder on synthesizers, and Phil Boucher on drums, first got together when they were all students at Berklee College of Music. It wasn’t too long into it before they were joined by Seth Hachen on flute when he spontaneously performed with them at a local house party. Since then, the group has gone on to build a strong core following, gaining recognition in the summer of 2009, when the band received MTV’s “Best Break Out Artist” Award. Later that year, the Boston Phoenix named Gentlemen Hall “Boston’s Best New Band”.
Earlier this year, Gentlemen Hall was one of three area bands who competed via social media-following to represent the northeast in a national Battle of the Bands. As winner of the regional competition, the band packed up a Chevy Cruze lent to them from the sponsor of the contest, and departed Brighton to road-trip it to Las Vegas and compete as one of the six finalists from various regions in the U.S. The band went on to win the competition, and with it, the opportunity to perform live on the Billboard Music Awards on ABC, catapulting them to a level of exposure and opportunity that any unsigned band would dream of.
Gentlemen Hall, Photo: MTV.com
What has been the most surprising thing that has happened to the band this year? Among the highs have come a lot of learning experiences, as the band has been exposed to a greater national audience through touring various venues with Billboard.
“Having shoes thrown at us for playing flute on the streets of San Francisco. Or having donuts thrown at us for dressing like hipsters in Des Moines,” said Given on some of the new experiences the band shared.
What’s most remarkable about the band, however, has been that in spite of their string of successes, they’ve managed to stay grounded. Among their list of achievements this year? “Seth finally achieved his dream of being able to dunk,” joked Given.
Gentlemen Hall will be performing at the Boston Music Awards at the Liberty Hotel on November 20th.
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