Wrapping up a year of shows toward the end of 2017, local band These Fine Gentlemen decided it was time to buckle down and finish working on an album.
Shortly after forming in 2015, the band released a three-song EP, “Sweeter Times.”
The six members put out two songs for their first full-length album in early 2017, but performing shows didn’t allow them much time to finish writing the rest of the songs.
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On Nov. 18, “Old Flames” was officially released.
“We finally finished it and released it, and I think we’re as close as ever and the chemistry is all back,” said Mason Lauster, who plays bass. “I see it as an accomplishment because we worked so hard and it took so much out of us to get it done, and it’s something that none of us had done before, and we finally made an album. We’re all proud of it.”
The album is available for purchase at 13th Floor Music and Accessories in downtown Seymour and Guitar City in Columbus or digital download on major distribution places, including Apple Music and Spotify. CDs also are available at the band’s shows.
These Fine Gentlemen started recording a song called “Sorry” in 2016 and put it out as a single in February 2017. The group then released another song, “One Horse Town,” and thought about doing another EP, but plans changed.
“We decided with as much money as we were spending on songs to be professionally recorded, we might as well go big or go home,” Lauster said.
The band worked with Jordan Haynes to record and produce the other eight songs on the album. “Sorry” and “One Horse Town” were recorded and produced by Michael Sanders.
“We really took our time writing and recording and making sure everything was perfect and just how we wanted it,” Lauster said. “Now, we can look back and I don’t think any of us have any issues with any of the songs on the new album.”
While Lauster said the EP was more pop and blues rock, the new album has different aspects of rock music throughout with a little bit of pop on a few songs.
“You’ve got some heavy songs on it, and you’ve got some lighter, poppier songs and everything in between, so it’s just a really diverse mix of rock music,” he said.
The week of the album’s debut, the band released a new single, “Choke,” and put a music video out for it. It’s the first song on the album.
They had played that song and the first two at some of their shows, and they received some publicity in small magazines, blogs and podcasts.
On Spotify, Lauster said people’s favorite track on the album changes on a weekly basis.
“I don’t think there’s just one song in there where somebody’s like, ‘That’s the only good one on the album,’” he said. “It just depends what kind of music you like. You have a different favorite song on the album.”
Everyone in the band, which also includes Zack Killey (vocals), A.J. Stainbrook (guitar), Corey Sitterding (guitar), Zach Thompson (keys) and Quinten Tritle (drums), contributed to writing the songs.
Lauster said different ones would come to practice with a riff, a beat, a melody or lyrics and the rest of the band would help build on it.
“There’s no set way that we write songs, but it’s just somebody comes to the table with an idea, and we just build on that idea,” he said.
He also said it’s a plus that the band has been together for nearly four years and still has the same members.
“You find out that it becomes more like a family,” Lauster said. “We all have a passion for music, and that’s the bonus. Being on the road or hanging out with the guys, we all get to experience these new things or these new places where we’ve never been. That’s what I enjoy the most.”
To take the next step in their career, the band members agreed to go from playing mostly covers at bar shows to finding venues where they can play their own music in 2019.
They are working with a booking agent from Spark Joy Music of Fishers to get more shows around the Midwest.
“The guy that runs that is really great, and he’s going to be booking a lot of stuff out of state for us, so hopefully, that will be our opportunity to get into places we’ve never been and start spreading our music out,” Lauster said.
At the venues, he said people are there solely for the purpose of listening to music. With the band having its first full-length album to share, it’s the perfect time to make a change.
“The whole goal this whole time is to get some professional stuff out there and then start playing around and traveling around showcasing that stuff,” Lauster said. “I think we’re going to see not more of an increase in quantity of shows but quality of shows … where we can play our own music and definitely get into areas we’ve never been before.
These Fine Gentlemen formed in 2015.
The band consists of Zack Killey (vocals), A.J. Stainbrook (guitar), Corey Sitterding (guitar), Mason Lauster (bass), Zach Thompson (keys) and Quinten Tritle (drums). All of them live in Jackson County or Jennings County.
They released an EP called “Sweeter Things” in 2015 and their first full-length album called “Old Flames” in 2018. The album is available for purchase at 13th Floor Music and Accessories in downtown Seymour and Guitar City in Columbus or digital download on major distribution places, including Apple Music and Spotify. CDs also are available at the band’s shows.
Information: thesefinegentlemen.com or facebook.com/thesefgentlemen
