Biography

Introduction

The Hold Steady is a Brooklyn-based rock band comprising Craig Finn (vocals, guitar), Tad Kubler (lead guitar), Franz Nicolay (keyboards, vocals, harmonica, accordion), Galen Polivka (bass) and Bobby Drake (drums). The band's style has been described as a "riff-heavy mixture of classic rock," notable for its "lyrically dense storytelling." To date, the band has released four studio albums: Almost Killed Me (2004), Separation Sunday (2005), Boys and Girls in America (2006), and Stay Positive (2008).

History

In 2003, vocalist, lyricist, and guitarist Craig Finn and New York City bartender and bassist Galen Polivka began talking about starting a band. Finn and lead guitarist Tad Kubler (both formerly of Lifter Puller) developed the idea of The Hold Steady when, while watching the The Band concert film The Last Waltz, Finn asked Kubler, "Dude, why aren't there any bands like this anymore?" The Hold Steady's 2004 debut album Almost Killed Me, released on Frenchkiss Records, was a sleeper hit among music critics, reaching #31 in the Pazz & Jop critics poll that year, an achievement which Finn described as "like being nominated for an Oscar or something." In May 2005, they were the first rock band to grace the front page of The Village Voice in 15 years^{[citation needed]}. They were Blender's 2006 "Band of the Year".

The band released its second album, Separation Sunday, on May 3, 2005. The album was a loose concept album following the exploits of a character named "Holly" (short for "Hallelujah") and her quest to find a balance between Catholicism and rock and roll through drugs and a metaphorical resurrection. The album was critically lauded, and its religious overtones were picked up by many critics, such as Joe Gross of the Village Voice, who dubbed it "the most egregiously American Catholic album since X's Under the Big Black Sun, Springsteen's Tunnel of Love, or that Jewish new waver Billy Joel's The Stranger."

After Separation Sunday, for its third album the band moved from the Frenchkiss Records imprint to Vagrant Records. Released October 3, 2006, Boys and Girls in America was ranked #8 on the Rolling Stone Best Albums of 2006 list, and first by The A.V. Club. Pitchfork Media's Scott Plagenhoff wrote of the album, "[Craig Finn] not only has a commanding, rousing voice but he also says something worth hearing, displaying gifts for both scope and depth that are all too rare in contemporary rock — indie or mainstream." In 2006, they released a music video for "Chips Ahoy", directed by Moh Azima and starring Avital Ash. [1] In 2007, the band recorded a modified version of "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" to be played during the seventh-inning stretch at Minnesota Twins home games. They also contributed a cover of the Bob Dylan and The Hawks/The Band song Can You Please Crawl Out Your Window? to the motion picture I'm Not There.

The band's fourth album, Stay Positive, was released in the UK on July 14, 2008 and in the U.S. on July 15. The album was recorded in Hoboken, New Jersey and Wild Arctic studio in Queens, New York with producer John Agnello during January and February that year. Guests on the sessions included Ben Nichols from Lucero, J. Mascis of Dinosaur Jr., Emilyn Brodsky, and Doug Gillard, who played guitar in Guided By Voices. Finn has said that he believes the album "captures a band hitting their creative peak, as well as enjoying each other's creativity and company." The album is more expansive than previous releases, including talk-box solos, harpsichord, and tuneful vocals (the notoriously gruff-voiced Finn started taking voice lessons). "There are some bands that do five records that all sound similar," says guitarist Tad Kubler. "We've tried to avoid that." Many familiar elements – sing-along choruses, extended piano and guitar solos and lyrics that deal with faith, crime, rumor, loss and love – remain.

The Hold Steady has toured and played with a variety of other artists, amongst them Les Savy Fav, The Constantines, P.O.S., Swearing at Motorists, the Rolling Stones (as mentioned in the Stay Positive bonus track "Ask Her For Adderall"), The Thermals, Art Brut, Kings of Leon, The Loved Ones, and Drive-By Truckers.

In April 2009, the band released a two-disc documentary and live album set entitled A Positive Rage.

Influences

In an interview with Pitchfork Media, Craig Finn outlined the band's influences, which range from classic rock to folk to hip-hop:

“

Growing up in Minneapolis, Hüsker Dü was a huge band. I always thought Grant Hart was the better songwriter, and his lyrics were very specific. Bob Mould kind of favored vague lyrics. But as far as detail-oriented songwriters, more contemporary... certainly Bruce Springsteen, Jim Carroll, John Darnielle from The Mountain Goats. A lot of hip-hop really inspires me. My absolute favorite stuff is Brother Ali from Rhymesayers. Atmosphere, obviously. Things like Aesop Rock, Sage Francis, MURS, all those guys. Even Jay-Z. Hip-hop is so much about lyrics, and as a lyricist it's hard not to be inspired by it.

”

Songs in other media

In 2006, the band's song "Your Little Hoodrat Friend" was featured in the video game Tony Hawk's Project 8.

In 2007, the band's song "Girls Like Status" appeared on the soundtrack of Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film for Theaters.

In 2007, the band's song "Stuck Between Stations" appeared on the soundtrack of The Nanny Diaries.

In 2007, the band covered Bob Dylan's "Can You Please Crawl Out Your Window?" for the soundtrack to Todd Haynes' Dylan biopic I'm Not There. Their version did not appear in the film, but was included on the soundtrack.

In 2008, the band's song "Stuck Between Stations" appeared on the soundtrack in the video game Major League Baseball 2K8.

In 2008, the band's song "Stay Positive" appeared on the soundtrack of episode 3.08 of the NBC/Direct TV series Friday Night Lights.

Episode 3x05 and 3x09 of the TV series One Tree Hill are titled "A Multitude of Casualties" and "How a Resurrection Really Feels" respectively.

The song "The Swish" is used as the menu music for the DVD release of the film Right At Your Door.

The introduction to "Massive Nights" is played as a constant loop on Colin Murray's daily BBC Radio 1 show.

Reception

With each consecutive album, The Hold Steady have received increased attention from international audiences and the media, earning almost universal praise by the press for their performances and records. Actor Daniel Radcliffe, known for his starring role in the Harry Potter film series, called The Hold Steady "the best band this year by far" in a 2007 magazine interview.