Band of the Week: Sequoyah Prep School

[February 16 - 22]

Sequoyah Prep School
Sounds Like: Pop-Rock / Piano Rock
Drinking Buddies: Making April, Something Corporate, Secondhand Serenade

Synopsis: Southernly hospitable piano melodies.

Makes You Want To...: Go on a roadtrip; Sing; Smile
[Myspace]

One week, one band. You know the drill.
This week, the featured artist is Sequoyah Prep School.


Oh silly technology. How easy it is to forget how much we rely on it. Voilà! was gone for a week due to technical issues, but it returns with a vengeance. Renewed with vigour, we have a ready passion to search the realms of the music world for the best and the brightest. Hopefully, dear reader, you had a wonderful Valentine's Day. Love is certainly in the air... it might be smog in some places, but that's not the point. Slowly, the sun is warming things. Plants are contemplating starting their Spring; some of us are lucky enough to break out the t-shirts and shorts; the lightheartedness of Spring is revitalizing our Winter chilled souls. We need something equally lighthearted to fill our ears - something soothingly nonchalant to warm our hearts and fill us with a spirit of better, warmer days to come (despite what dumb ol' gophers tell us).

Look no further than Florence, South Carolina. There, you'll find a humble band with a smoothed sound and a humble demeanour, under the moniker Sequoyah Prep School. Now, where they got the name from is a question you should direct toward them. What I can confide is Sequoyah's refined, practiced, diligent skill in crafting music!

Perking ears of the piano rock lovers out there, Sequoyah Prep School brings a structured, promising new sound to the pop-rock music scene. Their tunes are whimsical, blithe - dare I say - sunny, with a strong passion for the bonds of friendship; a subtle concept that only bands like Jimmy Eat World, or songs like "Soco Amaretto Lime" - Brand New so accurately capture. Their music is slowly paced, but this is only because Sequoyah Prep School's style is so laid back and relaxed. Their lyrics and melodies harken toward outfits like Jack's Mannequin or Secondhand Serenade, with an oddly distinct terroir of the southern United States. What I'm trying to get across here is that their blend of contemporary music is distinct, folks! They're a band you don't want to miss.

Presently, Sequoyah Prep School is busy busy busy. First, they're getting a head starts on their peers in the music world by hitting up Texas with some live shows nearly a month prior to South By Southwest 2009; they'll be showing up in Greenville, Denton, Abilene, and Austin all this week; fellow Texans should definitely not miss them while they're around. Their frivolous parade will take them across the south-eastern United States with some aggressive tour lineup, before then end up back in Austin for SXSW. And believe me, their calendar is booked with plenty more shows in the future.

Sequoyah Prep School has a few albums, along with an EP. But the big talk around town is the guys' latest album, Ghost Town, which was released midway through 2008. You can snag a copy of either We Said Hello... or Ghost Town right now on iTunes, or - of course - at any of their upcoming live shows. But why would you hesitate in visiting their Myspace right now? Sequoyah Prep School has a loyal street team, and if I'm not mistaken, I think they may be taking applicants! What are you waiting for? Get movin'!

Get ready, Spring, cause we're ready for you! We ain't scared of them ol' groundhogs, Mr. Winter! We're going to warm things up and make 'em absolutely jubilant. Am I right? Have a nice week, reader.