Backlash, a Live Performance Video from Factory Underground Recording Artist Brian Larney and The Town Hall Premiered Exclusively by VEVO.

Backlash, a Live Performance Video from Factory Underground Recording Artist Brian Larney and The Town Hall Premiered Exclusively by VEVO. 

The Town Hall - Backlash

When Brian Larney began recording his 5-song EP, his plan was to call it The Charm Offensive. That changed the day he stumbled across an old political button that read "America Needs J.F.K."

"It was simple, direct and America does need The Town Hall" says Larney, for whom The Town Hall is as much a pseudonym as a band name.

"I prefer playing with a band to playing solo, but it's always The Town Hall, regardless of who is on stage," Larney says. "I like to say that 'We are all the Town Hall,' myself and the audience."

Though America Needs The Town Hall isn't a political album, that it was written in this time of political divide and social upheaval by a writer as introspective and sensitive as Larney, it's little wonder that the state of the media and politics would be so reflected by his songs. Backlash was the writer's reaction to the awful and unfortunate outcome of the Dallas protests last summer: "Everyone has lost it, the crowd loses sight. There's five dead in Dallas tonight."

But not everything is so dark and moody when it comes to Larney's songwriting, which leans as much Burt Bacharach-Partridge Family as the modern, alternative groups he is often compared to as Father John Misty, City and Colour and the Lumineers. 

The video for Backlash was filmed live on stage, right here at Factory Underground Studio in Norwalk, CT. Appearing in the video are frequent collaborators Joel P. Kelley and Jeff Hatcher of the groups Edisun and After The Rush, Kenny Cash on bass, and Adam Matlock on keyboards. The video was directed and edited by Larney himself.

Next up from The Town Hall, a light hearted comedic spoof for "No End In Sight," co-directed and edited by the singer, who appears in the video as an Uber-style driver having the worst day ever. The video will be released to Vevo in September.  

The full five-song American Needs The Town Hall EP is available on iTunes, Spotify, Amazon, and is available as a free download from www.TheTownHallBand.com

The Town Hall is:

Brian Larney

Kenny Cash

Jeff Hatcher

Adam Matlock

For more information visit:

www.TheTownHallBand.com

https://www.facebook.com/thetownhallband/

https://twitter.com/TheTownHallBand

The Town Hall Press: 
 

https://www.facebook.com/evermetal2017/posts/1753389571629724

http://werockwebzine.co.uk/the-town-hall-premieres-backlash?platform=hootsuite

https://ignitemusicmag.com/2017/08/15/29867/

http://www.nataliezworld.com/2017/08/the-town-hall-releases-video-for.html

http://www.playitloudproductions.us/bridgeportct-alternative-band-town-hall-premiere-video-song-backlash/

https://madmimi.com/p/b6e0aa?fe=1&pact=756372-140894650-9476322544-cc164759604e3923f0670f0a91263536cddabc4e

Factory Underground Online:

Factory Underground Studio 

Factory Underground Records

Indie Music Couple and New Parents Kenny and Laura Cash Launch In Utero Live Music Video Celebrating First Child

Che-Val is an indie Alt-Pop duo comprised of husband and wife, Kenny and Laura Cash. Their video for The Lead (Live from the Factory Underground) was recently released on Factory Underground's new YouTube Channel, Factory Underground Live. This video was recorded while Laura was seven months pregnant with their daughter, Giabella.

Che-Val - The Lead (Live from the Factory Underground)

New dad Kenny Cash, a record producer that recently launched a website KennyCash.com, is one of the owners of Factory Underground Studio. His wife Laura is a high school chemistry teacher by day, a singer-songwriter by night, and or course a new mom! Music has been the cornerstone of their relationship since the beginning; the two met at Factory Underground where she had gone to demo some songs. She recalled Kenny "was wearing a Purple Rain shirt, and I told him I had never seen it. He couldn't believe it! Prince is one of his musical heroes."

Despite Laura's difficulty of singing during these sessions, the couple wanted to celebrate their pregnancy in a special way that was all their own. The Lullaby Sessions, as they have come to known - Giabella's first recording session, and most certainly not her last- resulted in six recorded songs with performances that were captured on video.

Two of the songs were Che-Val's own, "The Lead" and "I'm Yours," from their recent studio album "Waterproof." The other four were covers of "Say Something" by A Great Big World, "Hallelujah" by Leonard Cohen, "The Way You Make Me Feel" by Michael Jackson and a Prince Medley which included "How Come You Don't Call Me Anymore," "Beautiful Ones," and "Nothing Compares to You." 

"Say Something has been one of Giabella Cash's favorite songs in utero," Kenny said. "When Laura sings it to her now, it instantly calms her down. Our number one fan!"

Factory Underground Studio

Factory Underground Records

                         

New Alt Music Album from Brian Larney "America Needs The Town Hall" in the Norwalk Hour Newspaper

A SONGWRITER'S OBSESSION

Reprinted from the Norwalk Hour Newspaper, May 25, 2017

 

Brian Larney at Factory Underground Studio

NORWALK — Last summer, Brian Larney enjoyed a picnic at the beach, the details of which he still remembers vividly.

He was at the boat marina in Fairfield, not far from the Black Rock apartment he shares with his cat.

He ate a sandwich — turkey with cheese — and a side of chips with iced tea. Stuffed from his feast, he did what any reasonable person at the beach would do.

He took a nap.

But when he awoke, it hit him. He’d been struggling to name his next album and suddenly — perhaps caused by a sandwich-induced euphoria — he had it. The collection of songs he’d written as his own response to current events would be called “The Town Hall.”

“I was taking a nap after I ate a sandwich at the beach and it just came to me,” Larney said. “I wanted something identifiable and simple.”

Brian Larney at Factory Underground Studio

 By day, Larney is a software engineer at Norwalk-based Factset, a financial data and software company. But by night — and pretty much any free time he can find — he’s a guitar-strumming, piano-playing, song-writing musician who’s just released a new album through the Factory Underground recording studio and label.

The album is a solo project filled with songs written by Larney. He said the album is more “socially aware” than his previous albums, and the songs are more about his reactions to current events.
“I write all my own songs,” Larney said. “It’s my main obsession. Lately I’ve been getting more world-aware. In the past, generally it’s been broken heart crap. Loosely it’s rock. Someone once called it smart pop ... I thought they meant college rock. I think I’m a little less angular than that.”
He’s never been injured enough to find out for sure, but Larney is pretty sure he would bleed music notes in a dire situation.

“I got in a fight once with a singer and he said, ‘If I cut you, you would bleed music notes,’ and I really think that’s probably true,” Larney said.

Brian Larney at Factory Underground Studio

Larney first fell in love with music as a child in Fairfield where his father would constantly play old records. As he got older he only grew more obsessed with songwriting, and even taught himself how to play the piano by sneaking into the music room at Fairfield High School for 6 a.m. practice sessions. Eventually, the school found out and — after reminding him not to use the room outside of regular school hours — simply gave him a key to practice whenever he wanted.

“In High School I was kind of a dork,” Larney said. “I didn’t have a ton of friends. But I played electric guitar at an ongoing show my freshman year and after that it was easy. People respected people who played music. I formed a band after that and I haven’t stopped making music since.”
Even as a software engineer at Factset, a job he’s held for nearly a decade, Larney has found a connection between his work life and his music, as well as the ardent support of his coworkers.
“I know a lot of software engineers who are also musicians and I think there’s a reason for that,” Larney said. “When it doesn’t suck, it’s like writing a song.”

Larney said he’s often thought about making the leap to full-time musician and part-time regular adult, but hasn’t worked up the courage just yet.

”One day I’ll just do it,” Larney said. "I'll just stop and just do it. On tour, I always say I’m going to. It seems so easy, and the happiest time for me is on those tours where all I have to worry about is getting to the next show where I get to play again.”

Larney’s album, ”America Needs The Town Hall” is out now, and available on iTunes, Apple Music, Amazon Music and www.thetownhallband.com.

kkrasselt@scni.com; 203-354-1021; @kaitlynkrasselt