When people hear the word “congress” it may conjure up images of stiff and dull legislators in suits, but the four guys that make up the local Americana/folk/rock group are anything but that.
When people hear the word “congress” it may conjure up images of stiff and dull legislators in suits, but the four guys that make up the local Americana/folk/rock group are anything but that.
RVA’s The Congress has been rocking out since 2010, and have a major reason to celebrate with the release of their sophomore album, The Game. The band will also soon embark on a tour that will take them all over the country and even to Spain.
The Congress has its roots in Richmond with guitarist Scott Lane and bassist Jonathan Meadows started playing open mic nights at Emilio’s Restaurant on West Broad Street. The two took to Denver, where the band officially began in 2010, and has since had a few changes to their lineup, but their success has never faltered.
The quartet has been able to share the stage with other high-profile acts such as Lake Street Dive, Hard Working Americans and the Tedeschi-Trucks Band, and since returning to their hometown in 2015, the band’s added a new band member, and released their sophomore album, which they dropped Sept. 9 via American Paradox Records.
The band’s move back to it’s hometown was a natural one and has had a positive effect on the music. According to Meadows, throughout the years the band has grown quite a bit, from marriages and starting families, the natural progression of life has helped the band’s music evolve.
“We’ve grown tremendously, there’s the obvious things like band members,” said Meadows. “I think our tastes are pretty similar to when we started, but I think we’re better musicians now. I mean, we’re more musical and we make better musical decisions. As far as the music is concerned, if you listen to the first record to now even with the different players I don’t think the average listener would say that’s a totally different band.”
Originally starting with drummer Damon Scott and bassist Dwight Thompson, the band has seen a few different people, but have now solidified with Lane. Meadows, Chris Speasmaker on keys, and most recently, Raphael Katchinoff on drums.
Katchinoff, former drummer of the psychedelic rock and roll group, The Southern Belles and also current drummer for The Milkstains, joined the band earlier this year and has been able to incorporate his own style into the mix that is The Congress.
“We’ve still got the fresh air from adding a new member,” said Meadows. “A new drummer in the band and bringing {in} an old friend it has definitely loosened things up a bit. Playing with another person that has different tastes and makes different decisions is fun to see where it can take you.”
Trying to describe a specific sound The Congress has can be a challenge. The multi-faceted band is able to incorporate many different influences while still remaining true to themselves. In their newly released album The Game, they have brought nine tracks together that breeze through mellow ballads, to upbeat tempos infused with blues, country, and rock throughout.
“Describing our sound has become like the bane of my existence because when we’re making music we don’t purposefully try to sound like anything. Our goal is to just make good music,” said Meadows. “We don’t want to name our sound something that you might think would invite people to listen but then that title could mean something completely different to someone else and might turn them away, because everyone has a separate set of ears and a different connection to a genre so we would rather have someone take a listen to the album and decide if they like it or not based on themselves and not what kind of genre it is.”
The Game follows the band’s two EPs, one self-titled which was released in March 2010, the other dubbed The Loft Tapes, which they dropped in 2013. The Congress’ full-length debut, aptly titled Whatever You Want, was released in 2012 so it’s high time we have some new tunes from these boys who can fuse so many genres together so perfectly.
The new record was recorded primarily at Denver’s Macy Sound Studios with occasional sessions at Montrose Studio in Richmond.
Fresh off the high of performing at Richmond’s The Broadberry for their album release show, The Congress will embark on a tour through November that will take them up and down the East Coast, some stops on the West Coast, then a jump over to Spain for eight shows. Check out The Congress’ tour schedule below:
9/23 – Washington, DC: Hill Country Barbecue Market
9/27 – Brooklyn, NY: Brooklyn Bowl %
10/7 – Clatskanie, OR: The Birk
10/8 – Portland, OR: Mcmenamins White Eagle Saloon
10/9 – Seattle, WA: The Sunset
10/11 – Arcata, CA: Humbrews / Humboldt Brews
10/12 – San Francisco, CA: Biscuits & Blues
10/13 – San Diego, CA: WinstonsOB
10/14 – Las Vegas, NV: Topgolf
10/15 – Los Angeles, CA: The Hotel Cafe
10/16 – Phoenix, AZ: Rhythm Room
10/19 – Denver, CO: The Soiled Dove Underground
10/31 – Asheville, NC: The Orange Peel #
11/1 – Carrboro, NC: Cat’s Cradle #
11/11 – Zaragoza, Spain: Las Armas
11/12 – Mataró, Spain: Clap
11/13 – Tarazona De Aragón, Spain: Sala STAR
11/15 – Madrid, Spain: Boite Live
11/16 – Béjar, Spain: LA ALQUITARA
11/17 – Santander, Spain: Little Bobby
11/18 – Santiago, Spain: Capitol
11/19 – Ermúa, Spain: Centro Cultural
11/20 – Aldea De San Miguel, Spain: Bar Cuco
