FEATURES
The hold STeady
words Doug Johnstone
W
ith an ever-younger stream of pop strumpets and Those local gigs went so well the band quickly raised their
starlets parading across the media it’s gratifying
expectations and after a couple of well received albums they
to see success fall on a bunch of guys with some
released Boys and Girls in America, a fantastic record which
life experience for once. Brooklyn-based rock outfit The Hold
spread round the world by word of mouth to become an
Steady were already in their thirties when they formed back in
international smash and a breakthrough release for the band.
2002 to let off steam from the members’ day jobs.
‘It was pretty ironic,’ says Finn. ‘The band that set out to do
“Our concept was to start a straight rock band with low
nothing became a critics’ favourite and a touring machine.”
aspirations,” says frontman Craig Finn. “Just local shows, no The secret of The Hold Steady’s success is in their old-school
touring and most likely no real records.” attitude and unashamed love of American rock’s classic canon.
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