NEW YORK (Bluhammock Music) - DC Area four piece, Virginia Coalition release "OK to Go" their fourth full length - and first for NYC based bluhammock music - today,
September 23rd.
Originally meeting in their high school music program, every member of the Virginia Coalition can play almost every instrument, sing just as well as they play, and every one of them writes.
Their collaborative song-writing style creates the textured, sometimes eccentric, and always melodic songs that have allowed Virginia Coalition to stand out among their peers; selling a combined 40,000 records of their first three releases and winning the Washington Post Reader's Poll for best local band in both 2003 and 2004.
In the spring of 2004, Virginia Coalition entered the studio with producer Matt Wallace (Maroon 5, The Replacements, Train) for the sessions that created the "OK to Go" album. "Matt was great at helping fine-tune the songs," says bassist Jarrett Nicolay, "it is pretty obvious that [Matt] has made many great records. His input really made the whole process easy, and made the end result something we are all extremely proud of."
"OK to Go" displays Virginia Coalition's huge growth as songwriters, placing significant distance from their previous releases. Drawing inspiration from the D.C. area's wide range of musical sounds -- rock, soul, hip-hop, R&B, go-go, and blues - the band dips into classic American sounds that span from the 1960's to the present, while adding their own distinctive stamp. This is evident on the first single, "Pick Your Poison", which All Music Guide characterized as "melodic hard rock reminiscent of R.E.M"
Virginia Coalition's live show is a larger-than-life party that has helped the band garner a rabid fan base who affectionately call them "VACO." It was also Virginia Coalition's extraordinary live show that got them signed to New York City based label bluhammock music. Based on a tip from a friend, the founders of the label came to a show to check them out. "Then they came back a second time, then they kept coming back until we got signed. That's pretty much how everything has happened for us." Ottinger said. "All the success VACO has is due to people passing the word around and saying good things."
Virginia Coalition will be headlining a major market tour in support of the album for the next three months, with gigs scheduled in House of Blues in Chicago, Hammerstein Ballroom in NY, TLA in Philly, Earthlink Live in Atlanta, Paradise in Boston, and more.
With their fourth album, Virginia Coalition hopes to continue the evolution they have started with their last effort "Rock N Roll Party". They are hoping to showcase the energy of their live show as well as take their listeners on a journey that shows their evolution as musicians, and introduce themselves to new listeners while serving up the stuff that their loyal following loves.
Virginia Coalition Have Appeared With: Dave Matthews Band, Train, Live, Fuel, Blues Traveler The Roots, funkyMeters, Fastball, Pat McGee Band, Gavin DeGraw, Maroon 5, Sister Hazel, O.A.R., Nine Days, Guster, evan & jaron, Cracker, Dispatch, Ben Folds Five, Counting Crows, 2 Skinnee J's, Bela Fleck & the Flecktones, and Blondie.
