They’ve shared the stage with Bruce Springsteen at Carnegie Hall. They’ve played nearly 300 shows across North America and Europe with E-Street heroes Marah.
But Adam Garbinski and Dave Petersen are more enthusiastic about what’s on the horizon for them than anything that’s happened in the past. They started playing music together shortly after they met as 15-year-olds at a Christian punk show in Northeast Philadelphia, playing stints in various bands both secular and non-secular for the better part of a decade. Now both 28, Petersen has stepped out from behind the drum kit alongside Garbinski as the principals in their very own band: Adam & Dave’s Bloodline, which comes to Mojo 13 in Claymont on Saturday night.
“We had this instant solid connection,” Petersen said of the duo’s first meeting. “I think we knew pretty quickly we wanted to make music together.”
Petersen, an Indiana preacher’s son, headed east in 1999 to do just that – first settling in Brandywine Hundred where he caught on with The Huntingtons – a Ramones inspired punk band, who, as Petersen laments, ended up backing Joey Ramone at two CBGB’s shows in 2000 just weeks after he left the band.
“I worked at the Concord Mall at the pretzel stand, but I wasn’t very good at coming to work when I was supposed to so I got fired,” he recalls about his Delaware days. “Then I went to work at the MetaboLife stand across the way, but I failed at that too.”
Soon, Petersen and Garbinski (who also had an earlier stint with The Huntingtons), found themselves in Squad 5-0, a band that amassed a huge following in the Christian punk and hardcore scene – a scene so significant it led to a major deal for the band with Tooth & Nail Records.
“We both grew up in the Christian rock scene, so it made sense when we joined,” Garbinski said. “At times we talked about being in a regular band, but there was a lot of money to be made in that scene. Still, in the end we wanted to do something different.”
Just as the two were close to putting a band together in 2005, another opportunity came calling. A mighty Philadelphia band, notorious for their struggles to keep rhythm sections intact, faced another personnel crisis on the eve of an already booked European tour. Garbinski and Petersen, both longtime fans, attended a warm-up show the band played at The Fire in the Northern Liberties section of Philadelphia. After dozens of beers and late night negotiations, Garbinski (guitar) and Petersen (drums) joined Dave and Serge Bielanko and bassist Kirk Henderson to form what would be the grittiest version of Marah yet.
Now on the road together regularly, Garbinski and Petersen started writing songs at a more feverish pace. Watching the Bielanko brothers melt crowds night after night only whetted their appetites even more.
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Adam & Dave's Bloodline performs with Galaxy 13, Jenny Bostick, Bridges & Powerlines, Speedgoat Mojo 13, 1706 Philadelphia Pike 9:00 p.m. Saturday August 16 $6 cover |
On January 12, 2006, Garbinski and Petersen grabbed their acoustic guitars and took the stage at a Cambridge, Mass. nightclub for a 30 minute set prior to Marah’s scheduled performance. With a 1-2 punch of jangly pop and fierce songwriting, Adam & Dave’s Bloodline were born, and anyone in attendance that night would testify that it would only be matter of time until the undercard became the main event.
That time is now.
With Marah in their rearview mirror after – you guessed it – another personnel dispute, Bloodline is on the eve of releasing its second full-length record. Their 2007 self-titled debut is a powerhouse album that at times recalls U2, the Cure and the Beach Boys often simultaneously and features Garbinski and Petersen trading songwriting duties and vocals. But because it was released between tours with Marah, it never got the attention it deserved, both from fans and from the band itself.
“We just kind of put that last album out there,” Petersen says. “This time around we’ve been a lot harder on ourselves. We’re a lot more open to editing ourselves down – to just slashing and burning.”
“Before I’m Free,” a sweeping epic that builds to a beautiful chorus over the slightest twang of guest musician Mike “Slo-Mo” Brenner’s unmistakable dobro playing, casts a much wider net over the band’s influences.
Imagine a rolling country tune plucked off the Stones’ “Sticky Fingers” or “Exile on Main St.” with a majestic chorus that recalls the Polyphonic Spree plunked in.
“As I see it, this next one is our debut record,” Petersen said. “I don’t want to cast off the first record, I know a lot of people really like it, but I think this is more representative of the sound we’ll have in the future.”
Paul Smith, who has likely run the sound at any show you’ve ever seen at South Street’s Theatre of Living Arts, got his first listen of the new material at Garbinski’s birthday party last month, and was so impressed he offered to mix the new material for free.
“That was huge for us,” Garbinski said. “He’s such a genius at this stuff. We’re really excited to hear what he comes up with.”
In the meantime, the band has its fingers crossed for a distribution deal with Redeye that will get the album, tentatively titled “Boycott Classics,” in record stores across the country. Garbinski said he is hopeful for a January release.
For now, the band is focused on playing as many shows in the region as possible, slowly trying to build a local fanbase. They’re in Brooklyn Friday night, Claymont on Saturday. Two weeks ago, they were in Oxford, Pa.
“It’s important for us to play outside of Philly,” Garbinski said. “There are a lot of cool clubs out there and cool bands to play with.”
Now available for a free download on the band’s Website is its “New Age Boredom” EP, four songs that shed some light on what to expect from the forthcoming release.
“Runt,” which opens with a Townsend-inspired guitar crunch and drum intro from drummer Brian Newell, will definitely be on the new record Petersen says, along with at least one other.
Henderson, who after being banished from the keyboards, left Marah this January in favor of Bloodline, glows when he talks about the talent of Garbinski and Petersen.
“They’re incredible songwriters and they get better all the time,” he said. “There are few people at this stage of the game in the business that know how to make great records like these guys do.”
