Five years ago, The Greenhornes were ready for a break. The Southeastern Indiana Garage Rock quintet had stormed Cincinnati after forming in 1996, a march that continued with their 1999 debut, Gun for You. They notched several notable benchmarks, including nearly stealing the spotlight from The Strokes at the New York band’s Southgate House debut.
By 2003, The Greenhornes had shrunk to a trio with the departures of keyboardist Jared McKinney, guitarist Brian Olive and multi-instrumentalist Eric Stein (who had been around for 2002’s Dual Mono). But the remaining members — guitarist/vocalist Craig — were still one of the city’s most potent and nationally acclaimed bands.
With the 2005 release of the Sewed Soles compilation and the East Grand Blues EP, The Greenhornes decided to kick back. The band had befriended White Stripes guitarist Jack White; he subsequently used Lawrence and Keeler as the rhythm section when he produced Loretta Lynn’s Van Lear Rose. The duo was in Detroit to record with White comrade Brendan Benson, who had engineered the Lynn record and produced East Grand Blues, when the session took a turn. Lawrence, Keeler, White and Benson eventually formed The Raconteurs and stayed pretty busy for quite a while.
Fox, Lawrence and Keeler continued to record songs in and around their various schedules, and this week they release their first full-length Greenhornes album in eight years.
The Greenhornes play a free set at Shake It Records Thursday and a record release show at the Southgate House Friday night. Go here to read Brian Baker's full interview with Keeler.
