A kick ass band from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in the United States. There aren't a lot of things that come out of the U.S. that are good, but Townhall is definately one of them.
They have a sound similiar to that of Miles Davis. A little jazz, a little funk, and a guy that can play the trombone like Micheal Jordan can play basketball, (at least when his knee isn't giving him trouble.)
There are five guys in the band. George Stanford on vocals, trombone, guitar, bass, and trumpet. Nate Skiles on vocals, guitar, bass, and trumpet. Tim Sonnefield on bass, guitar, vocals, percussion, dobro, and banjo. Mark Smidt on trumpet, percussion, bass, flute, and vocals. And Kevin Pridi on drums. The coolest thing about them is that except for the drummer, they all switch instruments every song. Tim might play the banjo on one track, but then he'll play the bongo's on the next track. It is really the hottest thing to see them on stage performing.
My friend Brad and I saw them over the holidays and I got two fabulous stories out of the deal. One is already a daylog from December 22, 2001. A week later Brad and I went to see them again in Boston. I wanted to go to try and redeem myself because of last time and Brad does promotional work for them sometimes so he just wanted to say hi and show them some love. We ended up running into their manager before the show and Brad had met him this summer. So we were talking and then Derek, their manager asks me if I have any weed. I say no, but I have some kind bud, for there is a difference. So he invites us backstage to chill out with the band. We blaze a littel bit before they go on and have a few beers on them as well. The show is awesome, especially because I was taking it a little easy on the alcohol this time around. After they finish, Brad and I join them yet again for antics backstage. It was very cool to meet them and hear their story. They had to drive back to Philly that night, so we all decided to leave the show a little early for a burrito mission. So there we all were, Brad, me, and five guys from Philly in downtown Boston trying to find a burrito place at one in the morning. It was, to say the least, extremely amusing. At long last we found a place and sat down for some jumbo burrito's that were arguably the best I have had, ever. Afterwards, we head back to our prospective modes of transportation. There's a problem though, my car is not were I parked it five hours ago. Yet again another classic Kodak moment. So I call the towing company that allegedly at this point towed my car. They tell me I have to take a cab to the place, even though it turns out I could have walked, and pay them one hundred dollars cash if I want my car back. Grand, just grand. The guys in the band felt really bad about that for my car probably would have been safe if it hadn't been for the burrito's. Allin all, good craic.
Check them out online if you are interested, www.townhallmusic.com