AltWeeklies Wire » Music » Profiles & Interviews

A Generous Offering

By T. Ballard Lesemann
Charleston City Paper | March 8, 2006
Up-and-coming Georgia pop-rock quartet The Modern Skirts lean heavily toward a classic, piano-driven BritPop sound influenced by the likes of David Bowie, The Smiths, Paul Weller, and Ray Davies. The band’s impressive 2005 EP, This Is Winning and Thinking, made a huge splash in the regional alternative press and on college radio. Their brand-new full-length, Catalogue of Generous Men (Go To Your Room), seals the deal: these young men from Athens, Ga. are the real thing.

“I think it’s more nerve-wracking when people don’t care what you’re doing,” says main pianist, guitarist, and singer Glidewell. “It has surprised me how quickly we’ve gone from the point where nobody really gives a shit to coming downtown at night and running into people who you don’t know saying, ‘I love your band.’”

Glidewell, lead singer, guitarist, and sometime-pianist Jay Gulley, bassist Phillip Brantley, and drummer John Swint formed in early 2004 and swiftly made their way into the crowded local scene. The band won awards for “Best Pop Act” and “Best Up & Coming Band” by popular vote at the 2004 Flagpole Athens Music Awards and built a regional following with headlining slots at the AthFest, Atlantis, and Music Midtown festivals.

With an unusually refined mod-pop sound powered by Glidewell’s rich key work and Gulley’s emotive singing style, Catalogue of Generous Men — produced by Geoff Melkonian and mixed by John Keane — maintains the band’s growing reputation
Tags: Athens, Catalogue of Generous Men, The Modern Skirts

Charleston City Paper

Founded in 1997, the locally owned and operated City Paper is Charleston's only weekly alternative newspaper and the second-largest publication in the metro Charleston area. Reaching a strong mix of active, affluent locals and tourists, the City Paper has thrived...
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