4TH STREET BAND NEWS EXCLUSIVE

They begun as a little known side-project but they have gone into rock and roll folklore, Although if you ask random people on the streets if they know 4th Street Band, more often than not you’ll not find anyone who’s heard of them. Despite this they have a huge fan base proved by the success of their unexpected live release Live Anthology Vol 1 which peaked at 8 in the USA album charts and their single Look Around Son, This Is Yours broke into the top 40 in the US. They went on hiatus in June 2009 because Max Armstrong (Lead Singer, Songwriter) wanted to focus on his original band The Junction. A return from their hiatus was talked about a lot, to the point where it was thought that the group wouldn’t be returning to touring as a group anymore, Armstrong regularly quashed rumours of a return to the point where it almost became routine for him to say “There is no plans for a return in the near future” and he regularly stated that “Because of prior commitments and the fact that each member has their own things going on it’s just not viable that we’ll return very soon”. He always stated that he did want to return to touring with the band but the return never seemed likely. We sat down with Max a while back and he didn’t give any indications that the band would be returning soon, talking enthusiastically about The Junctions tour, His possible solo career, his girlfriend and family and his new group which he hopes to tour with in 2011 or 2012. He is essentially the mouthpiece of all of his separate music projects regularly being interview about The Junction without the other members and he seems to be the only member of 4th Street Band who enjoy interviews and talk about the future of 4th Street Band. But we have some news on the band and have decided to do this special story feature on 4th Street Band with interviews from some of the band members including Max Armstrong who has news which I’m sure all fans have been looking forward to.

HISTORY
The 4th Street Band formed in 2007 and consists of Max Armstrong (Lead Singer, Songwriter, Guitar, Piano), Scott Dylan (Lead Guitar, Backing Vocals), Robin Krieger (Bass Guitar, Backing Vocals), Joshua Perry (Acoustic Guitar, Backing Vocals), Lucy Tyrell (Piano, Backing Vocals), Robbie Stimson (Piano, Keyboards) and Tom O’Brady (Drums). The majority of the band members are all from New York and all met in Manhattan, Max Armstrong is the only member of the band not born in New York, He was born in New Jersey. Max Armstrong and Robin Krieger decided to form a side project and therefore recruited each of the other members of the band. During their early years they decided to just tour and not release any material but in December 2009 they decided to release their first album the Live Anthology Vol 1 this was a completely unexpected release and none of the band members have ruled out a Live Anthology Vol 2. They toured up until June 2009 and then they went on a hiatus because Max Armstrong and Robin Krieger wanted to focus on their other band The Junction. The band have not performed together since June 09 but they all remain on good terms with one another. A return has been spoken about a lot in recent weeks but nothing has been confirmed by any members of the band. They have always been open to returning in the future but what fans really want to know is how long will it be before they return. Our interviewer Rob Jones interview two members of the band separately.

The Interviews follow on the next page/post

MAX ARMSTRONG INTERVIEW
This interview was conducted in Osaka, Japan on 5th March 2010 at 4:30pm.

Q: Good afternoon Max, Your coming towards the end of the tour how you feeling?
Max: I’m a little bit disappointed that the tours gonna be ending but things are pretty good at the moment, On Thursday evening I made a few phone calls and at the moment it looks like August - November are gonna be some busy months for me.

Q: Why are those months in particular going to be busy for you?
Max: I was initially gonna be taking time off during the rest of the year but I like to keep myself busy so at the moment I’m doing everything in my power to arrange a 4 month tour of the US.

Q: Will that 4 month tour of the US be as a solo tour or with a band … maybe 4th Street Band?
Max: Well it’s not 100% confirmed yet, it’s about 94% and hopefully in the next couple of days it will be 100% confirmed, I’ve made phone calls with each member of the band and it looks like it could really happen. So basically the return is on and we can’t wait for it.

Q: What exactly is going to be happening with 4th Street Band?
Max: Once I’ve finished the tour with The Junction I’m gonna be taking time off between May and July obviously we’ll be meeting up and rehearsing and getting back in the groove before the tour kicks off. The reason we have decided to get the band going so soon is that we’re hoping to release our second live album Live Anthology Vol 2 sometime in August or September and we’re gonna be touring to support that album and then we’ll see what happens once we’ve finished our 4 month US tour.

Q: So does this mean that you may even consider a full world tour after the US gigs?
Max: That’s something that we’ll figure out around November time and if there is enough interest and support for us to do a world tour then if it’s possible it could happen.

Q: How long did the process of reuniting the band take?
Max: Well I’ve been thinking things through for a few months now and I’ve always known that everyone who is involved in the band really wants to get things going again so all in all I made the first phone call on Feb 26th and that’s when the process begun.

Q: How is everyone going to incorporate the tour into their life?
Max: It’s a different kind of situation than normal tours obviously Robin is gonna become a dad for the first time so it was important that the dates weren’t too close together so that if need be he can get back to his family and the fact that we get time off from May - August has helped greatly but we’ll always find a way to incorporate our own personal life into our touring schedule.

Q: Was it harder than you would have expected, to get the band back together?
Max: It was a pretty easy process but it could have been easier for example if we all had of been in the same country it would have definitely been easier.

Q: When can we expect the tour dates to be announced?
Max: As soon as I get the confirmed dates I’ll let you know but it should be sometime today or tomorrow.

Well I’m sure the tour is gonna be a massive success and I can’t wait to see the dates, Thanks for your time

4th Street Band are also looking for a good new(ish) act to support them on their US tour. Max Armstrong said "It's gonna be a great opportunity for an upcoming band to play at a place like Madison Square Garden and it's great exposure for them to get some new fans and kick start their career".
If anyone is interested in support 4th Street Band on their tour please post here or PM me and a decision will be made soon.

"Everything would be paid for. Money isn't an issue, whoever we pick to support us will be traveling with the band on our private plane and if hotels are needed then we would be staying at the best possible hotel we can find in the area. We'll make a decision in the next couple of days".
- Max Armstrong