Tin Bird Choir
Tin Bird Choir | |
|---|---|
 Tin Bird Choir at Eagleview Concert Series | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States |
| Genres | Rock, Americana |
| Years active | 2007 - present |
| Members | Eric Hurlock Heather Hurlock Josh Sceurman Ellen Houle |
| Website | www.tinbirdchoir.com |
Tin Bird Choir is an alt-folk barn rock band from Chester County Pennsylvania. Their new album, Homesteady, is a bold evolution of their signature “barn rock” sound, and it’s getting lots of attention. One song off the album, “Straight Face,” was picked up by Starbucks to be played in their stores worldwide this past September, another song off the album, “Cheaper, Less Painful,” earned the band a spot as one of the regional finalists in the Mountain Stage Newsong Contest. Homesteady earned a spot as one of the Top Albums of 2013. With literate lyrics, organic harmonies, urgent melodies, Tin Bird Choir is intelligent and original, simple, fun, often quirky, and sometimes even a little haunting.
Homesteady, which was fully funded by fans through a Kickstarter campaign, was recorded in Eric and Heather’s barn in Coventryville, Pennsylvania, by Kevin Killen, who also performed on and produced the album. He lived in their barn for a week in the fall of 2012, and, with Eric’s lo-fi demos as a reference, they worked together to pick the songs and lay down the tracks that became Homesteady. The album was mastered by Glenn Barratt, of MorningStar Studios.
Tin Bird Choir is fronted by husband and wife Eric and Heather Hurlock, backed by bass player Josh Sceurman and drummer Ellen Houle. Their soulful folk sound earned their first record, Barn Rock, a debut spot at #9 on the Roots Music chart.
Their songs have been played on AAA and folk radio stations across the country [1] and have been featured prominently on Philadelphia radio station WXPN.[2][3][4] They have appeared at the Philadelphia Folk Festival,[5] the World Cafe Live, and the Kimmel Center[6] in Philadelphia, The Bitter End in New York City,[7] and coffee houses, clubs, and bars throughout the Philadelphia region.[8]
Biography
Tin Bird Choir is the husband-and-wife duo of Eric and Heather Hurlock backed by musicians Josh Sceurman and Ellen Houle.
In the Spring of 2007 Eric and Heather opened for a local band called The Youngers and after the show they were approached by members of the local musical community, Mike Yesconis, Josh Sceurman and Ellen Houle, who joined them in their barn for picking and playing. Soon TBC was practicing weekly and gigging regularly, playing at venues all around the Philly Metro area. In the Fall of 2009 they released their debut CD, Barn Rock.
They’re receiving a lot of support from Philadelphia's 88.5 WXPN. And the City Paper’s Mary Armstrong, says of the band, “...one local group that should appeal to both sides of the fray [Philadelphia Folk Festival’s changing audience] is the Tin Bird Choir, all acoustic and all contemporary...”. The Allentown Morning Call says their CD has “...intelligence and originality to anchor vocal harmonies and acoustic picking.”
Discography
Albums
- Barn Rock (2009)
- Homesteady (2013)