Nearly York. Photos by Jeff Pittenger.
We all know those songs that just feel like summer. They’re the ones we turn up on a windows-down drive or play on repeat at the barbeque. But bottle this summer up, and you’d think even the catchiest tune couldn’t make the summer of COVID a jam.
Think again.
Nearly York, a Lancaster-based alt-pop band, released a new song, “These Nights,” striking a chord with listeners who have felt a longing for carefree summer nights.
Although newly released, the song has been kicking around since 2014 or 2015. Originally called “New Year’s Eve,” the song seemed to fit the quarantine times, as well. When the band recorded in Nashville last fall, members played around with it, and the entire instrumentation, including a new beat, changed.
With that, “These Nights” was reborn. They shot the music video in drummer and percussionist Chris Mundy’s garage and released it all on the same day in June.
“It was written about the idea of just having fun with your friends,” Brad Hartman, guitarist and bassist, said. “COVID was an underlying thing we weren’t really thinking about at the time.”
The chorus from “These Nights” echoes these sentiments.
“These nights aren’t complicated;
My friends, we keep things simple enough when we show up, oh yeah.”
And show up they have.
Nearly York formed in 2018 when Hartman and lead vocalist and guitarist Lucas Gienow were music recording technology students at Lebanon Valley College. The two immediately connected over music. Mundy came along later when he found out through bartending with Gienow that he was making music.
“I started pestering my way in, and here we are,” Mundy said.
Nearly York often plays in the Harrisburg area at events like Kipona, Fire and Ice Festival and the Millennium Music Conference. But, like many musicians, they’ve had to adapt this year, finding creative ways to get their music out.
Changes
While COVID has been destructive, it has also been the catalyst for innovation. Businesses, schools and many other institutions changed their models to survive. Artists and musicians like Nearly York are no exception.
All three band members still have “day” jobs that sustain them. Gienow is a record producer/engineer and bartender, Hartman works audio for Clair Global in Lititz, and Mundy is a school counselor. But they have used the COVID “free time” to write new music and perform virtually.
Gienow livestreams performances through Facebook. He posts tip-jar links to his Paypal and Venmo accounts and finds that fans have been generous.
They are also working on videography to be better equipped to shoot their own music videos. Using Zoom and their own recording equipment, each member of the band records his part separately then sends it off to be mixed.
“The song you’re hearing was recorded in my room, Brad’s room and Chris’s room,” Gienow said.
When Nearly York officially started, the members formed an LLC. This has allowed them to act as the business that they are, writing off everything from gas on trips to instruments and equipment.
“All the money we made in the past few years would go into our business account,” Hartman said. “So, we had saved up quite a bit of money. … We’re pretty lucky to be in the situation to be able to record at home.”
The pandemic has forced techniques the band plans to continue using post-COVID, but members agree that forming the LLC was the smartest thing they did.
“I’m 30, playing in original bands since I was 16, and this is the only band I’ve been in that I haven’t been losing money,” Mundy said.
Silver Linings
With a loss of touring income, Nearly York has focused more on its YouTube channel, Facebook page and Instagram account.
“Why not be creating content—short videos of us playing songs, acoustic versions, alternate versions,” Gienow said.
Nearly York has produced some of its music at Studio 2300 in Nashville with the help of Dustin Richardson, a mixing engineer for Universal Music Group. Richardson, who has mixed for artists including Ariana Grande, Post Malone, The Killers and KISS, said most musicians and artists have had to turn to livestreaming and social media “not only for exposure, but to help make ends meet as well.”
He said that, while most streaming is free, it has other benefits—bands are reaching more fans globally.
“A lot of the time, I work with bands who don’t have a clear vision of what they want to sound like, but Lucas and Brad make it easy because they are both very hands-on and opinionated,” Richardson said.
Locally, the band turns to Carl Bahner to mix and produce its songs. COVID benefited his work as a remote mix engineer since recording had to be done remotely. He said that his project load tripled after quarantine.
“There were some definite silver linings,” he said.
One day, we all hope, COVID will be history, and music will return to live venues.
However, the band now worries about the paychecks they might be offered for reduced capacity audiences. If they have to accept less, what will that mean for the future, when things truly return to normal? Will musicians be able to command fees similar to what they used to draw?
“We put years of work and effort into creating entertainment value,” Gienow said. “That has a price we feel it is worth. So, we have to make sure that doesn’t get undercut.”
For more information about Nearly York, visit www.nearlyyork.com. Watch the music video for “These Nights” on their YouTube channel.
