Big Hassle Media NY
44 Wall ST FL 22
New York, NY 10005
P 212.619.1360
F 212.619.1669
Big Hassle Media LA
5566 W. Washington Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90016
P 323.456.3490
Fort Lean
Fort Lean
A wise man said: Pick your tenants wisely. Fort Lean, the New York rock band you apparently like so much that you sought out the official literature, are a tenant of mine. This is not poetry. I am their landlord. The first of every month, with remarkable diligence, the Fort wires 200 American into my bank account for the use of a cramped and water-damaged rehearsal space I still haven’t gotten around to soundproofing. I like these guys. They’re respectful of other people’s belongings. They clean up after themselves, usually. I have my suspicions that Keenan Mitchell, the band’s wild-eyed singer, has slept in the space without my permission, maybe even with women–but it’s all good. The band owns expensive vintage amplifiers. They’re open to sharing (usually). As far as tenant/landlord relationships go, ours is copacetic.
As for their music? You’ve heard it. Fort Lean write big, anthemic rock songs, and they play the hell out of them. Stakes are high. Fort Lean don’t want people to “kinda like” them. They want to be a girl’s first crush. They want college kids to make bad life decisions based on misinterpretations of their lyrics. They want to write the song you dance to with your second wife on the night of your wedding to your first wife. When your son moves to whatever the new Bushwick is in twenty years, and when he calls you, crying, to report he just got shook down by a bunch of punk kids, Fort Lean want you to smile to yourself and think of that line from “Sunsick”: “Get-tin’ mugged by chil-drennn!!”
You would think this is every band’s wish–to be The Biggest Band In The World. But it turns out that’s a lot of work! It turns 99.9% of bands just don’t have the chops or the songbook. Fort Lean somehow have both–which is why they stuck out like a sore thumb this past CMJ. They’re writing choruses you wish you had written, and playing tighter than your band ever could. They’re only going to get better too. Mark my words: the world will get at least five great albums from this band before the singer cracks and decides he wants to be a doctor after all.
I could write thousands of words about keyboardist Will Runge’s impeccable style (great face, great denim). I could rap on drummer Sam Ubl’s tasty hi-hat work, or bassist Jake Aron’s smart use of space. I could tell you about the first time I heard Keenan’s voice–an oaky, siren-like tenor that proves once and for all that nature does in fact trump nurture. Or how about this: Zach Fried routinely wears tight red pants, plays a Telecaster, and insists on using an enormous eighty-pound pedalboard even though he only has like two pedals–and somehow gets away with it all! There’s just so much to like about this band in the particular. But right now, the thing I like most about Fort Lean is quite simple. They pay their rent on time. They chip in when equipment gets broken. They let me use their Twin Reverb, and the Peavy Bandit (great for leads). I didn’t have to tell them twice about not leaving bikes in the hallway. It’s hard to find bands like this. I will miss them when they’re gone.
Biography by Nick Sylvester
November 2011
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FORT LEAN DEBUTS NEW SINGLE, “SUNSICK,” WITH SPIN MAGAZINE
7″ SINGLE OUT FEBRUARY 28TH ON NEON GOLD RECORDS / BLACK BELL RECORDS
SPRING TOUR DATES ANNOUNCED
“The Brooklynites specialize in a moody, atmospheric brand of space rock helped by their singer’s dramatic and uber-confident voice”-NME
“This Brooklyn five-piece stands head and shoulders above the whimsy that suffused 2011, thanks to its liberating and rapturous blend of jangly garage rock, born for dive-bar jukeboxes and summer barbecues in Williamsburg.” -Time Out New York
“The Brooklyn indie crew have a way with a clean power-pop melody that few can match, and their self-titled EP… is an absolute monster” -Stereogum
Stream “Sunsick” at the SPIN Magazine premiere or on Soundcloud…bloggers, feel free to post!
Brooklyn-based quintet Fort Lean has debuted their new single, “Sunsick,” a hook-laden, synth-driven track carried by fuzzed-out, echoed guitar lines, ferocious, stampeding percussion, and frontman Keenan Mitchell’s confident, siren-like wail. Produced by Ayad Al Adhamy of Passion Pit, Sunsick will be co-released as a 7″ by Neon Gold Records / Black Bell Records on February 28th. A presale is now available at NeonGoldRecords.com.
Having been handpicked by Google Music to play their T-Mobile Presents Google Music at Tao Nights Party at the Sundance Film Festival, as well as having played a string of recent East Coast dates with bands including Bear Hands and Reptar, Fort Lean is excited to announce their first run of national tour dates, which includes scheduled appearances at SXSW. The band will support Suckers on their first leg of tour dates and a second run with The Postelles will follow. The full list of tour dates is below.
Sunsick is the follow up to Fort Lean’s 2011 critically acclaimed self-titled EP, which has been hailed for its mature, gritty sound and tightly structured indie-rock gems. “Their indie rock is sleeves-rolled-up, no-nonsense jukebox fare, anchored by wild-maned frontguy Keenan Mitchell’s massive, vein-popping vocals,” hailed SPIN, while NYLON declared, “It’s selfish, we know, but once we got a taste of what they’re capable of from their self-titled EP, we’re dying for more of their grunge-sun sound.” After playing multiple showcases at this past year’s CMJ, Fort Lean received wide praise for their passionate, exciting live shows, with New York Times noting, “Keenan Mitchell, has a huge, glorious voice – washed out but not sleazy, embodying hope and triumph. He’s a classic romantic, and time and again during this show, he appeared as if he might burst.”
Sunsick Tracklisting
1. Sunsick
2. The Precinct
Tour Dates:
2/28 – New York, NY – Santos Party House (7″ single release party)
3/11 – Lexington, KY – Cosmic Charlie’s*
3/12 – Memphis, TN – Hi-Tone Café*
3/13 – Shreveport, LA – Media Star Entertainment Hall*
3/14 – 3/18 – Austin, TX – SXSW
3/20 – Allston, MA – Great Scott^
3/23 – Washington, DC – U Street Music Hall^
* = w/ Suckers
^ = w/ The Postelles
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Fort Lean - Album Art
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Eric Anderson
Keenan Mitchell
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Eric Anderson
L-R: Zach Fried, Jake Aron, Keenan Mitchell, Sam Ubl, Will Runge