The Broken Family Band

The Broken Family Band
Background information
Origin	Cambridge, England, UK
Genres	Indie rock, New Wave, Rock, Alternative country
Years active	2002-2009[1]
Labels	Cooking Vinyl The Track & Field Organisation Snowstorm Harvest Time
Associated acts	The Singing Adams
Members
Steven Adams Jay Williams Gavin Johnson Mick Roman

The Broken Family Band were a British rock band from Cambridge and London.

The band was formed in Cambridge, England by Steven Adams, Jay Williams, Micky Roman and Gavin Johnson in 2001, following the break-up of Adams and Williams’ indie rock band Hofman. Their musical style has variously been referred to as alt. country, country rock, new wave, and indie-rock (the latter term being favoured by the band).

The name of the band references (and makes light of) the fact that both Adams and Williams had experienced an extended period during which close family members had died.

Originally formed “for fun” and to play irregular shows at their local pub and record one album, the band were encouraged by friends to perform support slots in London. After appearing on a bill with The Walkmen, they were signed to indie label Snowstorm, for which they recorded one mini album ‘The King Will Build A Disco’ and their first full length album ‘Cold Water Songs’, both of which featured guest appearances from Samantha Parton from The Be Good Tanyas, Martin Green from Lau, Inge Thomson from Harem Scarem and Owen Turner from Magoo. Both records received an excellent critical response, as well bringing the group to the attention of John Peel, who had them record two sessions.

Following a trip to South By Southwest in Austin, Texas, the band moved to The Track & Field Organisation record label, for which they recorded the mini album ‘Jesus Songs’ (which includes a cover of ‘The King Of Carrot Flowers Part 2’ by Neutral Milk Hotel, having received permission from the song’s reclusive author Jeff Mangum), and the albums ‘Welcome Home, Loser’, ‘Balls’ and ‘Hello Love’. Throughout this period the group’s reputation and fanbase increased, resulting in them performing at Glastonbury Festival, the Green Man Festival, Tanned Tin, on the main stage at Cambridge Folk Festival, in Denmark, Sweden, Spain, Germany, the Czech Republic, Austria, Italy, Ireland…

The group originally featured a selection of guests, both on recordings and in live performance, although as their sound become less rooted in acoustic traditions, they began to solely appear as a four-piece, occasionally augmented by Timothy Victor.

In 2009 the band moved to Cooking Vinyl and released the album Please And Thank You. The band announced on their 2009 tour that this album will be their last and that their final date in Cambridge will be their last gig.

Critical reception

In 2007 Time Out described the band as being "Cambridge’s most famous recipients of relentless critical acclaim" [1]

In 2008 Welcome Home, Loser was included in the Guardian newspapers '1000 Albums To Hear Before You Die'. [2]

Extra-curricular activities

In 2006 Adams released an album under the name The Singing Adams, which featured contributions from various friends. A live band version of The Singing Adams featuring Timothy Victor and Howard Monk performed a few shows in London in 2007, though since then the project has lain dormant. In May 2009 Adams announced that he was working on a new solo record.

Adams has also written for The Guardian and The Times newspapers, as well as for The Stool Pigeon music paper. In 2006 he was commissioned by The Today Programme to write a song commemorating the show broadcasting from Glastonbury Festival. In 2008 he was commissioned to write a song for Radio 3’s The Verb as well as a Christmas song for The Today Programme.

Roman also plays drums for Daniel Flay & The Irreparable Guilt. As of November 2009, the group are recording an E.P due for limited release in 2010 with shows around the U.K to be announced.[3]

Discography

Singles

• "Love Your Man, Love Your Woman" - Jun 07
• "Happy Days Are Here Again" (Track & Field) - Sep 05
• "Poor Little Thing" (Harvest Time Recordings) - Apr 04
• "The Broken Family Band & Magoo Christmas single" (Snowstorm Records) - Christmas 2003
• "At the Back of the Chapel" (Snowstorm Records) - Sep 2003
• "Mitcham's Corner/This Is a Drinking Establishment" (Glitterhouse Records) - Jun 2003
• "The Perfect Gentleman" (Snowstorm Records) - Mar 2003

Mini albums

• "Jesus Songs" (Track & Field) - Mar 2004
• "The King Will Build a Disco" (Snowstorm Records) - Nov 2002

Albums

• "Please and Thank You" (Cooking Vinyl) - April 2009
• "Hello Love" (Track & Field) - Jul 2007
• "Balls" (Track & Field) - Feb 2006
• "Welcome Home, Loser" (Track & Field) - Feb 2005
• "Cold Water Songs" (Snowstorm Records) - Jun 2003

External links

• The Broken Family Band official site
• The Broken Family Band myspace page
• The Singing Adams myspace page (Adams' other band)

Footnotes