adrian varnam

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Originally published in encore magazine on March 31st, 2010.

There’s something magical brewing at a certain beautiful renovated bungalow on Princess Street these days. Home to local label Winoca Records, it’s been ground zero for several recording projects, band practices and grassroots productions, from some of the area’s most dedicated and talented artists. After a successful kickoff with its first official release, the debut of Big Al Hall and Marching Rams, Winoca Records is now focused on project number two: Onward, Soldiers’ newest album, Ghosts in This Town.

Over the last couple of years, Onward, Soldiers has become one of Wilmington’s most interesting new rock outfits. Born out of the friendship of area newcomer Sean Thomas Gerard and longtime resident Kevin Rhodes, the band combines Gerard’s talents as a young and dynamic songwriter with Rhodes’ experience and guidance as a seasoned musician and mentor. The result is a musical partnership, along with contributions from several others, which provides the core of the band’s sound on Ghosts in This Town: intelligently written and layered American music, offering depth, soul and complexity.

“There’s definitely a feel behind the album itself as a whole, if you listen to it from start to finish,” Gerard says. “It goes through a lot of different moods—and that was definitely intentional. I tried to hit as many genres as I possibly could on one album, going from kind of country-esque songs to straight-up pop tunes to ‘60’s psychedelic rock. I tried to put something on there for everybody, and from the feedback I’ve gotten already from people, it seems like I’ve done an OK job at that.”

While Gerard admits that he may have produced a musical buffet in terms of sound, clearly defined lyrical content, this project proves to be a reflection of how his life has grown since moving here just a few short years ago. “The album is called Ghosts in This Town, and that’s kind of referring to me moving here and knowing nobody, and really having nobody know me,” he says. “A lot of the songs are about working through that, moving on and doing better things with my life. I think more or less the whole album’s about progress, and trying to move forward as a person and a musician.”

Interestingly, some of the biggest progress Gerard has made during his time here has been the process of making the record itself. By working closely with Rhodes and recording engineer Lincoln Morris—and having complete access to the recording studio at all hours—Gerard says the experience was absolutely invaluable.

“The whole recording process was like going to school almost,” he says. “I was sitting in the control room for pretty much six hours a day for almost eight months. Before that, my only knowledge of recording was the [computer recording software] GarageBand. I think because of this, I’ve done a total 180º as a musician since I moved here, from learning to be more open-minded to understanding how the business of music works.”

One of the most important lessons he values has been understanding the worth of his talents as a serious musician. Working closely with Rhodes throughout this process has helped him to take his craft more seriously, both in the recording studio, and the marketing the band.

“Kevin is probably first and foremost a business man when it comes to that sort of stuff,” he says. “He’s definitely been the one pushing the professional aspect of us as a band the entire time, trying to make us as professional as possible. The idea is that if we put that vibe out there, people will understand that we’re not just your regular band of misfits, and, hopefully, we get that respect back—not just [from] the audience but also [from] the clubs we’re trying to play. So far it’s totally paid off, and I’m sure it’ll continue to help us be respected as businessmen, as well as musicians.”

While the future will certainly hold copious learning opportunities for career management, the moment is about celebrating Onward, Soldiers’ first official full-length record. For Gerard, it’s a milestone.

“I think it’s the best damn thing I’ve ever done,” he says, with a modest laugh. “But then again that’s a matter of taste. I made a couple of full-length records when I was in Pittsburgh, and immediately after I put them out, I was dissatisfied with them. That’s just how I am. For some reason with this album, I’m still not tired of most of the songs. I think that’s a step in the right direction for me. So that’s something new in my life: not being immediately tired of all of my songs and being a part of something we’re really proud of.”