The Greenhornes

Cincinnati, Ohio's the Greenhornes built a loyal audience amid the garage rock resurgence of the 2000s. Although steeped in the blues-rooted sounds of 1960s groups like the Yardbirds, the Rolling Stones and the Kinks, as well as early garage pioneers the Sonics, the band's instrumental prowess and songcraft set them apart from most contemporaries. Craig Fox on guitar and lead vocals, Brian Olive on guitar, Jared McKinney on keyboards, Jack Lawrence on bass and Patrick Keeler on drums launched the group in 1996; several members had known one another since high school and initially tracked a demo under the name Us and Them. Once they settled on the Greenhornes moniker, they issued their first single in 1998, "The End of Night" b/w "No More," followed by the full-length Gun for You in 1999. Olive departed in 2000 to join the Soledad Brothers, adopting the stage name Oliver Henry, while Eric Stein took over on guitar. With this revised lineup the band completed its second album, the Greenhornes, yet further shifts occurred ahead of 2002's Dual Mono as McKinney exited and Stein followed suit before year's end. Jack White of the White Stripes proved an important supporter, having produced a Greenhornes single in 2000; once the White Stripes' third album achieved unexpected success, White actively promoted the group, securing them a deal with V2 Records. V2 issued the East Grand Blues EP of fresh material and the retrospective compilation Sewed Soles in 2005. The previous year White enlisted Lawrence and Keeler for Van Leer Rose, his production effort for country legend Loretta Lynn. When White and Brendan Benson later formed the Raconteurs, they recruited Lawrence and Keeler as the rhythm section; that project released albums in 2006 and 2008 and toured widely. Lawrence also contributed to White's Dead Weather and performed with the Detroit alt-country outfit Blanche. Fox, Lawrence and Keeler revived the Greenhornes in 2010, entering the studio for the album **** on White's Third Man Records imprint and mounting a tour in support of its late-year release.