Prolific San Antonio-based songwriter currently
working on follow-up to “Bribing Jace,” his fourth EP, in addition to three LPs,
in three years.
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Jared Putnam of The March Divide channels Robert Smith of
The Cure. Photo: John Glover. Art: Krist
Krueger.
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The March Divide launches a series of 80’s
cover songs with “Closedown” by The Cure. Hear it via Verbicide
or the links below!
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The March Divide – In The Press
“Impressively hooky.” — American Songwriter
“Catchy hooks and memorable lines.” — Innocent Words
“A lovely surprise.” — Independent Clauses
“His work is uniformly intimate and thoroughly
emotional.” — Nooga
“Big Star-informed,
strummy acoustic reverie.” — BLURT
“Completely clever.” — Performer
“Gifted with a serious set of pipes.” — The Aquarian
“Quality pop at its best.” — Popdose
“All about lyrics and melodies.” — Babysue
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“I have an ongoing project, to record
every song off of Disintegration.” –
Jared Putnam, The March Divide
San Antonio-based songwriter, Jared Putnam, leader of the sometimes more, but usually one-man
pop-rock band, The March Divide, is
a prolific songwriter (three albums and four EPs worth over the last few
years), but he’s also a studio hound, in general, who loves to be there recording.
As Putnam
preps songs for a new album, he has been having some fun recording cover
versions of songs that have inspired him, some that are beloved hits, and some
that are both. Most of all, they are songs he grew up with.
“I feel like these are the songs that introduced me to
music, around the age that I started to care,” he says.
Working with engineer Mike Major (At The Drive-In,
Coheed and Cambria), who also plays
keys on the majority of the tracks and has been working with Putnam for years, was a comfortable
environment in which to have a good time with these tunes.
Artists including The
Cure, The Bangles, Willie Nelson, Culture Club, and ‘Til
Tuesday get a treatment from Putnam
that isn’t ironic, but truly interpretive in the best way, as he takes his
style and applies it with the thoughtful touch that makes it clear why we love
these songs, and why he does, too.
“People might write this off as a rehash, but that
honestly didn’t even occur to me until I was finished recording. For me, these
songs are endearing. I was a little kid and these songs were on MTV. Everyone loves something about
these songs.”
Adding to the fun, graphic designer Krist Krueger has taken Putnam’s image and created “covers for
the covers,” with each song accompanied by Warholian
art depicting Putnam wearing the
iconic hairstyle of the artist he’s paying tribute to.
The first track to be released is “Closedown” by The Cure, featuring Mr. Robert
Smith’s legendary coif on the jacket.
“That album fits so well in the era it’s from. It defined
it. The songs are timeless,” Putnam
says.
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Hear “That Song I Wrote For You” via
Atwood Magazine and see the video via Impose or at the links below!
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“Bittersweet beauty.” — Impose
“Putnam’s
lyrics are immediately relatable.” — Atwood
Magazine
“There’s an untapped type of pop music that I’ve been
on a quest to make,” Putnam says,
explaining the sound of “Bribing Jace,”
he latest EP of originals (following three albums, and another three EPs over
the last three years.) “Not redefined, just redesigned,” Putnam continues. “While I’ve never really been willing to
sacrifice a song to an experiment, I went as close to all-in as I could this
time. Chasing this white whale was a lot of fun!”
“Bribing Jace” contains three songs recorded during the sessions for
Saturdays,
the current full-length by The March
Divide, which Putnam loved, but
felt didn’t quite fit the feel of the album. The EP is rounded out by two
brand-new tracks, including
the single, “That Song I Wrote For
You.”
“I don’t typically write my songs in one sitting, but
I love it when I do,” Putnam says of
the tune. “I wrote it all at once, in a Harlingen, TX hotel room. Lyrically, it’s
just about moving on.”
While the core of “That
Song I Wrote For You” is folk-based, Putnam
explains that he approached the production with pop in mind.
“When I demo my songs, I record all the percussion by
slapping my merch tub with a sock on my hand,” he says, giving us a peek behind
the curtain. After hearing the demo, Putnam’s
producer picked up on the pop cues immediately. “He told me, ‘I’ve got this Katy Perry kick drum sample that’ll
really bring it home!’ I never thought I’d share anything with Katy Perry, but we’re both getting all
we can out of that kick drum sound,” Putnam
jokes.
Of the music video for the
track, Putnam says, "What I
like most about the video for it is that we were able to make it at all.
Because of my tour schedule, I had given up on it, but we had a show cancel,
and that gave us a day off in El Paso, where I’m originally from. While driving
to Houston for our next show, we shot the video at Dave’s Pawn Shop, a famously eclectic and interesting place in
downtown El Paso."
Jared Putnam is available for interviews. Contact Josh Bloom at
Fanatic for more information.
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The March Divide – “Bribing Jace” EP
(S/R – Out Now)
Track Listing:
02. It’s Easy
03. Here I Go Again
04. Push My Luck
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The March Divide Links
ASSETS (COVERS)
: ASSETS (EP)
: WEBSITE : FACEBOOK : TWITTER : YOUTUBE : INSTAGRAM : TUMBLR
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Contact Josh Bloom at Fanatic Promotion
