As many of you may recall, a little band named OneRepublic played at Biola some time ago. After receiving this “Biola Bump,” if you will, they went on to blow up into the mainstream. Combine that with indie critical darlings Cold War Kids, composed of former Biola students, and an unavoidable question emerges: Who will be the next band to ride the coat tails of Biola and make it big?
Meet The Myriad.
The openers of the Switchfoot show Sunday night, The Myriad has already toured with the likes of As Tall as Lions, David Crowder Band, Lovedrug, mewithoutYou, Mute Math and recently wrapped a handful of dates with Third Day. With a sound akin to European bands like Radiohead and Muse, they were recently crowned MTV2’s “Breakout Band of the Year,” while their sophomore effort With Arrows, With Poise is poised to impact stores on May 13.
The band, including vocalist/guitarist Jeremy Edwardson, bassist John Roger Schofield, guitarist/keyboardist Steven Tracy, guitarist Jonathan Young and drummer Randy Miller, formed five years ago in Seattle. After playing an unsigned showcase at Illinois’ Cornerstone Festival, they attracted the attention of Tim Taber, founder of Floodgate Records, and two months later had their first record deal. Their debut album You Can’t Trust a Ladder was released in summer 2005.
When it was time for the follow-up, the band found itself in between labels, unsure of where things were heading. As a reflection of the members’ states of mind, they settled upon the album title With Arrows, With Poise before any of the songs were written.
“Archery seemed like the perfect theme for what we were going through,” Edwardson told The Chimes last week. “We read up on archery, and it’s like the great archers would have to shoot between heartbeats and between breaths. It seemed like what we needed to do in order to write this album was just to gain poise in the midst of a chaotic time, and focus and put all of our energy into these songs.”
The band spent the next year working on the record and eventually found a new home with Koch Records, an independent label known more for their rap artists, like Snoop Dogg, than for rock. The signing also opened up many doors, including the chance to finish their album in Berlin and master it at the infamous Abbey Road Studios in London. However, the biggest surprise turned out to be winning the MTV2 award.
“We got a call from a friend last summer, and they said we should put a photo and a song up on this web site called the Fuse Circuit Breaker,” Edwardson said. “Then we got this call from MTV, and they said they had chosen us out of over 4,000 bands to be involved in this sort of search for the next breakout band. It was a total shock to us because we really didn’t know it was a contest. We just thought it was another online profile.”
After being named one of the 12 nominees, the contest was turned over to fans, who voted them into the final three. The group was then flown out to perform a special concert in Times Square, where they were announced as the winners.
“It was totally crazy and out of the blue,” Edwardson summed up, adding that as a result of their win, MTV will promote the band across their networks throughout the year. This will include the debut of the music video for first single “A Clean Shot,” which the band was scheduled to shoot this week.
Edwardson, who was excited by its unique concept, described it as a “very quirky video that seemed like a total risk but a risk worth taking.” Interestingly, it will be directed by Josh Forbes, a Biola graduate (another sign of the “Bump”), who is coming off the sparkling video for Sara Bareilles’ smash hit “Love Song.”
If the “risk” pays off, it will be another indication of how difficult it is to define The Myriad, which is further evidenced by their lyrical content.
“We’re not so super cut and dry. We like to tell stories through our music,” Edwardson said. “You try to impact and move people’s hearts to God and to hope and to love, and hit home with them on things like disappointment and searching and longing.”
However, the band doesn’t limit itself to Christian listeners and would like to transcend to any audience.
“I always think of Christian bands as sort of writing music for Christians, whether it be like motivational Christian themes or worship music,” Edwardson explained. “We don’t really do that. We write music for everybody. We’ve always been sort of a club band, but we love God and going out with guys like David Crowder are just amazing opportunities that we’re always up for taking. Our whole thing is writing music for the world, and hopefully it’ll connect with people wherever they’re at.”
With the new album’s release approaching, the band will soon hit the road full time, providing main support for Eisley’s two-month spring tour. With things progressing at their current rate, it seems as though the band’s hard work has finally paid off.
“This record is something we’ve been dreaming about for the last couple years,” Edwardson said. “We’ve been sitting on this record for so long. We’re just really excited to finally be getting it out to everybody.”
For additional information, visit www.themyriad.net. With Arrows, With Poise hits stores and online retailers May 13.
