Win Win Winter: Win Win Winter heats up
By Julie Garisto

Win Win Winter and the phrase “best new band” often appeared in the same sentence this past year.
The acclaim happened overnight — sort of.

When singer-songwriter-founder Tommy Simms started playing solo in late 2006/early 2007, there were signs of promise, but his self-titled act lacked focus.

Simms changed the name to Win Win Winter and a sudden transformation took place, like when the Bucs switched from Bucco Bruce orange to crimson and pewter. Soon after, the lineup solidified with longtime friends Josh Greenberg on keyboards, Alan Relkin on guitar, Brian Schanck on bass and Matt Bennett on drums.

Word of mouth spread, the local press praised them, they booked more and more shows and landed a spot on burgeoning indie label 24 Hour Service Station, which released their current six-song EP, A Brief History of ....

One of the major components of Win Win Winter’s strategy: Simms’ knack for interweaving the tried-and-true elements of pop with the less predictable chord progressions of jazz and progressive rock. He also writes evocative, empathic lyrics and sings them succinctly. He can snag a hook just right and hit you later with a snazzy breakdown.

WWW’s most popular songs, New Accents and Doves and Uppercuts, infiltrate your brain like tunes you’ve heard a million times on the radio, minus that not-so-fresh feeling.

“Tommy’s songs always have something that grabs your attention and commands it,” Greenberg said. “He is also very open to collaboration, which prevents his music from becoming too much of a vanity project. He is consistently reaching for new ideas and isn’t afraid to work and work at it if it’s not working out, which is another aspect of his strength as a songwriter: patience.”

Simms couldn’t do it alone. The guys, who vary in age — Schanck is the youngest at 21, and Greenberg the oldest at 27 — are just as solid. They provide much-needed creativity and texture and widely contrasting musical backgrounds — Greenberg and Relkin from Mants, Schanck from the Same and Bennett from various punk bands.

They’re all friendly jokesters onstage and off, even going so far as to insert a hidden gag on the inside of their CD sleeve: the simple phrase, “Gay Wizards Three.”

“We came up with it on tour while playing Mad Libs,” Greenberg says. The three words, he explained, were part of a revamped nursery rhyme:
“Old King Cole was a busted old soul / A shriveled old soul was he/ He called for his grandma/ He called for his postal employee/ And he called for his gay wizards three.”

Win Win Winter

Lineup:
Tommy Simms (vocals)
Josh Greenberg (keyboards)
Alan Relkin (guitar)
Brian Schanck (bass)
Matt Bennett (drums)

History : Ghosts in the City

24 Hour Service Station

Offering another flavor into the already bountiful Orlando music mixture, History delivers with a sound that has its feet planted firmly in the mid '90s post-punk past. Their debut, Ghosts in the City, may take multiple listens to hold tight, but once inside the ear the layers of noise offer nostalgia to those of us who remember bands like Fugazi, Superchunk, and Helmet. For those of a younger age, they will -- with any luck -- open up new ears to old times.

The dual vocals of Matt Caron and Melissa Parker are as pleasant a pairing as Frank Black and Kim Deal were. Where Caron is frantic and full of nervous anxiety, Parker is a like a smooth milkshake.

Where this Florida band stems off from the otherwise post-punk influence is in the slightly electronic base coat brought on board by the inclusion of a moog keyboard, and the occasional experimental instrumental breaks.

Songs to start with: "Brake Through Hour Wall Sew We Can Sea Where the Rats Arrgh," "Bloody Death of Murder," "It's Ladies Night Somewhere," and "Horn of the Unicorn."

History: www.historyband.com

HISTORY "Ghosts In The City" (24 Hour Service Station)
Review by Corey Schmidt

When you name your band HISTORY, you either don't care about getting web-hits from Google, have a lot of confidence that your music will live up to the title, or know a good lawyer who will defend you in your copyright trial once said band makes a name for itself. In the case of Orlando, Florida's HISTORY, I have no idea if any of the above cases are true, but I do know that their debut full-length is a pretty rocking slab of keyboard-infused post-hardcore. Angular guitars, shifty rhythms, and throaty vocals form the band's propulsive foundation, allowing much room for Moogist Scott Ososky and keyboardist Melissa Parker to make a mark. Although subtle in many songs ("BMK & The Valley Of Bats"), this small addition really adds a lot to the band's already aggressive aural attack. It's a sound that we've heard before from a band like CLAIR DE LUNE, but here it's done in an even more raw, rigged, and unique form. While these traits are definitely appreciated, there are times where the guitarists get to play with melodies a bit more, and the result is a song like "She Spit In My Cup" where some parallels to THURSDAY can be heard. For the most part, Ghosts In The City has just enough diversity between songs to make for an interesting forty-minute listen. HISTORY still might need those Google results and a copyright lawyer down the road, but if it comes to that they may already be paving their own path in a historically-significant genre.

www.24hourservicestation.com

History: Ghosts In The City

Ghosts In The City didn’t really hit me til I put the reliable ole headphones on. As the opener bleeds into the second track, it dawned upon me. History are mining some awesome territory here. The band brings to mind the frantic nature of Shelby Cinca’s bands (Frodus and Decahedron to be exact). There has always been something almost mathematical about Cinca’s projects and History echoes those sentiments. The band also remind me of one of my favorite underrated bands of all time in Clair De Lune. I could just end the review right there and recommend but I’ll indulge you instead. History practice a certain controlled chaos that strikes a chord somewhere firmly between melody and aggression. The band might be from the sunny confines of Orlando, Florida but the dark atmospheres that surrounds the band’s songs tend to contradict. A few things stand out which separate History from their peers. The addition of the keyboard is a new element to bands mining this territory. Never overpowering, the keys are only used to accentuate the band’s arrangements. Also, the addition of female vocals make their first of numerous appearances on the strong “Horn Of The Unicorn.” That element adds a different dynamic to the band’s already ambitious sound. History are calculating and cunning in their compositions. The band seemingly lulls the listener into a state of complacency only to bludgeon them over the head repeatedly…but only in a good way of course. History do suffer a bit from the “sameness” aspect and the vocals feel a bit strained at times. But, other than those minor complaints, Ghosts In The City is a hell of a debut from a band flaunting some serious potential.

Genre: Post-Hardcore/Rock

RIYL: Engine Down, Jawbox, Shiner

Win Win Winter “A Brief History of…” [EP]

From the streets of Tampa Bay comes the exciting new band Win Win Winter and their phenomenal EP “A Brief History of…” [audio.16].  This 5-piece is comprised of Thomas Simms [vocals, songwriter, guitar, and bass], Alan Relkin [guitar], Joshua Greenberg [guitar, piano, synth, and yes, xylophone], Brian Schanck [guitar, bass, and synth], and Matthew Bennett [drums].  The EP is more than just the sum of its parts, however.  These youngsters display some fantastic songwriting skills and expert musicianship that help create the illusion that they’ve been around for a lifetime.  In fact, they’ve only been together for about a year and were initially formed from the ashes of a Thomas Simms solo project.  When the solo gig didn’t pan out, Simms reached out to his longtime friends and got them to join together in a band.  It wasn’t long before things started to click.  Innocent bystanders were quickly converted into loyal fans, the press showered them with nothing but praise, and things just started to snowball beyond all initial expectations.  Eventually, they signed with Tampa’s 24 Hour Service Station and “Brief History” was released on March 18th.  And with the five songs they’ve chosen for this EP, Win Win Winter is clearly a band with a bright and promising future.  Their influences are diverse:  Beck, the Beatles, Wilco, Pink Floyd, My Morning Jacket, and even DC post-punk.  Most musicians and fans can site any number of influences and favorites, though.  In the long run, how meaningful is it all?  The true test is how a band pulls these influences together and gets something that rises above.  Something new.  Something fresh.  Something that doesn’t just fade into the background as soon as it’s done.  Win Win Winter have admirably succeeded where countless others have failed.  The proof’s all there in the EP.  It’s only five songs but what an impact they’ll have once you give a listen.  “Baker Ave.” starts it off with a bouncy blues riff that immediately grabs your attention and holds it.  “We Came From Stereos” takes things down a notch into pop/rock territory.  The magnum opus of “Brief History,” though, is the devastating and haunting “Doves & Uppercuts.”  It’s a song about a family dealing with the tragic loss of one of their young sons.  Your basic acoustic/slide guitar tandem together with Simms’ hissed vocals deliver the blows that leave you shaken.  You really do feel this family’s loss.  With each song, Win Win Winter demonstrates they’re a capable band that can only get better with age and experience and will fully placate any cynical ear looking for something new. 

5 points:

1. WWW has opened for Dresden Dolls, Travis Morrison, Minus the Bear, Dr Dog, and Mates of State among numerous others.
2. They’ve garnered plenty of critical acclaim and have recently won Tampa’s “Best of the Bay” award.
3. 24 Hour Service Station is label that has yet to miss.  WWW label mates include the oh so politically incorrect Car Bomb Driver [audio.14] as well as the terrific History [audio.15].
4. For more details visit www.24hourservicestation.com
5. For EVEN more details visit www.myspace.com/winwinwinter

--Greg Harris / grehar@aent.com