Driftwood

The title track and first single from Driftwood's forthcoming spring 2024 album,

“December Last Call” is out everywhere 11/10. Penned by guitarist-songwriter

Joe Kollar, the track transports the listener to the middle of a rowdy, college

dive bar. “December’s a drinking song, so much so I don't remember writing it.”

After two years of starts and stops, a few pauses from Covid, one scrapped

attempt and lots of late nights in the studio, the upstate New York folksters

finally wrapped up recording sessions for “December Last Call” this Fall.

Recorded in the basement studio of Kollar's parents' upstate home, the album

concept was simple: Keep it organic. “We grew up making music in that

basement, after recording our last album with a well-known producer in an

out-of-town studio, it felt so right to be back down there, growing the tracks

from scratch on our own,” says guitarist-songwriter Dan Forsyth.

The album is due out in Spring 2024 and is definitely Driftwood's most

explorative effort yet. From full on, electric guitar-laden rock tracks to barren,

stripped down, acoustic ballads, the palette is big but the offerings are sincere

and purposeful. “These songs are a snapshot of us over the last few years. They

are a reflection on life, past, present and future. They portray a group of great

friends who have continued to evolve together and separately over more than 15

years,” says violinist Claire Byrne.

Formed by two high school friends bent on traveling the country playing folk

music together, Driftwood have turned into one of the hardest working, original

bands in the business.

In 2005, Forsyth and Kollar were ready for a side project. After playing in jam

rock bands throughout high school and college they were interested in

something new. Forsyth explains, “We were entranced with everything going on

in the folk world at the time, also I had moved out to Colorado for a bit and Joe

came to visit. We went to the Telluride Bluegrass Fest with some friends and our

lives were changed forever. When I moved home, we started jamming folk tunes

on the side and eventually we set out to learn how to play around one mic, put

together a set of original folk music and try to tour on it.” In 2008 they met

Byrne and started touring full time in 2009. In 2010 Bassist Joey Arcuri joined

and by then they were regularly hitting the East Coast club circuit. Drummer

Sam Fishman, a more recent addition, joined in 2021.

With three people sharing the vocal and songwriting duties, there are certainly

some disparate elements at play reminiscent of other well-known, multi-singer

bands. But it’s very apparent Driftwood have no interest in emulation; their

focus seems to be purely on creation.“I feel blessed to have 3 main

singer-songwriters in our band. It allows us to paint from a pretty big pallet and

also to challenge each other. Sometimes it can take a minute to make our styles

flow but really it’s been such a huge part of our growth as a band and as

individual writers.”

In 2019 the band had just released their 5th studio album, Tree of Shade when

Covid shut everything down. Byrne explains, “For the 10 years prior to the

shutdown, my life had revolved around Driftwood and life on the road. I wasn’t

only out of a job, but also having a bit of an identity crisis. I had just become a

mother and now my career was on hold for an indefinite amount of time. After

reality set in however, it became clear that we as a band needed this break. After

things started to open up, we started getting together and playing again. We

picked up right where we had left off as friends and as co-workers. The songs

and musicianship had evolved and mature and so had we. We began work on a

new album, “December, Last Call.” These songs are a snapshot of us over the

last few years. They are a reflection on life, past, present and future. They

portray a group of great friends who have continued to evolve together and

separately over more than 15 years.”

"I'm struck by the gratitude that making music with my best friends/my other

family brings," says Kollar. “Laying out some of your most intimate moments

and showing the rawest version of yourself is both scary and exhilarating but

more importantly, it reminds you why you chose music as the vehicle. It's the

'66 Corvette that will always take me back to the beauty and power of a group of

people setting out to make something together.”

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