Garden Home Joins the “Riff Mafia” at Thumbs Up Records
Post-hardcore band Garden Home has signed up with Wisconsin/Minnesota-based Thumbs Up Records (TUR), the label announced on Monday. The band’s social media page added the possibility of a future full-length album and confirmed they will release a new song on Friday.
The band was “beyond stoked” to get on board with TUR and felt they were joining forces at the “perfect time,” bass player Mitch Pratt told Breaking and Entering. Other Wisconsin bands on TUR’s roster include Oshkosh-based Tiny Voices, Milwaukee-based Honey Creek and Appleton-based Nosebleeds.
“We’ve come a long way and this is something we have been working toward for years and to join an up and coming label with so many other great bands is an incredible honor. I feel like we are joining forces with the Thumbs Up team at the perfect time,” Pratt added.
Thumbs Up Records owner Brady Laflen approached the band about partnering up during a gig at the Nottingham Cooperative in Madison, according to guitarist and vocalist Dylan Mazurkiewicz.
“(Laflen) was front and center vibing to every band the whole night and are like that at every show I’ve seen them at since that night. It’s really cool to see a label owner so supportive of everyone playing that night, regardless of their affiliation to the label or not. That really stood out to me, personally,” drummer John Doyle told Breaking and Entering.
But what about that full length? Mazurkiewicz says it’s still being written. The band had mulled over the idea for at least a year now, he added.
“We would love to have another single out by the end of the year or early next year at the latest. The full length is still being written, but we would also love to have that out in early 2024 too. We feel confident we’re already sitting on some exciting tracks,” Mazurkiewicz added.
The band’s goal is to ride out its schedule of summer concerts and then slow down so it can finish writing its full length, lead guitar player Mike Holloway said. Being signed to a label now, the band can no longer slack off on writing and “buckle down” on songwriting to create something “worthy of being in the Thumbs Up Record library,” he added.
The band expects one more single and music video out before recording an album, Holloway added. On their Twitter page, Garden Home shared that another song would be out on Friday.
Members of the band said listeners should stay tuned for bigger shows and hopes more will connect.
“Ultimately we want to make ourselves and the label proud. It’s been a long time coming, and we are thrilled to have the chance to make some noise. We’re extremely grateful,” Doyle said.
The signing news comes out as Honey Creek, another Milwaukee band on Thumbs Up Records, released their latest single “iQuit” on all platforms.
