Rock and Roll matters. All of it. At least to Parklife. The band sounds like a radio station programmed by guys who know that Johnny Cash is more punk rock than Blink 182. Parklife fuses U2, Wilco, Supergrass and Kerouac to create its relentlessly engaging sound, and plays every note with a reckless abandon that reveals a band desperately clinging to the belief that popular music should be more about communal experience than test marketing. Parklife formed in 2002 when longtime friends Rob Clay and Sam Clowney took a few days off from their constant touring with other bands (Clay was playing bass with Mercury recording artist Cravin' Melon and Capitol's Evan & Jaron; Clowney was honing his powerful ethereal guitar sound with Mercury recording artist The Veldt) to jam on some new songs the two had been writing. Drawn to the fire of pursuing their own sounds and ideas, Clay and Clowney dropped their sideman gigs, brought good friend and former Connells drummer Peele Wimberley on board, and committed full time to Parklife. The young band's relentlessly energetic delivery of its unique, genre-bending sound at an early show grabbed the attention of Grammy-nominated producer John Custer (DAG, Corrosion of Conformity, Chris Whitley), who immediately took the band into Raleigh's fabled JAG Studios to record Parklife's debut EP, “Lonely Eyes and Amsterdam.” From the driving, melodic rock of "Butterflies and Hurricanes" to the lush sonic landscapes of "San Jacinto", "Amsterdam's" four songs captured on record the bold sound the band had been developing in its live shows: Clay's engaging, honest vocals; soaring guitars seamlessly blending and updating Hendrix, U2, the Cocteau Twins, Miles Davis, Wilco and Sonic Youth; powerful, melodic bass lines owing as much to Mingus as McCartney, John Paul Jones and Joy Division; and compelling songwriting that hinted at what the Replacements might have sounded like had Westerberg grown up in 1980's Manchester rather than 1970's Minnesota. Parklife's compelling songs and explosive live show quickly earned the band an enthusiastic and growing fan base, support slots with Wilco, Better Than Ezra and Seven Mary Three, and critical acclaim, including highly complimentary mentions in A&R tip sheets DemoDiaries and Kings of A&R. Having sold out the initial pressing of "Amsterdam" through constant touring and Internet distribution channels such as CDBaby, Parklife set up shop in the summer of 2003 in Mitch Easter's (R.E.M., Pavement, Let's Active) famed Fidelitorium and Low Watt studio in Raleigh to record what would become the band's full length debut, "Songs From the Imperial Hotel." During the "Amsterdam" tour, Wimberley had moved to Los Angeles to pursue his love of electronic music, so Parklife enlisted the wide-ranging talents of drummer Jason Bone to help push the band's sound in new directions on the record. On "Imperial Hotel", the band turns the melodic Brit-rock of "Amsterdam" on its head, pushing the sonic boundaries, deconstructing and rebuilding songs, exploring quiet subtleties as well as bombast singalong choruses, and just generally liberating the music. The album's opening track "Memphis" explores longing through two minutes of Gram Parsons-influenced acoustic folk which builds into a crescendo of feedback and pounding drums that echo the struggle to find a sense of self and place in a chaotic modern world. From there the band moves directly into the strutting pop of the album's first single "Someday Lovesong", a melodic rave up whose darkly seductive verses give way to a stomping chorus that is less about answers and resolution than reveling in the sheer joy of rock and roll. And ultimately rock and roll is what "Songs From the Imperial Hotel" is all about. Not 90's or 60's or any hyphenated rock, but rock and roll in all its glorious rebellions and ambitions. The members of Parklife grew up hearing R.E.M alongside Led Zeppelin, the Smiths back to back with Dylan, U2 and the Beatles, Public Enemy and Nina Simone, so it is only fitting that the band make records that sound like everything and nothing you've ever heard all at once. "Blown Away" and "Down So Low" launch effortlessly from Hendrix riffs to Catherine Wheel choruses, "Gonna Save the World Tomorrow" channels Radiohead, Oasis and Pink Floyd, and "President's War" takes the Flaming Lips to a Ziggy Stardust show. On "Imperial Hotel", Parklife evolves as a band not by abandoning its influences but by absorbing and refining them into a unique, twenty-first century rock and roll sound. Parklife is currently on the road playing shows to support its release of the "Someday Lovesong" EP, a three-song sampler from "Songs from the Imperial Hotel,” which is currently scheduled for an early 2005 release. Check out the latest news and dates at http://www.parklifeband.com/. Parklife is… Rob Clay - bass, lead vocals Sam Clowney - guitars, vocals Jason Bone - drums Recent Parklife Press: Parklife – music worth leaving the house for! This bustling Britpop trio from Raleigh is preparing to release their debut full-length, Songs from the Imperial Hotel. Like the band's namesake (taken from the title of an early Blur album), Parklife favors bright, melodic rock with bits of sonic swirl and anthemic punch. -CP Independent Weekly "Songs from the Imperial Hotel is the newest recording by North Carolina rock band Parklife. Think ethereal, instantly catchy power pop. Think Brit-rock, yeah, you know the good kind with a moody flair and a singer that becomes the song and the guitars lift you up and drop you off at a junction of bliss and contentment. There aren’t any weak tracks on the 10-song collection and it's obvious the band has evolved a confident vibe. There’s a touch of U2, the energy of punk, literate lyrics and even a shade of some of the perkier Beatles stuff. Folks in radioland best pay attention, toss that generic flavor-of-the-month crap, and lock onto Parklife. The world will be a better place for it." Samir Shukla – Creative Loafing, Charlotte, NC "What a joy it must be to be a Raleigh guitar popper in Parklife, who…have made what amounts to one of the catchiest, most driving, influences-on-the-sleeve records to emerge from the Triangle in years. The dreamy "President's War" brings the space oddity of Bowie back from orbit, while the polished hook of "Someday Lovesong" and other assorted gems unearthed here swell, sway and stick, revealing a band beginning to bear the burden of its weighty Britpop brand name." --Grayson Currin, Independent Weekly "The name is recognizable as the title of Blur's 1994 opus, and the correlation sticks: Parklife makes British influenced rock driven by a pop fondness for chorus and solo memorabilia. Lonely Eyes and Amsterdam nailed the formula, but expect a rougher, homier feel for their to-be-released Songs from the Imperial Hotel, recorded at Mitch Easter's Fidelitorium." – Independent Weekly SIMILAR 2: Queen, The Stone Roses, Echo and The Bunnymen "Parklife, a classic rock-inspired trio that has been denied its due for much too long (thanks, in part, to the collapse of Mammoth Records and the rise of local corporate radio) despite playing some of the most ambitious and engaging melodies in town." -Rick Cornell, Independent Weekly "...once in a while a band emerges from the GigAmerica "demo pile" that makes everyone in the office sit bolt-upright and take notice. That's exactly what happened with the Parklife EP. Excellent songs, strong hooks, riveting performances pepper this disc from start to finish." www.gigamerica.com "Parklife coax guitars into soaring, moody hard pop while the vocals bring a heady rush to neck muscles. Their new EP, Lonely Eyes and Amsterdam, is ready for the stores and, with cuts like "Butterflies and Hurricanes," they are set to invade radio faster than you can blink your eyes." Samir Shukla, Creative Loafing magazine