It’s not often that a group of still-teenaged gentlemen form a band and all bear their father’s name. But that’s exactly the case with the appropriately titled Atlanta, Georgia group, Namesake. In addition to their “name” connection, all share a knack for penning hard-edged, highly melodic pop tunes, as evidenced by their soon to be released Imagen Records debut album, ‘Borders & Fences,’ and such song as “Worlds Away” (the album’s first single), “Saturday,” “A Million Good Reasons,” and the title track – Border & Fences. “The group formed in our last year in high school,” explains singer Will Crafton. With the addition of JT O’ Neill we were able to complete the team and set forward into the world.” “Namesake really caught our attention over at Imagen,” says Imagen Records President Bob Winegard. “They had great things going and a talent that’s rare to find in kids their age. We knew we would be able to do great things together. Renowned producer James Paul Wisner (Paramore, Underoath, and New Found Glory) was brought in to create the debut full-length. “I got his number from his production website and was lucky enough to talk to him personally,” recalls Crafton. “We talked for a while and I sent him an acoustic demo of a song that would later be one of the songs chosen to record on our album titled ‘Saturday.’ He loved the track and was eager to get started immediately. We had a great chemistry the whole time we were working together.” Recently, Namesake filmed videos for “Worlds Away” (directed by Steven Nathan) and “Borders & Fences,” and Crafton recalls both as amazing experiences for him and his band. “I feel like these videos help bring the songs to life. It lets the listener see a whole different side to the band, as well. We are fun guys who laugh and joke around about everything – stuff like this makes that known.” It turns out the singer has specific favorite memories of the “Worlds Away” video shoot. “Shooting ‘Worlds Away’ was wild. I mean, it’s everything you could want in a video – rock music, cute Asian girls, and pizza. I think that’s the trifecta right there!” And lastly, what does Crafton see in Namesake’s future? “We want to get to the status to where if you walk into a room packed with people and someone yells ‘Namesake,’ at least one person will recognize the name. Well…that and world domination. But that can wait!” As evidenced by ‘Borders & Fences,’ Namesake is well on their way to obtaining the latter. Namesake is: Will Crafton – vocals Brad Wagner – guitar JT O’Neill – guitar Seth Van Dusen – bass Kevin Nordeste – drums www.namesakerock.com www.facebook.com/Namesakerock/ twitter.com/namesakerock
