The boys wound up back in the northeast and formed an early,
more punk rock incarnation of the band as a three-piece with former drummer
Mikey Holland (Mean Creek). After
releasing one 7” and some east coast touring, the line-up evolved to include
Graham Stetler on drums and singer/guitar player Marc Valois. Valois showed up with a back catalog of
songs, thus beginning the dual-songwriter, trade-off lead vocals dynamic Movers
& Shakers employ today.
Larrabee is the band’s first proper release; A 12-song album
recorded in a secluded cabin in Maine that the band rented and converted to a
temporary recording studio. The
album was released in the fall of 2008 and was followed by a Boston Music
Awards nomination, local radio airplay and east coast touring, as
well as supporting the Gaslight Anthem
for their ’59 Sound release show.
In the winter of 2009, Stetler left
the band and the city of Boston, and Reid Calkin (formerly of Protokoll) took over on drums. Amy Griffin (formerly of Mighty Mighty Bosstones
side-project Avoid One Thing and
Boston legends Darkbuster and
the Raging Teens) also came on
board to take charge of the organ and piano that were becoming a more and
more essential part of Movers & Shakers' sound. With this line-up, the band regularly plays support for
up-and-coming acts, recently including: The Delta Spirit, The Black Lips, Reigning Sound and Those Darlins.
Movers & Shakers have also
established their own recording studio/rehearsal space called Starlab. Starlab regularly hosts DIY shows that
have attracted international artists as well as just about every notable Boston
area band. It is also where the
band spent the nine months from January to September 2011 writing and recording
their upcoming album National Harvester.
National Harvester is an 11-song, genre-spanning album that will be
self-released regionally on vinyl and digital download this November.