Shreveport band Seratones has been making a lot of noise around town in the last year.
After front woman AJ Haynes, guitarist Connor Davis, and drummer Jesse Gabriel won 2013’s LA Music Prize, the group was awarded the chance to record at local Blade Studios. The group added Adam Davis to fill the role of bass player, donned the name Seratones, and hit the studio.
Now, Seratones have just signed a three-record deal with Oxford Mississippi’s Fat Possum Records, the label responsible for break-out records by The Black Keys (“Thickfreakness,” 2003, and “Rubber Factory,” 2004). Fat Possum’s cache also boasts records by artists such as Iggy and the Stooges, Al Green, R.L. Burnside, Townes Van Zant, and Andrew Bird.
“It’s exciting because Fat Possum is not afraid to take risks as a label. They’re always pushing for innovative music,” says singer AJ Haynes. “Even though there are so many different sounds and genres [on the label], they’re all really interesting and daring and they like to explore.”
Seratones has played a number of shows locally since recording at Blade Studios; including opening for Reverend Horton Heat and Lee Fields at Bear’s on Fairfield, and a number of other big shows. While the buzz around the band has been substantial, the group has kept their heads low while they made moves to reach an audience outside of Shreveport.
The Oxford blues-men caught wind of Seratones after a show at Maxine’s Live in Hot Springs, the group’s first gig out of Shreveport. The show was set up by Hot Springs band Ghost Bones and included Oxford band NERVS. NERVS singer Deg Ronilo just so happened to work at the Fat Possum warehouse, and two weeks later Seratones were in Oxford playing a show in front of the label and that was pretty much that.
The band plans to take their show on the road as they embark on their new journey. They will take the stage at Bear’s again on March 21st. “I really like to be an ambassador for our (Shreveport) scene,” says Haynes, “and just spread rock and roll throughout the world.”
While we still don’t know when we will get a full length release from Seratones, they do have a few singles from the Blade Studios recording out now including the track “Don’t Need It.” They also have submitted a video for the song “Kingdom Come” to the NPR Tiny Desk Concert Contest in hopes of getting the chance to cram behind that iconic desk in the footsteps of greats.
Check out the single and the video, and be on the lookout for more on Seratones from Heliopolis.
Photo by Sarah Lyles.