Discography: “Exchanging Gifts” (2007), “Hail Cannon” (2009)

Biography: After spending a few years playing drums in several different San Francisco bands, Robin Eckman moved back to his hometown of Annapolis, Md. , in 2005. He looked up former high school friend and compatriot Jim Cullen and they began working out riffs which would form the framework of the first Elder Statesmen album, Exchanging Gifts. Jim recruited fellow co-worker and guitarist/vocalist Pat Wescott while the two were working together at the Paul Reed Smith guitar factory in Stevensville, MD. Thorougly impressed by demos of Jim and Rob’s frenetic , technical style, Pat told Jim, “This stuff is awesome but I’m not a metal guy.” Jim replied, “We’re not looking for a metal guy.” Pat added his indie-rock pop sauce and in just a few short weeks, they recorded an EP which would later bloom into a full release. They began playing explosive shows throughout the mid-Atlantic region. Exchanging Gifts received accolades from American Songwriter magazine, as well as several prominent online blogs.
In 2007, Pat moved to Philadelphia and Robin moved to Baltimore, but as they say, the band played on….and spent a lot of money on gas. They tri-homed themselves in Philadelphia, Baltimore and Annapolis and continued to practice in Delaware, while still slowly building a following in each respective city by continuing to play high energy, premium shows. After spending many weekends in Jim’s brother Ryan’s studio, they finished their next release, Hail Cannon in January of 2009. Full of experimentation (pots, pans, backwards sound effects) and sonic textures (samples, old pianos, acoustic guitar) the Statesmen combined the thunderous rhythm section of their first release with pop hooks, hand claps and harmonies to produce an album that they simply find hard to describe. Check out for yourself-for a limited time, they are offering the entire Hail Cannon album as a free download on their website, www.elderstatesmen.net

Media:

American Songwriter Magazine (2007) – “Occasionaly an album is really good enough to drive your imagination away from the iTunes display and straight to the possibilities of the stage…the Statesmen triumph in the tradition of forefathers Shudder to Think, Jane’s Addiction and (oddly) Steely Dan with a shockingly addictive mix of pop melody and explosive performance.”

Onlinerock.com (2007) – “The easiest thematic comparison is probably to Modest Mouse's more discordant (yet still melodic) offerings, yet repeated listening here offer up many more worthy comparisons; influences as varied as King Crimson, Primus, Sleepytime Gorilla Museum, XTC and Jane's Addiction come through clearer and clearer the more you sink your teeth into this meaty piece of music.”

Prognaut.com (2007) –“ I just can't get enough of Elder Statesmen, they satisfy two things I love about music…. Memorable melodies and complex song structures. In many ways they do more in short, more concise songs than some of the bands that force out 20 plus minute epics.”

Philadelphia Weekly (2009) – “Elder Statesmen’s sophomore album Hail Cannon combines those disparate influences into 37 minutes of crunchy riffs, epic choruses and thoughtful, personal lyrics. Songs are alternately tight and meandering, resulting in alt-rock anthems punctuated by loose, psychedelic hazes and thrashing drum beats.”

Elder Statesmen:

Robin Eckman – Drums
Jim Cullen – Bass, Vocals
Pat Wescott – Guitar, Vocals

	Skin and Bone		Alternative Pop Rock
	Windy Way		Alternative Pop Rock

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