Gun Lake’s songs will haunt you. Heavy on both emotional and melodic hooks, this is indie-folk that sticks with you long after your first listen. The persistent bass drum of “June”, the swaying eerie waltz of “Trees”, or the harmonic beauty of the song “Stormy Country” will pull the listener into the world of Balfour, Gun Lake’s debut album. 

Songwriter Mark Fain formed Gun Lake in 2009 as an outlet for songs he composed during a time when his life was ripped apart and shocked into a new trajectory, and it shows. Since playing their first show in February of 2010, the band has set themselves apart from the typical revival-folk or alt country genre.

As one of the most arresting acts in the flourishing music scene of Southeast Michigan, Gun Lake has shared the stage with notable acts such as Gold Motel, Lord Huron and Chris Bathgate to name a few, in addition to recording a Daytrotter session and playing 3 shows for CMJ’s 2011 Music Marathon. 

Influenced by the Brit-rock he grew up on, as well as his love for classic folk music, Fain’s unique and evocative brand of folk rock is fleshed out with Ryan O’Reilly’s inventive electric guitar work as well as an often utilized lineup of his more musical friends. While Fain’s voice is always at the forefront, all other members lend their voices for awe-inspiring and flawlessly delivered harmonies.

Need another hit?

Gun Lake - http://www.gunlakemusic.com/

Groovebox Studios - https://vimeo.com/channels/gbsdetroit

More Fun With Numbers

More fun with numbers

Groovebox Studios has published 103 GBS Detroit videos over the last 18 months. In addition, we’ve published 32 successful Kickstarter Campaigns, each with their own video.

That averages to 1 major video shoot or release every other day.

Our 103 GBS Detroit Videos have seen over a quarter million plays by 73,200 unique viewers at www.gbsdetroit.com

We’ve recorded, produced, mixed and masted 652 songs.

That averages to just over 1 song per day.

We’ve had 1,106 Kickstarter backers who spent an average of $18 each on the live EPs and Videos Groovebox Studios created for independent artists.

We PAYED our 32 Kickstarter artists $20,329 to record and film their GBS Detroit live EPs, an average of $635 per artist.

We haven’t spent a dime on advertising or publicity. We operate on referrals, Tweets, Facebook posts and word of mouth.

Groovebox Studios Model

I recently saw an artist post this question on facebook. (Paraphrasing) “Why doesn’t anyone want to buy our CD? We worked very hard to make it”. You see, they had recently run a successful Kickstarter to fund and create this record (on their own, not thru GBS). But less than a year later, they found themselves sitting a fair amount of unsold CDs, seeing little to no interest in paid downloads and we’re openly contemplating just giving away the record on Bandcamp and starting over. (In effect, rendering the investment a good amount of enthusiastic Kickstarter backers gave them mute). I entered into a lengthy discussion with the artist trying to explain the concept of creating “Value” for your music. This isn’t simply a dollar amount, but rather a series of calculated decisions and patient resolve an artist must undertake that creates unique experiences and a deeper bond with your fans. This, in a nutshell is what Groovebox Studios/GBS Detroit does for our artists. We curate an environment and a set of circumstances that creates unique experiences for fans, a high quality product and as a result, a very high value for our artist’s music. 

Unfortunately, I was unable to convince that particular artist to see the light. You can now enjoy their very good, fan-funded record for free on Bandcamp. Sometimes, cold hard reality can be hard to hear when your so emotionally connected to the situation. But, you can always count on my business partner Jeff Wenzel and I to tell you like it is, even when what we have to say may be uncomfortable or unpopular. But, rest assured, our model is well researched and our advice comes from years of personal experience running an Indie band. The original article sourced here was a big inspiration for us adopting this mindset. Enjoy!