Ward (band)
Wardis a musical act based in Los Angeles. The band's sound is described as arena-wave, a reimagining of 80's new-wave and post-punk. The band was started in late 2016, by vocalist, author and tech entrepreneur Christopher Grant Ward, known by his nickname "Ward". The live group also includes guitarist Mauricio Munguia, drummer Ryan Dietzenbach, and bass player Chris Gongora.
Since starting, Ward has played over 95 shows[1] since forming including national and international music festivals, including being booked at Mexico's internationally acclaimed LIFA Music Festival [2], NAMM[3] 2020, SXSW, Echo Park Rising[4] and Mesa Music Festival.
In 2017, Ward's EP "The First Four" was released to wide critical acclaim, not the least of which was international music review magazine Music Connection called out the band's "sackful of quality, memorable new-wave songs that are certainly commercially viable in the current musical climate. Ward is a brand new group...they could easily be a genuine force. All of the elements are in place..."[4][5]
In 2018, Ward released three hit singles Crush, Soothe The Soul, and Stand Me, which catapulted Ward to new audiences and garnered over 100,000 content streams in the first six months. Ward's slow-paced "Stand Me" was produced in collaboration with A&R giant Don Grierson (music business), former A&R for Atlantic, Capitol and others, notable for work with The Beatles, Celine Dion and Heart. Grierson worked closely with Ward as a mentor, to develop his sound and career. UK music critics The Line of Best Fit praised Stand Me's "classic-sounding melancholy"[6] and Atwood Magazine described "Soothe The Soul" as "sublime splendor...an evocative voice and the lyrical chops to match, the future looks bright for Ward".[7] A driving and danceable hit, "Crush" was produced by White Star Sound / Chris Keup (worked with Jason Mraz & Sanders Bolkhe) and mixed by acclaimed mix engineer Darrell Thorp (Radiohead, Foster the People). The video and music for Crush were praised by Groundsounds as "a driving, fun, catchy-as-hell gem."[8] while LA-based Buzzbands touted it as "a cathartic missile aiming at blowing up those workaday blues" and added it to their "Top 100 songs of 2018".[9]
In addition to music, Christopher Grant Ward is also an accomplished creator of music & content technology, and has been centrally involved in startups and companies including Shutterstock, Topspin Media, Reverbnation, CHNL, Givegoods, and beatBread. Bassist Chris Gongora is also co-creator of TV-series Room 401. Former drummer Darren Edwards, played withDas Psycho Rangers touring UK, Asia and the United States extensively.
References
- ↑ "Ward". Bandsintown.
- ↑ "WARD – LIFA MÚSICA".
- ↑ "Ward". NAMM.org.
- ↑ "Ward's schedule for Echo Park Rising 2019". epr2019.sched.com.
- ↑ "Live Review: Ward at Trip in Santa Monica, CA - Music Connection". Music Connection Magazine. February 15, 2017.
- ↑ "Los Angeles-based Ward laments the difficulties of making art in the infinite space of "Stand Me"". The Line of Best Fit.
- ↑ "Premiere: The Solemn Surrender of Ward's "Soothe the Soul"". May 16, 2018.
- ↑ "PREMIERE: Ward – "Crush" {Video}". April 25, 2018.
- ↑ "Stream: Buzz Bands LA's Favorite 101 Songs of 2018". December 22, 2018.
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