Local Indie Rockers Grovewood to Play CD Release Show at the Five O’Clock Lounge

A few years back when He-Chaw Funk singer Chris Bishop moved out of town, the other guys in the band — bassist Matt Rusincovitch, drummer Ryan Bilikam and guitarist Sasha A. Kostadinov — got together at the Grovewood Tavern to discuss their future plans and meet their current singer Gillian Freed, who was tending bar at the time.

Rusincovitch wanted to switch to guitar and keys, so the band recruited local Ben Schwartz to play bass. And thus, the local rock act Grovewood was born.

The band has just recorded its first album, In the Sun. It can be streamed for free or downloaded for $5 at grovewood.bandcamp.com/releases.
Rusincovich produced, engineered and mixed the album. The locally based Cauliflower Studios did the mastering.

“Unlike past projects that I’ve been in, all of the tracks in this album were written collaboratively by the band and each band member contributed something,” says Kostadinov in a press release. “Working together can be more complicated, but many of the tracks resulted in something better than the original idea. We’re very happy with the way the album turned out.”

The album mixes genres such as alternative rock, Americana, blues, country, pop and progressive rock.

“It’s challenging to combine all of the band’s influences, but we’re really happy with the album and are excited to share it, “ says Freed. “Each track is different and reflects at least one aspect of our many influences.”

The band plays a CD release show at 9 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 2, at the Five O’Clock Lounge in Lakewood. Admission is free. The honkeytonk/rock/blues band the Bishop Brothers opens.