Doubleday Rocks Around The County
SPARTA — The band Doubleday is becoming very popular and is playing all over the area. Based in Sparta, the band is led by Geoff Doubleday and calls its musical style "rock/pop." Saturday night they played in Lafayette and will have a host of upcoming shows in the area. Geoff Doubleday grew up in Sparta and graduated from Sparta High School in 2013. His musical history started when his father would play guitar for him as a baby and growing up, until he one day wanted to pick up his own. Soon, he was also playing piano, drums and violin, along with many other instruments. "Early on, I fell in love with the music of Bruce Springsteen and Paul McCartney," Doubleday said. "Listening to the 'Born To Run' record inspired me to begin writing music of my own and at the age of thirteen, I wrote my first song. It was done as a submission to a statewide art competition based on Mahatma Ghandi’s quote 'an eye for an eye only ends up making the whole word blind.'" Doubleday used Ghandi’s inspiration to write the song ‘A Different View’ and won the competition. This gave him the motivation to write more songs such as, 'Comin' Down' and 'Tired of This Town'. Both of which are featured on his debut album, 'How It Starts', aptly named to mark the beginning of his recording career. The album, which came out in early 2015, features a number of professional artists Doubleday has come to know, such as Patrick Fitzsimmons, Alan Jax Bowers, Paul Kusik, Jared Decker, Sean Decker, Nat Peirce, and Tom Askin. It was recorded at PonderRosa Studios and Balsam Studios. Tom Askin also co-produced the album with Doubleday. The single ‘How It Starts’ (also the title track on the album) was Doubleday's first official release of any kind. Doubleday's music speaks to a vast audience. His songwriting blends deep, meaningful lyrics with a variety of musical styles from high energy rock to singer/songwriter intimacy. He credits Springsteen, the Beatles as well as many pop artists as being his inspiration and said, "I try to listen to as many varieties as I can and take what I can from the different genres and artists." "My band 'Doubleday' plays all around North Jersey," Doubleday said. "The band consists of Seth Dyer, from Sparta, on guitar, Billy Welsh, from Hawthorne, on guitar, Tom King, from Fair Lawn, on bass and Joe Rossi, also from Sparta, on the drums. We've played at local bars and venues in Sparta as well as The Newton Theatre opening for Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes. Last week we played the legendary Maxwell's in Hoboken and on Saturday night, they played at PonderRosa Studios in Lafayette as part of the PonderRosa Live series. The show was live streamed online." Doubleday and his fellow band members all have jobs outside the band, but Doubleday said, "We're in the process of making this a full-time gig." Doubleday is currently writing new music in preparation for a new EP with his band called "Doubleday." He said, "We are currently demoing out songs for our upcoming sessions at PonderRosa Studios and just tightening up our performance. We'll have plenty of shows coming up in the winter and spring and are looking to take it on the road to some other east coast cities in the spring and summer." "My entire family has been incredibly supportive of my music," Doubleday said. "My parents have encouraged it since such a young age and seeing me dad play guitar around the house when I was young was what inspired me to pick it up for myself. I remember my aunt and my father taking me to see my first concert which was Bruce Springsteen at Giants stadium. Everybody has just been so supportive and I love seeing them at all of my shows." The band's next scheduled local performance will be at Krogh's Restaurant & Brew Pub in Sparta on January 6th. There will be more coming in between though. You can stay updated on future performances and releases on Doubleday's website geoffdoubleday.com as well as following Doubleday on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Gordon, Laurie. "Doubleday Rocks around the County." Sparta Independent. Straus News, 8 Nov. 2016. Web. 11 Nov. 2016.
