New York folk rock group Driftwood are currently touring behind their sixth full-length, December Last Call (which dropped last month), while also celebrating their 15-year anniversary as a band, and they’ll be headlining our very own MilkBoy on Friday, May 3rd. “The rock club vibe, we did that for a long time, so there’s something really comfortable there. Summer’s coming up, so we’ve got some festivals, but it’ll also be nice to be in a good old-fashioned rock room,” they tell me of the opportunity to headline Center City’s last legit rock barroom during a recent phone chat. I’m speaking with Driftwood founding members Joe Kollar and Dan Forsyth, in addition to violinist Claire Byrne, who each contribute songwriting and vocals to the band’s latest full-length (The band also includes bassist Joey Arcuri and drummer Sam Fishman.)
December Last Call sees Driftwood returning to their roots… in some ways literally… “It’s funny, you’re always in this state of moving, but in a lot of ways it’s full circle. The album’s being made in my parents’ basement, which is where we actually started,” says Kollar. The album’s sound also harkens back to their early days, including a “bigger rock sound” on certain tracks, with Forsyth explaining, “There were more boundaries for us [for a while], when it felt like we were on every bluegrass festival. Because, with bluegrass, it’s a really specific sound, which is why we didn’t have a drummer, and the goal was we all wanted to be able to stand around one mic. But, before this, we all played in jam bands with electric instruments.”
Dan goes on to explain that, for him, there’s one major difference in how December Last Call was recorded, compared to previous albums: “We recorded drums first, and, for the longest time, we were just a folk band without drums. We would have drums on a few tunes, and we’d get someone we knew to do it, but we got our first drummer five or six years ago, but hadn’t done an album with them yet because of COVID and all that.” However, in a more general sense, he explains, “They’re all different, I think, just because we’re at different stages in our life and our time as a band,” with Claire adding, “Things are a little less structured, in terms of how bigger arrangements go, but I think we’re more patient, collectively.”
Driftwood’s latest has been receiving praise from a number of major outlets, with No Depression calling it, “the band’s most expansive work to date,” and Magnet Magazine calling “Every Which Way But Loose” a, “catchy, uncomplicated gem.” However, it seems to be the reactions that fans have been giving the band on the road that mean the most to them. “’Stardust’ seems to have really moved people a lot. People have been getting really emotional during that song, and people will share their stories about experiencing loss and how that has affected them with us,” says Claire of the album’s nearly-12-minute closing track.
When I ask the band what can be expected of their upcoming show at MilkBoy, Dan proclaims, “A real good time! We’ll do a mix of a lot of the stuff off the new record, and even newer stuff we’ve been road testing. We’re a well-oiled machine at this time!” And when I inquire about what the second half of 2024 has in store for Driftwood, Claire tells me that they’re just looking forward to more time on the road: “We just got offered a festival, so we’re gonna be heading out West in August, which will be fun. We’ve got three shows in Montana and four shows in Colorado.”
*Get your tickets here.
