Biography
raymondale
and the Family Band is a sibling trio based in Central Florida that
meld
intricate piano melodies with layered vocals,
soft percussion and
various other instrumentation including trumpet, bells, and
occasionally strings.
The band is clearly influenced by much of the music they grew up listening to, adapting songwriting and lyrical styles of such favorites as Billy Joel, Buddy Holly, and Elton John, and melding them with more contemporary styles like those of Elliott Smith, Damien Rice, and Sufjan Stevens, and finally adding to the mix instrumental arrangements reminiscent of a minimalist Danielson Famile.
raymondale and the Family Band is the
long-term project of singer-songwriter RD Bonner, who began his
classical training at an early age, began songwriting in high-school,
and is continually adapting his writing style to fit his sense of
personality and experience. RD first began
writing
arrangements for
what would turn into the Family Band in
November of 2008 adding multi-instrumentalist Alyson and percussionist
Kiah Bonner to his then solo-project, forming the Family Band who would subsequently launch into
gigs across Central Florida, shoot a
homemade no-budget music video, and record a debut album
titled Consider
the Birds.
Consider the Birds was released in January 2010, and the band promoted the album across with a string of shows across the state of Florida and even into Georgia. After a yearlong hiatus that RD spent travelling with a national service program, he's back to writing arrangements that he hopes to add the Family Band to in the near future.
The band is clearly influenced by much of the music they grew up listening to, adapting songwriting and lyrical styles of such favorites as Billy Joel, Buddy Holly, and Elton John, and melding them with more contemporary styles like those of Elliott Smith, Damien Rice, and Sufjan Stevens, and finally adding to the mix instrumental arrangements reminiscent of a minimalist Danielson Famile.
raymondale and the Family Band is the
long-term project of singer-songwriter RD Bonner, who began his
classical training at an early age, began songwriting in high-school,
and is continually adapting his writing style to fit his sense of
personality and experience. RD first began
writing
arrangements for
what would turn into the Family Band in
November of 2008 adding multi-instrumentalist Alyson and percussionist
Kiah Bonner to his then solo-project, forming the Family Band who would subsequently launch into
gigs across Central Florida, shoot a
homemade no-budget music video, and record a debut album
titled Consider
the Birds. Consider the Birds was released in January 2010, and the band promoted the album across with a string of shows across the state of Florida and even into Georgia. After a yearlong hiatus that RD spent travelling with a national service program, he's back to writing arrangements that he hopes to add the Family Band to in the near future.