Ironweed

Albany, NY's Ironweed arose from the remnants of several longstanding local bands, primarily Greatdayforup, whose Mike Vitali (guitar), Brendan Slater (bass), and Jim Feck (drums) got things under way in 2007. Clearly alluding to the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by William Kennedy, which was set in their hometown, as well as their enduring passion for iron-like guitar riffs and the ol' aromatic skunkweed, Vitali, Slater, and Feck soon recruited former Held Under vocalist Jeff Andrews and second guitarist Ryan Rapp, of Endicott, to fill out their ranks. Then they put their collectively extensive stoner rock and heavy metal pedigree to work for them, and it didn't take long for word to travel as far afield as Detroit, where Small Stone Records was quickly convinced to sign the group. Ironweed immediately began working on their debut album, Indian Ladder (named after a nearby nature preserve), which was released in fall 2008.