The Lighthouse and the Whaler is a band from Cleveland, Ohio, though its name alludes to the waters off the coast of Massachusetts. Inspired by a theme from Moby Dick, the band’s name alone is enough to make underpaid Literature teachers beam with pride.
It all started when Michael LoPresti and a few friends brought their instruments to a field one sunny afternoon because that seemed nicer than playing in a basement. By the end of the day they had written The Lighthouse and the Whaler’s first song. They gave it a profound name: “The Field Song.” When it was selected for a Paste Magazine sampler CD, Michael decided to make a proper run at it, and began touring the US.
Somewhere between Boston and Seattle, the band picked up three new members — Matthew LoPresti, Mark Poro and Ryan Walker – thus fulfilling their fate to be four young men searching for open ears and loyal hearts, stuffed in a van named Serena (named in hono...
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The Lighthouse and the Whaler is a band from Cleveland, Ohio, though its name alludes to the waters off the coast of Massachusetts. Inspired by a theme from Moby Dick, the band’s name alone is enough to make underpaid Literature teachers beam with pride.
It all started when Michael LoPresti and a few friends brought their instruments to a field one sunny afternoon because that seemed nicer than playing in a basement. By the end of the day they had written The Lighthouse and the Whaler’s first song. They gave it a profound name: “The Field Song.” When it was selected for a Paste Magazine sampler CD, Michael decided to make a proper run at it, and began touring the US.
Somewhere between Boston and Seattle, the band picked up three new members — Matthew LoPresti, Mark Poro and Ryan Walker – thus fulfilling their fate to be four young men searching for open ears and loyal hearts, stuffed in a van named Serena (named in honor of the band’s first big music placement on “Gossip Girl”).
The Lighthouse and the Whaler released a four-song EP in 2008, followed by a homemade, self-titled album in 2009. Their latest release, This Is An Adventure, was produced by Ryan Hadlock (The Lumineers, Ra Ra Riot, The Walkmen) at Bear Creek Studio in Seattle. The album reflects the band’s sonic evolution from its folk roots to an indie-pop feel, the combination of which has caught the attention of MTV, Paste, FILTER, Under The Radar, Daytrotter, NPR Music and others.
Boosted by fan favorites “Venice” and “Pioneers” — each with over 1 million plays on Spotify — the self-released album broke onto the Billboard Heatseekers chart six months after its release and continues to gain new fans. Additionally, the band was recognized by legend Peter Gabriel as the winner of his “So” cover contest with FILTER, gifting the band with equipment they use today.
The band has performed at SXSW, NXNE, CMJ, Pop Montreal and hundreds of venues across North America. The Lighthouse and the Whaler has shared tour bills with the like of Ra Ra Riot, Jukebox the Ghost and Matt Pond, as well as shared blankets in its tour van. Since then, the band has heard its music widely used across network and cable TV. Entertainment Weekly even named their song “Pioneers” a ‘best music on TV moment’ for its use in “Degrassi.”
When the band isn’t on the road or in the studio, its members moonlight in graphic design, carpentry, comedy and teaching.
The Lighthouse and the Whaler is currently preparing a new record with Marcus Paquin (Stars, Local Natives, Arcade Fire) to be released in August 2015. The band will be debuting songs from that record at SXSW 2015.
John Richards of KEXP once called The Lighthouse and the Whaler his new favorite band. He may be the smartest man on the planet.
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