You might not know them by name, but you probably know their signature song.
Boston Calling performer Gentlemen Hall’s “Sail Into the Sun” is still larger than life a year after its release, but the band doesn’t plan on going down as a one-hit wonder. Its members’ musical passions assure that their anthemic, pop-doused hit won’t be their last.
The success of “Sail,” far and away the most-streamed Gentlemen Hall song on Spotify with north of 1.2 million
plays, stemmed in part from synchronization — the act of pairing different forms of media. The tune, tapped by both big-name brands and established TV shows, appeared in commercials for Samsung and Target, as well as episodes of “90210” and “Pretty Little Liars.” To some, the moves represent all that’s wrong with music: License the single to a corporate entity or mainstream outlet, and you’re signing away your soul in the transaction.
“Growing up, if you saw a commercial and you heard your favorite band’s song, it would be like, ‘Ah man, those guys are sell outs, I can’t believe they did that,’” said bassist Rory Given in a phone interview with The Daily Free Press, alongside the band’s resident flute player, Seth Hachen.
But times have changed. It’s not selling out; it’s just playing the game. For a group of artists with a family-like bond, the commercially minded pairings are about paying the bills and bringing their music to more ears.
Still, all five members avoid sleazy ad slots at all costs. They know if you pit quality art against a quality commercial, the former will outlast the latter.
“Sometimes you’ve got to wade through whether you want to be aligned with a company or not,” Given said. “People might come at you and want exclusive rights to your song to use in their radio commercial or used car ads, and you’re just like, ‘No way, you guys are sharks.’ At the end of the day, it’s a blend of enjoying the people who want to use our music and whether we believe in their brand or not. It’s also a cool way to get your music exposed.”
Hachen emphasized the importance of working with outside brands to market themselves on a larger scale and branch out beyond their Boston roots.
“It exposes our music to millions of people around the world, and that’s just so cool to us,” Hachen said. “We wrote [‘Sail’] in Boston on the front steps of our house. I think it’s a great way for fans to discover new music, too.”
The ambitious, admittedly common desire to spread their songs is wholly genuine; Given and Hachen grew up with instruments in hand, singing along to their favorite artists.
“I pretty much knew two days after buying my first bass guitar it was what I wanted to do,” Given said.
His personal journey as an artist –– graduating from covering songs beside his mom to playing Boston Calling on Sunday in a hit-boasting band –– shows a life-long aspiration turning into something real.
“As a band, we started in Boston and built our whole career to this point in Boston,” Hachen said. “I see [Boston Calling] as a bit of a homecoming show for us. We’ve been recording in New York City and a few of us are even living there, but Boston is that special place that fostered our existence.”
But it wasn’t always about the number one hits and big city performances. It all started with four men who had a dream and one life-altering costume, Given said.
“Originally it was all of us but Seth, just jamming a bunch,” Given said. “We started dicking around. We’re all friends, [but] we weren’t really a band at the time. We were playing this house party and we [talked] with Seth a little bit beforehand about bringing flute into our set, and all of a sudden, midway through the set, here comes Seth dressed in a really sick Oompa-Loompa costume. I don’t know where he found it.”
Hachen’s decision to don the white overalls and brown sleeves of Willy Wonka’s minions would immortalize the night that Gentlemen Hall went from an idea to a reality.
“We played for a good half-hour, maybe an hour. And afterwards we were all hanging out in the backyard, drinking beers,” Given said. “It was kind of like, ‘There’s something really fun and special here. Let’s give it a shot, let’s make it an official thing.’”
On the phone, he and Hachen joke about breaking the Oompa-Loompa suit back out for a live gig, spurring hearty laughter. Their camaraderie is undeniable –– an endearing mix of back-and-forth exchanges about a shared fandom for Canadian-born singer Kiesza and avocados as well as recollected aspirations of becoming musicians since the tender age of 12. With an album in the pipeline and their anticipated Boston Calling performance, Gentlemen Hall’s dream continues to grow, as palpable as their friendship.
