Brooklyn-based trio A Great Big Pile of Leaves originated in 2007 when guitarist/singer Peter Weiland and drummer Tyler Soucy took time from their prior projects to start writing material together. The first six songs came together as the self-released EP The Fiery Works, which the duo put out as a free download on the band’s official website. As word spread online, the band’s fanbase grew - along with Weiland and Soucy's excitement to get back to recording. Taking advantage of the positive word-of-mouth, A Great Big Pile of Leaves released another self-produced EP - The Fiery Works II - again as a free online download. Within the next year, both digital releases accumulated over 12,000 downloads and the group prepared for a live setting with the addition of bassist Tucker Yaro. After playing several shows and writing a batch of new songs over the next few months, the newfound trio geared up to record the full-length album Have You Seen My Perfrontal Cortex?. Each member took on engineering, production, mixing and mastering duties during the recording process; the record became a full collaboration of each member’s respective influences and knowledge. "We don't like to set up any boundaries when writing; we don't consciously come into it with any walls up" says Soucy. "The three of us have a rather eclectic background of musical influences and we like to explore that and have a good time. The only thing we knew coming into this record, is that we were in control and that we wanted to make the best record we could; something we would enjoy from beginning to end with no sense of filler." Since the release of Have You Seen My Prefrontal Cortex? in summer 2010, the group has seen a rapidly growing fanbase as well as praise on influential sites like absolutepunk.net - where the record was reviewed with a 93% approval rating. The momentum continues in the rest of 2010 with a vinyl release of the album and a large-scale fall tour to showcase A Great Big Pile of Leaves’ powerful live set to a wider audience. “The positive reactions to our music have been pretty overwhelming so far, especially in a day and age when the Internet seems to be filled with a lot of negativity on message boards,” explains Soucy, “we haven't really gotten much of that yet.” A Great Big Pile of Leaves will be hitting the road this fall on their first national tour - opening for Motion City Soundtrack, Say Anything, and Saves the Day. “This fall tour is exactly what our band needs to be doing and at the perfect time so we're extremely grateful for the opportunity,” Soucy continues. “I spent most of high school listening to these three bands, so it's going to be pretty surreal to walk off stage every night and watch the rest of the line-up,” he adds, “it's going to be a great time.”
http://schedule.sxsw.com/events/event_MS13839
