The Hold Steady is an American rock band originally from Minneapolis, Minnesota, now based in Brooklyn, New York, formed in 2003. The band consists of Craig Finn, Tad Kubler (guitar), Galen Polivka (bass), Bobby Drake (drums), Franz Nicolay (keyboards) and Steve Selvidge (guitar). Noted for their "lyrically dense storytelling," and classic rock influences, the band's narrative-based songs frequently address themes such as drug addiction, religion and redemption, and often feature recurring characters based within the city of Minneapolis.
Lifter Puller, or LFTR PLLR, was an American indie rock band from the Twin Cities and the Boston area between 1994 and 2000. Their music is considered innovative, with its angular riffs and a synth-infused sound that predated the '80s revival fads of the early 2000s. Arguably, however, the band is most known for frontman Craig Finn's elaborate lyrics, which often relied upon an established universe of drug-addled college students, cash-strapped nightclub proprietors, murdered ravers and other nostalgic excursions in Minneapolis and Boston.
Separation Sunday is the second studio album by the American indie rock band The Hold Steady, released on May 3, 2005, through Frenchkiss Records. A concept album, Separation Sunday follows the interconnected stories of several fictional characters: Craig, Holly, a sometimes addict, sometimes prostitute, sometimes born again Christian or Catholic ; Charlemagne, a pimp; and Gideon, a skinhead, as they travel from city to city and party to party.
Franz Nicolay is an American musician and writer. He is best known for playing the accordion and piano in The World/Inferno Friendship Society and keyboards in The Hold Steady from 2005 to 2010 and again from 2016 onwards. He is also notable for founding Anti-Social Music, a composer/performer collective based in New York City, and for performing in the Balkan jazz quartet Guignol.
Boys and Girls in America is the third studio album by the Hold Steady, released on October 3, 2006, by Vagrant Records.
Mercury is the sixth studio album by American indie rock band American Music Club. It was released in March 1993 on Reprise Records as their major-label debut. Virgin Records released the album in the United Kingdom.
Craig Finn is an American singer-songwriter and musician. He is best known as the frontman of the American indie rock band The Hold Steady, with whom he has recorded eight studio albums. Prior to forming The Hold Steady, Finn was the frontman of Lifter Puller.
In the Future is the second album by Black Mountain, which was released January 21, 2008. It follows their eponymous debut album which was released in 2005. A "limited edition" of the album was released on the same day with three bonus tracks on a second disc. It debuted on the UK Album Chart at #72.
Build & Burn is the second album by American punk rock band The Loved Ones. It was released on February 5, 2008 through Fat Wreck Chords. The album was produced by Pete Steinkopf and Bryan Keinlen from The Bouncing Souls and features cameos from The Hold Steady's Franz Nicolay and Tad Kubler. A music video was released for the song "The Bridge".
Stay Positive is the fourth studio album by The Hold Steady, released on July 15, 2008, through Vagrant Records. Vocalist/guitarist Craig Finn notes that the album is about "the idea of ageing gracefully [...] keeping going, perseverance [and] how to stay true to the ideals and ideas you had when you were younger." Keyboard player Franz Nicolay notes that the album is his favorite, stating that it features an "integrated, nuanced, less hectic distillation of [their earlier] sound." Stay Positive was the last studio album to feature Nicolay until 2019's Thrashing Thru the Passion, who departed from the band in early 2010 but returned in 2016.
A Positive Rage is a live album and documentary double-disc set by the Brooklyn-based rock band The Hold Steady, released on April 7, 2009 by Vagrant Records. The documentary DVD features backstage interviews, fan commentary and live footage, while the CD features a live set performed on Halloween 2007 at the Metro Chicago in Chicago, Illinois, made up of songs from the band's albums Almost Killed Me (2004), Separation Sunday (2005), Boys and Girls in America (2006), and the then-forthcoming Stay Positive (2008), as well as three tracks previously only released as bonus tracks on these albums. The enhanced CD also includes a link to download five bonus tracks.
Heaven Is Whenever is the fifth studio album by the Hold Steady. It was released May 4, 2010, on Vagrant Records in the U.S. and May 3, 2010, on Rough Trade in Europe. The album's first single, "Hurricane J", premiered on Pitchfork Media on March 22, 2010. Regarding the album's lyrical content, vocalist and guitarist Craig Finn states that: "I kept saying Stay Positive was a record about trying to age gracefully. This record, I think actually was us aging gracefully. Some of the lyrics come from a place of a little more wisdom, being 38 and at this point having a lifetime in rock'n'roll."
Full Time Hobby is an independent record label formed in London in January 2004. Since its inception it has released records by artists such as Dana Gavanski, Timber Timbre, Tunng, Micah P. Hinson, Michael Nau, Katie Von Schleicher and White Denim.
Clear Heart Full Eyes is the debut solo album by The Hold Steady vocalist and guitarist Craig Finn, released on January 24, 2012 on Full Time Hobby. Produced by Mike McCarthy, the album was recorded during a five-month break from The Hold Steady, with Finn noting, "I wanted to do something with a little more storytelling and a lot less volume." Upon release, the album debuted at #89 in the US.
Teeth Dreams is the sixth studio album by American indie rock band the Hold Steady, released March 25, 2014 on Washington Square/Razor & Tie. Produced by Nick Raskulinecz, the album is the first to feature guitarist Steve Selvidge, who joined the band in 2010 to tour in support of the band's previous album, Heaven Is Whenever (2010).
"The Bear and the Maiden Fair" is a folk song in A Song of Ice and Fire novels, and it is sung in its television series adaptation Game of Thrones. The lyrics are provided by George R. R. Martin in the original novel; Ramin Djawadi composed the tune's music in 2012, at the request of the series creators David Benioff and D. B. Weiss, and the recording, by The Hold Steady, was arranged by Tad Kubler.
Thrashing Thru the Passion is the seventh studio album by American indie rock band the Hold Steady, released on August 16, 2019, on Frenchkiss Records. Produced by Josh Kaufman, the album sees the return to the line-up of keyboardist Franz Nicolay, who had left the group after 2008's Stay Positive.
Open Door Policy is the eighth studio album by the American rock band The Hold Steady, released on February 19, 2021, through the band's own label Positive Jams. The album was produced by Josh Kaufman, who has previously worked with the band on their seventh studio album, Thrashing Thru the Passion (2019), and was preceded by the singles "Family Farm", "Heavy Covenant" and "Spices".
"Heavy Covenant" is a song by American indie rock band the Hold Steady. It was released on January 8, 2021, as the second single from their upcoming eighth studio album, Open Door Policy by Positive Jams and Thirty Tigers. The song was written by Craig Finn and Franz Nicolay, with Josh Kaufman handling production.
The Price of Progress is a 2023 studio album by American indie rock band The Hold Steady. It has received positive reviews from critics.
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