Pressing Strings got they’re start when members Josh Kachura and Jordan Sokel met while attending Salisbury University on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. Stemming from late night jams with a room full of friends, the two began to collaborate and eventually landed some gigs at the local watering holes playing a calculated assortment of eclectic covers and a handful of originals. “I must admit, at first it was a rough show to sit through” says Sokel. “Neither of us had ever performed publicly or been in a band really. We had crappy equipment and had to learn everything on the fly so it was an interesting time period where we ate regular helpings of humble pie”.
With the release of their third full length album in January 2012, it’s obvious the band has learned a few things, especially how to create an authentic blend of americana, reggae, jazz, and rock music. In recent years the band has doubled in size with the addition of drummer Bob Novak and bassist Nick Welker. Novak, a true scholar of his instrument holds a masters degree from the Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore. He has a unique style that is strongly influenced by traditional African and Latin percussion. Throughout the years Novak has spent months at a time studying under traditional drum masters in various parts of West Africa. Welker is the youngest of the group and presents a level of musical understanding far beyond his years. Besides providing lyrical bass lines with driving rhythm, he adds a another layer of vocal harmonies elevating the music even higher than before. Together they have a chemistry that is rich and refreshing.
Upon listening to the 3 records that Pressing Strings has released in the 5 years they have been together, you hear the evolution of the music in both style and technique. They’re first record Where We Are was released late 2008 and gained the attention of the Maryland based radio station WRNR, who awarded the band a spot on the 103 Best Artists of 2009 countdown. The record featured short run percussionist Brad Singh, who parted ways with the band some time after the record was released. The album has a laid back almost beachy vibe that is attributed to the period where Sokel and Kachura wrote the tunes, living in an overcrowded shore house in nearby Ocean City, Md while attending school. After a year of writing and performing in the Baltimore/Annapolis scene the duo headed back into the studio to record 2010’s Episodes, which teeters between bluesy rock reggae and heartfelt folk ballads.
In the summer of 2010 the band opened for such acts as The Beach Boys and Sam Roberts Band and continued performing up to 200 shows a year. After a year of writing and live testing new material the band decided to self-record and produce 2012’s self-titled Pressing Strings, which was funded entirely by the donations of fans. They’re first and only record with the current line-up features a batch of soulful tunes with hooks galore. “We feel like we have found the sound we have been looking for with this band and this record was a testament to that. We appreciate the level of support from our fans and we feel really good about where we are right now and where we are going”....
