Green River Ordnance: 'We are nerds,just goofy people'
By Nick MasudaOrlando Sentinel

November 24, 2009

The last time they were in Orlando, Green River Ordinance missed the party.

Well, if you want to call a brawl at a local bar a party.

The up-and-coming band from Texas was the opener for Collective Soul and Gavin Degraw earlier this year, and they were trying to drive from Minneapolis to Central Florida to join the two groups for a night out on the town in Orlando.

They never made it that night.

A car accident on the way left them stranded, but Twitter gave them a glimpse of what they were missing.

"I guess some punk at a bar recognized them and started causing some problems," said lead singer Josh Jenkins, who will bring his band back to Orlando as the opening act for David Cook on Saturday night at Hard Rock Live. "We were back on the road at this point and we started seeing all of these Tweets. We had people messaging us to see if we were there. We aren't confrontational people, but it would have been so awesome to have fought next to Collective Soul and Gavin Degraw. I would have told everyone I threw a punch."

The band is providing plenty of punch on the airwaves recently, ranking as high as No. 10 on the Billboard Heatseekers chart.

Jenkins took a few moments with the Sentinel to talk about life on the road, choosing the right bands to attach to and enjoying the business of music:

This is your second stint with David Cook, how did that come about?

"We played with him through the summer and really hit it off. It's always a plus when bands and musicians get along. We had some options for now and his name is very big, and he was kind enough to ask us back."

How important is it to latch on to the right headlining acts?

"It means a lot. You learn from them, especially with the way they present themselves. It is very important for us to be out playing shows, supporting the radio stations that are playing our songs. We have been tremendously lucky with these tours. How often do you get to become friends with people like Collective Soul and David Cook. We have even talked with Collective Soul about another tour in the new year. Those relationships are very important."

Has the success allowed you concentrate more on the music and less about business?

"We are more involved than most in the business aspect of our careers. We have tons of people looking out for us, but we love being educated about what is going on. We want to be a part of those decisions. We've been together since high school, we are like brothers. But we never lost out on the business side, we are blessed to call it a job. A lot of our friends work 9-5, we get to travel and play music. We get to go on stage and play music for people. We never want to take that for granted."

How much has social media played into the rise of your popularity?

"Twitter has been great for us. When we were on the David Cook tour, he has the kind of fans that are super-involved. Once they believe in your music, they will do anything for you. Not all fans are like that, but we have benefitted from it. Any way you can connect with fans is important. It allows us to show them the behind-the-scenes stuff. We geek out over music and they get to share in that."

Is it more important to be a great live band or to have killer songs?

"I think that depends on who you ask in the band. I am a personal believer that no matter the production, you live and die by the songs. They are your lifeline. Don't get me wrong, performance is incredibly important, but it all starts with a song."

What would fans not know about you?

"We are nerds, just goofy people. We are the ones that still sell our own merchandise. We think about the bottom line, we want to save money and be efficient. We toured independently for years, so we are pretty comfortable being in control of all of that stuff. We just sign stuff and hang out and meet our fans. There is nothing better than that."

They just may want to watch out for crazy fans in bars.