VietNam

Brooklyn’s darkly hypnotic rock outfit Vietnam may be the brainchild of vocalist/guitarist Michael Gerner and guitarist Josh Grubb. Upon finding that both had been motivated by Bob Dylan, the Moving Rocks, the Velvet Underground, and Sonic Youngsters, the pair started composing and playing music together, eventually growing into a complete music group that included drummer Michael Foss. Vietnam agreed upon to Vice Information, who released their debut EP, The Concrete’s Generally Grayer on the far side of the Road, in 2004. After playing some displays with FOREVER Radio, a task of previous Beachwood Sparks guitarist Dave Scher, Vietnam started collaborating with Scher and Maroon 5’s Mickey Madden, who agreed upon on as professional producer from the band’s full-length record. Madden, alongside co-producers Scher and Jason Lader, documented Vietnam at Los Angeles’ Audio Town Studios with classic analog apparatus. Jenny Lewis, Paz Lenchantin, and Upcoming Pigeon’s horn section also contributed to the periods. The digitally released one Thanks for visiting My Room found its way to fall 2006, while Vietnam’s self-titled debut recording premiered by Kemado Information early in 2007. Sometime in 2008 reviews came for the reason that Vietnam got disbanded, with Gerner relocating towards the Western Coast to operate mainly with analog synthesizers on film soundtracks and his personal experimental ambient music. Around the time from the 2013 launch of the A.merican D.ream, Gerner returned to NY and re-booted the music group, enlisting a completely new 6 piece lineup including a violinist along with a synth player.