# The Spring Standards

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**The Spring Standards** is a three-piece [folk-rock](/source/Folk-rock) band based in [New York City](/source/New_York_City).[1]

## Biography

James Cleare, Heather Robb, and James Smith first sang together in the last summer of the 20th century.[2] Having just turned 16, the three teens with a common affinity for "oldies" music and harmony spent the next two years performing in the Delaware/Pennsylvania area.[1][3]

Influenced as much by their parent's record collections as they were by what they heard on the radio, their style began to form. The group dissolved after they graduated.[3]

Cleare, Robb, and, Smith are all songwriters and multi-instrumentalists.[4] They create a sound that listeners might expect from a band twice their size.[1]

Before they were The Spring Standards, all three members were in Old Springs Pike[1] along with [John Gallagher Jr.](/source/John_Gallagher_Jr.) The three current members played together in an earlier band called The Urban Wombats.[2]

## Members

The band members are:

- James Cleare - vocals, acoustic, bass, and electric [guitars](/source/Guitar), [harmonica](/source/Harmonica), [drums](/source/Drum_kit), and [percussion](/source/Percussion)
- Heather Robb - vocals, [melodica](/source/Melodica), [keyboard](/source/Keyboard_instrument), [glockenspiel](/source/Glockenspiel), [drums](/source/Drum_kit), [accordion](/source/Accordion), and [percussion](/source/Percussion)
- James Smith - vocals, acoustic, bass and electric guitars, trumpet, [drums](/source/Drum_kit), and [percussion](/source/Percussion)[3]

## Recordings

The Spring Standards released their first EP *No One Will Know* in July 2008 which was co-produced by [Rhett Miller](/source/Rhett_Miller) of [Old 97s](/source/Old_97s)[3][5] and engineered by Kieran Kelly of [The Buddy Project](/source/The_Buddy_Project). The self-released EP found mild success in the Northeast, leading to an appearance on [Late Night with Conan O'Brien](/source/Late_Night_with_Conan_O'Brien).[6] On April 13, 2010, they self-released their first full-length album *Would Things Be Different* produced by [Bryce Goggin](/source/Bryce_Goggin) ([Pavement](/source/Pavement_(band)), [Phish](/source/Phish), [The Apples in Stereo](/source/The_Apples_in_Stereo)).

They returned to the studio in early 2011 to record a double EP entitled *yellow//gold*, released on May 1, 2012. The record was produced by Dan Molad.[7]

On December 26, 2012, they recorded audio and video at their fifth annual Boxing Day concert at the Arden Club Gild Hall, [Arden, Delaware](/source/Arden,_Delaware). The project was funded by a [Kickstarter](/source/Kickstarter) campaign. The album *Live from Delaware* was released on May 21, 2013.[8]

## Discography

**No One Will Know EP** (Released July 29, 2008)

1. Goodbye Midnight
1. In The Underground
1. Little Bug
1. Reply
1. Breath And Sound
1. Your Lie
1. Sad Song
1. Pin Cushion (Bonus Track)

**Would Things be Different** (Released April 13, 2010)

1. Skyline
1. Here I Am
1. Queen Of The Lot
1. Halcyon Days
1. Bells And Whistles
1. Not Again
1. Frozen
1. Trouble
1. Sharks
1. The Hush
1. Unravel Unwin
1. Drowning In Sobriety (Bonus Track)

**yellow/gold Double EP** (Released May 1, 2012)

1. Only Skin
1. Heavy Home
1. Chicago
1. Crushing Pennies
1. Enemies
1. Wildfire Forest
1. So Simple So True
1. Nightmare
1. Watch The Moon Disappear
1. Rusty Wheels
1. Here We Go
1. Unmarked Pill

**Live from Delaware** (Released May 21, 2013)

1. Wildfire Forest
1. Queen of the Lot
1. Nightmare
1. Rusty Wheels
1. The Hush
1. Only Skin
1. Bells and Whistles
1. Chicago
1. Sharks
1. Premonition
1. Here We Go
1. Unravel Unwind
1. Watch the Moon Disappear
1. Reply (Offstage)
1. Frozen (Offstage)
1. Crushing Pennies (Offstage)

## Touring

The Spring Standards toured nationwide at major venues and have been featured on [Conan O'Brien](/source/Conan_O'Brien) (August 2008), [Pepsi](/source/Pepsi)'s Poptub, USA's *[Royal Pains](/source/Royal_Pains)* and [MTV](/source/MTV)'s *Exiled*. The band performed on The [Rock Boat](/source/Rock_Boat) IX in 2009.

The Spring Standards became somewhat of a staple on New York's Rock Station 101.9 [WRXP](/source/WFAN-FM), having been invited to play *The Rock Show with [Matt Pinfield](/source/Matt_Pinfield) and [Leslie Fram](/source/Leslie_Fram)*, including an annual appearance to sing [The Pogues](/source/The_Pogues)' holiday classic "[Fairytale of New York](/source/Fairytale_of_New_York)" with Pinfield on air.

The band has toured nationwide at major venues. They have performed as an opening act for [Old 97s](/source/Old_97s), [The Clarks](/source/The_Clarks), [Works Progress Administration (musical group)](/source/Works_Progress_Administration), [Stephen Kellogg and the Sixers](/source/Stephen_Kellogg_and_the_Sixers), [Caravan of Thieves](/source/Caravan_of_Thieves) (band), [Rustic Overtones](/source/Rustic_Overtones), Rigby Fawkes, [Squeeze (band)](/source/Squeeze_(band)), [The Everybodyfields](/source/The_Everybodyfields), and [Glenn Tilbrook](/source/Glenn_Tilbrook), and the Fluffers.

In 2010, the band was selected to perform at the famed [Austin](/source/Austin,_Texas) music festival [South by Southwest](/source/South_by_Southwest). They also embarked with Joey Ryan on The Gang Goes On Tour 2010, headlined by [Meg & Dia](/source/Meg_%26_Dia).[9]

The band was on tour with Ha Ha Tonka throughout the Spring of 2011.

In 2012, The Spring Standards returned to [South by Southwest](/source/South_by_Southwest) for several performances. In preparation for their new album, they went on the road for a CD release tour in May to promote their new music. Joined by [Rhett Miller](/source/Rhett_Miller) & The Serial Lady Killers, The Spring Standards kicked off a US tour in June. On June 18, they appeared on [*Conan*](/source/Conan_(talk_show)), and performed "Here We Go".

In February 2013, the band embarked on a six-week tour of the northeast U.S., playing in cities such as Boston, Massachusetts, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Washington, DC. May 21 saw the release of their first live album, *Live from Delaware* (with a DVD release in 2014). That same week, they made an appearance at the Watkins Family Hour, along with singer/songwriter [Dan Wilson](/source/Dan_Wilson_(musician)).

In 2014 they returned to [South by Southwest](/source/South_by_Southwest).

The band worked with New York composers Kerrigan-Lowdermilk, appearing in concerts and on recordings.

## References

1. Digregorio, Ky (January 9, 2011). ["Interview: The Spring Standards"](http://soundsystemnyc.com/2011/01/09/interview-the-spring-standards/). *Sound System*. Retrieved August 29, 2011.

1. ["The Urban Wombats & Not Now Murray"](https://www.angelfire.com/band/uwnnm/). Retrieved 5 August 2011.

1. ["The Spring Standards On Mountain Stage"](https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=104402761). *NPR*. March 10, 2010.

1. McCullough, Anne D. (April 23, 2011). ["Concert review: Rock & roll tornadoes hit Off Broadway with Ha Ha Tonka and Spring Standards"](http://kdhx.org/music/reviews/concert-review-rock-roll-tornadoes-hit-off-broadway-with-ha-ha-tonka-and-spring-standards-friday-april-22). *KDHX*. Retrieved August 29, 2011.

1. ["Rhett Miller"](https://rhettmiller.com/home). *rhettmiller.com*

1. ["Bob Costas, Sophia Bush, The Spring Standards (Season 15, Episode 163)"](http://www.tv.com/late-night-with-conan-obrien/bob-costas-sophia-bush-the-spring-standards/episode/1242979/summary.html). *Late Night with Conan O'Brien NBC*

1. ["10/3 - The Spring Standards Record An(other) EP!!"](https://web.archive.org/web/20120403123021/http://thespringstandards.com/news.php?id=97). Archived from [the original](http://thespringstandards.com/news.php) on 3 April 2012.

1. ["1/30 New Year, New Shows!"](https://web.archive.org/web/20130603064851/http://thespringstandards.com/news.php?id=123). Archived from [the original](http://thespringstandards.com/news.php?id=123) on 3 June 2013.

1. Tauber, Dani (November 24, 2010). ["Spring Standards: Setting The Bar High"](http://www.theaquarian.com/2010/11/24/spring-standards-setting-the-bar-high/). *Aquarian Weekly*. Retrieved August 29, 2011.

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [The Spring Standards](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Spring_Standards) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Spring_Standards?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.