Today we’d like to introduce you to The Murphs. Them and their team share their story with us below:
The Murphs are a trio consisting of Cody Marlowe, Austin Coleman, and Katie Coleman. Cody and Austin have had separate solo careers writing songs and performing throughout Georgia and the southeast for the last ten years. Katie Marlowe Coleman (Cody’s sister & Austin’s Wife) has been singing harmony and backing vocals for both artists on albums and during live performances.
During time off, the three of them would often travel to St. Simons Island on the Georgia coast to relax and recharge. They became fixtures there, especially at their favorite dive bar, Murphy’s Tavern. These experiences led them to form a band together and begin writing songs with a little different twist to them from their original solo tunes. They decided to name their band “The Murphs” in honor of their favorite haunt on the island.
The band quickly wrote an album of new original tunes and went into The Vault Recording Lounge in Marietta, GA at the end of 2018 to begin recording. They released their first self-titled album in late 2019. Beginning to see this band as more than just a side project, The Murphs began to tour around the southeast in 2019.
Having to cancel their 2020 tour due to Covid, The Murphs decided to use this time to finish writing and recording their second full-length album titled “No Strangers.” This album was recorded at Echo Mountain Recording in Asheville, NC in the summer of 2020 and was released in the summer of 2021.
The Murphs will be touring throughout the southeast in the summer of 2022 and will continue to write new music and book shows in the Atlanta and North Georgia areas throughout the year. The Murphs plan on recording their third album sometime later this year or in early 2023.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Like anything in the music business, it is often a grind. Independent bands and artists shoulder a lot of administrative and business duties that acts signed to a label may not. We have a very tight team that handles our booking, promotion, writing, and social media. It can also be very hit or miss with live turnout, especially in the post-Covid landscape. It seems that many music fanatics are dying to get back out there and listen, but the entire structure of the “gig industry” has changed to a degree. You may go from the highs of playing in front of hundreds of people during a festival or large event to playing for 15 people on a Thursday night in the middle of nowhere. The key for us is remembering why we got into this business in the first place. Whether we reach five people or five hundred, we love what we do and we love reaching new audiences and speaking to them through our music.
What quality or characteristic do you feel is most important to your success?
We believe that the individual qualities that all of the members of our band and team bring to the table are very complementary of each other and have meshed into very successful mixture. Austin Coleman and Cody Marlowe both value writing songs with strong lyrics and catchy melodies, but they often come from slightly different areas of influence. While Katie Marlowe Coleman does not often do the bulk of the writing, she contributes very valuable insight that helps fine-tune the songs into their final, more polished versions.
While lyrics and melody are extremely important to The Murphs, our calling card is probably our harmonies. We grew up listening to classic rock, southern rock, classic country, and gospel, which definitely shines through in our music, as we value using our three-part harmonies as much as possible.
Last but not least, our social media specialist, Krista Maggart, has put in such hard work in creating an aesthetically pleasing vision for our online presence. She has been instrumental in helping us gain and engage with an entirely new group of online followers. Her work in promoting us has been priceless.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.themurphsband.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/themurphsband
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/themurphsband
- Twitter: https://mobile.twitter.com/themurphsband
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWtVuw9WIJmVtoLX9dwRwog
- SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/themurphsband
Image Credits
Molly Nadolski
