The Hold Steady was born out of some loose talk in Brooklyn in 2002. Singer Craig Flynn was thirty-one years old, and the other dudes were about the same age. Their concept was to start a straight rock band, with low aspirations. Just local shows, no touring, and most likely, no real records. They practiced for a while and then played their first show in January 2003 at North Six, in Williamsburg.
The show went well. It reminded the guys in the band, all veterans of hard luck bands, that music can be fun. They played their second show in Baltimore, and it sort of becomes a blur after that. They quickly broke their own rules about no touring and records, and released three records in three years. They lost one member and added two others. 2006s ‘Boys & Girls in America’, was successful enough to get them in a bunch of magazines and take The Hold Steady pretty much around the world.
