Music Monday: A Dog, a Mercedes, and a Beautiful Song

Thankfully, Mercedes-Benz stuck with their 2018 Summer Event commercial again this year, because I don’t recall seeing it last year.

But as soon as I saw it this year, I had to find out what the song was in the video:

The song is Side by Side, by Layup, a band I had never heard of (the full audio of the song is at the end of this post, with lyrics).

Here’s a bit of background on the group from their Facebook page:

Layup is a collaboration between singer Chris Henderson, and producer Chad Copelin. The pair met back in the year 2009 when Henderson’s then new band, Bronze Radio Return, needed a producer to work on their debut album. Fast forward 8 years later and BRR has now released 4 full length albums with Copelin at the helm of each. 

With so much time in the studio together over the years, a natural chemistry took shape between the two creatives. While Copelin stayed busy producing for the likes of Ben Rector, Third Eye Blind and Andrew Bell, and Henderson logged countless hours on the road touring with BRR, the guys eventually carved out some time to start working on a new project of their own. 

Calling Copelin’s Blackwatch Studios in Norman, Oklahoma their home base for weeks at a time, Chris and Chad began crafting the tunes that now fall under the project name, Layup. 

“The name came about because we are both super competitive at everything we do. So having a sports name of sorts, was intentional. But at the same time, we want our music to be easily understood and digestible. So we figured, what’s easier in sports than a layup?” says Copelin.

While the guys feel fortunate to have landed well over 100 tv and film syncs with their past work, this new project has already created songs that have landed on the small screen, even before being released. And although their first official EP just came out on St. Patrick’s Day, March 17th 2017, luck does not appear to be all the duo is banking on.

“We’ve worked really hard on these songs and put a lot of time into crafting their sound and lyrics. It wasn’t so much of a ‘Lets get in the studio and see what happens’ type of scenario as much as it was ‘Lets get these ideas out that everyone can relate to and make them sound like something we would want to listen to’” says Henderson.

When I saw mention of Bronze Radio Return, another band I never heard of, I had to check them out as well. Here’s a brief excerpt from the band’s Wikipedia page:

Bronze Radio Return is an American indie/roots rock quintet from Hartford, Connecticut. The band was formed by singer/songwriter/guitarist Chris Henderson after he attended the Hartt School of Music. Fellow Hartt School Alumni Rob Griffith (drums), Bob Tanen (bass) and Matt Warner (organ/keyboards/samples) help complete the line-up with Patrick (Packy) Fetkowitz (Lead Guitar). The name Bronze Radio Return was inspired by an old radio Henderson grew up listening to in his father’s art studio in Maine. Each of the band members are greatly influenced by the music they grew up listening to. “As a result, [the band] decided [they] wanted to pay a certain homage to their influences with the music that [they] would make together…the return of the bronze radio.”

And here is their most popular song, at least on YouTube:

It’s the kind of music I enjoy, a country-folksy-rocky sound, so I was glad I caught the Mercedes-Benz video.

Who knew a commercial would turn me on to not just one new band, but two?!

Here’s the complete version of Side by Side, with the lyrics underneath. The words seem to go so well with the Mercedes Benz commercial. Enjoy.

I know these winding roads
Will lead me home, to you I’ll go
I know these stepping stones
I’ve walked alone, to you – my home

Now I stand by your side
Oh, on our own time

Oh, we’ll be all right
As long as we stay side by side
From the coldest nights to warmer degrees
We’ll get by
You and I, side by side

And so, now I go down all these roads
With you, my home
And now, I’ll keep you close
I hope you know – I love you most

So here I walk by your side
Oh, on our own time

Oh, we’ll be all right
As long as we stay side by side
From the coldest nights to warmer degrees
We’ll get by
You and I, side by side

Oh, we’ll be all right
As long as we stay side by side

*image from BMI