I am proud to announce the new album from Grandpa Loves Rhinos titled “Searching In The Sarchasm”, will be out August 7th through Indie Vision Music. Yes the album is spelled that way on purpose and more to come soon. You can preorder the album in a few different bundles right here via bandcamp. Just keep in mind that these pre-orders will ship at end of August. The album will be available on all digital platforms and streaming sites including our bandcamp page on release date. If you pre-order any item or bundle, you will get a download of the album on release date. Order now and get 2 songs instantly. Check out a teaser for “Searching In The Sarchasm” below including a press release. All artwork by Brian Middleton of Colesmith Comics. Two songs are now available on all digital networks, “Gimme, Gimme”, and “Fostering Patience for Patients”.
Indie Vision Music is proud to present the new album from Grandpa Loves Rhinos led by the new single, “Gimme, Gimme”. This diverse and eclectic set of songs found on the upcoming album, “Searching In The Sarchasm” (yes spelled like that on purpose), is something profoundly different yet falls in line with all the bands you love. You can cruise on a warm summer day down the highway with your hair blowing in the wind and a smile on your face. Or you can settle in next to a fire, cuddling up with someone you love dearly, listening to the crackling and being comforted by a warm blanket. These are songs for everyone and songs you can’t help but appreciate. “Gimme, Gimme” is one of those perfect summer songs that’ll get you amped up for a day at the beach, lake, or maybe even gym. It’s got those addictive melodies, sing-a-long parts, and plenty of sly, witty sarcasm to make you stop and think.
The rest of the songs found on this new album are nothing short of extraordinary from a band you’ve probably never heard but see the name and go, “well that’s different”. Songs like “Fostering Patience for Patients” (Featuring Andrew Alojipan of Kept On Hold), and “Why’d He Have To Die” (Featuring Jake Olexyn of The Burden) show that this band isn’t afraid to collaborate and feature rising talent to enhance the sound of their songs, pushing them in new and exciting directions. The song “It’s Gotta Be The Gaming” is one you don’t want to miss. It has a profound message stretched across the upbeat song showing people that mental health issues are very real, and that you can’t always shift blame to other objects like gaming just because the masses and perpetrators happen to have that in common. We live in a lost broken, hurting world in need of love. Gaming is not the problem; hurting, pain, mental illness, and suicide certainly is.
Grandpa Loves Rhinos tip their hat proudly at nostalgia, at things many of us cling to. In that tongue in cheek humor, the sarcasm, and the references, is a story about our human nature. Our quest to find hope in a world searching for meaning. We are all just hanging on, clinging to a life that once meant so much. In the anxiety about tomorrow, we turn to music to ease our suffering. Music from Grandpa Loves Rhinos does just that and so much more. Give this fun band with a unique name a listen and leave your troubles behind. Sit back, relax, and strap on for the ride because this summer won’t be a summer without Grandpa Loves Rhinos. – Brandon Jones/IVM
From Grandpa Loves Rhinos about both new singles…
“Gimme, Gimme” is about addiction; not overt and blatant drug addiction. No. Instead, it’s about subtle, insidious consumer and social addiction born and bred in the ‘I-want-it-right-now’ culture. We are all searching for happiness in the material world, looking for the next new fun thing to do, the next new friend, the next new show to binge, the next new car, and never feeling complete or satisfied. This song is about everyone. You. Me. Your pastor. Your neighbor. Your kids. Everyone has something that they’re addicted to – no matter how small or socially acceptable it is – and it will never fill the void in their heart. You’ll always want something else and something more. It’s sucking us away from what’s important in life; loving each other and a relationship with God. Hopefully this song is another chance for self-examination and the things we can’t shake won’t fill the void only God can. Take moment to be hopeful that we can grow and change ourselves with God. #newmusic #poppunk #newsingle #ListenAnywhere
Meaning behind Fostering Patience with Patients:
My wife and I did foster care for a year…and it messed us up.
It started with excitement as a noble call from God to help the broken kids out there. We wanted to break their cycle of trauma – stop hurt people from hurting people. We knew it would be tough but, hey, we were awesome parents, super capable and loving.
Foster care sucks. It sucks for everyone: the kids, the biological parents, the foster parents, and the state workers. These foster kids needed so much, and we gave and gave and gave over and over. Despite all the training,our parenting and attempts at showing love, it felt like the kids pretty much rejected everything we had to offer. We invited hurt, depressed, abusive, and disruptive people into our home. What ensued was total madness. You are not responsible for all the sin that these kids inherited or went through but you get to deal with all the consequences.
Despite our best efforts, it left me feeling very hopeless and angry that these kids might not become all that I wanted them to be. After getting ignored, spat in the face, punched, disrespected, our biological kids being hurt by the foster kids, you think things that make you realize ‘I’m no saint’. All I wanted to do was help. It humbled us also to think that we’re not these perfect, loving, awesome parents.
The short story is that after a year I made the decision to put in our notice that we couldn’t do it anymore. It felt like we gave up our lives for these kids for a year, and then gave up on them because I wanted my life back. The stress of it was too much and my mental health was not in a good place. I have to hope that some good came out of a year of what felt like torture. I was messed up thinking about how much I grew to dislike them for ‘ruining my happiness’. Then came the guilt of taking care of myselfand my family above other people who actually need help. I’m still left with the thought of what God would have me do…is it even about me? Should I be able to just fight through the feelings of misery, hardship, depression? If not me, who is going to care for the unwanted kids? Who will care for the abandoned kid and show them that they matter?
Although it was maybe one of the worst years of my adult life, the three things I learned where this: 1) “love” is an action (taking care of them, welcoming them into your home, driving them places, trying to teach them things)that doesn’t have to go along with a good feeling despite what I felt day to day (inconvenienced, uncaring, not appreciated, etc.); 2) It shows me how incredible the love that God has for his kids when we do the same thing to him, yet he never fails, never leaves, never stops loving us; and 3) We need more foster parents. I could only give 1 year before it took me out. Just because I got wounded and taken out of the war doesn’t mean I’m a bad soldier. It means I need to get healing, send reinforcements to jump into the fight after me, and maybe I’ll be able to get back in it someday.
The song describes our experience of foster care…trying to help someone who is seriously hurt (and fighting your help) with some inadequate methods because we thought we were awesome. In the end, we gave up. If only there was something bigger than us that won’t give up. Good news, there is.
If you’re into bands like Emery, State Champs, Number One Gun, Acceptance, Four Year Strong, Set Your Goals, The Dangerous Summer, Third Eye Blind, then you’ll appreciate the eclectic sounds on this new Grandpa Loves Rhinos album.