We Demand Parachutes is a rock band made up of Maine natives who have since moved out of state, but figured out how to collaborate remotely long before coronavirus. Cumberland native Kevin McCord is on vocals and guitar, Seth Richardson of Cape Elizabeth is on bass and keys, and drummer Ben Shumaker grew up in North Yarmouth.
The band formed in 2017 while McCord was deployed in Africa with the U.S. Army. The bandmates would send ideas for songs back and forth to each other and created their first demos on a digital audio workstation, “uploaded on the slowest internet in the world,” McCord said, then made a plan to get together when he got home.
McCord now lives in Massachusetts, Richardson’s in New York and Shumaker’s in Rhode Island, but they still consider Maine to be a huge source of inspiration and a “rallying point,” where they come together to practice whenever they can.
Their latest single, “151,” released in January, was preceded by “Cameraman” and “Vacationland,” both released last year. The video for “151” is makes its debut as this week’s Press Play song of the week.
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