All About The Extraordinaires
The Extraordinaires are a folk rock band from Philadelphia, PA, known for their mix of upbeat hum-along melodies and lyrical storytelling.
Founding members Jay Purdy and Matt Gibson have worked together since 2001, traveling the US and abroad while creating a bizarre gallery of colorful characters and slice-of-life vignettes that spring to life in their songs. They have been featured on NPR's 'All Songs Considered' podcast and were the subject of a vérité style audio documentary that followed their exploits while staging their original musical, 'Ribbons of War'.
It was during their time at then-label Punk Rock Payroll that they began to hone their craft, putting their other artistic pursuits to good use in their unique record packaging. To fully realize their narratives The Extraordinaires (with the help of dedicated friends and volunteers) began hand crafting cloth-bound hardcover storybooks for each of their full length records. Illustrated by Purdy with lyrics on the facing page, the band have spent hundreds of hours assembling thousands of one-of-a-kind records.
In 2020 they released a series of recordings including their latest single, "Monika", available now on all streaming platforms and Bandcamp.