Fast-rising indie-rock band Goose kick off 2020 with two sold out NYC shows, and then fly west to join Pigeons Playing Ping Pong for 13 shows on their first ever West Coast tour. The Norwalk, CT based group has taken flight this year, with notable performances at Peach Fest and sold out shows throughout their Fall Tour.
Not only will Goose open for Pigeons to start 2020, they’ll be on the Rock Legends Cruise, setting sail in late February, then head to Pelham, TN to perform at The Caverns for a PBS special.
January 24 — New York, NY January 25 — Brooklyn, NY February 5 — Tempe, AZ* February 6 — Solana Beach, CA* February 7 — West Hollywood, CA* February 8 — West Hollywood, CA* February 12 — San Luis Obisbo, CA* February 13 — Santa Cruz, CA* February 14 — San Francisco, CA* February 15 — San Francisco, CA* February 16 — Crystal Bay, NV* February 19 — Eugene, OR* February 20 — Bend, OR* February 21 — Portland, OR* February 22 — Seattle, WA* February 28-March 1 — Rock Legends Cruise March 27 — Pelham, TN April 16 — Asheville, NC April 17 — Raleigh, NC April 19 — Baltimore, MD April 22 — Syracuse, NY April 23 — Philadelphia, PA April 25 — Boston, MA April 26 — Boston, MA
including a three-night run at The Capitol Theatre in February and Artpark in June, Almost Dead fans around the country will be treated to the supergroup performing the music of the Grateful Dead with their own signature style.
Tickets are available via Facebook presale for these newly announced shows starting Wednesday, November 20 in three groups, beginning at 11 AM and continues at 12PM and 1PM. Passwords for these on sales will be announced via the JRAD Facebook page. General onsale will start Friday, Nov. 22 in three groups at 11am, 12pm and 1pm.
More dates will be announced in coming weeks.
Joe Russo’s Almost Dead 2020 Tour
Nov. 25 – Brooklyn, NY – Brooklyn Bowl (Headcount benefit) Feb. 21 – Port Chester, NY – The Capitol Theatre Feb. 22 – Port Chester, NY – The Capitol Theatre Feb. 23 – Port Chester, NY – The Capitol Theatre Mar. 12 – Grand Rapids, MI – 20 Monroe Live Mar. 13 – Madison, WI – The Sylvee Mar. 14 – St. Louis, MO – The Pageant Mar. 15 – St. Louis, MO – The Pageant Apr. 25 – Asheville, NC – Salvage Station Apr. 26 – Atlanta, GA – SweetWater 420 Fest May 1 – New Orleans, LA – Mardi Gras World Ballroom May 2 – New Orleans, LA – Mardi Gras World Ballroom June 5 – Morrison, CO – Red Rocks Amphitheatre June 18 – Cleveland, OH – Jacobs Pavilion June 19 – Lewiston, NY – Artpark almost dead June 20 – Boston, MA – Rockland Trust Bank Pavilion July 9 – Eugene, OR – Cuthbert Amphitheater July 10 – Seattle, WA – Paramount Theatre July 11 – Bonner, MT – KettleHouse Amphitheater Sept. 25 – Montclair, NJ – The Wellmont Theater Sept. 26 – Montclair, NJ – The Wellmont Theater
Spafford announced its 2020 winter tour this week. The four-piece will venture out on a 39-date tour following their four-night New Year’s run in California. Throughout the winter, they will be joined by a number of special guests including The Iceman Special, Eggy, Cycles, Yak Attack, and The Jauntee.
The tour kicks off Jan. 15 in Houston, TX at the White Oak Music Hall, then continues into Austin, Dallas and New Orleans. The band will then travel to the southeast with dates in Pensacola, Tampa, Fort Lauderdale, Jacksonville, Birmingham, Oxford (MS), and Knoxville. Jan. 31 is the first of a two-night run at the Variety Playhouse in Atlanta, GA.
February will see dates in Greensboro, Washington D.C., and Boston before their three-night run at Brooklyn’s Brooklyn Bowl February 7-9. The last night of the run will be a special acoustic-only performance. The band will take a short break and get back on the road for a set of Colorado dates, which start with a three-night run Feb. 28 – March 1 in Winter Park. March brings two-night runs in Frisco and Steamboat Springs, followed by stops all throughout the midwest and west coast, until the band reaches Las Vegas on April 4.
See the full list of dates below. Presales and VIP packages are available now, and general admission tickets for all announced dates go on sale Friday, Nov. 15. Check out the band’s website for ticket information.
December 27 – West Hollywood, CA – The Roxy Theatre
December 28 – West Hollywood, CA – The Roxy Theatre
December 30 – San Francisco, CA – Great American Music Hall
December 31 – San Francisco, CA – Great American Music Hall
January 15 – Houston, TX – White Oak Music Hall (Upstairs)
January 16 – Austin, TX – Antone’s Nightclub
January 17 – Austin, TX – Antone’s Nightclub
January 18 – Dallas, TX – Trees
January 19 – New Orleans, LA – House of Blues New Orleans
January 22 – Pensacola, FL – Vinyl Music Hall
January 23 – Tampa, FL – The Orpheum
January 24 – Fort Lauderdale, FL – Culture Room
January 25 – Jacksonville, FL – 1904 Music Hall
January 28 – Birmingham, AL – Saturn
January 29 – Oxford, MS – Proud Larry’s
January 30 – Knoxville, TN – Bijou Theatre
January 31 – Atlanta, GA – Variety Playhouse
February 1 – Atlanta, GA – Variety Playhouse
February 3 – Greensboro, NC – The Blind Tiger
February 5 – Washington, DC – 9:30 Club
February 6 – Boston, MA – Royale
February 7 – Brooklyn, NY – Brooklyn Bowl
February 8 – Brooklyn, NY – Brooklyn Bowl
February 9 – Brooklyn, NY – Brooklyn Bowl *
February 28 – Winter Park, CO – Ullrs Tavern
February 29 – Winter Park, CO – Ullrs Tavern
March 1 – Winter Park, CO – Ullrs Tavern
March 4 – Grand Junction, CO – Mesa Theater
March 6 – Frisco, CO – 10 Mile Music Hall
March 7 – Frisco, CO – 10 Mile Music Hall
March 10 – Steamboat Springs, CO – Schmiggity’s Live Music Dance Bar
March 11 – Steamboat Springs, CO – Schmiggity’s Live Music Dance Bar
The first ever Dr. Martens Music & Film Seriesis set to take place on Wednesday, Oct. 30at the Superchief Gallery, located on 1628 Jefferson Avenue in Queens. The event—set to begin at 7:00 p.m.—will consist of a group of performers and entertainers, sharing their stories of resilience and determination. They explore the trials and tribulations that come with a career in entertainment while realizing their own artistic vision in the music industry.
Curated by New York-based filmmaker Vincent Martell and Los Angeles based filmmaker Erik Rojas, the series will consist of L.A. and NYC concert events as well as accompanying short documentary films that will provide an intimate look at the daily lives of working musicians.
The confirmed artists for the Dr. Martens Music & Film Series include Brooklyn’s own JunglePussy—who is being promoted as the headline performer for the New York City portion of the event. Rapper De’wayne Jackson, female rock group L.A. Witch and labelmates Sad Girl, Los Angeles punk-rock quartet The Paranoyds, hip-hop soul duo OSHUN, Afro-Latinx group Combo Chimbita, New York-based R&B group Phony Ppl, punk band Death Valley Girls, singer-songwriter Samia and r&b songstress PJ.
Following their return to the music festival circuit this summer, Dopapod has announced additional dates on the Emit Time Tour, which kicked off in Denver at the Ogden Theatre, October 4-5.
The tour picks up in Philadelphia just before Thanksgiving, then makes stops in the Midwest, Northeast and Southeast before heading to the West Coast. Dopapod is making the rounds late this fall, bringing with them impressive support acts, with Organ Freeman and Cycles joining already announced bands Ghost-Note, Jojo Mayer / NERVE, paris_monster, and DOMi & JD Beck.
Dopapod Emit Time Tour dates
Nov. 23 – Philadelphia, PA – Theatre of Living Arts* Dec. 6 – Chicago, IL -Bottom Lounge^ Dec. 7 – Covington, KY – Madison Theatre^ Dec. 13 – Boston, MA – Paradise Rock Club# Dec. 14 – Boston, MA – Paradise Rock Club# Dec. 27 – Asheville, NC – Salvage Station& Dec. 28 – Atlanta, GA – Variety Playhouse& Jan. 17 – San Francisco, CA – The Independent@ Jan. 18 – Los Angeles, CA – Teragram Ballroom@ Jan. 24 – Portland, OR – Wonder Ballroom% Jan. 25 – Seattle, WA – Nectar Lounge%
* with Domi & JD Beck ^ with Paris_Monster % with JoJo Mayer/Nerve & with Ghost-Note @ with Organ Freeman % with Cycles
With events in Colorado, California and Vermont, WinterWonderGrass Music and Brew Festival has announced the 2020 lineup across all three of their flagship events. Taking place in in Steamboat Springs, CO from February 21st – 23rd, Squaw Valley, CA from March 27th – 29th and Stratton, VT from April 10th – 11th, the traveling music festival will welcome performances from some of the hottest names currently thriving in today’s Bluegrass and Americana music scenes.
“It’s with a mountain of intention, huge hearts, humility and a commitment to delivering the hottest and sweetest artists that we present to you the 2020 WinterWonderGrass landscape,” expresses festival founder, Scotty Stoughton. “Each year, the hardest thing to do is not heed our desire to return to each and every band–and by virtue of that, friends to WWG–year in and year out. It is our sincere desire you’ll find new lifetime favorites on this lineup, have the chance to be reunited with old loves and step out of your comfort zone with open arms to new experiences.”
“WinterWonderGrass has become a home for artists, fans, staff, locals, businesses, skiers, riders, their families and all of the like,” adds festival Director of Marketing & Ticketing, Ariel Rosemberg. “We pride ourselves on creating a sustainable, safe and receptive environment, bound by the marriage of the best in bluegrass, folk and Americana, and the undefeated nature of American ski culture.”
Returning to Colorado for its eighth consecutive year, and its fourth year located in the pristine ski town of Steamboat Springs, CO, WinterWonderGrass presents headlining performances from Greensky Bluegrass, Billy Strings and Margo Price over its three days this coming February. Additional artists on the bill include Keller & the Keels, Della Mae, Travelin’ McCourys, Nikki Lane, Molly Tuttle, Horseshoes & Hand Grenades, Bluegrass Generals (Chris Pandolfi & Andy Hall of The Infamous Stringdusters), ALO, Lindsay Lou, a collaborative set from the WinterWonderWomen, Pickin’ on the Dead, Che Apalache, Cris Jacobs, Twisted Pine, Jon Stickley Trio, Meadow Mountain, Jay Roemer Band, Buffalo Commons and Bowregard, as well as special guests Andy Thorn, Jennifer Hartswick, Bridget Law, Pappy Biondo and Will Mosheim.
Over March 27th – 29th, WinterWonderGrass makes its way to the Tahoe region of California for its sixth consecutive year presenting three days of music at the base of Squaw Valley Ski Resort. Headliners for this festival stop include The Devil Makes Three, The Infamous Stringdusters and Billy Strings (two sets). Peter Rowan, Fruition, Keller and the Keels, The War and Treaty, The Lil Smokies, Brothers Comatose, Della Mae, Larry Keel Experience, Kitchen Dwellers, Andy Falco & Travis Book (of The Infamous Stringdusters) Perform Jerry Garcia, Cris Jacobs, Trout Steak Revival, Midnight North, Town Mountain, Pickin’ on the Dead, Pixie and the Partygrass Boys, Old Salt Union, TK & the Holy Know-Nothings, Rapidgrass and Twisted Pine also join the bill, alongside special guests Lindsay Lou, Bridget Law, Will Mosheim and a collaborative WinterWonderWomen set.
The Vermont stop of the festival takes place over April 10th and 11th at Stratton Mountain Resort in Stratton, VT. Previously held in December, this year’s festival stop in Vermont was scheduled to coincide with the ski resort’s closing weekend. Headliners for this iteration of the festival, billed as WonderGrass Presents: Sugar & Strings, include The Infamous Stringdusters, Cabinet, Della Mae, and Molly Tuttle. Additional artists on the two-day lineup include Kitchen Dwellers, Andy Falco & Travis Book (of The Infamous Stringdusters) Perform Jerry Garcia, Twisted Pine, Che Apalache, a special WinterWonderWomen collaboration, Saints and Liars, Dead Winter Carpenters and Damn Tall Buildings, as well as special guests Jennifer Hartswick, Bridget Law, Pappy Biondo, Will Mosheim and more.
Additionally, the Grass After Dark Series will return for post-festival programming with more details coming soon. Resort lift tickets, Mountaintop Dinner tickets (Colorado and California only) and Grass After Dark tickets are not included in regular festival admission and should be purchased separately.
Tickets for all three festivals are on sale now: | |.
This month, Caravan to Wondergrass events are taking place in Denver, CO, Tahoe City, CA and Manchester, VT.
The Denver event takes place on October 3rd at Cervantes Masterpiece Ballroom and Cervantes Otherside, with an October 11th Steamboat Springs presentation of The WinterWonderGrass All-Stars happening at The Depot Art Center.
The California Caravan takes place in the coming weeks with a Tahoe Food Hub Event on October 17th, and performances by Midnight North at Moe’s BBQ in Tahoe City, CA on the 18th, and Alibi Brewing in Truckee, CA on the 19th.
Vermont’s pop-up Caravan stop happens at the end of the month on October 26th at Earth Sky Time in Manchester, VT for a special Halloween-themed event, featuring music performances by Andy Falco (The Infamous Stringdusters), Saints and Liars and Terrible Mountain String Band.
A limited quantity of fee-free tickets to WinterWonderGrass festival stops will be available for purchase during all Caravan to WonderGrass events. Click here for tickets and more information on specific Caravan events.
Denver, Colorado psychedelic jam-trio Cycles are making their way through the northeast this week, performing a series of shows throughout New York state as part of an extensive 2019 fall tour. Last night, the band played at Buffalo Iron Works, with Colorado’s The Magic Beans and Connecticut’s Eggy, for a commemorative night celebrating the venue’s tenth anniversary. This past Wednesday, Cycles sat down for an interview with NYS Music in Brooklyn, NY, just before performing a set at famed music club The Knitting Factory.
This was a first time appearance for the trio’s drummer Collin O’Brien, not only at the venue, but in Manhattan altogether. “I haven’t been to New York in like fourteen years,” he told NYS Music. “I’ve been freaking out walking around all day.”
It was a return, however, for the band’s guitarist Patrick Harvey and bassist Tucker McClung, whom have performed as Cycles in NYC before. “We’ve played New York a few times,” said McClung. “There was Brooklyn Bowl, and then we played at American Beauty once, for a Phish after party. That was really fun.”
“There’s a really sick jam from that [Phish] show,” said Harvey.
Sick jams were definitely in full supply for their The Knitting Factory show, which saw the band deliver a full range of musical styles, from jazz to funky-metal to soulful rock, across a dizzying set of songs that were all linked together via impeccable technical abilities.
While new to the city, O’Brien is also a relatively new addition to Cycles, at least as a full time member. The Chicago-born drummer moved to the band’s home base of Denver earlier this year and jumped on board with the band just in time for huge gigs like Arise Music Festival, Peach Music Festival, and Resonance Music Festival just last weekend. “I love it,” he said. “This has been the best summer of my life.”
He certainly fits into Cycles’ live musical experiment, with constantly shifting drumbeats and tempos thrown up against barrages of shrieking guitar solos from Harvey and slap-happy bass rips from McClung. As a unit, the band navigates an amazing balance between improvisational spontaneity and technical precision, and the results fuse together unique, often even quirky, song material with a sustained sense of freewheeling whimsy. A sense that, musically, anything could happen at any moment.
In their Knitting Factory show, they showed this resolutely. Some songs bled out into super spacey, affecting moments of trippy space rock. Other moments saw battles for highest intensity between chromatic guitar picking and dramatic drums fills—sometimes while McClung was balancing his bass on one finger like a vaudeville performer. At one awesome point in the set, Harvey broke from a melodic guitar solo to incorporate audio samples of an eighties’ sounding, glam rock tune into a hard-driving metal-funk jam from bass and drums. Does that sound odd? Absolutely. It is exhilarating and actually pretty groovy.
“I think when we first started, it used to be challenging to make it sound really full,” commenting on the three-piece driving force behind such heavily improvisational shows night after night. “But now, it just feels like I get to do whatever I want all the time. We’ve been playing together so much over the past three years, I feel like we all know where to get in and fill space, or where to leave space.”
Tucker McClung, Bass.
“Yeah, there is a lot of freedom in not having a lot of people on stage,” said O’Brien. “It’s easier to communicate ideas more instantaneously.” This sense of freedom is what gives the band the inspiration to perform a live musical game show next month, at Denver’s Cervantes’ Masterpiece Ballroom (where they will actually have many people on stage).
Tucker broke the concept down to NYS: “It’ll be one set of us performing as Cycles, but we’ll open up the night with a set of this game show. It’s going to be a super interactive experience. We might have as many as 30 to 40 people coming up intermittently and participating in the show, and we’ll be the host band for this Johnny Carson mixed with Wheel of Fortune kind of experience.”
“And,” added Harvey, “we have a game show host who is the freakin’ man! Dennis Craig. Definitely the best host any game show could ask for.”
“It’ll be a healthy amount of uncertainty,” said O’Brien. “Stuff will go wrong in the best possible way.”
Cycles Guitarist Patrick Harvey. Photo: Miles Hurley
The rest of Cycles’ schedule coming ahead has them linking up with jam scene contemporaries like The Magic Beans, Sunsquabi, and others. The trio looks forward to a huge hometown show in December: a debut at Denver’s The Fillmore Auditorium opening up for Umphrey’s McGee.
“I used to see them all over the place when I lived in Chicago,” said O’Brien. “They’re so nice. They’re just some normal guys that are like really, really freaking talented.” McClung, meanwhile, talked about seeing the six-piece staple act for the first time at this year’s Resonance Music Fest. “Yeah, they did an acoustic set which was pretty awesome. I was getting really pumped watching it.”
This week, catch Cycles as they finish their New York stretch with a show tonight at Syracuse’s The Westcott Theatre, followed by shows next week at Olive’s in Nyack and at The Hollow in Albany. While this season of touring seems to continue a road-tested sense of hardcore gigging for the band, they show no sign of slowing down, an instead an invigorated and grateful attitude for the experience.
When you’re as blessed to be doing what we’re doing, it’s foolish to be agitated at the world. Because you have this awesome opportunity to rock out. There’s nothing better than this. If there was something better than this, I’d be doing it.
Patrick Harvey, Guitar.
For more information about the band, their music, and their upcoming shows, head to their website.
Eclectic funk/jam band The New Motif are back on the road this fall and look to branch out of the Northeast with their two-night debut run in Colorado.
With stops in NYC at The Cutting Room, two nights on Cape Cod, a Phish after-party in Providence and supporting Kung Fu leading up to a performance at Bethel Woods Center for the Arts, the deep psychedelic grooves The New Motif has become known for will reach wide audiences as they close out 2019 with a bang. For New Years Eve, they’ll perform at the iconic Paradise Rock Club in Boston, opening for Pink Talking Fish.
Sept. 20 – The Press Room – Portsmouth, NH Sept. 28 – MTG Pheno Cup Music & Arts Festival – Lancaster, NH Oct. 11 – LaBoca – Middletown, CT Oct. 12 – Cutting Room – NYC, NY Oct. 18 – Hawks & Reed – Greenfield, MA w/Strange Machines Oct. 26 – P.H.O.M.E. – Portland, ME w/ Strange Machines Nov. 15 – Your Mom’s House – Denver, CO – PPPP After Party w/Stig Nov. 16 – ULLR Tavern – Winter Park, CO Nov. 22 – Grumpy’s Pub – Falmouth, MA Nov. 23 – Grumpy’s Pub – Falmouth, MA Nov. 29 – Stone Church – Brattleboro, VT w/ Kung Fu Nov. 30 – Fete – Providence, RI Phish After Party w/ Meraki Dec. 19 – Port City Music Hall – Portland, ME w/ Kung Fu Dec. 20 – 3S Artspace – Portsmouth, NH w/ Kung Fu Dec. 21 – Toads Place – New Haven, CT w/ Kung Fu Dec. 22 –Bethel Woods Center for Arts – Bethel, NY w/ Kung Fu Dec. 31 – Paradise Rock Club – Boston, MA w/ Pink Talking Fish
Robert Hunter, lyricist for the Grateful Dead and the pen behind some of the band’s most beloved songs passed away at his home in Marin County, CA, on Monday night. He was 78 years old. Hunter wrote numerous songs alongside Jerry Garcia, including “Ripple,” “China Cat Sunflower,” “Casey Jones,” “Sugar Magnolia,” “Mountains of the Moon,” “Althea,” “Dark Star,” “Stella Blue” among others.
photo by Scott Harris/The Capitol Theatre
A statement from Hunter’s family stated “It is with great sadness we confirm our beloved Robert passed away yesterday night. He died peacefully at home in his bed, surrounded by love. His wife Maureen was by his side holding his hand.” For his fans that have loved and supported him all these years, take comfort in knowing that his words are all around us, and in that way his is never truly gone. In this time of grief please celebrate him the way you all know how, by being together and listening to the music. Let there be songs to fill the air.”
Grateful Dead guitarist and singer Bob Weir shared his condolences on Twitter
If I’m gonna count my blessings, Robert Hunter and his imagination are gonna be up at the top of that list. I think I can speak for a lot of people In saying that. And then there’s the added blessing that he left us with plenty to go forward with... https://t.co/fnEZloJg9E
Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a non-performing member of the Grateful Dead, Hunter wrote with Bob Dylan, Bruce Hornsby, Cesar Rojas of Los Lobos, in addition to Garcia. Hunter also produced a number of books of poetry, as well as solo albums over the course of his life.
For a man who provided us with so many meaningful words, the soundtrack to our lives, he’s left us a bit speechless with his passing. For more than 50 years, since his first lyrical contributions to the Grateful Dead in 1967, Robert Hunter has been just as integral a part of the legacy of the Grateful Dead as those who recorded the music to accompany his words, those who walked out on stage to bring his words to life. More than 2,000 times 1967-1995, these six (or five or seven) proud walkers on the jingle bell rainbow, plus countless thousands of times since then by other performers, the Grateful Dead have brought Hunter’s words to life in front of all of us as their witness. Not a single day has gone by since 1984 that Hunter’s words haven’t been a part of my world; I’ve heard Jerry, Bob and others sing his words literally every day for the past 35 years.
When the final Fare Thee Well show ended in Chicago in 2015, Mickey Hart famously sent us on our way by asking us to “please, be kind,” and that lesson along with its lyrical brethren written by Hunter, “ain’t no time to hate,” and “are you kind?” are some of the truest words to live by. No matter what meaning, solace, lesson you find in Hunter’s lyrics, please go out and do some good with them.
Listen to full show audio from Robert Hunter’s performance at The Capitol Theatre in Port Chester, NY on October 5, 2013. May the four winds blow you safely home.
Colorado Springs mother, musician and trauma therapist, Xanthe Alexis, pierces the heart with emotion and unmistakable conviction. She is otherworldly; transcending mind, body, music and soul. Alexis remained on the Top 20 Alternative Folk Charts for six months, and Top 200 for the entire folk genre. Her spiritual workings are proven through a deep connection with the world around her, confronting realities of society through song.
Today, June 17, Alexis will begin her Artist Residency at Mothership – a space for international artists across multiple disciplines to live and hone their craft. Their mission: to support and promote artists through collaborative opportunities; build sustainable artists networks; and help retain creative forces in New York. Alexis will bask in the Greenpoint-neighborhood of Brooklyn through Wednesday June 26. She will perform an intimate Stage One, Rockwood Music Hall matinee at 3 pm, on Sunday, June 23.
At first listen to Xanthe Alexis’s 2016 debut-album, Time of War, nothing crosses your mind. In this blank slate, you involuntary start to breathe deeply into meditation, with finger-style guitar. Alexis’ breath (accompanied by Colorado local, Curtis Boucher) slowly restores your soul, filling you as you inhale – and hold. “Hey Love,” is just the beginning of the 10-track, fan-funded release that weaves-raw throughout your body, giving you that one-on-one feeling with Xanthe. A self-release so soft and filled with intimacy, it articulates a chaotic world with grace.
Her Mothership residency is special for threefold: Xanthe admits, Time of War was mostly first takes, recorded in six hours; She has recorded, but not yet finalized a second album; and already has four tunes in mind that will bloom towards a third release – hopefully to be influenced by the wonders of Mothership, Brooklyn, working artists and the inner workings of Xanthe’s Muse.
“With the last album, I had a lot – a lot – to say about mental illness. I don’t say it directly. I say it poetically. I think people get what I am talking about; and we need to talk about in our culture,” said Xanthe. “As A kid I was always sup-er sensitive, and emotional. I found music was the safe place for all of that. When you hear a powerful vocalist and all of that emotion, it is accepted in that arena. I was drawn it.”
There was this force, that transposed our phone conversation. We were connected by more than just music, and had oddly-specific parallels in our spiritual lives. “That otherness is what we weave throughout the music. It is close to all of us, and some of us are more aware of it,” said Xanthe, soothingly. “These strands of conscious explain to a whole other forum,” perhaps in more ways than we know.
Strangely enough, Xanthe feels zen-ed out in New York, a therapeutic calmness juxtaposed to the city. ”I’m going to live there [Mothership] for a few days with painters, poets and dancers. That is where everybody comes to work and live.”
For her upcoming album, Xanthe thought: I’m gonna put something out that is radio friendly that I still feel stayed the course of musical expression that I wanted to capture. But It’s been a long road. It will be interesting to see how this weeks experiences shape her final production of album two, as the lines between her professional world and musical pursuit disappear.
“It wasnt until recently that my patients knew about my other life,” turning her words plafully. “ I had a music program for middle aged school children. It was totally like School Of Rock; Kids would come together with no experience and become a total band. They would write all their own music and I would teach them chords – the language of music. I’d teach them: the chords are like a painters pallet.” Xanthe would play them a C and ask, “what doesn’t this sound like.” And they would talk about it.
“What does a D sound like: Oh, Its bright. What does an Em sound like: It’s dark and sounds a little angry. All of a sudden we would have this shared language through emotion. Kids are like sponges, they don’t have all that insecurity and fear yet, so they would just do it, ya know. They are at that age where they are coming out of their innocence, and they need to know that is alright.”
By combining life’s passion with professional life, those surrounding Xanthe realize “I Practice what I preach. They realize, this is a brave chick.”
A note from Xanthe: “If you want to be pleasantly spooked-out and hear your heart break a little bit and maybe then soar a little bit, [giggling] Come see me at Rockwood Music Hall, Sunday, June 23 at 3 pm.”
