Don’t Look Now (It Ain’t Mitt Romney)
Who will pay his fair share of tax?
Who will shoot straight with all the facts?
Who’ll watch out for even you and me?
Don’t look now, it ain’t Mitt Romney.
Continue reading →
Reviving those elephants (via Shouts from the Abyss)
Credit: Anne Stavely
There has been big, big news in the world of Elephant Revival since the last time I wrote about them.
This is an exciting time to be a E.R. fan! Here’s a quick recap of what’s new:
A new CD, Break in the Clouds, has been released since the last time I wrote about them. It is as completely awesome as their debut. You can get it (or both as a combo pack) at the online store Artifact Concepts. You can also read an online review of the new CD at Boulder Weekly.
Elephant Revival music can now be found on Pandora! We can finally make our very own Elephant Revival “stations.” (Works nicely with the Roku to fill up the house with their sound.) So far, I’ve only heard songs from the new album. I don’t think the first CD made it on Pandora. It’s also fun hearing other music that the “Music Genome Project” thinks is similar.
Elephant Revival has pledged to plant a tree for every concert ticket sold via InTicketing. So that’s pretty cool. I bet that planting a tree never sounded so good.
From their official web site:
“Elephant Revival and In Ticketing have partnered with Trees for the Future, an organization dedicated to regenerating the earth by planting trees. This organization has been helping communities around the world plant trees through seed distribution and agroforestry training. Planting trees protects the environment and helps to preserve traditional livelihoods and cultures for generations. Elephant Revival will sponsor the planting of one tree for every ticket sold to their shows through their fan ticketing system powered by In Ticketing.”
You can listen to their music on their official web site and Pandora or buy their CDs. There is plenty of Elephant Revival to go around. I’ll be watching their tour schedule and hope to catch them live again soon. It is quite the experience.
Reviving those elephants
Elephant Revival. Credit: Anne Stavely
I recently had the good fortune to get a late invite to a live concert. A couple hours before and I had no clue I was even going out. Then the wife called and said a musical group known as “Elephant Revival” was going to be playing at a local small venue. I’d never heard of them. I found their web page and it said they are in the “transcendental folk” genre.
As a death metal guy, this is a little outside my norm, but I do happen to appreciate and enjoy all sorts of music, so bear with me on this.
Being a fuddy-duddy I decidedly did not want to go. But I love the Mrs. so I do what I must.
We found ourselves in a small country inn. It was a beautiful locale situated right on the banks of a river. There were about 24 folding chairs on the floor about 15 feet from where the band would be playing. We grabbed a couple and began a long wait. Meanwhile the place was buzzing with activity as people grabbed drinks and food. The people were quite an eclectic group. But mostly there was a beatnik or “hippie” feel that permeated the room. I feel a little out of place.
Finally it was time, more than half an hour from when we had been told the performance would start. A band member materialized right out of the crowd, and then another. Soon five people had drifted from the crowd and onto the stage. They had been mingling the whole time. It definitely felt like the kind of scene where a lot of the people there knew each other.
From the band’s web site:
Young in age and conception, Elephant Revival carries a fresh sense of creativity and inspiration that is felt by people of every generation. The neo-acoustic quintet is on the cutting edge of an emerging new genre that is known as ‘Transcendental Folk. The band consists of Bonnie Paine (vocals, washboard, djembe, musical saw), Sage Cook (electric banjo/guitar, acoustic guitar, mandolin, viola, vocals), Dango Rose (double-bass, mandolin, banjo, vocals), Daniel Rodriguez (acoustic guitar, electric banjo/guitar vocals) and Bridget Law (fiddle and vocals).
All I can say is, “wow.” Seeing them perform live is one of the highlights of my life.
I immediately sensed that Bonnie, who sang the set’s opening song, was the superstar of the group. Her voice is incredible and she is absolutely mesmerizing. It is literally impossible to tear your eyes away from her. She was wearing a washboard that hung down from her neck and with hypnotic movements of her arms and hands coaxed the most amazing sounds from that musical instrument.
Each of the other four members were equally compelling and it was fun watching as they each took their turn being the featured performer on various songs. All of them can beautifully sing!
Their live performance was incredible. Feeling that music pound into your body was quite the experience. I’m assuming they performed all original material, as I had never heard a single song before, but they were the kinds of song that you instantly fall in love with and can easily remember later. We also picked up their CD (which I highly recommend) and know it by heart now.
Thanks to the YouTube you can see them in action. The videos are awesome but don’t even remotely do justice to what it is like to experience them live. Also check out their web site where you can listen to some of their songs for free. If you like what you hear go to their web site and BUY THE CD!
Enjoy!
She plays the washboard in this one!
An Abyss Revival
Yikes. I’m running out of time for today’s post. I’m going to take the cheap way out. Since it’s Sunday I figured what the hell, how about a little atheist religious music?
Yes, I’m an atheist. I really try not to talk about it too much, though. But I don’t shy away from it, either. And by atheist religious music I don’t mean music that celebrates atheism. I don’t know if there is such a thing. Maybe death metal. No, I simply mean religious music that this particular atheist happens to like. 🙂
Is it a bit weird that I do? My music tastes are very far ranging and eclectic, and yes, some religious stuff is included. Some, not a lot. Religion actually has quite a bit to do with who I am. I grew up in a religious home and was an altar boy at the local Episcopalian church. When I was 16 I flirted with Mormonism, mainly because I had a lot of friends who were Mormons and the local temple had the very best indoor basketball court in town. A year later I was born again.
In my early 20’s I eventually explored a bit on my own and realized that I was an atheist. It was a militant thing. It was just a realization I came to, a belief that seemed right for me. Hell, I’d love to believe in God. I mean, who wouldn’t? I don’t find the thought of dissipating into nothingness particularly appealing. Who would? Studies have even linked a belief in a higher being to having a happier life. But I don’t believe. It’s not the sort of thing that can be faked, eh? I guess I have to make do without that little boost.
Anyway, here are a couple religious songs that I particularly enjoy.
I once saw Ricky Skaggs perform this song live in a very small venue. It was festival seating and I had arrived early enough to guarantee myself a front row seat. I was about 10 feet away from him at the microphone. The announcer said that Ricky wasn’t feeling well that evening and there was some question as to whether or not he would perform. Eventually the announcer said he would, and because he was sick, asked everyone not to smoke to help his voice. (Thank God!) Ricky hit the stage and gave a performance that kicked ass. It was brilliant, and this was him sick? It far exceeded any other live performance I’d ever seen in my life. At the end, when he came out for an encore, he asked for song suggestions and someone shouted out “Little Mountain Church House,” a song I knew very well thanks to my Ricky Skaggs collection. The lights dimmed until it was only Ricky, the microphone and his guitar. He performed the song without his band. There I was, 10 feet away, and it was the most amazing thing I’d ever seen. To this day I consider it the closest I’ve ever been to a religious experience in my entire life.
Um, yeah, ok, here’s the song! Enjoy! 🙂
Shouts from the Abyss 
Recent Comments