This isn't a post about events at work as might be suggested by the title. This is a post about how I was invited to explore the music of a band who is going to be playing at he the Wild Buffalo in Bellingham WA at 9:45 pm on Thursday, September 16th . There is promotional work to be done; there are posters to hang; there is word to get out. So it was that I found myself up to my earlobes this weekend in the music of Elephant Revival.I first heard the Elephant Revival on Sue DuMond's Gleanings Lopez Island radio show that is streamed through KLOI on Tuesday evenings and I asked her about them. She waxed poetic about the band and then someone yelled "Squirrel!" and I was off on to the next thing...until this weekend.
Elephant Revival hail from Colorado. I've never been to Colorado. I think DeVotchKa likes it there so it must be fabulous and everything DeVotchKa does makes me a little light headed. What is beautiful about Elephant Revival is not the Colorado Rockies, though I DO hear a hint of that country Rocky Mountain High whispering through the pines on a few tunes. It would be understating what I've been hearing in their music to isolate their sound by a location as there is some sweet layering of musicianship and genres at work. Here is a taste of what I have been spending the weekend enjoying:
The press says that Elephant Revival transcends folk. I have not heard enough of a panoply their work at this juncture to say but I do hear Celtic, country, folk, bluegrass and a touch of tribal melding into their sound. I look forward to being able to define this clearer after seeing them play live. Of course, they have violin and I've a weakness for this instrument. My name is Cile (no last names please) and I love me some fiddle, God help me. The fiddle player, Bridget Law, in this band is wunderbar and when added to the rest of the pachyderm, well...there is something lovely at work whether you call it transcendent or not!
An elephant is like a rope; an elephant is like a wall; an elephant is like a fan; an elephant is like a pillar...on and on it goes. This Elephant Revival will be like whatever will touch us in time and space and they invite us to listen. We may even transcend to being able to recognize the elephant in the room.
See you at the show.
video credit: mystic111mike
photo credit: Anne Stavely
1 comment:
Hi, Cile. I'm Jerry (no last name, like Fabian.) I enjoyed the song and the group. Keeping in the monkey/elephant mood, I'd add White Rabbit by Jefferson Airplane. As soon as I started listening to this video, the lead singer's manner of holding out lines reminded me of Gracie Slick. I'm curious whether this band does any high-energy mountain music, being from Colorado and all. Me, I'm a sucker for mandolin. I play guitar and banjo and try to liberally sprinkle mandolins on my music when I record. You can hear some of my music at http://www.jrasmussen.net. (If you don't want to provide a link, just take my website off.)
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