Kevens
In an increasingly divisive world, where age, nationality, race and religion are creating an ever-widening gap between people, Kevens’ message of hope is clear: “Positivity is a Necessity”
Strangled Darlings
Jess and George met at party in 2009, with their spontaneous duet of the Prince song, “Pussy Control”. Soon after that they formed a band around a principle of originality and ruthless editing of their work. The name of the band draws inspiration from southern author William Faulkner who would tell his writing students that ‘sometimes in writing you must strangle your darlings’.
The have written and toured as a full band but once they decided to tour the US full time and live in a 20 foot RV, there was only enough extra room for the little dog. Jess is a trained classical violinist but pick up cello and discovered that she was actually a bass player. George found his degree in English Lit pays better as an indie musician and so learned the mandolin.
The music is built on deep sense of rhythm and groove. Mandolin like you’ve rarely ever seen, somewhere between a snare drum and a slalom of notes. The solid body custom cello weaves an intricate counter melody and and percussive groove. The voices and the lyrics are the hidden third member of the band and the story behind the music.The songs work with nontraditional subjects for inspiration. Some song subjects include: the works of great authors (Faulkner, William Blake, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Donald Bartheleme, Anna Ahkmatova) as well as witchcraft in the Civil War, the morality of Somali piracy and the media impact of Neil Armstrong.
Strangled darlings have released 2 full length albums and one EP, receiving praise from hometown and national press alike. They tour the US from Fairbanks Alaska to the Florida Keys and cities and towns in between.
LOGAN BRILL
At the moment Logan Brill emerged into the world and drew her first breath, Pachelbel’s “Canon in D” issued from a boom box in the delivery room. Her parents had selected the strings-driven classic to provide a soothing welcome to the world.
Engaged as Logan was in the process of being born, it’s questionable whether she fully appreciated the gesture, but who knows? The important point is that, from the very beginning, music was present in the life of this Knoxville native whose new album you now hold in your hands.
The offerings on Shut Eye, Logan’s second album—all products of the storyteller’s art—range from gritty blues (Shut Eye) to country (Far Cry from You) to roots (Tupelo) to newly crafted songs that have the soft patina of revered old ballads (Wish You Loved Me).
“Recording my first record, Walking Wires, was enormously rewarding, but it presented me with a pretty steep learning curve,” says Logan. “When I began to work on Shut Eye, I had a much stronger sense of myself as an artist, and I built a collection of songs—a little blues and Americana and a lot of country and rock—that would reflect my tastes, demonstrate my growth and evolution as an artist, and get people out of their seats and onto the dance floor.”
It’s only fitting that Logan would want her music to incline people tomove. By all accounts, she was an active baby, and the adjective her parents most frequently plied in describing her waswiggly. During her first year or two her store of energy was inexhaustible but, as yet, largely undirected. In short, she just wiggled.
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