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Event
The Wild Ponies
How does one describe those precious moments in life when we are able to transcend our small daily self-interests, and can somehow hold onto those rarified breaths of the deeper human experience? Radiant, the new Wild Ponies album, out May 13 on No Evil Records, explores those moments with alternating delicacy and raucous abandon. At times, its as though Telisha is sitting right beside you, fingers on your shoulder, whispering in your ear. Seconds later its hard to believe this full, confidently reckless sound is coming from only four players (Telisha Williams, Doug Williams, Megan Jane and Fats Kaplin).
When you lay every fear and foible, every hurt and healing out for the whole world to see as Wild Ponies did on 2013's Things That Used to Shine, the album's follow-up surely can't be faulted for cutting a little bit loose. That's certainly the case with Radiant, the rough and tumble new release from Wild Ponies duo of Doug and Telisha Williams. The set bucks and rumbles through 11 songs that pull from all manner of sources, poetic tweens, Catawba trees, homophobic politicians, dying small towns, and tarot cards. The tie that binds them all together is the thread of moments and memories, of cycles and seasons, that make up a life well-lived.
For Doug, Radiant is about stepping outside of the Wild Ponies bubble. It's about trying to look at the world around us and how we relate to it, trying to find some empathy. For Telisha, though, it's also about simply stepping outside of her own skin. When I listen to Shine, I hear the struggle. I hear the transition of a victim pushing, pulling, letting go, standing up, and shouting. Its intense for me, and its been intense for some of our fans, she explains. This record sounds more stable and secure in some ways, and fresh and exploratory in others. I dont think I couldve gone to these same places if I remained in child victim- and survivor-land. Theres an acceptance and love for myself that I didnt have before and that allows me to reach deeper within myself, and to reach out and connect to my community in ways that I wasnt able to in the past.
On Radiant, the Wild Ponies community includes songwriters like Amy Speace (Born with a Broken Heart), Sally Barris (The Night We Never Met), Jeff Barbra (Mom and Pop), and Amelia White (Big Blue Sun, Home Is Where the Road Goes), along with the aforementioned tween, Mariah Moore, whom Doug and Telisha met through volunteering with the Country Music Hall of Fame's Words & Music program. The pair were so struck by the imagery of the then-12-year-old's lyrics that they finessed them a bit, until her co-write emerged as the centerpiece and title track of Radiant. Telisha says of the various, sometimes unusual collaborations, I have to admit, theres probably a little defiance in all of this. Bucking the way things 'should' be done: 'You cant put a song you wrote with a 12-year-old on your REAL record!'
She continues, A good song is a good song, whether its written by a 12-year-old or an 80-year-old. We just want to make good art, and that usually means bending some rules.
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LocationTrinity House Theatre (View)
38840 West Six Mile
Livonia, MI 48152
United States
Categories
| Kid Friendly: Yes! |
| Dog Friendly: No |
| Non-Smoking: Yes! |
| Wheelchair Accessible: No |
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