Event
Ben Sollee & Daniel Martin Moore (SubPop)
MY OLD KENTUCKY BLOG & STANDARD RECORDING COMPANY PRESENT
Ben Sollee (Louisville, KY).
Ben has found considerable success in recent years through his ability to bend. In 2007, he was named one of NPRs Top Ten Unknown Artists of the Year. His distinctive cello technique and soulful voice have been marinating for years in his work with avant-garde bluesman Otis Taylor, The Sparrow Quartet, (featuring banjo-master Bla Fleck), and on the internationally known Woodsongs Old Time Radio Hour.
Bens unique performance experience and creative vision trump his 24 years and traditional classical training; he is poised to emerge as a solo artist, bridging genres and demographics with earnest and dynamic songwriting. However, the single most salient quality of Learning to Bend, is Bens contagiously optimistic worldview. Ben is not just expressing his personal quest for flexibility, he is asking the entire country to learn to bend, learn how to cry, learn how to see the sun rise He is at the forefront of a movement that is happening right now: a zeitgeist in which a nation can face reality and empower itself to evolve and feel deeply and stand up for the power of hope.
Daniel Martin Moore (Sub Pop).
Youve never heard of Daniel Martin Moore, from Cold Spring, Kentucky. Thats okay. Before we got his unsolicited demo in January 2007, neither had we. Luckily, hed heard of us, and contacted us the way people in Cold Spring still dohe sent us a package, just to see what would happen. In all honesty, his odds were quite slim, but occasionally well take down that no solicitation sign on our door. Eventually, we opened his package and gave his four songs a listen and decided to contact himwe happened upon Daniel while he was working at a friends bed and breakfast in Costa Rica. Hed been a bit of a drifter up until this point, studied photography in college, joined the Peace Corps in 2006, traveling to Cameroon for his service. What was supposed to be a two year commitment was cut short due to illness. So he came back to the states, lived in Minnesota for a while with his brother (who plays piano on several tracks), and began to focus on music.
The first thing youll notice about his debut, Stray Age is its simplicity. Its a folk record, evoking certain feelings (as all good records should), but theres a gentle approach to its sound and the way Moores voice phrases his words. Stray Age was recorded in Los Angeles in three different spurts, the first two sessions taking place in October and December of 2007, then the third in February of 2008. He even got some people youve heard of to help him out. Joe Chiccarelli (The Shins, U2, The White Stripes) took on co-production, recording and mixing duties. Justin Meldal-Johnsen (Beck, Tori Amos) played upright bass. Jesca Hoop lent her voice to The Old Measure and Restoration Sketches. And Petra Haden (Bill Frisell, Beck) adds violin to Its You, The Hour Of Sleep, and The Old Measure.
Those reference points are really just that, though. Moore is most captivating as a singer, one who doesnt seem concerned with usual folkie fodder. If you ask him what his musics abouta legitimate questionhe just politely shrugs his shoulders in a way that says, thats up to you to figure out. But, the insights in Stray Age are not secrets and would never hope to be. Thats a good thing, as Moores much more of an optimist, hopefully anticipating the things that are just around the corner. Thatll Be The Plan strums along to a soft drumbeat, a traveling narrative centered around delicate mandolin solos. The one cover on the album, Who Knows Where The Times Goes, has Moore slowly, softly singing Sandy Denny, coupling his gentle coaxing with a faint vibraphone.
Yet as simply as Daniel Martin Moore thinks of Stray Age, its rich with understated complexities that take you to places that people like Nick Drake and Mojave 3/Slowdive principal Neil Halstead have been cited as doing. Theres a soft swing in the vocals reminiscent of Chet Baker. But the one thing with Moore, that we like to think of as separating him from the pack, is hes looking forward. He wants to go places, he wants you to come with him, and were finding him right in that moment.
Stray Age is a work that welcomes a listener to know it. This is Daniel Martin Moore. He comes from a place both geographically and personally removed from any sense of the independent music scene. Clearly, thats okay.
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LocationLocals Only Art & Music Pub
2449 E 56th Street
Indianapolis, IN 46220
United States
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| Minimum Age: 21 |
| Kid Friendly: No |
| Dog Friendly: No |
| Non-Smoking: No |
| Wheelchair Accessible: No |
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