UPCOMING EVENTS: Forest Listening Rooms (10/06 and 10/13) and Duke Performances (10/26 and 10/27)
This is a busy month: two upcoming events in the Wayne National Forest for Forest Listening Rooms (October 6 and 13). Plus, Shawnee, Ohio will be performed at Duke Performances on October 26 and 27. See below for more details! In "From the Archives," I revisit one of my earlier albums, Silent City. I hope to see you at these events, Brian
"Forest Listening Room" Events on October 6 and 13
What are your forest stories? Over the next two Saturdays (October 6 and 13), I'll be hosting "Forest Listening Room" in the Wayne National Forest. These events are open to the public. At each event:
Take a guided sound walk
Hear recorded stories of past residents
Experience music and sound in nature
Share and record your own forest stories
Where: Meet at the Tecumseh Lake parking lot (OH-93 just south of Shawnee, Ohio, 43782). There will also be a van traveling from Shawnee.
When: October 6, 2018 at 9:00AM (after the start of the Buckeye Trail Marathon).
October 13, 2018 at 1:00 and 3:30PM (during Little Cities of Black Diamonds Day)
The events are part of a Socially Engaged Art project, where I invite residents and the public to listen to the forest and talk about how it is used. These events are open to the public, and are funded through a generous grant from A Blade of Grass (and in partnership with the Hemera Foundation). I hope to see you there!
"Shawnee, Ohio" at Duke Performances
A reminder that "Shawnee, Ohio" will be performed as part of the acclaimed Duke Performances series, at the new Von Der Heyden Studio at the Rubinstein Arts Center. There are two performances, on October 26 and 27. This will be a very special setting, and we are very much looking forward to it.
From the Archives: Silent City
Released in 2009, Silent City was the follow-up to American Winter (2007). Giving the album 5 out of 6 stars, France's Magic RPM Magazine states that Silent City creates a "new Appalachian sound," where "time stretches out before our eyes."
The album includes songs, instrumentals, and field recordings loosely centered around Junction City, Ohio, the town where my father grew up. His family's apple orchard and home were across from a local cemetery, which they referred to as "silent city." (That's my dad to the right, and in the distance, the house he was born in.) The album features three songs with Bonnie "Prince" Billy, and a special written contribution by David Grubbs.
It also features sampled recordings from the Berea Appalachian Sound Archives. Silent City was released on Chicago's celebrated avant-label Atavistic Records.
Late at night, just before closing; sleepy, between awake and dreaming; old jukebox, conversation, laughter––and then, transformation.
Coda: "Some Glad Day"
Here is a video for "Some Glad Day," shot in Ohio and Kentucky, and featuring Bonnie "Prince" Billy on vocals.