Josh Eagle & the Harvest City and Broken Ring, along with Maza Blaska, all perform TONIGHT – Friday, April 13, 9PM – at The Adelphia!

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Maza Blaska

Colleen Carow Interviews Maza Blaska

How did the group become Maza Blaska?

“We sprouted from a 6 song demo titled, “White Stone”. The tracks were written, recorded, and produced by me in my dorm room while I was studying abroad in Jerusalem. I communicated my ideas with Sam via email, phone and skype. My idea was to form a band around those original songs. A number of the band members expressed interest in the demo online and offered their support. When I returned home I was eager to start preforming and contacted a slew of my friends I had played in a previous bands with. At first, we we’re a very open group with a flexible line up that would at times include up to 10 people on stage. Since then we have slimed down our set to 6 solid core members.”  -Yoni

Yoni’s time in Israel had an influence on the songs on your CD. What are you finding as influences these days?

“My time abroad was extremely influential on my ideas and opinions about music. Living with people from all walks of life I was introduced to a world of music and sound both traditional and modern. My fascination with world rhythm and melodies has only grown since then. A huge influence is playing with 5 other musicians who all have different tastes in music. Everybody brings something unique to the table and we are open to pretty much everything. We are definitely influenced by pop music mainly from the 60s and 70s which contributes to our sound.” -Yoni

What is the hardest part about making music, writing songs?

“I find it hard to complete a song. I enjoy jumping around with multiple ideas but this makes it very difficult to complete projects.” -Yoni

What is the most joyful part about making music, writing songs?

I find a lot of joy in creating things, and I love to sing.  I think that singing is a really natural, hugely expressive way of creating for me.   -Sam

One of the delights of Maza Blaska is the textured, layered effect of the instruments and vocal harmonies. What drives the inspiration for your instrumentation … how does it happen?

“Storyteller” is unique, because of the way the instrumentation was built in and around our efforts in the studio.  When the band first started, we were rearranging and composing with what Yoni had done with “White Stone” in Israel.  The songs developed primarily for the adaptation that would be most convenient and fun for us to perform locally.  When we were presented with the opportunity to record at Ohio University, we wanted to expand the instrumentation to fully take advantage of the time and incredible resources that had suddenly become accessible for us to create a larger, more complete project.  The inspiration for the instrumentation on “Storyteller” happened through sharing the song with a small circle of musicians in a variety of venues over a long period of time.   We sought out pianist, Dane Terry and multi-instrumentalist, Tyler Evans specifically to play on the album because we wanted the songs to be full and beautifully arranged with a lot of texture and atmosphere.  A lot of it came together in the studio, but we were lucky enough to play with them live several times and kind of develop that instrumentation further.

Storyteller Album Cover

The vocal harmonies have developed over time in that same way with Blake, first in the studio and continued into the live setting.  Yoni and I are consistently focused on developing interesting chords and harmonies to sing.  Writing happens in all different ways, but usually starting with one thing and expanding upon it, over and over again.  Then editing, which has largely been a group effort.

Eddie Ashworth, the Professor we were working with who definitely earns the title of Producer on “Storyteller” had a lot to do with the actual layered effect of the instruments and vocal harmonies on the recordings.  We learned a lot from working with him and continue to develop songs with him at his home studio, The Oxide Shed.” -Sam

Josh Eagle & the Harvest City and Broken Ring, along with Maza Blaska, all perform this Friday, April 13 at The Adelphia!

Event Information  /  Facebook + RSVP

Josh Eagle Interviews Colleen Carow

How would you describe your music for the public audience if they have never seen you before?

We’re an alt-country unit with a rock and roll edge. We’ve got some serious veteran players and an intense female lead singer. And we like to listen to each other when we play – and send that energy out to our audiences with a smile on our faces.

Take me through the song writing process.  How does Broken Ring create a song from start to finish?

Colleen or Bill usually come to rehearsal with a song that either person has pretty well formed, but is open to everyone’s creative input. Jeff is an experienced producer as well as guitarist, who can draw on an amazing range of ideas for arranging and orchestrating our originals. Steve is a very musical bass player, and Michael, though fairly new to our group, is a keyboard player with many colors, sensibilities, and sounds. We take a lot of time and pride in evolving our songs and their instrumentation, and in keeping them unique from one another in terms of instrumentation, rhythm, and kinds of sounds. We change riffs and flavors as necessary. It’s an organic process. There is really no formula.

Thinking back to childhood, what was a memorable experience with music?  Does that reflect in the music that you create/play today?

That’s a personal (and treasured) question to answer that would probably generate a different response from each of us. Bill takes many of his cues as a drummer from Ringo Starr, who always seems to know just what a song needs to be itself — and “to heartbeat itself into your world” as Bill says. Colleen has been doing musical things for just about as long as she can remember – from donning her mother’s nightgown to dance to Swan Lake in the living room, to getting schooled on The Who by her high-school-aged brother – and wonders how it ever got away from her, so writing songs and playing shows never lose their luster for her.

Someone once said write what you would want to perform over and over.  With that in mind, what song do you love to perform the most?

Part of the fun of being in a band is experiencing the way songs can change in different venues or at different points in the life of the band. “Refugee” from our CD “Lake Hope” has always been fun to perform in venues ranging from coffee houses to big, outdoor stages. Lately, Michael’s new keyboard colorations are giving many of our long-enjoyed original songs new faces.

What do you think makes you and your music unique from other artists?

When we start, we don’t necessarily know where we will end up, and it’s lovely that way. Many people remark on how diverse-yet-related our repertoire is, how much fun we have when we play, and yet how tightly our songs are performed live. That last part feels really good to hear, because we work hard. The last time we performed at the Adelphia Music Hall, someone said it seemed like we were playing on Austin City Limits. We want to make folks feel entertained at that level while also making them feel welcomed and, hopefully, while presenting something new.

Broken Ring performed this cover of “White Table” by Delta Spirit at Jackie O’s in Athens. See them live on The Adelphia stage, along with Maza Blaska, and Josh Eagle & the Harvest City, this Friday, April 13 @ 9pm!

Factoid… Mark Becknell of Josh Eagle & the Harvest City made this video!

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Maza Blaska

Maza Blaska

Columbus
Gypsy Rock, Desert Blues, Pop Music

Why you should go

Widely influenced by many genres, Maza Blaska pays consistent attention to melody, focusing on harmony and thematic lyrical narratives.

“Despite the heavy subject matter, “Storyteller” presents bright, accessible indie-pop of the post-”Garden State” variety imbued with omnivorous globetrotting flair. The shorthand is easy: “The Shins do tango, mariachi and more!” But these songs are honest and complex, fully realized on the musical plane after two years of development.”
-Chris DeVille, Columbus Alive
“A cross-continental friendship, a kaleidoscopic fascination with the musical styles of myriad cultures and a flexible arrangement that permits a rotating cast of characters have turned Maza Blaska into a thriving band.”
-Kevin Joy, The Columbus Dispatch

Josh Eagle & the Harvest City

Josh Eagle and The Harvest City came together in the spring of 2009. Setting out to consistently create and perform heartfelt tunes inspired by the grit and storytelling of Tom Waits, the simplicity of Neil Young and abundant warmth of early 1970’s recordings. Consisting of Jeremy Smart (guitars/pedal steel,vox), Mark Becknell (drums,vox), Tommy Cappel (bass), and Josh (vox, rhythm guitar, harmonica). In the spring of 2010 the foursome spent a month in Cappel’s rural setting All Nighter Studio (Monroe, OH) recording what came to be the foursome’s debut record -Show Your Teeth. Receiving large national air-play and rave reviews: NPR’s Brian O’ Donnell raved “A fine record. Show Your Teeth is a dandy.”

There is NO Intermission for Tonight’s BIO

With comparisons to Whiskeytown, Wilco, Big Star, and Ray Lamontagne, JEHC released their 2nd album, ‘A Good One is Hard to Find’ in the summer of 2011. Since it’s release, JEHC has been invited to share shows with Robert Earl Keen, Hayes Carll, Todd Snyder, and members of Zach Brown Band. They have toured the Midwest/Eastern United States, has had songs played in commercials/TV shows and winner of 2011′s CEA Award for Singer/Songwriter

JEHC are currently working on songs for a forthcoming recording of album #3. They all reside happily ever after in Southern Ohio/Northern KY.

Broken Ring

Broken Ring

https://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=182544326843

“Dig your stuff.” — Todd Burge

“Broken Ring has been making a lovely stink about town for some time now. They play female-fronted Americana-type music with great melodies.” — Leo DeLuca, Southeast Engine and Donkey Coffee & Espresso

“Colleen Carow is a mix of Norah Jones and KT Tunstall. Her soft vocals seem to float over her music, creating laid-back folk. It is easy to tell from her lyrics that she has a master’s degree in poetry. Light, but at times bluesy, Carow introduces folk to its sultry side.” — The Post, “Listen Locally,” 1-14-10

“This is one fun band that’s worth checking out. Expect some swinging originals and twangy covers from one of the best groups we’ve heard from Athens in quite some time.” — Jackie Welker, Court Street Grill

“Danceable country-folk-rock for the people!” — Eric “Junebug” Leighton, The Athens News and The Royales

Angela Perley

Friday, February 24, 2012 @ 9pm

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A Celebration of Buckeye Female Rock!

BROKEN RING (Athens, Ohio)

http://www.myspace.com/brokenringlive

Broken Ring is an Athens-based alt country/Americana band with a spirited female lead. Drawing on raw and sassy originals with a bucketful of vintage and contemporary tunes, Colleen Carow (rhythm guitar), Jeff Redefer (guitar), Bill Rawlins (percussion), and Steve Phalen (new on bass) approach each song with thoughtful reverence. It’s fine fodder for this fatback, toe-tapping throwdown – lovingly complicated by the brooding elixir of a searching songbird.

ANGELA PERLEY (Columbus, Ohio)

“don’t be fooled by angela perley’s youthfulness and honeyed disposition; she and her country-fried indie rock mean business.” – alexandra kelley, columbus underground 2009

“they’ve created classic americana tunes that could have been played within the swinging doors of a saloon or on your grandfather’s old antique radio.” -hannah cook, acrn 2010

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5s5jjRolxuk

THE FAUXTENDERS (Athens, Ohio)

Playing the hit songs of The Pretenders!

$5 Cover
Starts at 9:30pm

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Cadillac Lester

Cadillac Lester returns to The Adelphia with their unique brand of psycho-billy rock, playing everything from Stray Cats to Led Zeppelin.
http://www.myspace.com/troubadour45786

Broken Ring

Broken Ring is an Athens-based alt country/Americana band with a spirited female lead. Drawing on raw and sassy originals with a bucketful of vintage and contemporary tunes, Colleen Carow (rhythm guitar), Jeff Redefer (guitar), Bill Rawlins (percussion), and Steve Phalen (new on bass) approach each song with thoughtful reverence. It’s fine fodder for this fatback, toe-tapping throwdown – lovingly complicated by the brooding elixir of a searching songbird.
http://www.myspace.com/brokenringlive

Corbin Marsh

Corbin Marsh lists his influences as whiskey and women. (CM, please get to us with more bio information.)
http://www.myspace.com/corbinmarsh1

Josh Buskirk
12 and 6 String Guitar master!
www.joshbuskirk.com

Broken Ring
Rockin’ Americana Country from Athens OHio
http://www.myspace.com/video/vid/46184809

Luke Schindler

Josh Buskirk

It’s a familiar story, in some ways, of boy-meets-instrument. A young man sits in his room, practicing guitar. His parents are gone for the day, so nobody reminds him to stop what he’s doing and eat. “Before I knew it in those days, 12 or 16 hours had gone by,” says Josh Buskirk. “I’m sure my parents thought I’d lost my mind.”

The slight, quiet and sometimes self-effacing Buskirk is the kind of guy who grabs your attention with his playing, not his manner. Spend any amount of time with the 25-year-old resident of Parkersburg and it becomes clear that his instrument is his life. “They say there are two types of musicians,” he said. “There are those that like music, and there’s people like me who are less cool about it and love their instrument. I love the guitar.”

It was John Fahey who coined the term “American Primitive” guitar, a style of music that reached its popular zenith in the 1970s in the hands of renowned guitarist Leo Kottke. “Basically, the American Primitive style comes from a couple of folk traditions — the Delta blues of the ’20s, ’30s, and ’40s, and bluegrass,” Buskirk said. “But there’s also elements of jazz and classical music in it.”

Credit Leo Kottke with Buskirk’s choice of musical style. He recalls a performance of the guitarist on the PBS program “Austin City Limits” when he was younger. “I was completely mesmerized by what he was doing,” Buskirk said. “I taped the repeat of that performance and watched it over and over again for months.”

Sparkle and structure are two words that come to mind when hearing some of Buskirk’s original work from his debut CD “It Always Rains on Sunday.” Engaging melodic ideas combine with the distinctive twangy propulsion of the 12-string guitar on tracks like “A Thing” and “Waltz?” The disc features nine other original tunes, including “L.T.D.,” a piece that Buskirk says is the first music he ever heard in his head. “Everybody has a beat, and that tune is mine,” he said. “I carried that idea in my head for as long as I can remember. One day, it finally made its way out to the guitar.”

The other quality of the American Primitive movement that Buskirk stresses is its compositional nature. “Basically, you are taking those folk styles and presenting them as composed pieces, which is where the ideas from classical music come in,” he said.

American Primitive guitar is not exactly a household name, especially in Appalachia. “It’s pretty rare to find this approach to the guitar, especially around here,” Buskirk said. “In fact, I haven’t met anyone around here who plays in the American Primitive style in West Virginia.”

There is an almost obsessive quality to Buskirk’s intensity about the guitar. He acknowledges the relationship in some interesting ways. On one hand, he doesn’t want to take himself too seriously. “I try not to think too hard about why I am writing and playing what I am at the moment. There’s a temptation, because I’m a solo artist, to maybe think too much about that,” he said. On the other hand, he accepts who he is. “I’m sure there are friends of mine who wish I’d talk about something else besides the guitar,” he said. “But it’s all good for me. Since I was 9 or 10, this has been pretty much all I’ve wanted to do.”

-Laura Harbert Allen
Allen is the music director for West Virginia Public Broadcasting, where she hosts and produces “Music in the Afternoon” and “In Touch with the Arts.”

BROKEN RING

Broken Ring is an Athens-based alt country/Americana band with a spirited female lead. Drawing on raw and sassy originals with a bucketful of vintage and contemporary tunes, Colleen Carow (rhythm guitar), Jeff Redefer (guitar), Bill Rawlins (percussion), and Steve Phalen (new on bass) approach each song with thoughtful reverence. It’s fine fodder for this fatback, toe-tapping throwdown – lovingly complicated by the brooding elixir of a searching songbird.

“Broken Ring has been making a lovely stink about town for some time now. They play female-fronted Americana-type music with great melodies.” — Leo DeLuca, Southeast Engine and Donkey Coffee & Espresso

“This is one fun band that’s worth checking out. Expect some swinging originals and twangy covers from one of the best groups we’ve heard from Athens in quite some time.” — Jackie Welker, Court Street Grill

“Danceable country folk-rock for the people!” — Eric “Junebug” Leighton, The Athens News and The Royales

“Colleen Carow is a mix of Norah Jones and KT Tunstall. Her soft vocals seem to float over her music, creating laid-back folk. It is easy to tell from her lyrics that she has a master’s degree in poetry. Light, but at times bluesy, Carow introduces folk to its sultry side.” — The Post, “Listen Locally,” 1-14-10
Click here to check out Broken Ring on Facebook!