Great Northwest Music Tour
Truth & Salvage Company
Kevin Devine (as part of his Small Batch Tour)
- Olympic Club Theater |
- Tuesday, September 14
- 7 p.m. |
- Free |
- All ages welcome
Every month the Great Northwest Music Tour blazes a fresh musical trail, bringing an ever-changing lineup of talent to McMenamins Historic Properties. There is no admission charge to the festivities, and our unique hotels offer food, handcrafted beverages and a cozy place to bed down after the last note is played. Bring your friends and family and jam to a different artist every month.
About Truth & Salvage Company
The six musicians of Truth & Salvage Co. boast four lead singer/songwriters, each with a unique story to tell and voice to be heard. Together, they rise up from one common seed, and something bigger is made.
Originally hailing from Atlanta, New Orleans, Indianapolis, Tupelo and various cities throughout Ohio, each member has roots in a different past. It's from these diverse origins that a company of brothers has formed, ultimately connected by the shared bond we now know as Truth & Salvage. The result is genuine American rock ‘n' roll with a timeless sound and interwoven lyrical storytelling.
Prior to the conception of Truth & Salvage Co., the members had been involved in their own side projects that include bands like Scrappy Hamilton and Old Pike. In addition, they have all performed and collaborated with many other well-known and talented acts such as The Moldy Peaches, Ben Folds Five, Jack Johnson, and The Squirrel Nut Zippers; as well as members of My Morning Jacket and Rogue Wave.
A staggered exodus in 2005 brought all six musicians to Los Angeles, where they met at Hollywood's famous Hotel Café where vocalist/guitarist Tim Jones served as the venue's talent booker. First performing together during casual late night jam sessions, they quickly discovered their chemistry was undeniable. It was on that very stage that Truth & Salvage Co. was born.
The different paths that led each of them to this point engendered a remarkable range of sounds and styles. Their palette stretches from rock to country to alternative. The 12 songs on this self-titled debut provide us with a perfect balance of four-part harmonies and precise instrumentals, combining their own playful wit with thoughtful and enduring themes.
"From not having a clue of what will happen tomorrow, and not being concerned with that in the slightest," says singer Scott Kinnebrew, the band agrees that the album pulls inspiration from every last aspect of their past sixteen years of trying to "live the dream."
It was, in fact, "the sincerity of their song writing and passionate performance" that attracted The Black Crowes' frontman Chris Robinson to produce their debut album. With Robinson, the members of Truth & Salvage Co. were pushed out of their comfort zone, transforming great songs into pure brilliance. "The man [Robinson] has got a story for every occasion and can spin some incredible yarn," says Kinnebrew. Much like Robinson, this band is full of storytelling that is inextricably linked to the music.
The songs range from the celebratory "Hail Hail" to melancholy "Old Piano" to the wistful closure of "101." This is thoughtful songwriting at its highest level - it is music that could only happen in America much like a great songbook. And it's certainly a testament to their musicianship that a band of six can truly express the shared message of love, strength, and hope. The final track on the album "Pure Mountain Angel" -- which also closes their shows and consistently elicits standing ovations -- is the song that best describes this message, or mission, as they call it: "[It is] our stand, our take on life... it tells the tales of all six of us and reminds us that, though we are blessed with fortune, this life is as serious as a heart attack," says singer Walker.
One thing that is certain is that this band has taken their time and crafted an album that speaks of the truth, yet flows like a greatest hits. "Choosing the songs we want to perform requires humility and gratitude," says Scott Kinnebrew of the band, "but that's easy because we have known and worked with each other for a long time now. There is a lot of love between us." Their different personalities and backgrounds branch out to different sounds and styles, but always hold on to the band's unifying message, maintaining the integrity of their music and the truth behind their words.
Truth & Salvage Co. toured extensively in 2009 as the opening band for The Black Crowes and in 2010 they will tour with The Avett Brothers. In addition, the band also holds regular sold-out residencies at the Hotel Café. As a result of this extensive touring, they have managed to garner a loyal following, which continues to grow with each performance. The combined support of their fans with their own undying dedication to the music has truly kept this band alive.
"There are too many doctors and lawyers; lots of people clamoring for that so-called prized-position. We could buy into that frenetic race, compromising artistic integrity for supposedly quick results, like swapping cane sugar for corn syrup. Or we could just take our time and make sure that our songs sound good, using heart, wood, all natural ingredients... this is what we choose to do," continues Kinnebrew. "We're not sure if it makes us different from the rest, but it makes us different from most, and it makes us better people. If you keep on doing something long enough the people are going to hear about it, especially if it is awesome."
Truth & Salvage Co.'s debut album is scheduled for release on May 25, 2010.
About Kevin Devine (as part of his Small Batch Tour)
With a musical repertoire that spans the spectrum from hushed finger-picked narratives to bombastic rockers, Kevin Devine is one of those rare talents who straddles a multitude of genres and feels equally at home in each. Whether he's playing solo to hundreds of his devotees in a cramped NYC club, joining friends on stage at Lollapalooza or touring with artists varying from Rachel Yamagata to Brand New, Devine's songs enrapture a diverse set of ears like few musicians.
Born and raised in New York and currently dwelling in Brooklyn, Devine is a singer/songwriter who has been quietly honing his craft since the release of his first album in 2002. He's since been adding idiosyncratic chapters to his unique success story by building his diehard international fanbase with incessant touring and a series of compelling releases that highlight his introspective lyrical wordplay, each displaying an impressive musical evolution.
Brother's Blood, his fifth record and first with Manchester Orchestra's Favorite Gentlemen record label, is the most resounding evidence of that ethic and maturation - a sprawling, confident mission statement about conscience, culture, and personality.
Brother's Blood is a response to the three years Devine spent touring relentlessly behind his major label debut, the Rob Schnapf-produced Put Your Ghost To Rest, initially released by Capitol/EMI in 2006 and later re-issued by Brand New's Procrastinate! Music Traitors following Devine's dismissal from Capitol during its bloody merger with Virgin. True to Devine's character, he turned a potentially grisly outcome inside out and instead exited the label with a healthier and more thriving career than when he went in.
Devine accomplished this feat the old fashioned way: playing close to 600 shows between June 2006 and December 2008, further broadening his appeal and versatility, and doing it all without the centralized support from a label.
These shows offered him opportunities to share stages (and vans) with artists as diverse as AA Bondy, Annuals, Manchester Orchestra, Elf Power, Rachel Yamagata, Lucero and Corinne Bailey Rae. He appeared at The Sundance Film Festival alongside She & Him and Mandy Moore and at Austin City Limits with Clap Your Hands Say Yeah and Andrew Bird. He traversed the globe at a feverish pace: the UK with All-American Rejects, Australia with The Offspring, England and Ireland, Europe and Japan, and of course, the States. Back home, he triumphantly oversold two headline gigs at New York's Bowery Ballroom and was asked to join two very different groups of friends, Brand New AND Okkervil River, on their respective stages at Lollapalooza 2008.
Somewhere in all that motion, Devine managed to whip 15 or so songs into shape and started visualizing what would become Brother's Blood. He recorded barebones acoustic versions of the tracks in early '08 and eventually rehearsed and demoed those with his erstwhile Goddamn Band (Brian Bonz on keys & percussion, Chris Bracco on bass, Mike Skinner on drums, Russell Smith on guitar, and Mike Strandberg on guitar) in their Brooklyn practice space all summer.
Carving away at and layering ideas with producers Bracco & Skinner and engineer Dan Long, the band bunkered down in Williamsburg's Headgear Studios (TV on the Radio, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Au Revoir Simone, Son Volt) for the first two weeks of August. Devine consciously ceded more control of arrangement to his players, hoping to affect a more live, full-band feel for the first time on record.
The results speak for themselves. Brother's Blood is both the next step and a break in form; it reflects the diverse talents and contributions of The Goddamn Band as much as it speaks to the scope of Devine's influences and commitment to exploring new stylistic territory. Lead single "I Could Be With Anyone" is a charging and hook-heavy pop song equally indebted to The Cars and Superchunk; "Another Bag Of Bones" (initially released as a Rob Schnapf-produced acoustic single around the ramp-up to the election) pins its dystopian and restless vision of a civilization in freefall to a dark and explosive groove before finding release in a choir's hopeful strain. Meanwhile, the title track is a massive and dynamic homage to the epic guitar freakouts of Neil Young and Built To Spill and the hypnotic and ominous "Carnival" sets the tone its with spacious, swirling flares of psychedelia - a dynamic exploration of tension and release which plays against a nightmarish hallucination about lost willpower and the fear of finally waking up to a reality that's even crazier than your dreams.
But far from being one of Devine's rockingest recordings to date, many of Brother's Blood's finest moments are its quietest. Opener "All Of Everything, Erased" lays a bed of nimble and rhythmic finger-picking for its vivid description of a world left with no recourse but to cleanse itself of humanity and start over. "Fever Moon" is a sultry, Latin-influenced meditation on lust and its consequences that wouldn't seem out of place on a 1970s Leonard Cohen album, while "Murphy's Song" features a dazzling vocal turn from Jaymay that adds some jazz-era sensuality to the song's trumpet and piano-sprinkled Carribean lilt. On "Tomorrow's Just Too Late," Devine and Brand New's Jesse Lacey deliver a delicate and weaving full-song harmony that would make Simon & Garfunkel proud.
Whether he's joined in a duet, backed by his Goddamn Band, or singing quiet ruminations into his microphone alone with just his acoustic guitar, Devine deftly illustrates his unique versatility and breadth with each note. Brother's Blood not only serves as a reminder of this but as the next step in his exciting evolution.
- MySpace page:
- http://www.myspace.com/kevindevine
- website:
- http://favoritegentlemen.com/
