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Event
Food Will Win the War + The Bones of J.R. Jones + Concetta Abbate (of Park Quartet)
This event is all ages
Food Will Win the War
Food Will Win the War is the Brooklyn collective led by Kyra Sims and Rob Ward.
"Painting enigmatic conversations as surreal portraits with his trademark baritone, [Rob Ward's] band Food Will Win the War explores a space largely unexplored even in Brooklyn's dense music scene. There's a delicate balance in this music between the fun of surrealist fantasy and the acceptance of life's realities." -The Deli Magazine
"Food Will Win the War is the BK band led by Rob Ward, a whispery-voiced singer-songwriter with an appealingly moody intellectual streak." -Time Out New York
"dreamy pop sounds mixed with complex human emotions" -Interview Magazine
"NYCs Food Will Win the War crafts tastefully layered alt folk with a chamber rock slant, combining multi-voice harmonies, instrumental embellishments on fiddle, accordion and glock, and sweetly harmonizing vocals. The music that veers from uplifting danceable odes to dreamy melodic and drifting soundscapes." -Creative Loafing
"Missing NYC's Food Will Win the War would be a big mistake -- especially if you like smooth, smoky, fine-tined, scaled-down fare à la Elliott Smith or Erland Øye." -Boston Phoenix
The Bones of J.R. Jones
On a recent trip to Southern California, Jonathon Linaberry did the one thing he knows best: he wrote music. That it happened to be during his honeymoon mattered little to the New York-based musician. I feel like Im always writing, the artist who performs as The Bones of J.R. Jones says with a laugh. I feel ever more confident in the sound Im trying to create.
In many ways, Linaberry is a victim of his own creativity. Where some musicians lock themselves away in a studio to create an album or a concrete collection of songs, Linaberry cant help but write whenever inspiration strikes. The blues singer and multi-instrumentalist, who incorporates elements of old-time folk into the all-encompassing persona of The Bones of J.R. Jones, describes his songwriting as a continuing evolution. Nonetheless, he admits he often wishes his ever-wandering creative spirit would settle down. I would jump at the chance to have the flexibility where I can have six months locked away in a room and focus on one solid cohesive theme for a record, Linaberry says. But unfortunately with my schedule I try to cram these songs into the spaces of my life where I can fit them.
Thankfully, within these delicate cracks of life, Linaberry is able to strike musical gold: The Bones of J.R. Jones latest album, Spirits Furnace, a crisp nine-track effort that bubbles with barroom dust and hard-won wisdom, finds the musician expanding the scope of his musical vision while stripping away the excess. Im a little clearer on the message that Im trying to put out into the world, says the singer who has effectively blurred the line between his own life and The Bones J.R. Jones character; he draws evermore from his personal life on his songs, most notably the tender, banjo-plucked Wedding Song written days before his own nuptials.
Its definitely a balance, Linaberry says of expanding beyond his self-created alter ego. I try to inhabit this character whoever it may be. But obviously a huge influence on that is whats going on at that time in my life. And then Ill twist it through the spectrum of The Bones of J.R. Jones. It usually gets a lot darker after but they both inform each other.
While 2014s Dark Was The Yearling hinted at an artist grappling with his influences, albeit still carving out his own existence, the new Bones of J.R. Jones LP instead feels a little sharper, a little more defined to Linaberry. On this album Im more confident in my choices and feel better about the performances.
Linaberry remains a disciple of early 20th-century blues and folk artists like Blind Lemon Jefferson and Lightnin Hopkins, both of whom the singer discovered in his teenage years. Still, he readily admits more contemporary influences are beginning to creep into his musical oeuvre. I like to think Im casting a wider net, Linaberry says, citing opening Spirits Furnace track 13 Kinds and Im Your Broken Dog as major departures for him, what with their heavy folk influences and electric guitar as opposed to his earlier more traditional blues numbers. I definitely still listen to the folk and blues stuff, but I really try to make a conscious effort to listen to music outside that box whether it be bands like Sylvan Esso or more pop-influenced stuff, he adds. Sometimes you have to find out what the kids are listening to!
Part of his current challenge, he explains, is paying homage to his influences while still making his own mark. I am hyperaware of the history that a lot of the music I play brings with it, he says. Im trying my damnedest not to reinvent the wheel but carve out my own voice. Its very tough to create something in this day and age with everything being a tap away without having a little history involved in it. But its about finding that balance where the music does feel fresh and new but also familiar at the same time.
What has continued to define The Bones of J.R. Jones is the musicians hypnotic live show. He operates as a one-man band playing guitar, drums, and singing in unison, creating the feeling of a raucous blues band with more immediacy. However, as a result of his new albums size and scope there has emerged a stirring impulse in him to bring other musicians onstage.. These songs are big enough that if I wanted to have another drummer up there with me it would make sense, he explains. Im trying to evolve the live show and the space it lives in.
Anytime I think about my live show I try to view it from one of my audience members perspective, he concludes. I do a lot up there. I cover a lot of ground sonically. Im trying to give myself room to grow.
Concetta Abbate (of Park Quartet)
Concetta Abbate is a violinist, violist, vocalist and composer in New York City. Concetta began studying classical violin and ear training at age 4, with Irene Lawton as her primary teacher. She later continued her classical studies with Jody Gatwood (Catholic University), Tanya Kalmanovitch (New England Conservatory) and Emily Ondracek (Columbia University). After a childhood dedicated to classical training, Concetta became interested in delving further into her interest in folk music, pop, and jazz. She writes original art songs inspired by natural science, folk tales, poetry in Spanish, and everyday objects and sounds. She released her first solo album entitled Falling in Time in February 2015 on Waterbug Records. Described as a "badass violinist" by Garret Bryant (HINGED), she has performed in diverse venues such as The East Indian Music Academy, the Rubin Art Museum, The Eastman School of Music, The Tilles Center, Cornelia Street Cafe, Columbia University, the Jazz Gallery and The Stone. She was a visiting composer in residence at TAKT gallery in Berlin both in 2014 and 2016. Concetta is most known for her work with poet Cornelius Eady (Kattywompus Press), guitarist Charlie Rauh (Brain Plan Records) and Latin music band Inti and the Moon (Intiluna Records). Other collaborators include Daniel Carter, Arch Contemporary Ballet, Roger Street Friedman, Skip Laplante and Flor de Toloache. Concetta is the musical director of a music education non-profit called "Teacup Music". She holds a masters degree in Music and Music education at Columbia University and has received grants from the Charles Mayer Foundation as well as The Roothbert Fund.
The Park Quartet is a Brooklyn-based music collective, and the Quartet-in-Residence at the Park Church Co-Op in Greenpoint.
They have presented / debuted works by new music composers such as Chloe Charody, Andrew Batt-Rawden, Adam James Cook, and Bronwyn Cumbo.
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LocationPark Church Co-op (View)
129 Russell Street
Brooklyn, NY 11222
United States
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