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Rani Arbo and daisy mayhem at the me and thee! (Suzie Brown and Scot Sax open)
Rani Arbo & daisy mayhem are a steadily deepening, 12-year brew of band chemistry, life experience and musical evolution. In 2007, the San Francisco Guardian called them "one of the most song- and arrangement-oriented bands in a field overgrown with pyrotechnic, jam- and solo-conscious virtuosos." Nice. And true. But what really sets this band apart is their connection to each other, to the audience, and to the music. Simultaneously loose and tight, their playing seems to tick by invisible radar; it's exciting, cathartic, and fun to watch. It's a band.
On stage, they are Rani Arbo (fiddle, guitar), Andrew Kinsey (bass, banjo, uke), Anand Nayak (electric and acoustic guitars) and Scott Kessel (percussion). Kessel's percussion rig is 95% recycled, featuring a cardboard box, tin cans, caulk tubes, and a vinyl suitcase in lieu of a bass drum. All the band members sing, and their four-part harmonies soar, whether on a haunting Appalachian ballad, a Springsteen rocker, or a Bahamian a capella song. Many of their songs plumb the human condition, with topics ranging from joy to death (a favorite), loss, aging, blackbirds and red-haired boys. The band has jokingly dubbed itself an "agnostic gospel" revival show, but there's truth in it; the refrain they hear time and again from audiences all over the country is that their performances really do heal.
Musically, Rani Arbo & daisy mayhem reuse and recycle (but try hard not to reduce) 150 years of American music. They hang a Georgia Sea Islands song on a New Orleans groove. They write lyrics for an Irish fiddle tune and underpin it with an Afro-Cuban cajon. Leonard Cohen gets clawhammer banjo; Springsteen gets bluegrass harmonies. Their originals range from blues, to bluegrass, to Unitarian funk gospel, to crooner swing, to spooky folk-pop. With influences from Doc Watson to Django Reinhardt, from Fiddlin' John Carson to the funky Meters, Rani Arbo & daisy mayhem celebrates America's past and takes it into the present. Of their signature style, Vancouver's Rogue Folk Review wrote, "It's as hard to classify as it is to praise highly enoughan intoxicating blend of roots music styles, with deep traditional roots and a healthy futuristic outlook. Strongly recommended."
Rani Arbo & daisy mayhem's newest album, Some Bright Morning will be released on Signature Sounds in April of 2012. The band's 2010 family album, Ranky Tanky (Mayhem Music), won top awards from the Parents' Choice Foundation, National Association of Parenting Publications, and the American Library Association.
Rani Arbo & daisy mayhem play festivals, performing arts centers and theaters from coast to coast in the U.S. and Canada. They specialize in multi-day residencies that include adult and family shows, as well as performances for under-served communities.
Suzie Brown and Scot Sax
Suzie Brown writes songs to process her life. For a singer-songwriter, it's not that unique of a creative impulse. But when you're also a cardiologist, used to being stoic and selfless on the job, the catharsis is even more essential.
"Music is my place to be honest," says Brown. "I can say how I'm really feeling. I like not having to be so strong."
That candor fuels "Almost There," Brown's fan-funded sophomore release, which finds her contemplating the joys and struggles of love with even more vulnerability than she brought to her 2011 debut "Heartstrings." The album was produced by Oliver Wood (The Wood Brothers) and recorded live in Nashville.
The Philadelphia-based Brown continues to carve out her place in the rich Folk/Americana tradition on the 11-song collection, which ranges from tender balladry to reggae-tinged blues and buoyant folk-rock as she bares the contents of her heart. But whether she's leaving love behind, embracing it with schoolgirl giddiness or meditating on yearnings unfulfilled, it's her voice, dulcet, with a husky edge and hint of twang, that captivates.
Brown is especially arresting on ballads like "Fallen Down," a lament for the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, and "Space Between," a plaintively elegant portrait of love in crisis.
With her gift for unforgettable melodies and evocative lyrics, it's hard to imagine it's been only five years since she penned her first song. In that time, she's been named a finalist in the Mountain Stage NewSong contest, a semi-finalist in the International Songwriting Competition, among other accolades, and had her music featured at Starbucks, The Gap and Anthropologie.
If she has no plans to give up her part-time clinical job, it's because she has a true affinity for medicine. But, music, she says, is who she is.
"I can't believe that my life was ever any way than it is right now," says Brown.
Awards/Honors:
- Falcon Ridge Folk Festival Emerging Artist 2014
- Nominated for Best Folk/Singer-Songwriter Album, 2014 Independent Music Awards (results TBD)
- Regional Finalist, Mountain Stage NewSong contest 2013
- Honorable Mention, American Songwriter Magazine Lyric Contest July/August 2013
- Winner, 'Best of Philly' for music talent by Philadelphia Magazine 2010
- Nominated for two 2012 Independent Music Awards in the Love Song and Americana Song categories
- 'Heartstrings' album #17 on Folk DJ-L, with #8 song - Oct 2012
- Winner, Best Female Singer-Songwriter, Origivation Magazine's Readers' Choice Awards 2010
- Semi-finalist, International Songwriting Competition for 'I'll Be Gone' 2010
- 'I'll Be Gone' from Heartstrings featured in the May 2011 Taste of Triple A Sampler
- Winner, Juried showcase at New England Regional Folk Alliance Conference 2011
- Winner, Artist of the Month on myruralradio.com July 2012
- See more at: http://suziebrownsongs.com/epk/#sthash.ZTq138Ae.dpuf
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Locationme and thee coffeehouse (View)
28 Mugford Street
Marblehead, MA 01945
United States
Categories
| Kid Friendly: Yes! |
| Dog Friendly: No |
| Non-Smoking: Yes! |
| Wheelchair Accessible: Yes! |
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