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P.G. Six at Greenman, Wales 2007
Quiet alumnus of Portchester, NY's The Tower Recordings, P.G. Six's post-Tower career has been devoted to further exploration of the psych-folk form. His songs are often described as being influenced by British Isles folk styles, but these days that stock reviewer's standby is becoming more and more an oversimplification. You really can't tell which P.G. Six you're going to get when you head out to one of his solo shows. Will it be airs on a bray harp? Sea shanties? Improvised guitar explorations with Bob Bannister? Or will you be in for spontaneously composed loops evoking a style that might be called "Industrial (Revolution)"?
The answer is, E: Any Of The Above.
His electric band adds further tones to his palate. Their sound continues to solidify, yet simultaneously expand, with each passing week. A loose conversation on the topic of style at one recent rehearsal resulted in bassist / vocalist Debby Schwartz suddenly exclaiming "I know! It's like... Elizabethan Neil Young!" rbrt agreed that indeed it was " totally Modieval".
Members of the current lineup (in addition to P.G.) are:
- Bob Bannister guitar, vox
- Debby Schwartz bass, vox
- and (of course) rbrt on drums
P.G. Six and band at Rehab (the club), NYC - early 2009 photo: Chris Jordan
All of the players in P.G.'s current band appeared on his fourth-or-something-like-that solo record Slightly Sorry (Drag City, 2007) which also featured appearances by ex-Tower mate Helen Rush, singer-songwriter Megan Reilly, and Shams / Fish & Roses / The Scene Is Now alumnae Sue Garner. The radioactive core then solidified as a band, going on to produce the followup to Slightly Sorry called Starry Mind (Drag City, 2011).
The band itself was formed in answer to a call to action by Yo La Tengo, who invited P.G. to open one of their legendary Hoboken Hanukah shows at Maxwell's. The players gathered to prepare a set for this plum of a gig in spite of a holiday-season transit strike that made getting around town (and to rehearsals) something of a challenge. It must have gone well because they've been together since, performing shows large and small at venues like the Greenman Festival (Wales, UK), The Philadelphia Folk Festival, and NYC's Bowery Ballroom, where they opened for another "British Isles influenced" guy: Bert Jansch. The group have also toured the Eastern Seaboard with Drag City label-mate Joanna Newsom.
More information is available at P.G. Six's myspace page.
news
p.g. six "starry mind" | new LP/CD/DL
August 23 is the release date for Starry Mind, P.G. Six's long-awaited second effort courtesy of Chicago-based Drag City.
Recorded in Brooklyn at Seaside Lounge by Josh Clark and in Nyack, NY at OK Records by Greg Talenfeld, this bouquet of 8 numbers delicate and delerious features the core four of the P.G. Six electric lineup — P.G. Six (guitar, keyboards & vocals), Bob Bannister (more guitar and backing vocals) Debby Schwartz (bass and vocals) and good ol' rbrt (drums and percussion).
Boosting the "psych" knob are contributions from the likes of Tara key (guitar), Zach Cale (vocals), Scott Hirsch (lap steel).
The proceedings come wrapped up in a brilliant blast of Peter Max-lovin' cover art by Greg McKeighan which appears to portray an obscure tour exploit of the band members, one not previsouly described in Beowulf. Even if you don't have a turntable, you might want to consider popping for the 12-inch just to gaze at it.
Get a copy, drop the needle (or the laser) on the this baby and prepare to light a Cape Canaveral-sized lava lamp for blast off.
Or Blast-Out.
Or Blast-Someplace…
