Saturday night Psych

Set 2: saturday night psych

Ear for Sympathy

All Kinds

The Undertoad

Fearless

Night Demons

Raygun Blaster

DAY MISSION:

Birmingham Symphony Hall - Jennifer Blackwell Auditorium

Saturday morning began with Beth and I up with the sunrise. We were invited to perform at the Nashville Sounds In The Round by Sally and Steve of Gasoline and Matches. We left Woodbridge around 10 till 6 to arrive for a 9am load in. The drive. was smooth except at one point an erratic man shouted as he passed me on the right emphatically pointing at the left lane. I was in center with cruise control on at the speed limit of 70. There were lorries going 60 in the left and a wide open right. He sped off, crossed two lanes form right to left, and then pulled up on another car ahead and did the same, this time coming in early enough to force the car to hit their brakes to avoid collision. It was a good way up as I was starting to grow road weary. We made it to the show without incident. The Jennifer Blackwell story on the dedication intrigued me. It said:

“Jennifer had a spiritual connection with music and an open-hearted eagerness to explore music in all its varieties, from her beloved opera to the popular music of the 60s.”

We shared the stage with 4 other great outfits, traded songs about life, and connected with some open-hearted people in the room with us. I even got to play one of the nicest Steinway’s I’ve ever touched.

Our mate Craig who we owe so much gratitude!

FESTIVAL DAY 2:

Russell and Andrew stayed behind and headed to the Festival around 11:00.

Russell & Andrew’s Day 2 Accounts

Beth and I returned around 17:00

Our set started at 21:35. This is a special set because all songs are unreleased songs from the upcoming album. We opened up the set with “Ear for Sympathy,” a slow build song about hearing the heart song of a place and carrying on the spirit through song. I added a message about extending a bridge of love to find our commonality with fellow humans and growing in our understanding that “It Takes All Kinds,” the title of our upcoming record. We rolled right into All Kinds. “The Undertoad” is a public service announcement about facing your fears based on a recurring nightmare I had as a child. After that we played a classic David Gilmour tune from Floyd’s album, Meddle, called “Fearless”. It’s become our anthem as we reject the conformity placed on creators by optimization for digital platforms. We reject the algorithm, and trust the human heart. It felt like the perfect cover to broadcast the vital vibrations that we exude… and it’s a preview of what’s to come. If you subscribe to our mailing list, we’ll send you an advance version of “Fearless” ahead of its release. After the set I heard the nicest story from a woman whose father did lighting for Pink Floyd in their early days. She said our set helped her understand what it must have felt to be inside a moment in time together during those early days of experimentation, when artists were chasing something new and exciting. That made my year! Next came, “Night Demons,” which was an audible for the set, but I’m glad we added it on the fly. I think I have some confidence issues with this song sometimes because of the subject nature and inspiration, so it was great to see it so well received. Then we blasted on out with “Raygun Blaster”, one of my favorite songs from the new record. I think it encapsulates the zeitgeist of now. The realization of an endless kaleidoscope of failing systems around us without a clear path forward. We can blast our selves out of this timeline by facing our fears, and being about to say “NO” so our “yes’s” become more meaningful.