| The Stray Birds — The Stray Birds (2012) |
The Stray Birds — The Stray Birds
Young, Weary And Resolute
Location: Lancaster County, Pennsylvania
Album release: July 21, 2012
Record Label: Stray Birds
Duration: 41:53
Tracks:
01. Dream in Blue 3:34
02. 25 to Life 3:59
03. Railroad Man 3:47
04. Heavy Hands 4:09
05. No Part of Nothin' 3:08
06. Wildflower Honey 4:11
07. My Brother's Hill 3:09
08. Give That Wildman a Knife/ Bellows Falls/ Waitin' On a Hannah 5:04
09. Harlem 4:25
10. Just Sayin' 3:07
11. Wind & Rain 3:21
Members:
• Maya de Vitry
• Oliver Craven
• Charles Muench
Description:
¶ The Pennsylvania based trio The Stray Birds, has been called the one of the finest young bands on the folk circuit and NPR named their debut record one of the 10 best folk releases of the year.
¶ New bands seeking to make a lasting impression on a nationwide audience are often inclined to lay it all on the line from the get-go. Unleash the full throttle of your instrumental gifts through intense solos and voice-stretching vocal performances, and perhaps folks will have no option but to listen.
¶ There’s more grace and artfulness, though, in exercising restraint, as The Stray Birds do beautifully on their self-titled debut. Clearly these are players with chops, songwriters with a fierce command of their craft. But they also seem tohave a grip on when to lend a hand, and when to let the songs fly on their own. This record was certainly one of the finest debuts of the year from a band to watch.
Website: http://thestraybirds.com/fr_home.cfm
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/thestraybirds#!
Reverbnation: http://www.reverbnation.com/thestraybirds
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/TheStrayBirds?ref=ts
CD Baby: http://www.cdbaby.com/Artist/THESTRAYBIRDS
Video on NPR: http://www.npr.org/event/music/165523330/the-stray-birds-young-weary-and-resolute
Biography:
¶ When The Stray Birds take the stage, the spotlight falls on three voices raised in harmony above the raw resonance of wood and strings. It is a sound drawn from the richness of American folk music traditions, spun with a stirring subtlety and grace. From bustling street corners to silent halls, their performances speak to an uncompromising reverence for songs.
¶ Raised within a few miles of farmland from each other in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, their flight began with friendship. With miles of music already behind them, Maya de Vitry and Oliver Craven first shared a song in January 2010. A snowy Pennsylvania winter welcomed collaboration between the two creative flames— and inspired the collection of seven songs found on the Borderland EP. Grounded in the unshakeable groove of bassist Charles Muench, the trio landed their signature sound.
¶ An ambitious touring schedule reflects their embrace of the experience of live music. “Music exists in a time and place, not just in a digital format,” says Charles. Reveling in the energy of each room, a connection to the audience is the essence of their show.
¶ Their tangible passion for acoustic music is certainly a testament to three musically rich childhoods. Shortly after beginning classical violin lessons, Oliver began performing on the fiddle alongside his parents in the Craven Family Band. Their repertoire of folk, bluegrass, and country tunes included many of his father’s original songs. Maya first performed during “show & tell” in kindergarten. She strummed three chords on a tiny guitar and sang Iris DeMent’s “Our Town” — a song in frequent rotation in the family car. She took piano lessons with her grandmother, who was a gifted composer. And alongside public school violin lessons, she learned fiddle tunes from her father, who performed in several local bands. The highlight of each year was the family's annual trip to West Virginia's Appalachian String Band Music Festival.
¶ Inspired by his bass-playing father, Charles started bass lessons in a public elementary school string program. As he gained fluency on this large and versatile instrument, his passion and interest in music education heightened—culminating in a Music Education degree from West Chester University. In the midst of this classical music education, Charles found another musical outlet—a weekly bluegrass pick in the woodshed of a nearby horse farm. “When the bridge wasn’t out, it was only 4 or 5 miles to Joe’s house,” Charles remembers. While his college music courses focused on the technical and theoretical aspects of music, “playing music with Joe was more about the spirit—and the social nature of music.” Joe also called upon Charles to work up another skill that he would carry with him—bluegrass harmony singing.
¶ Drawn to a region saturated by traditional music, Maya began at the University of North Carolina-Asheville, but left after one restless semester. During her travels through Europe as a fiddling street performer, she was startled by the poetry she discovered in the songs of Townes Van Zandt and began listening to songs with fresh intent. For someone who had loved songs for as long as she could remember, “suddenly, writing songs seemed inevitable,” she says. She spent a year and a half at Berklee College of Music in Boston, where she studied under Mark Simos, Darol Anger, and John McGann. She has since received national recognition for her songwriting, including 4th place in the 2011 Telluride Troubadour Competition and 3rd place in the BMI/John Lennon Scholarship Awards.
¶ Oliver also struck a balance in his musical education. Upon graduating high school he turned down several football scholarships, picked up the mandolin and guitar, and headed to Philadelphia to attend Temple University. While studying African American Literature and History, he wrote songs, played a few open mics, and began to record his original music. After three years, he realized that what he wanted to learn wasn’t within the hallways of a university, but rather along the roadways of North America. “I can do my learning in the front seat of a Subaru while crossing state lines,” Oliver says. ¶ “I listen to people I like, and then find the people they like, and then pay attention to that.” Experience has served him well—he has logged thousands of miles, played in forty states and four countries, and played for honky-tonks, folk festivals, and listening rooms. Along the way he spent two years as a harmony vocalist, fiddler, and guitarist for the Grammy-nominated Americana artist Adrienne Young, and one year as a member of the Virginia-based quartet The Steel Wheels. “I think music is the best thing about our country,” Oliver insists. “It is undeniable that if nothing else, we sure figured out how to make good music.”
¶ The Stray Birds released their wholly original debut full-length album on July 21, 2012.
©The Stray Birds 2012
BOOKING:
John Laird
PUBLICITY:
Lucy Haislip
MANAGEMENT AND MARKETING:
Charterhouse Music Group
William "Biff" Kennedy
(215)-641-0459
| The Stray Birds — The Stray Birds (2012) |