Archives For Communion Artist Spotlight

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On November 14th, Nashville based singer/songwriter Shelly Colvin will take the stage at the High Watt to play alongside artists like Tennis and On An On for Nashville’s Communion show.

Though Colvin’s debut album, Up the Hickory Down the Pine, came out just last year, she’s been playing music almost her whole life. Before she was even old enough to go to school Colvin joined her family to sing in a Baptist church in Alabama, where her father was the minister of music.

While you can hear the years of experience in Colvin’s voice, her music today has more of a rootsy, folk sound with a heavy country influence. Colvin’s musical inspirations are in the same vein; she listens to The Byrds and Emmylou Harris, Neil Young and the Flying Burrito Brothers.

Recently, Colvin’s enchanting vocals and straightforward songwriting have landed her a spot performing on Music City Roots and seen her featured in Nashville Arts Magazine and on Daytrotter. She’s also performed with a wide range of artists, including Jackson Browne, Dierks Bentley and Old Crow Medicine Show.

After she takes the stage for November’s Communion show, you won’t have another chance to hear Colvin in Nashville until December, when she plays alongside Brendan Benson and friends at the Ryman. On Thursday, Colvin will take the stage at the High Watt first; doors open at 7:00 P.M.

Meagan Lawson

Shelly Colvin- ‘Shady Grove’

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Joining the likes of Tennis, Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats and On An On at Nashville’s Communion showcase this Thursday at Mercy Lounge is VITEK, a local Nashville band who has begun to drum up significant buzz, both within the confines of the Music City scene and far beyond. Possessing a fun and upbeat electro-pop sound, VITEK infuses saxophones, rock ‘ roll riffs and hints of funk that give the band a unique musical identity that is truly their own.

VITEK are also great friends of ours here at Cause A Scene. We were fortunate enough to present the release show for their single “Sunbird” at The Basement this past May, which drew a packed house and also assisted in presenting the first Party 2 Provide, an annual benefit concert at the East Centric Pavilion that they founded and headlined. The proceeds of the first P2P this year went to Mental Health America of Tennessee, featured four other talented bands and was vastly successful The band has also recently been featured as Lightning 100’s “Local Artist of the Week.”

VITEK is currently in the studio, working on a new full-length album that is scheduled to release in 2014. With a live presence that emits a hypnotic and entrancing energy that will get you groovin’, VITEK will certainly set a precedent at Mercy Lounge tomorrow night.

Christian Lerchenfeld

VITEK- ‘Sunbird’

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About four seconds into the first The 4onthefloor video I ever watched, I was greeted with Black Keys-esque guitar riffs, impressive beards, and kick drums, so naturally, I was very pleased.  American rock and roll band The 4onthefloor comes from Minneapolis, Minnesota and was initially born back in 2009 with the plan to make some kick ass bluesy rock and to have loads of fun in the process.  Taking their name from the fact that each of the 4 members is equipped with his own bass drum and their set list of songs are all written in 4×4 time, 4OTH’s debut album was deemed, “one of the best rock and roll albums of 2011, by far,” by Indie Magazine.
 
Band members Gabriel Douglas and James Gould first bonded over their shared love of Led Zepplin and whiskey.  With the basis of a partnership formed on classic rock and Jack Daniels, something exciting and real was to be expected.  Using their interests of “stompin’, singin’, and clappin’,” according to the band’s website, 4OTH is attempting to “break down modern music’s barriers” and get back to the basics.  James Gould describes their efforts as “purely meat-and-potatoes rock.”  Gould also shared that by choosing to write all their songs in their signature 4×4 style, they sort of limit themselves “in a way that really forces you to be more creative.” Hey guys, it’s working.
 
If I were to channel my inner 4onthefloor, I would tell you to take another look at the lineup for Thursday’s Communion show, put on some of 40TH’s music, and buy your freaking ticket. This show is not one you’re going to want to miss.
 
Bailey Basham

Spirit of Minneapolis by the4onthefloor

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Duet, Savoir Adore, has shaped a whimsy world all its own, one absent of its fast-paced, Brooklyn roots. In 2007, discouraged by lack of musical success, Paul Hammer and Deidre Muro withdrew into the woods, leaving the gray, daunting city in their wake. Over the course of only two days, the duo managed to produce a concept album, The Adventures of Mr. Pumpernickel and The Girl with Animals in Her Throat, which was met with more success than any of Hammer or Muro’s previous projects.

This EP motivated the pair to aggressively pursue their musical passions, under the official moniker, Savoir Adore. Savoir Adore’s sophomore effort, The Wooded Forest (2009), launched the duet even further into indie music fame, allowing it to take the underground by storm. The group’s charming sound blended with perfectly placed rhythmic layering and understated lyricism created a warm synth-pop that has grown irresistible.

Savoir Adore’s charm flowed flawlessly into its most recent record, Our Nature (2013). Muro’s vocals are gently draped over the infectious pop pulse that courses through the record. This, coupled with Hammer’s unflinching, Morrissey-esque voice, is enough to have the most callous, flannel-toting, beard-sporting indie rocker swinging his hips and seeing the world through rose-tinted glasses.

It’s this bright, electronic instrumentation paired with woodsy words that make Savoir Adore musically interesting. Glued to their “No acoustic guitars” rule, Hammer and Muro have an electronic musical style. A style then infused with lyrics that might best serve as words to a hit folk ballad. “Loveliest Creature” is the best example of this nature driven, syth-pop marriage.

This marriage has sparked Savoir Adore’s success. Hammer and Muro have truly contrived an airy, imaginative world of harmony. Through their fun instrumental style and earthy lyrics, Savoir Adore has produced impeccable tunes that are bound to put a smile on any unsuspecting listener’s face. Savoir Adore will be rocking Mercy Lounge with Tennis, Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats and many more on Thursday, November 14th at Mercy Lounge.

Caitlyn Grabentein

Savoir Adore- ‘Dreamers’

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Prior to last year, Nate Eisland, Alissa Ricci, and Ryne Estwing were 3/5 of acclaimed indie act, Scattered Trees. When the band broke up in 2012, with studio time already scheduled, the trio decided to forge ahead and began recording for their own project, On An On. Those recordings went on to become the band’s debut, “Give In,” a hazy, synthy, pop dream of an album.

Following the release of the art house single from the album, “Ghosts,” the band began to see a growing buzz; they were featured as iTunes’ “Best New Artist” of the month, received glowing reviews in Paste and rocketed to the very top of Time Magazine’s top artists to check out this year.

On the deservingly hyped album, the three members combine their talents to create something unique. Ricci’s said that she contributes her enthusiasm for sound art and design, while Estwing brings in his bass technique and Eisland his sense for great pop music. Ricci sites Bjork and Radiohead as some of her influences and says that their music grows from sounds they experience combined with their intuition for how it should feel. She says the band’s greatest inspiration is simply their desire to be creative.

Recently, the Chicago-based band toured Europe for the first time and is on the current Communion tour along with Tennis and Nathaniel Rateliffe and the Night Sweats. On An On’s live show is one not to be missed; they generate the same hazy feel of the album but manage to make the songs fresh and unique each night.

You can catch them this week at Nashville’s Communion show at the Mercy Lounge on November 14th.

Meagan Lawson

On An On- ‘Boy From School’