Episode No. 35 unfurled as a rollicking double-header with in-studio performances by The Appleseed Collective and Moxieville, plus a chat with Craig “Griff” Griffith of the GR Musician Collective.
Now operating as a foursome as opposed to a quintet (with banjo player Katie Lee departing), Ann Arbor’s The Appleseed Collective has found a reinvigorated musical vibe that allows each instrumentalist more room to operate — and forced them to focus more intensely on their striking harmonies.
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“When we first heard that was coming down the pipeline, the first thing we said was ‘Let’s practice singing in harmony together,’ ” said guitarist Andrew Brown. “I think we really developed in that way.”
The band — Brown, mandolinist Brandon Worder, percussionist Vince Russo and upright bassist Eric Dawe — dynamically demonstrated those harmonies (as well as the influence of everything from folk to funk) during its in-studio appearance Friday for Local Spins on WYCE, playing inside the brand spanking new Studio X, designed for live performances at the community radio station.
The band plays Friday night at the Tip Top Deluxe Bar & Grill in Grand Rapids. The show starts about 9 p.m. with The Waxies and Stone Clover also on the bill; admission is $10. Get information online here.
Listen to the full podcast of Local Spins on WYCE here, with a video of The Appleseed Collective’s performance of “Bad Habit” below.
Immediately following The Appleseed Collective, harmonica player extraordinaire Craig “Griff” Griffith and Kalamazoo duo Moxieville joined the show to chat about Griffith’s upcoming Grand Rapids Musician Collective gathering at 7 p.m. Wednesday at The Stache inside The Intersection, with Moxieville performing a new song on the air. (Read more about Moxieville online in this Local Spins Artist Spotlight.)
The second edition of the collective aims to bring together West Michigan musicians to network and perform. Read more about the genesis of the collective in this Local Spins story.
Wednesday’s collective gathering will feature performances by duos, as well as a stage-filling, night-ending jam. Slated to perform will be The ElectroCats (featuring Griffith and Dave Menzo), Plain Jane Glory, Moxieville, Nickel and Dime, Channing and Quinn, Thunderbolt and Lightning, and Hannah Rose Graves and Justin Wierenga, with DJ McCoy spinning tunes in between. At 10 p.m., Mackinaw Harvest Music will also randomly select one name in a drawing for $1,000 in studio time and more.
Local Spins on WYCE also debuted new tracks from Crazy Chestur, The ElectroCats and Kathy LaMar, plus songs by Vox Vidorra, Alexis and Rootstand.
VIDEO: THE APPLESEED COLLECTIVE, “Bad Habit”
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