Stricken with back issues and Lyme disease, the northern Michigan artist remains upbeat about Labor Day release of his star-studded album. The back story, with an audio peek into the new collection.
Supported By and Collaborating With Beloved Friends: Seth Bernard at La Luna Recording. (Photo/Loren Johnson)
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Seth Bernard has approached each of his 13 studio albums “as a milestone or a touchstone of sorts,” leaning on talented friends for his latest recording while allowing it “to reveal itself over the time spent creating it and breathing life into it.”
The resulting “Unrest and Rest” – recorded and honed with an all-star cast over a two-year period with Ian Gorman at Kalamazoo’s La Luna Recording & Sound – hits home with topical themes of social upheaval, transformation and sanctuary, not to mention inspiring performances.
“I’ve always been attracted to art that is of its time and also has a timeless quality – like there was a need to express and create the work at the time and it had some kind of application for people,” the northern Michigan guitarist, singer and songwriter says of his new album being released on Labor Day.
Coping With Pain, Moving Forward: Bernard (Courtesy Photo)
Coincidentally and lamentably – just as he laid plans for releasing and touring the new album – Bernard experienced unexpected, life-changing upheaval and transformation of his own.
First stricken by serious and previously misdiagnosed back issues, Bernard found himself pummeled by a series of afflictions that sent him to the hospital “multiple times,” including gastritis, anemia, intense pain and sleeplessness.
Eventually, the Kalkaska County resident was diagnosed with Lyme disease – a severe bacterial infection stemming from the bite of a tick – which sparked “acute symptoms on top of the back and hip issues.”
The dire health issues forced him to cancel an ambitious album-release tour with his “beloved bandmates” planned for September and October.
“I have to be patient with the process and manage my tendency to push. I am downshifting and leaning into trusting the process and leaning into my community’s love and support,” says Bernard, who’s now on antibiotics, an anti-inflammatory diet and a physical therapy and chiropractic regimen.
“I had to make the tough but necessary call to cancel my album-release tour which I was so looking forward to.”
LISTEN: “Touch the Earth,” Seth Bernard (from “Unrest and Rest”)
THE EARTHWORK HARVEST GATHERING SHOW WILL GO ON
Despite the setbacks, Bernard stresses that the Earthwork Harvest Gathering he hosts every year on Earthwork Farm outside Lake City will continue Sept. 15-17, thanks to the help of “a large team of dedicated organizers and strong leaders.” (Schedule, tickets online here.)
“I am still actively engaged in the day-to-day. Many hands have made lighter work and we are in good shape to host a great event,” he says.
“I am not sure how much I will be able to play at Harvest Gathering, but I hope some. I will be happy to be there with my family and friends. … My mom is coming for the first time ever; sharing it with her is what I’m looking forward to the most.”
Meanwhile, sharing the 11 songs from “Unrest and Rest” – including the thought-provoking “Return to Love,” “Think Outside the System” and “Universal Energy” – officially will begin Monday via streaming services, with fans able to purchase the album and donate to Bernard’s Kickstarter campaign for the project here.
The New Album: ‘Unrest and Rest’
The album boasts contributions from a bevy of well-known Michigan musicians, including bassists Justin Avdek and Dominic Davis, drummers Mike Shimmin and Adam Danis, singer and violinist Samantha Cooper, cellist and vocalist Jordan Hamilton, saxophonist Patrick Booth, keyboardist Charlie Millard and singer Gabrielle Schaub (Van Lente), as well as “sweet cameos” by Mark Lavengood and Peter Madcat Ruth.
“I’ve really enjoyed stretching out on guitar parts – riffs and solos and sonics and textures – on this record,” says Bernard, who also benefited from vocal coaching by Hannah Laine of Earth Radio.
“I am enjoying singing more and I am more at ease with my voice. We’re all constantly evolving and changing, and this is an album that is an offering to anyone who might find resonance in it.”
As for the challenges that still lie ahead for Bernard – widely respected as an environmental activist, leader of the nonprofit Title Track and founder of the Earthwork Music collective – he’s coping with the help of community, colleagues, collaborators and healers.
“It’s been a humbling initiation, and the most brutal and protracted physical pain I’ve ever experienced,” he concedes. “Through it, there was a part of me bearing witness to it, recognizing that this is part of the story and that it will change me, it will pass and there will be important lessons to learn, changes to make, opportunities to grow through this.
“Sometimes, a deeper awareness comes from a painful experience.”
LISTEN: “Return to Love,” Seth Bernard (from “Unrest and Rest”)
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