The Collection, w Juliana Jurenas & Emily Rodgers

Thu. Jul 24, 2014 at 9:00pm EDT
21 and Over
Price: $10.00
21 and Over
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Price: $10.00
21 and Over
Event Description
The Collection, w Juliana Jurenas & Emily Rodgers





Tickets are $10 in advance $15 at the door


“We don’t want fans, we want family”


"Every once in a while, an event will occur in one's life which crushes like a wave and destroys whatever the norm has been until then. This is "Ars Moriendi," the first full length record from David Wimbish and his NC based band 'the Collection.' In the early stages of writing this new album, and on the heels of their second cross-country tour, the band lost a dear friend to suicide, and their experience in the wake became the undeniable mold in which "Ars Moriendi" would be cast. As such, the album itself enfolds its listeners and brings them into a ground-shaking world where they are forced to ask the same questions the members of the Collection bore through the difficult process. 










"I realized, when it happened, I've never worked through or questioned death that much," says Wimbish. "It's felt far away, and this time it slammed me in the face."


Questions arise from song to song, wrestling unapologetically with life, death, hope, and the point of it all. Married with these themes is an overarching tone of redemption, both in lyric and musicality. 


Wimbish, a film composer and recording engineer, brings to the table a thread of stories and ideas which hold together this multi-sensory experiment. His words, simple and hard-hitting, are embedded deep within a full symphony of endless texture. Though he is responsible for these compositions, David takes his helm behind acoustic guitar and lead vocals, entrusting his musical vision to some of Carolina's most versatile musicians.


David's wife, Mira-Joy, shares lead vocals and harmonies while also providing the appropriately ominous hum of accordion. Long-time bandmates introduce not just a solid rhythmic spine, but one of character to accent a unique cleverness in the songwriting, utilizing instruments anywhere from drum and bass to phin and didgeridoo. Surrounding all of this are vast sections of wind, brass, and strings, sifting cinematically through each piece with an ebb and flow that feels as natural to the listener as their own breathing. 


However, the Collection is not just a bunch of musicians playing music, but a community of artists, nurses, farmers, students, and everyone in between doing life together. The majority of the members live in the heart of Greensboro, North Carolina, and invest intentionally in relationships with their neighbors in hopes of bettering the area as a family. 








"We don’t want fans, we want family," admits Wimbish, passionately. "It’s incredible to us that people would even listen to our music, and it’s so much more important for us to connect with those people than to figure out how to get fans."


With this at the core of the band's values, it's no wonder that the 15+ member dynamic is constantly shifting and reshaping itself as folks come and go. It is also no wonder that, as they grew ready for production, David Wimbish and his friends decided to travel their wide state to record this album in various locations, from beach homes to mountain cabins, from farm house living rooms to old church sanctuaries. 


"Our music, and these songs especially, were written in community," Wimbish points out, "And we felt like something of that would be lost if we were to lock ourselves away in a cold studio for six months to record them. Instead, we wanted to record in places of aesthetic inspiration and have our friends and family around for the experience."


Committed wholeheartedly to this endeavor, Edd Kerr (The Fair and the Foul, Farewell Friend) shared the engineering chair with David every step of the way. He set up and tore down a more-or-less "portable" studio from location to location, improvising at each new turn, day in and day out for the entire six-month process. Once tracking and editing were complete, the record was handed over to Jeff Stuart Saltzman (Typhoon, Deer Tick) for mixing and Dave Mcnair (Bob Dylan, David Bowie) for mastering.


The final product of "Ars Moriendi" may be described as a pure expression of the Collection, a sound and message that embodies the band's character through and through. David and his team have poured their all into this project, and the outcome of their hearts on the line is more than a sellable product - it is beauty. "


 


-Kevan Chandler





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Pittsburgh Winery 2815 Penn Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15222