Photo credit: Kat Schleicher
In the early '00s, back when discovering new music required just a bit more effort than it does today, one of my favorite ways to find new stuff was to track individual musicians. It wasn't hard to do. I'd simply seek out the bands that a bassist had been in prior to joining a group I was familiar with, or I'd use Allmusic.com to see what other records a backup singer or guest trumpet or cello player had performed on. It almost always paid off. Through searches of even the most seemingly peripheral musicians, I discovered elaborate musical networks that tipped me to bands and albums I otherwise almost certainly would have never heard.
I don't do many of those searches anymore, since the Internet now readily floods me with more recommendations than I can keep up with, but nonetheless it continues to amaze me how many worthwhile projects one lone musician can be a part of. Case in point: Former Milwaukeean and current Raleigh resident Nick Sanborn. In addition to playing in Decibully, Headlights and Buffalo, and making some pretty cool solo recordings as Made of Oak, he's also done time in Collections of Colonies of Bees and, most recently, Megafaun. Few players have covered so much ground while retaining such a high batting average.
Alverno Presents' upcoming production, Nick Sanborn: Lend Me Your Voice, explores Sanborn's career as a roving sideman, and in the process maps Sanborn's own unique network of musicians and collaborators, one that bridges multiple cities and music scenes. Sanborn will be joined in performance by some of those friends, including Brad Cook (Megafaun), Erin Fein (Headlights, Psychic Twin), Amelia Meath (Mountain Man), Christopher Porterfield (Field Report), Chris Rosenau (Collections of Colonies of Bees, Volcano Choir) and Joe Westerlund (Megafaun).
The production runs Friday, Nov. 8 and Saturday, Nov. 9 at Alverno College's Pitman Theatre. Tickets are $20.
|
|
