May 24, 2013
Friday night live at Transistor: Bed Rest, Calvin Conway and COINS. Sound by Jon Monteverde.
Steven Fletcher says this about the duo Bed Rest: "These two musicians, Katherine Trimble and Tomas Feijo, are not only skilled song stylists, they are adept composers, as comfortable on their respective strings as they are with digital software. Both are prolific solo artists and their outputs are fueled by extremes of musical interest. Often within the span of a single composition, Trimble's rich cello tones move from gestures evocative of myriad reference points, classical here, rural Americana there, to dense, layered, visceral explorations of friction and timbre. Feijo oscillates between unwieldy, assertive, meandering, emotive tirades one is tempted to think of as 'post-folk,' and time-stretch sample-based deconstructions of popular music under the pseudonym, The Reverend Dr. James Doctor. Together, they seem to focus one another, highlighting their overlapping idiosyncrasies. What you get with Bed Rest is puzzle-box songs, songs that yield more the deeper you listen."
For their Transistor set, Bed Rest performed with guitar, mandolin, banjo and cello.
Visit Bed Rest on Soundcloud.
Calvin Conway (pictured with vocalist Mary Porzelt) sings and plays the blues harmonica. His music is soulful and direct while being melodic and harmonious. He writes and records his music in an effort to create great sounds from daily life. Calvin recently completed a four-song EP called 'By Rail' that was inspired by a memorable train trip to New Orleans via Austin.
On this night he played songs born out of stories from the trip. From witnessing drought and devastation in Texas to experiencing the finest of hospitality and good music in New Orleans, the songs paint a picture of the great times had.
For his Transistor set Calvin was joined by vocalist Mary Porzelt.
Also available: a previous Calvin Conway Transistor performance from August 24, 2012.
COINS is a Chicago duo comprised of Angela Mullenhour and Ellen Bunch. Their 2011 release "Recital Pressures" received this write-up onPlusTapes.com: "Occasionally we come across a release that takes the time to mine the spaces between sounds, the gaps between notes, the negative space between reverberations around your headspace or headphones or walls of rooms, down hallways, through concert venues. COINS understands this because the group was borne from these same spaces, founded upon the power of a single Kinks cover between sets for Sybris and Reds and Blue. Since then, Angela Mullenhour and Ellen Bunch have come together full-time to conjure haunted spectres of late-night beach folk trafficking heavily in what is not said. Their ethereal tiki torching and unfussy instrumentation enables Recital Pressures to glimmer. Fall asleep on the beach, in the waves, wherever – COINS speaks to you; COINS waits for you."