Irresistible & NOLA Inspired, MarchFourth on Tour with ‘Magic Number’ – Due Out 9.30

MarchFourth set to release first studio album of original material in five years, Produced by Ben Ellman of Galactic = Irresistible NOLA Magic

MarchFourth: A SteamFunk Rock-n-Roll Circus Party!

Head on over to Live For Live Music for the World Premiere of “Push It Back” Featuring Stanton Moore on drums → http://bit.ly/L4LM_MarchFourth_PushItBack

Portland, OR — Fifteen MarchFourth musicians traveled to New Orleans and spent ten days recording at The Parlor Recording Studio, making their fourth studio album, MAGIC NUMBER, their first in over five years. With Producer Ben Ellman (Galactic) and Engineer/Producer Mikael “Count” Eldridge (DJ Shadow, Tycho, Galactic, Trombone Shorty) at the helm, this album is full of the captivating grooves and brassy swagger you have come to expect from M4, plus a healthy dose of New Orleans magic, with guest appearance by Trombone Shorty, Stanton Moore (drums), and Matt Perrine (sousaphone). The album was fan-funded through Kickstarter and will be independently released September 30, 2016.

“MAGIC NUMBER represents a shift in the band’s musical evolution, featuring more vocals and guitar than our previous records.” Founding member and band leader, John Averill, who also sings and plays electric bass says, “It is also the first record by “MarchFourth” (we officially dropped the “Marching Band” from our name).”

MarchFourth is a genre-breaking force of entertainment. This explosion of brassy funk, rock, and jazz emanates from twenty or so performers: musicians, acrobats, stilters and more, touring the country year-round, stealing the festival wherever they appear, taking audiences on a joy-inducing, booty-shaking, soul-stirring journey that defies categorization. Word on the street: You have to see it to believe it!

“From the first note to the last, the sound was pumping and the fun never stopped,” exclaimed USA Today. “It’s worth noting that there are serious musicians behind all the fun. I was a music major in college and it’s obvious these guys (and gals) have had lots of training and formal practice. Talented band geeks turned rebels. When one of the horn players steps up to improvise a solo, you know it’s going to be a treat.”

“Working with a large group of talented songwriters and musicians in M4 made the project go really smoothly. Wherever the band goes they sort of set up camp… that led to a really creative working communal environment.” Producer Ben Ellman states, “It’s always exciting to work with a band that is open to experimentation and different possibilities. MarchFourth came in wanting to expand their sonic pallet from what they’ve done previously.”

“Unlike M4’s previous albums, recorded over weeks and months in our hometown of Portland, Oregon, getting the band to NOLA for a ten-day recording session really created an intensity and electricity you can feel throughout MAGIC NUMBER.” Founding member, cymbal player, singer, and tour manager Dan Stauffer recalls, “After long days at The Parlor, the band members would go out to party on Frenchman Street and sit in on sets all over the city, meanwhile the producers, Ben and Count, would create mixes late into the night: that’s the mojo you can hear, everything going off for ten days straight.

Ellman attests, “The individual songwriters all had a clear vision of where the song should end up… there are different styles on the record, but as a whole it’s very cohesive. Very MarchFourth.” Four of the band’s members wrote the eleven songs on MAGIC NUMBER including John Averill, trombonist and singer Anthony Meade, trumpet player and singer, and project manager Paul Theodore Chandler, and electric guitarist and baritone sax Taylor Aglipay.

“The decision to work with Ben Ellman was a decision to make a modern sounding horn-driven record. This is certainly the biggest, punchiest, and rockinest M4 has ever sounded on an album. We certainly pushed the bounds of what we’re comfortable with genre-wise and performance-wise but we have a lineup of musicians right now who can handle it better than ever.” Anthony Meade says, “Putting the microscope on yourself in the recording studio is one of the most ego-shattering processes to undergo as a musician. Some people handle it better than others but we were able to get super deep in such a saturated environment.”

With a load of fresh new material, MarchFourth enters some new territories on this album, channeling some deep swampy voodoo vibes steeped in the brassy NOLA traditions. MAGIC NUMBER kicks of with the aptly named “Call to Action,” featuring the M4-style second line, calling on folks to get on up and “shake yo’ tail feathers!”

Stanton Moore makes a guest appearance on drums on the song “Push It Back” carrying the listener off on a royal litter of afro funk. Trombone Shorty blows a fiery solo on “Inventing the Wheel,” a musical journey into a heavy hypnotic groove; the track also features Ben Ellman on harmonica. Matt Perrine of Bonerama plays sousaphone on the uplifting and soul searching “Science (Free Your Mind)” which radiates all the energy of a street party in a full-on brassy explosion.

The title track’s visceral and thoughtful vocals draw you into a bombastic dream world you won’t want to leave, fusing eastern brass and the Wild West, with a little nod to Adam and the Ants. “The funky breakdown part popped into my head late one night after many Tecates. Lyrically, the song is about age, aging, the cycle of life, mortality, and coping with acceptance and resentment.” John Averill says, “I was 47 when we recorded it, and months later one of my best friends, Dave Camp (who subbed for M4 a few times on guitar) died of cancer at age 47… There’s something illusory to me about age and linear time, yet apparently each of us has a physical duration.”

“The Quarter” has more of a sexy feel, with a slinky hip-hop vibe mashing up the style of 50 Cent’s “In Da Club” with some Tower of Power or Chicago-style brass parts. Paul Theodore Chandler says of it, “Unlike the other tunes I wrote for the album, this one had been ‘road tested’ at shows for some time, but with different lyrics that were more appropriate to a live show. Wanting to rewrite the lyrics to fit the scope of this album, I set out to capture the anticipation and excitement of flying into a new city at night, being enveloped in the magic of that new place. And what better place to land than the French Quarter in New Orleans.”

Other songs on the album range from the bubbly and danceable pick-me-up “Hotstepper” with the unforgettable earworm of a hook, “Don’t tell my mom,” to the balkan brassy “Drunk Bears,” and the gypsy metal sound of “Jan Jar.” ”It’s a Trap” features the band as punk rock as a brass band can go, while “Endless Highway” speaks to timeless beauty in it’s brevity–a gentle closer to such a bold and flavorful album.

Further members of MarchFourth appearing on MAGIC NUMBER include Katie Presley on trumpet, Daniel Lamb on trombone, Jon VanCura on guitar, saxophonists Michelle Christiansen (alto), Cameron DePalma (tenor), Andy Shapiro (tenor), and Jon VanCura (baritone, bass), as well as drummer & percussionists Jenny DiDonato (snare, congas, bells, blocks, ride), Cheo Larcombe (bass drum, percussion), Will McKinney (toms, chocalho), and Jake Wood (snare, hi-hat).

“I always feel like we are some freaky kind of Jack-in-the-box. Put twenty of us in a 45-foot bus for 6-8 hours a day, then open the door onto a stage and watch us explode!” Stauffer says, “Old greats like Basie and the Duke were some of my first favorite jazz artists in college. I love the fact that I tour and play with all these fantastic horn players and travel around in this bus. We are very much like the big bands of old, except we also have electric guitars, stilt-walkers, acrobats, and a psychedelically wide palette of musical styles and costumery.”

MarchFourth will continue to tour all over the United States in support of this album through the fall and into 2017 with their colorful stage show full of energy and groove.

Widely recognized for the allure of their live show, MarchFourth breaks ground with their music in the forefront on MAGIC NUMBER.

For more information and news from the road, visit M4 at www.Marchfourthband.com, instagram.com/m4mb, facebook.com/marchfourthmarchingband, twitter.com/m4mb, and on YouTube.

MAGIC NUMBER Track Listing

1. CALL TO ACTION 3:20 (Meade)
   2. THE QUARTER 4:06 (Chandler)
   3. MAGIC NUMBER 4:18 (Averill)
   4. PUSH IT BACK 2:51 *featuring Stanton Moore (Chandler)
   5. INVENTING THE WHEEL 6:51 *featuring Trombone Shorty and Ben Ellman (Meade)
   6. HOTSTEPPER 3:36 (Chandler)
   7. DRUNK BEARS 3:24 (Meade)
   8. JAN JAR 3:04 (Aglipay)
   9. SCIENCE (FREE YOUR MIND) 6:00 *featuring Matt Perrine (Meade)
   10. IT’S A TRAP! 4:13 (Meade)
   11. ENDLESS HIGHWAY 1:21 (Chandler)

Produced by Ben Ellman
Except tracks 1,2,4,6 produced by Ben Ellman and Count

MarchFourth’s ‘Magic Number’ 2016 Tour Dates
9/8 Thu – Central Park Sessions – Madison, WI
9/9 Fri – Be Here Now – Muncie, IN
9/10 Sat – TBA – Detroit, MI
9/11 Sun – Abbey Bar of Appalachian Brewery – Harrisburg, PA
9/13 Tue – Gypsy Sally’s – Washington, DC
9/14 Wed – The Rocks Off Concert Cruise – New York, NY
9/15 Thu – Port City Music Hall – Portland, ME
9/16-18 Fri-Sun – Harvest Jazz and Blues Festival – Fredericton, NB
9/22 Thu – Belly Up Aspen – Aspen, CO
9/23 Fri – Boulder Theater – Boulder, CO
9/24 Sat – Mishawaka Amphitheater – Bellvue, CO
9/25 Sun – Center for the Arts – Jackson, WY
9/30-10/1 Fri-Sat – Sierra Nevada Brewing Co’s Oktoberfest – Chico, CA
10/4 Tue – Harlow’s – Sacramento, CA
10/5 Wed – Don Quixote’s International Music Hall – Felton, CA
10/6 Thu – Great American Music Hall – San Francisco, CA
10/7-8 Fri-Sat – Sierra Nevada Brewing Co’s Oktoberfest – Chico, CA
10/28 Fri – Revolution Hall (2 shows!) – Portland, OR
12/15 Thu – Egyptian Theater – Boise, ID
12/17 Sat – Winthrop Barn Auditorium – Winthrop, WA

For more information and news from the road, visit M4 at www.Marchfourthband.com

 

 

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Grateful and Unforgettable: Lockn’ 2015 in Review. Words By Kirby Farineau; Photos by Milo Farineau

Grateful and Unforgettable: Lockn’ 2015 in Review.
Words By Kirby Farineau; Photos by Milo Farineau

Stepping up the grassy hill to attend the third annual Lockn’ Music Festival, attendees were greeted with the sight of the event in all its grandeur. Fields of tents, cars, and RVs stretched into the distance far from the dazzling Oakridge stage. Held inside the Oakridge farm racetrack, Lockn’ provides a wide open space for its many thousands of attendees. Based on previous year’s success, the setup for year three is mostly unchanged, providing a great structure to explore the festival grounds and enjoy the music from almost anywhere.

One cannot discuss this year’s festivities without mentioning the unfortunate and literal rain on the parade. Due to an intense storm system on Wednesday, there was enough damage to the festival stage, vendor tents, and campgrounds that impaired their ability to safely run on its scheduled opening day. To the dismay of many, the festival shut all Thursday events down, turning attendees away to the many impromptu pop-up shantytowns in campgrounds and parking lots around the state. Some of the acts were lost, as Thursday was the only day they could play (Little Feat, Galactic, etc.), but Lockn’ was quick to remedy the situation, taking action to create a condensed schedule of music for the remainder of the weekend, making the best of the time and musical talents they had to work with.

Seeing as that first Friday fell on the important but somber date of 9/11, the festival did their best to honor the occasion in a way that didn’t dwell on the tragedy. John Popper of Blues Traveler took the stage first to deliver the national anthem, surrounded by a group of first responders from the attack on the Twin Towers underneath a big star spangled banner waving for everyone to see. After a few moments to reflect, the swaths of festival attendees bunched up towards the stage were finally greeted with the sounds of The Doobie Incident, a respective combination of classic rock band The Doobie Brothers, and The String Cheese Incident, who played classics from the Doobie’s career but with some added instrumentation from String Cheese. The rest of the first day’s acts followed in a seamless succession, as bands like Seth Stainback and Roosterfoot, Moonalice, and the North Mississippi Allstars all provided rocking, roots, and bluesy sets before New Orleans singer songwriter Anders Osborne and his band brought their original style of heavy funk/blues rock to the stage.

Steve Earle and The Dukes, with his deep southern tones and their unique country style provided a chance for audience members to gather themselves, and prepare for a torrential outpouring of musical experiences that evening which surpassed the literal storm from the days before. The String Cheese Incident revisited the stage to deliver their own set, followed closely by a performance from the always varying Phil and Friends, this time featuring the fantastic vocal stylings of Lockn’ veteran, Chris Robinson, who took the stage singing classic Grateful Dead tunes in front of Phil Lesh, himself. This was the first of many performances that emphasized one of the greatest elements of Lockn’: collaboration. The cooperative efforts of veteran musicians across genres made for some historical and downright crazy performances throughout the rest of the weekend.

The night ended with back- to-back powerhouse celebrations of music history: The 50 year anniversary of Jefferson Airplane, and a tribute to the late Joe Cocker. The first performance featured Jack and Jorma of Hot Tuna fame, alongside Rachael Price of Lake Street Dive, and drummer Bill Kreutzmann, followed by an unforgettable show simply dubbed Mad Dogs and Englishmen. There’s something magical about seeing Susan Tedeschi, Leon Russell, and Chris Robinson all on the same stage alongside Cocker’s old backup singers like Rita Coolidge which created an image and a sound that attendees will not soon forget.  Closing up with late night performances from Mickey Hart and Umphrey’s McGee, Friday came to a very rousing and very late conclusion.

Things ramped up early on Saturday kicking things off with one of the Rockn’ to Lockn’ contest winners, local country band Lord Nelson, followed by the always entertaining 80’s cover bluegrass group Love Canon.  Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe teamed up with keyboardist Chuck Leavell to deliver a remarkable performance of soulful horn-heavy rock before Hot Tuna once more took the stage, this time playing a sit down acoustic set of their own music and introspective conversation, allowing audience members a little period of relaxation. More great sets that afternoon with the Tedeschi Trucks Band, who somehow get better with every performance. The soulful duo of quiet guitarist Derek Trucks alongside wife Susan Tedeschi, a woman who could sing the roof off a stadium, was soon joined by Grateful Dead legend Bob Weir for a few tunes. The appearance of Weir enamored audience members with another brilliant aspect of Lockn’: The Legacy of the Grateful Dead.

Ever since the grand reunion show in Chicago, speculation about the Grateful Dead at Lockn’ gripped the hopes of Deadheads everywhere. For many who were unable to attend that “last show” at Soldier’s Field, it seems that Lockn’ was a possible opportunity to see the four members in some capacity. Ever since Lockn’ organizers Dave Fry and Pete Shapiro announced that all four members were going to be there, the hearts and minds of fans everywhere were racing.

Before that was to be seen, we got musical legend Robert Plant with the Sensational Space Shifters , followed shortly by what at this point seems to be a Lockn’ tradition of Widespread Panic collaborating with a classic musician, in this case Jimmy Cliff.

Then came a show from Billy and The Kids, which may be the closest to the real lineup people may ever get, with Bob Weir, Bill Kreutzmann, and Mickey Hart all performing on the Oak Stage, while Phil Lesh set up for his show on the Ridge Stage adjoining (but not accompanying). For a very brief moment in time, from the audience, one could at least see all four members of the Grateful Dead together, in some capacity on stage together.

The second Phil and Friends show was as interesting as the first, featuring two different but masterful guitarists Warren Haynes and Carlos Santana. Saturday finished with another late night performance from Mickey Hart, and an appearance of Govt Mule.

Sunday waved goodbye to the thousands of festival-goers, but not without a few more stunning performances. Richmond reps and Rockn’ to Lockn’ winners, The Southern Belles , followed by Fishbone, The Oh Hellos, and a hip shaking performance by St. Paul and The Broken Bones. Save for performances from Trombone Shorty and Slightly Stoopid, the last evening was comprised of artists (Widespread Panic, Gov’t Mule, and Robert Plant) who had  played previously, but played additional sets in different configurations, proving that more is sometimes better.

It seems that with each successive and successful year, Lockn’ has become one of the biggest and most unforgettable festivals in Virginia. Through the efforts of vendors, volunteers, and staff, Lockn’ managed to overcome significant environmental challenges and not only compensated but turned obstacle into accomplishment by providing collaborative combinations into experiences unlikely to ever be forgotten by event participants.

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