{"id":442,"date":"2011-06-30T23:14:19","date_gmt":"2011-06-30T23:14:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.songbirdfestival.org\/wp\/?p=442"},"modified":"2011-06-30T23:14:51","modified_gmt":"2011-06-30T23:14:51","slug":"saturday-early-show-at-amnesia-july-9-2011-alec-gross","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.songbirdfestival.org\/wp\/?p=442","title":{"rendered":"Saturday Early Show at Amnesia – July 9, 2011 – Alec Gross"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>“The term \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcCinematic Americana\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 is like a nicely wrapped birthday present. You know there’s going to be something good, you just have to unwrap the gift and see what sort of treats lie inside,” writes Boston Band Crush about song-slinger Alec Gross’ Strip the Lanterns, his debut 11-track LP whose songs detail a somewhere America that is at once familiar, but ultimately troubled. “What Strip The Lanterns does is it makes all the non-cinematic Americana just look bad by comparison.” Armed with a killer album, and a live show that juxtaposes heavy, swamp-drenched laments with beautifully vulnerable acoustic admissions, all topped with soaring and effortless vocals that leave audiences converted, Alec is poised to make some very big impressions in the coming year.<\/p>\n

\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 Alec isn’t your typical ‘diary’ singer songwriter – his songs are populated by characters and the rooms they move through. The full album title for Alec\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s latest work is, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Strip The Lanterns: The Night Terrors of Mr. Ron Avery,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d and the songs of this album are, in fact, the recurring night visions of the album\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s fictional protagonist, Ron Avery, a midwestern gas station attendant who is tormented by his mediocrity and the shadows of what could have been. The carefully constructed characters and story lines of these songs are set to hauntingly beautiful musical soundscapes that move beyond the acoustic guitars and plaintive vocals typical of Americana and Alt. Country, and are augmented by unexpected blasts of raw, Stax-era R&B. All are graced by Alec’s soaring but vulnerable tenor, which has been described as being “so perfectly suited to the times” and “superbly bold.”<\/p>\n

\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 Recorded at Williamsburg, Brooklyn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Mission Sound in 2010, Strip The Lanterns boasts organic arrangements and performances by some of NYC\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s best musicians, all produced by Greg Barbone, Alec Gross, and Will Hensley. Mr. Hensley (Ben Folds, Cold Play, John Mayer) also served as the album\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s engineer, expertly recording the tracks before handing them off to be mixed by Ryan Hewitt (Johnny Cash, The Avett Bros, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Cat Power) and mastered by Alex Saltz (REM, Elvis Costello, David Bowie, Steven Van Zandt).<\/p>\n

www.alecgross.com<\/a><\/p>\n

http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pages\/Alec-Gross\/25642856454<\/a><\/p>\n

www.youtube.com\/alecgross<\/a><\/p>\n

Saturday, July 9, 2011\u00c2\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Amnesia<\/strong><\/strong>
\n853 Valencia Street<\/strong>
\nSan Francisco, CA 94110<\/strong>
\n(415) 970-0012<\/strong>
\nwww.amnesiathebar.com<\/a><\/strong>
\n21 and Over<\/strong>
\n$5-10 sliding scale<\/strong>
\nwww.songbirdfestival.org<\/a><\/strong>
\nDoors at\u00c2\u00a05 pm<\/strong>
\nFilm Screenings 6:15 – 7:45 p.m.<\/strong>
\nLive Music\u00c2\u00a0 at Alec Gross<\/a> at \u00c2\u00a05:15 and The Patsychords <\/a>at 8:45 p.m.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Also featuring films by:<\/strong>
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

Greta Schoenberg<\/a>\u00c2\u00a0 <\/em><\/em><\/p>\n

Dean Mermell<\/a><\/em><\/div>\n

Nara Denning<\/a><\/em><\/em><\/p>\n

\u00c2\u00a0<\/em>Sietske Tjallingii <\/a><\/strong>\u00c2\u00a0<\/em><\/em><\/p>\n

Skye Thorstenson<\/a><\/em><\/em><\/p>\n

Eduardo Alegrett<\/em><\/em><\/em><\/p>\n