Bygone Shows

Baltimore gentle musicians play a sunset set on the patio at the Skinny. With Bridget Martin and Paddy Reagan. EARLY SHOW!

SMALL SUR - Whether paying homage to the pastoral, lucid rhythms of summers in South Dakota or times spent with friends on the beaches and cliffs of the Pacific, Small Sur's music is deeply personal -- bathed in seas and sunsets, reservoirs and rivers, forests and fields. Keal, now 26 and residing in Baltimore, Maryland, has spent the past couple of years teaching kindergarten by day and sharing his songs by night alongside a rotating cast of friends, including current co-conspirators Andy Abelow (Saxophone/Banjo), Scott Dennison (Bass), Julianne Nelson (Vocals), and Austin Stahl (Percussion). Available August 19, 2008 on Tender Loving Empire, Small Sur's debut full-length, We Live in Houses Made of Wood, finds the band at their most nostalgic, meandering patiently among lush, reverb-drenched harmonies, and delicate, spare arrangements. Keal's vocals, equal parts tender and haunting, are the centerpiece throughout, and his lyrics evoke both Whitman's Leaves of Grass and the childlike wonder found in the assorted scribblings of Little Wings' frontman Kyle Field. Mixed by Adam Cooke and mastered by Rob Girardi (whose collective credits include Arbouretum, Beach House, and Celebration), the record features instrumental and vocal contributions from members of Wye Oak (Merge Records), Madagascar (Western Vinyl), and Private Eleanor (The Beechfields).

Discography: The Blue Bee EP (2005 Powertool); Palomino in Person (2006 Powertool); Bridget Martin/Jerry Falwell Destroyed Earth Split EP (2007 Special Awards). "A pure and piercing voice... Acousitc singer/songwriters may be a dime-a-dozen, but this one has something special." --Andy Hazel, Inpress (gig review), Melbourne 1/24/07 "Martin's sound takes in parts country, slacker indie rock, grubby cherub pop, and she likes to be free to scream and shout. Her lo-fi DIY attitudes colour her as something of a country punk, an unofficial signpost she doesn't mind orbiting." --Lenin Stamos, Db Magazine, Adelaide 1/23/07 "A friendlier, springtime Cat Power." Excitement Machine, Adelaide 1/07 "A true musician.... Her vocals are rich and tender."--Sam Fell, Inpress, Melbourne 1/10/07 "Bridget's talent is undeniable"--Raglan Chronicle 12/06 Influences: High-rise lollipop vending machine beer fermented babies on a stick with octopus eyes on top of a giant mountain scaled by over-dressed hikers with deep-fried bullets flying in from the North Korean Demilitarlized Zone near the temple where the businessmen still pray to The Buddha. And lots of kimche and good old fashioned piss beer like the kind I drank when I was a child.