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Bio: March, 2009
Great Elk is a Brooklyn, NY-based rock band that incorporates elements of folk, country and Americana to create music that is at once haunting, gritty and beautiful. Years in the making, this four piece outfit is preparing to record their debut EP in Spring 2009 and currently touring throughout the Northeast.
Every musician has their artistic epiphany – the moment in which they come to understand that music must be the focus of their life. For songwriter Paul Basile, that moment came in the midst of a two-month journey down the Yukon River. Basile, a native New Yorker, had been living in rural Alaska for several years training sled dogs and playing in bands, when he and some friends undertook a sixty-day canoe trip through Canada and Alaska on the Yukon. Up until this point he had only written the occasional song – he was passionate about music, but hadn’t focused on it as a serious pursuit. It was during those quiet months of solitude in the northern wilderness that Basile decided that there must be a change.
At the end of that summer he returned to the rhythms of daily life in Alaska while starting to write and record with increasing regularity. Ten months later, in June 2006, Basile landed in New York City with a homemade album, “Skeletons”. He recorded his debut, self-released LP alone in his bedroom with a guitar and a microphone. The result was a rustic collection of lonesome songs that reflect his years in the North. Through tireless gigging and a constant presence on the open-mic circuit, Basile quickly made a name for himself on the New York singer/songwriter scene. But realizing his songs could inhabit a larger space, he resolved to seek out some companions and form a band.
In the Fall of 2006 Paul Basile and guitarist Patrick Hay were introduced on the sidewalk outside a Lower East Side club. Hay was a recent transplant to New York too, having grown up in Virginia playing country and blues, then studying jazz at the New England Conservatory. The two talked music for a while and decided to try playing some songs together. Hay’s knack for arranging, his tasteful but dynamic playing and his big lonesome slide sound suited Basile’s songs incredibly. They soon enlisted a rhythm section and started a band – Here Lies Pa. In the yearlong life of that band they made an impressive showing in New York, receiving critical praise, drawing consistently large and enthusiastic crowds and playing some of the most reputable clubs in the city. Despite their early success, Basile and Hay had set their sights higher. They made the difficult decision to break up Here Lies Pa and start anew.
After a short break in the Fall of 2007, Basile and Hay began writing and auditioning musicians for a new project. Enter bassist James Preston and drummer Mike Cook, both veterans of the New York rock scene and acclaimed musicians. Both Preston and Cook were part of the extended family of musicians Basile and Hay had connected to in New York. The idea of enlisting talented friends as opposed to strangers or "hired guns" was essential to them. When they tried the foursome out, there was no question a new animal was born. Preston and Cook bring driving rhythms that add a visceral undertone, and Preston lends a third voice and a sharp harmonic sense, creating lush three-part vocal harmonies.
The band stayed mostly quiet for 2008, rehearsing diligently and playing just a handful of shows in New York. Basile spent the summer months back in Alaska working on a fishing boat while harvesting a fresh batch of songs to return to New York with. Now in the Winter of 2009, Great Elk is coming to fruition and preparing for a busy year. They’ve begun booking shows throughout the Northeast and playing prominent New York clubs like Rockwood Music Hall, The Living Room and Public Assembly. Great Elk have started pre-recording preparations and will enter the studio to begin work on their debut EP in May.
Buy "SKELETONS", Paul's homemade Alaskan album on itunes, link below..
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