ADAM SELZER
PLAYS: Guitar, Vocals, Many Other Instruments and Found Sounds, Primary Songwriter, Engineer, Producer
MUSICAL LEANINGS: Eclectic
AND IN ADDITION: Adam owns and operates Type Foundry Recording Studio in Portland, Oregon where he has engineered and produced records by such artists as M.Ward, The Decemberists, Little Wings, Corrina Repp, Shelley Short, and many more. He also tours with M. Ward playing guitar and bass.
RACHEL BLUMBERG
PLAYS: Drums, Vocals, Piano, Vibraphone, Percussion, and Many Other Instruments
MUSICAL LEANINGS: Orchestrated 60's pop music (The Left Banke, The Zombies), Klezmer, composer Yann Tiersen, drummers John Convertino, Jim White, and Georgia Hubley.
AND IN ADDITION: Rachel has been a long-time songwriting collaborator and is now writing many songs of her own which appear on the Norfolk and Western recordings. Rachel also tours and records with M. Ward playing the drums and ukulele. She was formerly the drummer (and The Widow) of The Decemberists and has toured with Laura Veirs. She loves to paint and make drawings.
DAVE DEPPER
PLAYS: Bass, Vocals, Piano
MUSICAL LEANINGS: Bass players Paul McCartney, Tina Weymouth (Talking Heads), and Bruce Thomas (Elvis Costello and the Attractions).
AND IN ADDITION: Originally from Bend, Oregon, Dave is a multi-talented musician (with perfect pitch!) whose sense of melody is integral to the band. He also plays in The Village Green and Blanket Music.
TONY MORENO
PLAYS: Guitar, Banjo, Accordion, Oddities, Sound Collage, Film
MUSICAL LEANINGS: Eclectic AND IN ADDITION: Tony, who recently became a father, has been playing in the band since the inception. Tony records on his own under his name with several releases to date. He also designs websites, including this one.
AMANDA LAWRENCE
PLAYS: Viola, Glockenspiel
MUSICAL LEANINGS: Classical music, 60's pop
AND IN ADDITION: Amanda has contributed to Norfolk and Western recordings for quite some time, but recently has been a staple in the live setting. She teaches violin, viola, and cello and is a highly sought-after studio session player. She also plays in the band Pentacost Hotel.
CORY GRAY
PLAYS: Trumpet, Piano, Wurlitzer
MUSICAL LEANINGS: Monk, Tom Waits, Prokofiev, Pink Floyd, his friends
AND IN ADDITION: Cory has long been a fixture at Type Foundry Recording studio as a session piano and trumpet player. He first made his mark in Norfolk on the "Dusk in Cold Parlours" CD. His musical knowledge and sense of melody and harmony has been very instrumental to the recent sound of the band. He also plays in the bands Desert City Soundtrack and The Graves.
PETER BRODERICK
PLAYS: Violin, Banjo, Accordion, Musical Saw, Mandolin, Lap Steel, Guitar.
MUSICAL LEANINGS: Silver Mt. Zion, Rachel's, Eluvium, Max Richter, Johann Johannsson, Tarentel, Low
AND IN ADDITION: Peter is the Whippersnapper who has just recently made his mark on the Norfolk sound by contributing to "A Gilded Age." His versatility and understanding of so many instruments makes him an ideal touring musician, and he will embark on his first tour ever with Norfolk and Western this spring. He also plays in the bands Loch Lomond and Horse Feathers.
Norfolk and Western is an indie folk/rock band from Portland, Oregon that includes as part of its stage set-up and sound ensemble a turn-of the-century Victrola Grammaphone. The band consists of core members and couple Adam Selzer (band founder, guitar, lead vocals) and Rachel Blumberg (drums, keyboards, backing vocals) with rotating cast members Tony Moreno (guitar, banjo, accordion, found sounds), Amanda Lawrence (viola), Dave Depper (bass, vocals, piano), Cory Gray (trumpet, piano), and Peter Broderick (violin, banjo, saw, mandolin, theramin, and accordion).
Norfolk and Western began as the recording project of Adam with friends including M.Ward playing various instruments, and evolved over time to become the fully orchestrated band it is today. In the early days Norfolk and Western's sound was whispery, intimate, elegant folk music laced with creaky old instruments and atmospheric sound collages.
The band still retains glimmers of this original form, but with their latest release, A Gilded Age, they defy their usual descriptors and comparisons. The songs on A Gilded Age cascade dynamically and unrelentingly, beginning with the Victrola and string swell opening of "Porch Destruction" to the positively invigorating overdriven guitar and banjo attack of the title track. Each song serves the whole, adding layers of depth, drama, and subtlety to an undeniable tapestry of music. The songs are imminently accessible, borrowing from pop motifs more than past albums, but they also challenge the listener with terrific bursts of texture from Selzer's thick guitar, Lawrence's romantic viola, Gray's hellish, equestrian trumpet squalls, Moreno's wild card guitar playing, and Broderick's multi-instrumental arabesque. In "Clyde and New Orleans" the "wrath of God" is captured in an instrumental bridge, sending the snappy waltz time off the rails in an unholy, sinister, gut wrenching cacophony. This dramatic effect--interplay of light and dark, loud and soft--is expertly realized by Norfolk and Western both on this record and during their enthralling live show, which often features band members switching instruments, sometimes even mid-song, and film accompaniment.
Norfolk and Western have won the admiration of many bands they also appreciate, including Iron and Wine, The Decemberists, M.Ward, Sparklehorse, and Calexico, to name a few. Norfolk and Western will be touring in support of the release A Gilded Age in Spring and Summer of 2006.
