Heidi Joy, Vocals
Andrew Bailie, Guitar/Vocals
Cherron Arens, Upright Bass
Influences
Robert Plant & Alison Krauss
Sounds Like
a mythical orchestra accompanying the aurora borealis...
"What do you get when you pair the jazz/funk power of Andrew Bailie (of the Wholes) with the effortless, beautiful jazz voice of Heidi Joy? You'll never guess. Their debut last month presented an exquisitely intricate Americana blend of sweet harmonies and perfectly tasteful guitar decoration. And it turned out to be the tastefully creative artistry of Cherron Arens on the stand-up bass that stole the show."
-Michael Campbell, Mick's Music & Bar
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Published Wednesday | July 23, 2008
Meeting the Band: Jazzing things up with Riverside Anthology
BY WILL SIMMONS
OMAHA CITY WEEKLY STAFF WRITER
It all started when Andrew Bailie heard the recent Robert Plant and Allison Krauss collaboration, “Raising Sand.” Andrew, the proficient guitarist and vocalist of local rock group the Wholes, was taken aback by the bittersweet harmonies of Plant and Krauss as they sang of sorrow and broken love. With the wheels of creativity churning in his head, Andrew wished to capture that majesty for himself.
Now he just needed some collaborators of his own. One singer was an obvious choice, someone who he had worked with in various projects over the years, the honey-voiced Heidi Joy. After pointing out a few of his favorite tracks from “Raising Sand,” Andrew handed Heidi a copy of the album and soon she was on board. “I didn’t take the CD out of my car for a month and just listened to it, loved it,” she said.
After Andrew and Heidi started working up some songs, both covers and originals, they found the music called for something more. It needed something to fill things out, to hold things together, to wrap around the songs and keep the music moving forward. In short, they needed a bass player. Through a friend, they found Cherron Arens. Once he joined the group on upright bass (and they settled on the name Riverside Anthology), the formula was complete.
Now the trio plays songs of sorrow and broken love. Aside from the growing number of originals, the group also throws in their arrangements of select songs by Johnny Cash, Tom Waits and M. Ward. As they gathered at the Market Basket before an evening gig, they discussed their careers as professional musicians – you see, all three members are ambitious enough (and have the chops to match) to make music their fulltime jobs. And aside from heartily praising Robert Plant, they also talked about the musical demands they face with their recently formed group. Apparently a modernized version of traditional Appalachian folk is a genre they haven’t tackled before. Now, getting them to talk about anything that doesn’t relate to music only drew blank stares and silence – you see they all constantly have music on the mind.
Can you tell me about how you put everything together? I read you were inspired by the Robert Plant and Allison Krauss album “Raising Sand.”
Andrew: It was actually my dad who wanted the album for Christmas. I got it for him and I listened to it and I had to (get) myself a copy. Just that duet singing style, I just really love it. And it’s been a great opportunity for me personally to grow as a musician to sing with Heidi here and it’s real different than anything that I’ve ever done before.
Heidi: I had a party and he (Andrew) came over and handed me the CD, and I’d been wanting to hear it. I think we played it that night and he kind of pointed out a couple songs that he liked. We found Cherron through Glenn Smith.
Andrew: I work with Glenn up at Dietz and he teaches bass and Cherron actually takes from Glenn. Out of talking to Glenn he kind of recommended Cherron and it was a good fit.
Cherron: I went over to his house and laid down some tunes and had it work and we went from there.
Heidi: And what I loved about our first rehearsal together was how relaxed everybody was. Everybody’s just very chill. There’re no egos. It’s just relaxing and good.
Andrew: Well, we all have egos. (They all laugh)
Heidi: It’s refreshingly relaxed and we try and have fun.
Andrew: Absolutely, that’s what it’s all about, because if you have fun on stage and that really comes across, everybody’s going to have fun.
What other musical projects are you all involved in?
Cherron: I played in the Intergenerational Orchestra with Chuck Pennington for a while. Did a couple honors orchestras, stuff like that. Played in some rock bands. I play a lot of big band music with the Lonnie Lynn Orchestra. That’s basically what I do now, try and play as much as I can.
Andrew: I play with the Wholes -– it’s going well. I love jazz music, and I know Heidi does as well, and Cherron, we all play jazz gigs. I feel that that’s a nice home base for myself as a musician because when my jazz chops are hitting, it’s like everything else becomes easier. We also do the Heidi Joy Jazz Band with some of the guys from the Wholes. I’m doing a project called the Lizard King, which is a Doors tribute. I’m starting a project with Troy Johnson and Todd Roperson from JRZ System. I just love music across the spectrum and it’s awesome to get to play a lot of it.
Heidi: And Andrew probably practices as much as any musician in Omaha I would imagine. He’s always playing or practicing or walking out the door to something. OK, you have a few beers now and then.
Andrew: Well, sometimes I have a few beers and then kick it and practice. You know, if you’re not going forward, you’re going backward and there’s no pause button. It’s not like you can hang it up and come back to it and be just as good, it’s always going to be different.
Heidi: I started playing gigs professionally in 1990. I studied opera for a few years at the University of Iowa and I had a fan base here, so I quit school early and came back to record CDs. I started recording and gigging more and I played with the Chuck Pennington band. I was a guest soloist at some churches. I started doing a Christmas concert every year. I do tons of national anthems and corporate parties, private parties … basically just a lot of genres. I was given advice many years ago: do every gig you can. It’s great just to get all that experience doing all these different things and meeting all these different people.
Do you all support yourselves by playing music?
Andrew: We all pretty much do.
Cherron: I just started doing this whole professional thing when I’m 19, that was two years ago. I’ve so far haven’t had a job for a couple months now, I’ve been self-sustaining on music, so it works out.
Heidi: It’s really great when you can make your hobby your job for your life and this is a great job because every time you work it’s completely different. There’s a different feel to the music every time you play, there’s different people at every gig, you’re playing at different events – it’s just a blast.
What’s the vibe of Riverside Anthology?
Andrew: We just wanted something to kind of come across like this is how we’re playing in our living room for our friends. Really, that’s the kind of vibe that we’re trying to put out.
Heidi: Like we’re just sitting on the porch just kickin’ it.
Andrew: Just getting together and playing music. That’s what it’s all about.
What of Robert Plant’s vocals on “Raising Sand”?
Andrew: Definitely not what you’d expect Robert Plant to do, but it works.
Cherron: Robert Plant’s vocal stylings go across the board so well, he’s able to handle anything.
Heidi: He’s my favorite vocalist. He can do no wrong; anything that comes out of his mouth is just perfect in my eyes. It’s no different with this album.
Is there a Riverside Anthology CD in the works?
Heidi: I don’t know about these guys, but I would love to do a CD eventually. We’d like to wait until we have all originals before we do a CD with this band.
Andrew: For me, and it sucks to say this, but the hardest thing is coming up with the cash flow to do something like that. I would love to dive into a project like that but (laughs) money’s tight for everyone right now.
Since music was your hobby and now it’s your job, what are your new hobbies?
Heidi: I like to go see shows. I like to watch music. I just like to hang out with my friends and laugh and have fun.
Andrew: I don’t do a whole lot that doesn’t involve music. I like to go running with my dog. So, besides that, I like to hang out and play music and when I’m hanging out with my friends, a lot of the times I got a guitar in my hands and I’m doing the old kitchen concert.
Cherron: It’s hard to find moments in my life that aren’t having to do something with music. I try and skateboard every now and then. I’m kind of obsessed with espresso and making really good coffee. I really tried to do a lot of good latte art the last few months when I worked at a coffee shop.
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Published Thursday | April 3, 2008
Omaha band inspired by Robert Plant and Alison Krauss
BY NIZ PROSKOCIL
WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER
Led Zeppelin singer Robert Plant's collaboration with bluegrass star Alison Krauss on the 2007 album "Raising Sand" appeared on several year-end best-of lists, led to a Grammy Award and recently exceeded sales of 1 million copies.
The collaboration also sparked the creation of a new Omaha band called Riverside Anthology.
The group formed in January after guitarist-vocalist Andrew Bailie approached singer Heidi Joy with a copy of the "Raising Sand" CD.
"This is the type of band I want to start," Joy recalls Bailie telling her.
Bailie has accompanied Joy onstage many times over the years. He also plays in the Wholes, a local band.
After kicking around the idea of starting a group inspired by Plant and Krauss' duets, Joy and Bailie enlisted upright bassist Cherron Arens. The trio made its live debut last month at Mick's Music & Bar and will return to the Benson club Friday night for a headlining performance.
Riverside Anthology plays a mix of covers and originals that range from bluegrass and folk-rock to urban blues and country.
The trio's repertoire ranges from "century-old songs," Joy said, to covers of tunes by Beck, Bright Eyes and songs from the Krauss and Plant album.
The group plays its own music, too, and hopes to record an album once it has more original songs.
"I wanted to do something a little more creative," Joy said. "I wanted to have an outlet to write more."
The group boasts sweet harmonies and an approach that harkens back to old-timey bluegrass bands.
"We're trying to get the Appalachian look and feel, so Andrew and I share a microphone," she said.
For Friday's performance, the trio will be augmented by percussionist Matthew Arbeiter, which "will make things livelier," said Joy.
Riverside Anthology formed in January 2008 with the desire to bring a scope of minimalistic beauty to the music scene. The delicacy of this trio is infused with spirit and soul bound by harmonious vocals, ethereal acoustic and electric guitar, and rounded off with the refreshing resonance of the upright bass.
In other words, you just might like it... Please come check us out!
I love your sound! I don't get in until April 5 unfortunately... I hope you get a new date sometime in the 3 weeks I'll be there! Will check in any case.
Hey friends: The Hard Times Band will be playing live this weekend (Feb 29 & Mar 1) at Bushwackers in Omaha. Please come say hi if you are around. Love and Peace The HTB
Hey guys. Thanks for the Add! Always good to see some more local bands. You guys just starting up? Check out my band if you get a chance, and add us. TTYL -Adam (Outside Reality) www. myspace. com/escapewithus
