Will Garrison: guitars, lyrics, vocals James Waldo: cello, vocals Jason Overby: banjo, accordion, guitars, vocals Brian Voerding: trumpet, valve horns Anthony Poretti: drums, percussion Ben Waldo: mandolin, viola Alyssa Overby: vocals Rachel Overby: bass, vocals
Sounds Like
Call the music time-weathered folk or strewn remnants of Americana or something else entirely. Here is what you will hear: Opaque lyrics, at once lonely and longing and hopeful and weary and love-strewn, supported by an ensemble featuring cello, violas, trumpet, drums, banjo, accordion, ukulele, layered vocal harmonies and more.
Spirits of the Red City is an eight-member collective whose members call home places as close as Minneapolis and as far as Alaska and New York City.
Our first record, Hunter Moon.
1. Goodbye Don't Go
2. Fire
3. Can't Come Home
4. Constant
5. Pen On Paper
6. Focus & Blur
7. Bottled Up
8. Passing
9. Pride
10. Mirror
11. As Animal
You can get the digital copy all over the place, including iTunes:
If you'd like a real physical copy, we'd be happy to send you one:
Here's what some folks have been saying about Hunter Moon:
"(Spirits of the Red City) plays with the airy intimacy and elegance of a minimalist duo, with wistful themes and relatively spare orchestrations: a simple cello line, a gently strummed guitar or a lonely fiddle. Spirits of the Red City singer Will Garrison has a whiskey-soaked voice that's a little weary but full of honesty and passion." — National Public Radio
“Surprisingly spare for such a large group, Spirits create a loose-knit, cello-drenched concoction of mournful folk-Americana. It’s sad and thoughtful, and drifts along beautifully like the hazy dreams of a bone-tired man who’s finally found a moment of rest.” — The Onion
“It's the sort of heartbreak you don't want to let go of, the joy you can't fully embrace.
Taken together, though, all these emotional ambiguities and musical disharmonies somehow add up to something that, in the end, is incredibly pretty.” — City Pages (Minneapolis, MN)
“(They) deliver a distinctive sound somewhere in the crevices between wistful, haunting, arty and folk … But most of the time it sounds like a chamber group scoring a kitschy thriller, with Neil Young’s lower-voiced older brother singing the dialogue. And cinching it into an oddly compelling, unified bundle.” — MinnPost (Saint Paul, MN)
“(The) cello/viola/guitar-laden wall of sound is experimental enough to elicit the anticipation and uncertainty of dream, but familiar enough to be the calming reassurance needed upon waking, all beneath the confident strain of Garrison’s voice and quiet triumph of his lyricism.”— Leo Weekly (Louisville, KY)
ephemera
If you're interested in keeping up with us, please send us a message here or through our website and we'll be sure to keep you up to date on anything we're doing.
Here's a video of us performing 'Fire' on Jan. 8, 2009 at the 7th St. Entry in Minneapolis. Thank you to Elise and Lauren for the fantastic video.
Our time together may be fleeting, but the impression is everlasting. Thanks again for having Joe and I along for the ride, and to Will for the special request song. We'll make music again together soon.
happy hunter moon. it's a beautiful one here. i watched it rise over a lake with geese flying in and bats flitting in the twilight. peaceful, except i was rockin' out with my headphones dancing like a wild woman. well, take care.
It was such a pleasure to have you all here. You are truly amazing people as well as fantastic performers! Please come back soon, you'll have a home with us anytime you wish.
Hey! Sorry I didn't get back to the show in time to say good-bye to you all the other night. Hunter Moon is an amazing album! I wish you well on the rest of your tour. Please let me know next time you are planning on coming out West again.
Thinking of you guys, hope it's all good out there. Have a good tour on the west coast, I was just in Portland OR. It rocked, I'll be out there in the spring...
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