Andy Garcia: Guitars, Bass, Banjo, Mandolin, Piano, Keyboards
Danny Garcia: Drums, Glockenspiel, Vocals
Joel Parker: Bass
Influences
Bob Dylan, Damien Jurado, Denison Witmer, The Innocence Mission, Neil Young, Neutral Milk Hotel, Wilco, Sufjan Stevens, Danielson, Belle and Sebastian, Camera Obscura, Stereolab, The Decemberists, Songs: Ohia, Bonnie "Prince" Billy, The Mountain Goats, Joanna Newsom, John Fahey, M. Ward, The Pixies, Low, Great Lake Swimmers, Frank Black, etc.
C.S. Lewis described a feeling he called "the northernness” as “a vision of huge, clear spaces hanging above the Atlantic in the endless twilight of northern summer; remoteness, severity…” It was a longing for something so unattainable that the desire, sadly, became an end in itself. Later in life, Lewis came to believe that this “northernness” he had experienced was a taste of something so perfect and complete that it would never be fully realized in this lifetime.
After graduating from art school at Florida State University in 2003, Ben Hofer moved home to Gainesville, Florida. Scrapping all his old paintings and songs, and now armed with a four-track cassette recorder, two guitars and two cheap microphones, he began writing songs with a focus and intensity he had never known before. Inevitably the songs began to call for other musicians, and soon the band was formed out of a crew of friends and family members. The band has gone through many changes, with members including Greg Willson of the Orlando-based band the OaKs, but the current lineup is Ben Hofer, founding member and drummer Danny Garcia, guitarist Andy Garcia (member of the band for two years), and founding member and bass player Joel Parker.
The hope is that, like Lewis’s “northernness,” these songs are not the end in themselves, but signposts on the way to something greater.
Click link above to listen to samples and order - $9.95 + s&h
Tampa Taiko is a professional drumming duo that has performed their unique style for a vast array of audiences, performing at festivals, concert halls, schools, workshops, summer camps, corporate and VIP events. Using a collection of taiko drums made by themselves from discarded wine barrels, Tampa Taiko has developed a dynamic fusion of old and new styles of drumming, bringing a contemporary vibrance to an ancient martial artform.
It's very northeastern up here. I love the weather at the moment. The music is around, but not in your face like back home. I am sooo groggy. I must get some coffee.
hey ben, just wanted to tell you i don't think i'm going to to far from the ville until the fall, so i approve of a summer show! -keep me posted! lol also, i have some videos to post of last time at satchels. hope all well!
