Gaia Consort plays string-infused rock for all Earth lovers

Published 2:44 pm Thursday, December 20, 2007

Singer and songwriter Christopher Bingham released three recordings of his own before making a switch that made a difference.

He and his wife, vocalist Sue Tinney, started making music that celebrated life and the Earth, debuting Gaia Consort at the 1997 Nudestock.

Their approach, according to their Web site, is “visionary music for the freethinking mystic in all of us, building culture that celebrates the living Earth. Psychedelic rock with a string trio and a pagan twist in the tradition of Jethro Tull, Moody Blues and other hallucinogenic masters.”

Gaia Consort, with a new CD, “Vitus Dance,” performs Saturday in Snohomish.

The co-founders are backed by several talented musicians with solid musical backgrounds and performance skills, including violinist Larry Golding, viola player Sunnie Reed, drummer TJ Morris, keyboardist Jay Kenney, cello player Betsy Tinney (who plays a five-string, free-standing instrument) and bassist Dan Mohler.

A Holiday with the Classics: Mezzo soprano Ute Freund will be joined by other area musicians for “A Holiday with the Classics,” a vocal and chamber music benefit for the Edmonds-based Max Foundation.

Freund, Seattle Opera mezzo soprano Gail Neil, flutist Kim Breilein, pianist Mark Salman and the Northwest String Quartet will perform for an hour of Mozart, Vivaldi, Brahms, Chopin and selections from “The Messiah” and “Hansel and Gretel.”

It will be followed by a singalong of carols.

Ernestine Anderson: The legendary vocalist performs two nights, bringing decades-long experiences that include four Grammy nominations, more than 30 recordings, performances at all the major jazz festivals, and inclusion of “I Dream a World: Portraits of Black Women Who Changed America.”

Blind Boys of Alabama: BBA continues to spread the spirit and energy of pure soul gospel music, something they’ve done since the first version formed at the Alabama Institute for the Negro Blind in 1939. Founding members Clarence Fountain and Jimmy Carter of the multiple-Grammy-winning group are still performing.

David Lanz: Seattle’s popular pianist was once a keyboardist playing rock ‘n’ roll while exploring jazz and classical music on the side. He attended a seminar on the body’s energy centers when he was interested in the healing qualities of music, and discovered that folks were raving about a tape of piano music that he shared there.

The tape led to his first solo piano album for Narada, “Heartsounds,” and started a chart-topping and Grammy-nominated career.

Loverboy: The band’s self-titled 1980 album sold 700,000 copies in Canada before a U.S. record company signed them. It went on to sell more than 2 million albums in the U.S. and 4 million worldwide. Loverboy created some of the anthems and party songs of rock-concert fans while showing up in trademark red leather pants.

After awhile, Crocodile: In the end, financial troubles, not changing fans or bands, doomed the Crocodile. The Seattle club was well-booked and was an early home to many bands that later found success.

Performers on the Croc’s stage included Indigo Girls, Hootie &the Blowfish, Death Cab for Cutie, Cheap Trick, Yoko Ono, Pearl Jam, Presidents of the United States, Everclear, Ann Wilson, Mudhoney and Nirvana.

The Crocodile’s last show was Saturday, adding its demise to other Seattle clubs such as Backstage, The Central, Offramp and OK Hotel.