We went to hear the Boulder Acoustic Society playing “New Grass” and “Modern Blue Grass.” We heard their violinist and three substitutes filling in. A few of us stayed. More didn’t. It was our gain, their loss. This was cutting-edge sound with something to say.
News of his mother’s unexpected death in Milwaukee a few days before BAS’s scheduled appearance in Mill Creek meant the quartet’s lead musician, Scott McCormick, had to go, and go then to Milwaukee. Within hours, he was on a plane out of Denver with his drummer and bass player for support. At the same time, their violinist, Kailin Yong, was busy arranging for three substitute musicians and travel plans to be here. Each was being true to himself and the band.
Also, in a way, BAS was walking the talk their music is about.
“New Grass” and “Modern Blue Grass” advocate self-expression in service to universal human connection. Their music is rooted in American music as influenced by music from around the world and published independent of established publishers of music. They make and distribute their own DVDs, CDs, videos and the like subject to no outside control.
Dare I call BAS part of an industry? Musicians like them are springing up everywhere.
Anyway, came show time; and Yong appeared at the Forum with: bass player from Denver, Charlie Mertens; keyboard player and drummer, Leif Dalan and Daniel Braithwaite, both from Seattle.
If all that led up to this concert seems rushed, chaotic every which way and entirely human, it was, and it showed on stage. Yong had only a few hours to rehearse his guys and was forever cueing them. People were coming and going, mostly going. There was nothing linear about anything. Yet, it worked if you took it on its terms.
It worked in the same, loose way conversation works when you listen to people talking without thinking about their feelings. The difference here was the language. The language was music, predominantly pop, blues, folk, gospel, rock, funk, country and jazz but textured with Eastern, Mid-Eastern, African and European tones and overtones. The voices were drums, keyboards, bass strings and the Yong’s standout violin.
Yong, a self-described “Fiddler for Peace,” is Singapore born-and-raised, classically trained, world traveled and, by his own admission, “…Chinese at my core.” His were the compositions the group focused on.
His serene and reverent “The Twelve Stone Farm” moves like the Buddha through the forests of his grandmother’s horse farm in Georgia, a place where people come to heal by relating to the care and feeding of horses. The screeching sounds, like the sudden flight of birds from trees when disturbed by something threatening, absorbs gently but firmly into the violin piece’s overwhelming sense of resignation and acceptance.
“Mystic Crowe” is an idealistic and deeply personal expression of brotherly affection for a friend; and “Little Butterfly,” a meaningful lesson on personal freedom as taken from nature.
Mertens’ bass and Dalan’s keyboards stayed in close sync with Yong’s strings. Braithwaite’s drums, like most drummers’, were off and running on their own at the drop of a hat.
There is no mistaking it. All four of these guys play like they breathe, as natural as the seasons. They are good. The concert’s originality, however, emanated from Yong.
Condolences to Mr. McCormick and congratulations to BAS on their emissary. Kailin Yong did them proud.
This was a presentation free-of-charge, compliments of Snohomish Artists Guild. It gave me insights into fringe music, locally and globally.
For more information on Boulder Acoustics Society, visit www.boulderacousticssociety.net.
Reactions? Comments? E-mail Dale Burrows at entfeatures@heraldnet.com or grayghost7@comcast.net.
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