One idyllic Saturday afternoon in May, I was wandering around Harvard Square, taking in the Cambridge air and following my ears from one street musician to the next. As I casually ambled along, I came upon a hat shop called Goorin Brothers, where, to my great surprise, there was an acoustic trio in the window display serenading the patrons and curious passersby. After listening for awhile and admiring the 3-piece set up of guitar, cello, and mandolin, I knew I had stumbled upon something very special. I decided in that moment that I absolutely had to learn as much about this band as I could.
The band is called We Avalanche.
Rick Desilets/Quiet Lunch Magazine.
When I got home from my aimless Cambridge promenade I went to their Bandcamp page and listened to their album, Time Travels in full and several times over. The balance of the instruments on the album is extremely refined and exemplifies the exceptional musicianship of each member of the band. While all 3 members of We Avalanche attended Berklee College of Music, it is clear from the breadth of their skills that they already knew what they were doing before they even got to Berklee. As their album Time Travels demonstrates so well, this trio of fine gentlemen have developed a unique sound that is based both on their individual talents and their chemistry as a group.
Listening to the tremolo of the mandolin, the commanding presence of the cello, the familiar strum of the acoustic guitar, and the sincere vocals that together form the distinctive sound of We Avalanche, I could tell that there is a great sense of emulation for old-time folk music, while at the same time a drive to push forward in the genre.
While their album Time Travels gets all thumbs up from me, I would not only encourage the reader to listen and purchase a copy, but I will implore you to see this band perform live. Not only does their music fall pleasantly on the ears, but after having spent an entire afternoon interviewing them and filming them play, I can say confidently that if you want to do justice to their sound, you must see them live. Luckily, they do have a show coming up on September 8th at the Middle East Upstairs in Cambridge. I will be there. So should you.
When I finally met up with Zach, Eric, and Brady for this feature, the humorous and harmonious nature of how they interact together and with their instruments was obvious and made for a day of great fun and whole lot of silliness. In between bouts of laughter, several visits to the bathroom, and dogs chasing balls through our shots, we managed to pull off a great interview and capture some of their new songs on video. As is my distinct privilege with this column, I am delighted and eager to introduce you, dear reader, to one of my new favorite bands: We Avalanche. Enjoy.
Rick Desilets/Quiet Lunch Magazine.
Rick Desilets/Quiet Lunch Magazine.
Rick Desilets/Quiet Lunch Magazine.
Rick Desilets/Quiet Lunch Magazine.
**If you know a band who you think would be a good fit for this column, then please contact Matia Guardabascio at Quiet Lunch Magazine here: info@quietlunch.com. Please put ATTN: Matia/The First Act in the subject line. Thank you!**
Matia Guardabascio is a proud citizen of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and a graduate of Rutgers University with a degree in both English and French Literature. As the daughter of a musician and a school teacher, Matia grew up in a musical household with parents who made a concerted effort to instill in her the value and importance of the arts. She is a music enthusiast, an avid reader, a writer of prose and poetry, a traveler, and an enthusiastic imbiber of red wine. The piano is her favorite instrument, followed by the drums, and she loves Impressionist artwork, especially because she doesn’t need to wear her glasses to see what’s going on. That’s right, the glasses are not for show. She wears tri-focals because she reads too much, or as her good friends might say, she actually 80-years-old.
Comments
This band does rock!!!! Love the arrangements and the way the strings blend together seamlessly!!!