The Easthampton-based band The Giant’s Harp calls itself a neo-psych folk jazz rock group, but even that description doesn’t capture all the influences its four members bring to the project. This new band aims to take listeners on a musical journey when they make their Franklin County debut at the Shea Theater Art Center’s lounge in Turners Falls on Friday, Feb. 27 at 8 p.m. This show is part of the Shea’s Foyer Enjoyment series.
You might notice traces of The Grateful Dead in the Giant’s Harp music, which will come as no surprise, as Giant’s Harp grew out of Mind Left Body, a popular local band that performs the music of the legendary San Francisco group The Grateful Dead.
“There were a few of us who wanted to explore the same kinds of musical spaces we usually get involved with in Mind Left Body, but doing it through the window of original music,” said Gordon Clark, the vocalist and lead guitar player for both the Giant’s Harp and Mind Left Body.
The idea took some time to develop, but once Clark had written a few songs things started to come together.
He teamed up with his Mind Left Body bandmates — Brian Marchese on drums, Parker McQueeney on keyboards and Seth Deysher on bass — and The Giant’s Harp officially began. The group took its name from an obscure science fiction book written by Grateful Dead lyricist Robert Hunter, in which music is the spiritual center of the story.
NATE WOOD / Contributed
The Giant’s Harp recorded a five-song EP last April that also included Scott Wolfram on bass.
The quartet played a few live shows opening for Clark’s other band, Mind Left Body, but that was all their schedules allowed. Clark was waiting for the opportunity to dig into this music deeper, which could only happen by playing live. With Mind Left Body on a break, The Giant’s Harp is moving forward with Forest Loomis-Dulong on bass and Andy Kivela on drums, taking over for Deysher and Marchese who are unavailable at this time.
“This project has a lot of potential with the people involved, especially now with Forest and Andy,” Clark said. “It’s really exciting. We all share deep roots in the same music, and it’s fun to sit down together and ask ourselves what we want to do and how we want to present ourselves.”
You can’t talk about deep roots without mentioning The Grateful Dead, a band that explored all corners of American music. Clark explained that thanks to his family, the Dead’s music has always been part of his life. And playing this music in Mind Left Body has deeply influenced him as both a songwriter and a musician.
“That well is so deep, and it’s been a huge source of intrigue and inspiration my whole life,” said Clark. “There’s something about The Grateful Dead’s music. There’s not enough time to explain it all, but if you know, you know.”
He added that the band understood what music could do and how powerful it is for creating community. This exploration of music in a live setting is what The Giant’s Harp hope to capture at their shows.
That’s why Giant’s Harp is holding off on recording the new material they’ve written since the EP’s release and will let the new songs evolve on stage first.
“Live music is so important — the way you can connect to the moment and use songs as a starting point for exploration was clear in the Dead’s world,” said Clark. “So we’re including some of these new songs in our live sets, and that’s really our main goal with these upcoming shows.”
Clark said the band is excited to play the Shea, which they feel is a great theater in a cool location and they are looking forward to bringing their unique improvisational style of music to an audience.
“This is an opportunity for people who like Mind Left Body to stretch out,” Clark said. “We are all still processing losing Bob Weir — that really impacted me and a lot of people — and I think there is a line of continuity that exists. We are trying to explore that in a way that will pay homage to all these greats that came before us.”
“If people are interested to hear what that is like, and go with us on that journey, that would be wonderful,” Clark said. “Just go for it and have fun doing it.”
Doors open at 7 p.m. This is an all-ages show. Tickets available at sheatheater.org or at the door.
Tree House Brewing adds more shows to its summer stage lineup
Ryan Bingham and The Texas Gentlemen are bringing their “Still Gettin’ Away With It” tour to the Summer Stage at Tree House Brewing in South Deerfield on June 1. You might recognize Bingham from the hit television show Yellowstone, where he played the singing cowboy Walker. He also teamed up with Grammy-winning producer T Bone Burnett for the 2009 movie “Crazy Heart” where Bingham wrote and performed the song “The Weary Kind,” which won an Academy Award. His new album, “They Call Us the Lucky Ones,” is set to be released in May.
Also, just announced, the country rock duo Brothers Osborne will play the Summer Stage on June 11. The brothers TJ Osborne — lead vocals and acoustic guitar — and John Osborne — lead guitar and background vocals — have toured with the likes of Chris Stapleton, Miranda Lambert, Eric Church and others. They are currently celebrating the tenth anniversary of their breakthrough album “Pawn Shop.”
Tickets for Brothers Osborne go on sale Friday, Feb. 27 at 10 a.m. Tickets for Ryan Bingham are already available. Tickets for both shows available at Tixr.com.
Sheryl Hunter is a freelance writer who resides in Easthampton. Her work has appeared in various regional and national publications. She can be reached at Soundslocal@yahoo.com.