This week in eTown, we dip into the archives from the last couple of years to bring back a great show with two up-and-coming artists and an excellent eChievement Award story to boot.
First up is the Santa Cruz-based trio The Devil Makes Three. While being born and raised in the Northeast, the three members made their way to Santa Cruz for college, and ended up sticking around. If you’ve ever spent much time in Santa Cruz, it’s not hard to tell that the characteristics of the area have found its way into the band’s music. If you were to judge based on photographic images of the band alone, it would be easy to make the assumption that this trio leans in the bluegrass direction. Their instrumentation might very well lead you to believe that. This, however, is nowhere near the case. While The Devil Makes Three uses traditional string instruments such as a banjo and upright bass, their sound is far from traditional. The sound is dark, and unique. If you threw a few skateboards into the mix of an old time group, you’d be closer to hitting the mark with their sound. It’s original, and really dang good!
Also with us this week is bluesy singer/songwriter Parker Millsap, who was making his first visit to eTown when this episode was originally recorded. Again, don’t let the exterior appearance fool you here (as it did most of the taping audience when Parker walked onto the stage). Parker is the embodiment of the old saying – “Big things come in small packages.” He is almost way too young to have the huge, seasoned voice and songwriting chops he laid on us all, but somehow he pulls it off with full insistence. We were blown away by his music, and stage presence. I’m pretty sure you will be blown away too!
Along with all of the great music and conversation with our musical guests this week, we also have another touching eChievement Award story in store for you. This time, we draw our ears to hear about the Mosaic Project, an excellent organization that was brought to our attention by our long-time friend and musical guest, Brett Dennen.
It’s a great hour of entertainment and information for you this week. Be sure to tune in or podcast!
– Zack