Julia Marino: The Everybodyfields
"I think God is a moonshiner
His skin is gold from the whiskey in his blood
I think in heaven there is a barroom
A place where the men go to forget about their wives…"
The everybodyfields will inspire Knoxville once again on August 24th at Blue Cats.
Click to play slideshow of the everybodyfields' performance at Barley's and listen to "His Pontiac"
“Late at night I swear that I hear angels…”
This July 19th I heard the fluid, connected sound of the everybodyfields for the first time. Hearing their music was like entering an entirely new realm of music - one I couldn't believe that I had once survived without. I found myself in a "plague of dreams" contained humbly in one night at Barley's in the Old City. The vocal harmonies of singers Jill Andrews and Sam Quinn, as welll as David Richey's prestine guitarwork, sent soothing chills through the sea of listeners and free-spirited fans.
Jill Andrews is known for the casual maturity in her songwriting.
The performance seemed to emanate the ambience of a "quietly intense corner of the listening room." The band's sound is a dichotomy of calm and intensity, melancholy and joy, Appalachian simplicity and modern complexity. And their music is so mature for twenty-something year-olds' songwriting, that you want to dance and stand in complete repose and awe at the same time.
Barley's was amass with both kinds of listeners. Some Knoxvillians were sitting quietly in the corner, while others were so engulfed in their sound, that they swayed and twirled in the golden glow below the stage. I felt inspired to dance, but instead stood and soaked in the music quietly, becoming intensely aware of Andrews' and Quinn's unwavering resiliency and compatibility. The duo is immensly attuned with eachother, trading bass and lead guitar throughout the show, as well as powerful melodies and soft harmonizing undertones.
Emma O'Donnell, an accomplished fiddler who recently joined the band, added a newfound strength to songs from their sophomore record Plague of Dreams. Her stage presence wasn't bad either, as she stomped her right foot and tossed in classic bluegrass style.
Hailing from Johnson City, these hipsters from the hills have made their mark throughout the nation, touring not only locally, but throughout New England and out West. Fortunately for us, this americana, bluegrass band loves playing near their home-town. The everybodyfields will be arriving again in Knoxville on Thursday, August 24th at Blue Cats with The Avett Brothers!
I can once again get my fix of this classic americana realm of music. And if for some absurd reason, you can't make it to the show, check out their two albums Halfway there: electricity and the south and Plague of Dream. It makes for perfect road-trip music through the mountains.
halfway there: electricity and the south (2004)
1.hobarts
2.the red rose
3.t.v.a.
4.silver garden
5.nubbins
6.his pontiac
7.so good
8.medicine girl
9.pairlee
10.i can't sleep
11.white envelopes
plague of dreams (2005)
1.magazines
2.the only king
3.leaving
4.by your side
5.arletta
6.baby please
7.out of town
8.can't have it
9.fade jeans blue
10.in your boots
11.good to be home
12.angels
plague of dreams was recorded with Keith Smith at EKS, inc. almost entirely in one day.