It can be daunting, being in a band that winds up one of the influential acts of its day. If Boston’s Come, one of the most acclaimed groups to emerge from the early-’90s indie scene, had released nothing but debut album Eleven:Eleven, its importance for musicians in that scene would likely have been established anyway. Hard, noirish, frequently violent in its approach to blues patterns and styles slowed to a molasses-drip pace, few bands hit as heavy as Come. And few musicians, in Come or elsewhere, came as hard to the stage and the studio as Thalia Zedek. Now comes Via (Thrill Jockey), a record that finds her striking off in new aesthetic and collaborative territory. Zedek will be guest editing magnetmagazine.com all week. Read our brand new feature on her.
Zedek: One of my favorite things about living in Boston is the harbor islands. There are more than 30 islands right in the harbor, and for $15 roundtrip you can spend all day riding the ferries (run by the Park Service) between them. Bumpkin Island, in particular, is a personal favorite because for three summers I participated in an artists encampment on the island where we would live on the island for a week making stuff from what we could carry over on the ferry, then on the weekend we’d put on shows for the public. Being in the Bumpkin Island Gamelan Band was an experience I’ll never forget. If you’re ever in Boston in the summer, I strongly recommend checking it out. Oh, and they serve beer on the ferry, too, even though it’s only a 15 minute ride. Yay, Boston!
Video after the jump.
