INDIEcent Exposure #3—Fantastic Negrito and Wishbone Zoë

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Fantastic Negrito Kicks Off Downstreet Art in North Adams, Returning to the Land of His First Life;

PLUS: Wishbone Zoe Talks about the Western Mass Music Scene and Being a Woman Rocker Today.

JUST IN TIME to celebrate the release of his debut, self-titled album, Oakland-based (but Berkshire-born) Fantastic Negrito lands in downtown North Adams to help launch Downstreet Art 2015! You do NOT want to miss this interview.

Fantastic Negrito's June 24, 2015 release, "Fantastic Negrito" is as raw, tender, funny, and honest as you could ever want. — Fantastic Negrito’s June 24, 2015 release, “Fantastic Negrito” is as raw, tender, funny, and honest as you could ever want.

I really don’t have anything to write about Fantastic Negrito that you can’t figure out either from his music, this interview, or the NPR Tiny Desk Concert (he IS the 2015 winner, after all…) embedded below. Enjoy!

Wishbone Zoë — “Fossil’s Dream”

"Fossil's Dream," by Wishbone Zoë, 2015, image courtesy Wishbone Zoë. Album available for purchase through Bandcamp! — “Fossil’s Dream,” by Wishbone Zoë, 2015, image courtesy Wishbone Zoë. Album available for purchase through Bandcamp!

Sometimes you just KNOW, listening to someone’s lyrics, that the back-story is even more interesting than the songs. You will NOT be disappointed by Saera’s insights about the music biz, social realities, and the musicality of a cordless drill.

NOTE: Some profanity (a few instances of the “F-word”) occur in the song, “Gumbo Jumbo.” The song kicks ass, so we’re playing it anyway.

If you feel that maybe you could use a little help interpreting this dream, don’t worry. You’re probably not alone. But you don’t need to plumb the depths of Saera Kochanski’s subconscious to be fully engrossed in the imagery her songs create in this brandy-new album. “Fossil’s Dream” pushes the boundaries out a bit and offers a hint of what she might be seeking in her evolving exploration of sound.

Beyond the brilliance of the lyrics, the voice of Saera Kochanski will impress you with its seemingly bottom stores of power pushed through a small, precision-machined port. Kochanski does not care if her singing about, thus drawing uncomfortable attention to, the “not-so-okay in the world” makes us squirm. Enjoy the brittle feeling your brain gets after immersing yourself in “Fossil’s Dream.” Then slide yourself on over to Bandcamp where you can pick up a copy of her CD or digital download. And WHILE you’re listening to the album, be sure to spend some time taking in Kochanski’s visual art at her other web site, Sunbeams & Turpentine. No reason your eyes should get away clean.

Upcoming Shows:

Controlled Exposure—Mark Schwaber

Mark Schwaber's 2006 release, “Two Years and Thirty Minutes” — Mark Schwaber’s 2006 release, “Two Years and Thirty Minutes”

I’m having a wicked good time pulling these unexpected gem out of my hat! With a little luck, we’ll get Mark on for a conversation about the long, strange trip he’s taken during the last decade. For now, enjoy “Ghosting” from his 2006 release, “Two Years and Thirty Minutes.”