{"id":40705,"date":"2018-09-11T07:26:44","date_gmt":"2018-09-11T11:26:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/?p=40705"},"modified":"2018-09-11T07:26:48","modified_gmt":"2018-09-11T11:26:48","slug":"on-stage-ohgr-keeps-it-industrial","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/?p=40705","title":{"rendered":"On Stage: ohGr keeps it industrial"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Denny Dyroff<\/strong>, Entertainment Editor, The Times<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>There are two acts performing shows in the area on July 11 that, even though they both fit into the realm of popular music, could not be more dissimilar \u2013 ohGr and Gaelynn Lea.<\/p>\n

ohGr is a veteran industrial band that has been making intensely aggressive music for almost two decades. Lea is a singer-songwriter who makes pleasant, melodic music while playing a violin like a cello.<\/p>\n

On Tuesday night, Underground Arts (1200 Callowhill Street, Philadelphia, http:\/\/undergroundarts.org<\/a>) will host a show featuring ohGr as headliner with Lead Into Gold and Omniflux as the opening acts.<\/p>\n

ohGr\u00a0was formed by\u00a0Nivek Ogre\u00a0and\u00a0Mark Walk\u00a0of\u00a0Skinny Puppy.\u00a0Both are also members of Skinny Puppy, another top industrial band which existed from 1982\u20131995, reunited in 2003 and is still going strong.<\/p>\n

\u201cWelt,\u201d ohGr\u2019s debut album was released in 2001 and followed by \u201cSunnyPsyOp\u201d in 2003, \u201cDevils in My Details\u201d in 2008, and \u201cunDeveloped\u201d in 2011. The band\u2019s fifth album — \u201cTricks\u201d \u2013 was released earlier this year.<\/p>\n

\u201cMark and I have been making records as ohGr since 2001,\u201d said Ogre, during a phone interview last week from a tour stop in Salt Lake City, Utah.<\/p>\n

Walk operates a recording studio in Minnesota called Pachyderm and has worked for Chicago-based Invisible Records. In addition to his work with Skinny Puppy and ohGr, Walk has worked with Pigface, Lesley Rankine, Ruby, Collide and The Saturday Knights.<\/p>\n

\u201cMark is my partner, but he wasn\u2019t able to come out with us on this tour,\u201d said Ogre, whose real name is Kevin Ogilvie.<\/p>\n

Ogre and his band will still be more than able to bring ohGr\u2019s powerful sound to life on stage.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe touring band has William Morrison on bass, keyboards and backing vocals, Justin Bennett on drums,\u00a0Matthew Setzer\u00a0on guitars and backing vocals, and Dustin Schultz on keyboards and backing vocals,\u201d said Ogre, who is handling lead vocals and sample.<\/p>\n

The live show will give fans the first opportunity to hear live versions of songs from \u201cTricks.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe stared recording the album two years ago,\u201d said Ogre. \u201cWe\u2019ve been writing ever since we made \u2018unDeveloped\u2019 in 2011.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe built up about 70 songs. Almost all 70 were developed to a point where they could be taken to the next stage. The songs on the album flow together well. When Trump got elected , it opened up a while new landscape for topics.\u201d<\/p>\n

Without a record label to finance the making of the album, Ogre turned to a non-traditional method \u2013 crowd-funding.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe did it with PledgeMusic,\u201d said Ogre. \u201cIt\u2019s been a disaster. We can\u2019t get the money from them that they owe us \u2013 money we need to pay invoices. In June, when we needed the money to manufacture things like vinyl and lyric books, it took them eight weeks to pay the invoices. Still, we don\u2019t want to be beholden to a label.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fortunately, the album is out \u2013 much to the delight of ohGr fans around the world.<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2018Tricks\u2019 is an interesting album,\u201d said Ogre. \u201cIt has an entertaining magic vibe. It also relates to the culture that is bringing down this country.\u201d<\/p>\n

Video link for ohGr \u2013 https:\/\/youtu.be\/JznltJABjjA<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The show at Underground Arts, which has Lead Into Gold and Omniflux as the opening acts, will start at 9 p.m. Tickets are $25.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Gaelynn Lea<\/p><\/div>\n

On September 11, Gaelynn Lea will be performing at Community Room on King (106 West King Street, Lancaster, http:\/\/www.communityroomonking.com\/<\/a>). \u00a0On September 14, Lea will also perform a show at Graham Auditorium at Moore College of Art & Design (1916 Race Street, Philadelphia, www.facebook.com\/events\/2154198024795961<\/a>).<\/p>\n

Lea has a unique voice \u2013 and a one-of-a-kind way of playing violin.<\/p>\n

Lea, who has been playing violin for more than 20 years,\u00a0has a congenital disability called Osteogenesis Imperfecta, or Brittle Bones Disease. In recent years, she has\u00a0used her music as a platform to advocate for people with disabilities and to promote positive social change.<\/p>\n

\u201cOsteogenesis Imperfecta is a genetic disability,\u201d said Lea, during a phone interview last week from her home in Duluth, Minnesota.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt childbirth, they were worried about my survival \u2013 but just for one day. By the time I was 13 or 14, I wasn\u2019t upset by it anymore. I\u2019m pretty comfortable with who I am. It\u2019s not a big thing on a daily basis \u2013 but advocacy is.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy family is super musical. They were into musical theater. When I was in fourth grade, an orchestra came to our school and I fell in love with violin. I joined the school orchestra the next year.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was trying to figure out what instrument I could play, and violin fit. Because of my size \u2013 I\u2019m three feet and I sit down all the time \u2013 I\u2019m the same height as my violin. So, I don\u2019t play it the usual way. My teacher was great. She helped me figure it out.\u201d<\/p>\n

Because her body is small, Lea bows\u00a0her violin like a cello. She also uses a loop pedal to multiply her instrumental melodies and create a rich textural fabric that undulates beneath\u00a0her ethereal mezzo-soprano.<\/p>\n

Lea has released three solo albums. The first was \u201cAll the Roads that Lead Us Home\u201d in 2015. Her sophomore album was \u201cDeepest Darkness, Brightest Dawn\u201d in 2016. Last week, Lea released her new album \u201cLearning How To Stay.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI was working on the album for 16 months,\u201d said Lea. \u201cI recorded the album at The Pearl Recording Studio in Minneapolis.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese songs span seven years. The first song I ever wrote \u2013 \u2018Grace and a Tender Hand\u2019 — is on this album. And, I even wrote one while I was recording \u2013 \u2018The Last Three Feet.\u2019 I write a song and then I decide how I\u2019ll record it. I only used live loops on one track.\u201d<\/p>\n

Prior to the new album, Lea did most of her recording using only a few tools — violin, voice, and looping pedal.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are a lot more tracks than just here on this album,\u201d said Lea. \u201cI had a band in the studio this time. The core group was Al Church, Marty Dosh and Andrew Foreman \u2013 along with special guests.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lea started college at McAllister College. She then transferred to University of Minnesota-Duluth where she graduated in 2008 with a degree in political science.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn 2006, I met a guy named Andy Gabel and we had a band until 2008,\u201d said Lea. \u201cMy start in singing came from working with Andy. He would encourage me to sing harmonies. Then, he got me to do lead on a song. In 2011, I started writing my own songs. Later, I started working with Alan Sparhawk in a band called The Murder of Crows.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lea has recorded two solo records \u2013 \u201cAll the Roads That Lead Us Home\u201d and \u201cThe Songs We Sing Along the Way\u201d \u2013 and has a holiday-themed album titled \u201cDeepest darkness, Brightest Dawn\u201d coming out later this year.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy live show is a blend of instrumentals and vocals,\u201d said Lea. \u201cIt\u2019s about 60 per cent instrumentals, which are mostly traditional songs, and 40 per cent vocals, which are mostly originals.<\/p>\n

\u201cI usually perform solo \u2013 just voice, vice, violin and loops. But, for this tour, I\u2019m bringing a guitar player with me \u2013 Dave Mehling. I knew I needed more than live looping ro some of the tracks.\u201d<\/p>\n

Video link for Gaelynn Lea — https:\/\/youtu.be\/Pk9lgimztD4<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The show at Community Room on King on September will run from 7-9 p.m. The show at Graham Auditorium on September 14 will run from 7-10 p.m. Both shows are free with donations accepted.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Denny Dyroff, Entertainment Editor, The Times There are two acts performing shows in the area on July 11 that, even though they both fit into the realm of popular music, could not be more dissimilar \u2013 ohGr and Gaelynn Lea. ohGr is a veteran industrial band that has been making intensely aggressive music for […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":40707,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8457],"tags":[7426,9014,11549],"class_list":["post-40705","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-d-arts-entertainment","tag-featured","tag-gaelynn-lea","tag-ohgr"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40705","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=40705"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40705\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":40706,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40705\/revisions\/40706"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/40707"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=40705"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=40705"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=40705"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}