{"id":53019,"date":"2023-10-04T07:39:05","date_gmt":"2023-10-04T11:39:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/?p=53019"},"modified":"2023-10-04T07:39:06","modified_gmt":"2023-10-04T11:39:06","slug":"on-stage-extra-soft-machine-just-keeps-on-going","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/?p=53019","title":{"rendered":"On Stage Extra: Soft Machine just keeps on going"},"content":{"rendered":"

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

\"\"

Soft Machine<\/p><\/div>\n

Any discussion of British bands with impressive longevity has to include Soft Machine.<\/p>\n

Soft Machine (billed as\u00a0The\u00a0Soft Machine\u00a0up until 1969 or 1970) were formed in mid-1966 by Robert Wyatt\u00a0(drums, vocals), Kevin Ayers\u00a0(bass, guitar, vocals), Daevid Allen\u00a0(guitar) and Mike Ratledge\u00a0(organ).<\/p>\n

Allen, Wyatt and future bassist Hugh Hopper\u00a0had first played together in the Daevid Allen Trio in 1963, occasionally accompanied by Ratledge. Wyatt, Ayers and Hopper had been founding members of The Wilde Flowers, later incarnations of which would include future members of another Canterbury band, Caravan.<\/p>\n

Half of that line-up has already passed away \u2013 Ayers in 2013 and Allen in 2015. Two other members of Soft Machine\u2019s roster in the 1960s have also crossed over \u2013 Elton Dean in 2006 and Hugh Hopper in 2009.<\/p>\n

But, just like the Energizer Bunny, Soft Machine keeps on going and going. Over the past five decades, there have been almost 30 different band members.<\/p>\n

On October 4, Soft Machine will visit the area for a show at the Sellersville Theater (24 West Temple Avenue, Sellersville, 215-257-5808, www.st94.com<\/a>).<\/p>\n

The current Soft Machine line-up features John Etheridge (guitars), Theo Travis (saxes, flutes, Fender Rhodes piano, electronics), Fred Thelonious Baker (fretless bass) and Asaf Sirkis (drums).<\/p>\n

Soft Machine is touring in support of its a brand-new album, \u201cOther Doors,\u201d which features mostly new material along with two numbers drawn from their extensive historical repertoire.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe recorded the album in summer 2022,\u201d said Travis, during a phone interview last week from a tour stop in Toledo, Spain to play at Leonardo\u2019s Festival.<\/p>\n

\u201cOther Doors\u201d was recorded at Temple Music Studios, a facility owned by the late Jon Hiseman during July and August 2022. The band used Ru Lemer, who has a reputation as a brilliant engineer.<\/p>\n

\u201cJon Hiseman\u2019s studio is in Surrey,\u201d said Travis. \u201cIt\u2019s a great studio. We recorded our previous album, \u2018Hidden Details,\u2019 there in 2018.The studio has a very natural sound.\u201d<\/p>\n

Travis is a veteran British musician who previously has played with King Crimson, Gong, Travis & Fripp, and David Gilmour.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve lived with music from age six or seven \u2013 just listening to my parents\u2019 records,\u201d said Travis, who will be 60 next July.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I was eight, I bought my first single \u2013 \u2018Feel the Need in Me.\u2019 My first album purchase was \u2018Tanx\u2019 by T. Rex.\u201d<\/p>\n

Travis plays sax for Soft Machine \u2013 and his other band, Double Talk.<\/p>\n

\u201cI started playing music — classical flute — when I was eight or nine,\u201d said Travis, who grew up in Birmingham. \u201cI also played bass. When I was 15, I borrowed my sister\u2019s alto sax.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow, I play tenor sax mostly as well as some soprano sax. Major influences have been John Coltrane, Michael Brecker and Pharoah Sanders.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ironically, Soft Machine was not an early influence.<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t really listen to Soft Machine,\u201d said Travis, who has also worked with\u00a0Harold Budd,\u00a0Bass Communion,\u00a0Burnt Friedman,\u00a0No-Man,\u00a0Porcupine Tree,\u00a0The Tangent and\u00a0David Sylvian.<\/p>\n

\u201cA friend had \u2018Fifth\u2019 (Soft Machine\u2019s 1972 album) and then I didn\u2019t listen to another Soft Machine record for 15 years. I was more into Yes, The Who, Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin.\u201d<\/p>\n

Travis became involved with Soft Machine in 2006. Elton Dean, who played sax, flute and keyboard for the band from starting in 1969, passed away in 2006.<\/p>\n

\u201cElton was ill in early 2006,\u201d said Travis, who now calls North London home. \u201cSoft Machine was looking for a temporary replacement. I had played with John Etheridge and Hugh Hopper in other bands, and they asked me. Sadly, Elton passed away later that year. Now, I\u2019ve been in Soft Machine for 17 years.\u201d<\/p>\n

With more than 40 albums from which to draw material, Soft Machine has no shortage of songs to play live.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe go right back to the beginning \u2013 all the way to \u2018Joy of a Toy\u2019 from the first album. We play songs from \u2018Third,\u2019 \u2018Fourth,\u2019 \u2018Fifth\u2019 and \u2018Bundles.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cWe kind of cover the entire catalogue. We make a point of mixing up new material with classic stuff. On this tour, it\u2019s a 50-minute set, intermission, a 50-minute set and an encore. The songs change quite a lot from night to night. It\u2019s a mix of fixed parts and free improvisation.\u201d<\/p>\n

Video link for Soft Machine \u2013 https:\/\/youtu.be\/-bsCDMHFGk0<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The show at the Sellersville Theater on October 4 will start at p.m.<\/p>\n

Tickets prices start at $29.50.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Seth Glier<\/p><\/div>\n

The Sellersville Theater will also be presenting Seth Glier on a bill with Tom Rush on October 13.<\/p>\n

However, Glier\u2019s many fans in the area do not have to wait that long or travel that far to see Glier perform.<\/p>\n

On October 4, Glier will headline a show at 118 North (118 North Wayne Avenue, Wayne, www.118northwayne.com<\/a>).<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Coronation\u201d\u00a0is the Grammy Nominee\u2019s sixth album. It was released in 2021 on Rachael Sage\u2019s label, MPress Records.<\/p>\n

The album\u00a0combined elements of folk, pop, and electronica and explored themes of growth, forgiveness, and envisioning a better world.<\/p>\n

His forthcoming album, \u201cEverything,\u201d is a collection of songs inviting the listener to imagine a future in which humans and the planet are re-aligned in mutual restoration.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wrote the first song for the album \u2013 \u2018Mammoth\u2019 — maybe three years ago,\u201d said Glier, during a phone interview Tuesday night from his home in western Massachusetts.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt caught me off guard. It\u2019s a song about the resurrection of a woolly mammoth. It\u2019s written from the perspective of a woolly mammoth \u2013 where does a woolly mammoth belong?<\/p>\n

\u201cI was in the middle of making my last record \u2013 \u2018The Coronation,\u2019 \u2018Woolly Mammoth\u2019 was the only song that didn\u2019t belong on \u2018The Coronation\u2019 \u2013 so, I saved it for the next album.<\/p>\n

\u201cDuring COVID, I was insulating my attic and I listened to a podcast by Ayanna Elizabeth Johnson called, \u2018How to Save the Planet.\u2019 It asked \u2013 what are you good at, what are you good at doing, and what is work that needs to be done?\u201d<\/p>\n

According to Johnson, \u201cI think the thing that we\u2019re really hoping people get out of listening is an understanding of just the multitude of ways that they can be a part of climate solutions. We want to show the diversity of work that needs doing and of ways that you can contribute to it.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat we hope is that people will see themselves in this work somewhere, whether it\u2019s protesting pipelines and land defense, or practicing regenerative agriculture, or reforming the grid, or getting excited about offshore wind energy. We really do need such a diversity of areas, of expertise, of people. We\u2019ve got a lot of stuff to do and fix. We\u2019re going to need everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n

That was an inspiration for Glier.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs a songwriter, I wanted to build a whole record about climate,\u201d said Glier. \u201cI started learning about who, where and why. I found stories that interested me.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of the threats to the climate is the way we look at problems. We look at it as a binary question. We need to look at solutions we already have.\u201d<\/p>\n

The earth speaks to us in a myriad of ways \u2014 through ice cores, through uplift and erosion, through tree ring — languages we have the potential to restore our literacy in. Reconnecting with these quiet messages has set Glier on a path of channeling nature\u2019s longing for communion with humanity into song. \u201cEverything\u201d is a collection of eight songs inviting us to imagine a future in which humans and the planet are re-aligned into mutual restoration.<\/p>\n

Each song presents a practical climate solution with concrete optimism. The album\u2019s title track was inspired by an experience Glier had while mushroom foraging.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor the last three years, I\u2019ve been obsessed with foraging for wild mushrooms,\u201d said Glier. \u201cThe grounds are pretty fertile around here. One day, I picked up a chantarelle mushroom and it was so sweet smelling.\u201d<\/p>\n

It created a strange reaction for Glier.<\/p>\n

According to Glier, \u201cWhen I brought it towards my nose, I first smelled sweet apricot and then my spine straightened suddenly. The feeling was like d\u00e9j\u00e0 vu. It was a \u2018first time,\u2019 yet somewhere inside of me I had done this once before. I was reconnecting to a knowledge I had already known.\u201d<\/p>\n

Obsession had begun.<\/p>\n

\u201cI watched a movie about foraging,\u201d said Glier. \u201cI saw how mushrooms were already a part of my life. I started growing mushrooms in our guest room.<\/p>\n

\u201cMushrooms are very intelligent plants. They are highly creative, and they communicate with each other. Learning about mushrooms has totally changed me as a person.\u201d<\/p>\n

Glier\u2019s gifts are an innate curiosity and a fierce desire to connect with other people.<\/p>\n

His musical acumen provides him with a vehicle for both. He was worked as a cultural diplomat for the US State Department and collaborated with musicians in Ukraine, Mongolia, China, and Mexico. Glier has shared the bill with a diverse list of artists including Ronnie Spector, James Taylor, Ani DiFranco, & Glen Campbell.<\/p>\n

As a producer, music director, or studio musician he has collaborated with Sophie B. Hawkins, Tom Rush, Antje Duvekot, Richard Shindell, Doctora Qingona, Dar Williams, Nick Carter, & Cyndi Lauper.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor the last 15 years, I\u2019ve been the music director for Sophie B. Hawkins,\u201d said Glier.<\/p>\n

Glier is a five-time Independent Music Award winner and received a Grammy nomination for his album, \u201cThe Next Right Thing.\u201d With a commitment to using songwriting as a tool for positive change, he has written with the students in Parkland, FL for the \u201cParkland Project,\u201d worked with ChildFund International and Rock The Vote.<\/p>\n

He has also cowritten with soldiers at Walter Reed Army Hospital and is an advocate for autism awareness citing his autistic brother Jamie as his greatest non-musical musical influence. The Massachusetts native has also been a TEDx Speaker.<\/p>\n

One of Glier\u2019s other connections with nature is his affinity for birds which was on display in his album prior to \u201cThe Coronation\u201d \u2013 \u201cBirds.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBirds,\u201d which was released in 2017, is an album for the birds, inspired by birds and made with the help of birds.<\/p>\n

Glier\u00a0recorded \u201cBirds\u201d in an airy loft in western Massachusetts outfitted with a grand piano and floor-to-ceiling windows. Birds roost just outside those windows, on the roof of the converted mill building where he lives, and they became his sympathetic audience while\u00a0Glier\u00a0made the album.<\/p>\n

\u201cI got a lot of comfort talking to the birds outside my window,\u201d said\u00a0Glier. \u201cI\u2019d talk to them frequently to see how they thought things were going with the music.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe communicated well. It was definitely spiritual to make that kind of connection. That was the catalyst that got me into writing these songs.\u201d<\/p>\n

It was the death of his brother and the relationship they had that provided the focus for the songs.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere were a lot of intense moments \u2013 first birthday without my brother, first Thanksgiving without my brother,\u201d said\u00a0Glier. \u201cThat was also calling me to stay close to home and use an insular environment to pour emotions into my writing.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy brother was born with autism and had seizure disorders. He was in the hospital for six weeks at the end. We were very close.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was my greatest non-musical influence. He was non-verbal. When we were growing up, I had to get up and give him breakfast. He taught me new ways of communication without words. That\u2019s why I can communicate so well with the birds.\u201d<\/p>\n

The birds will not join him on his trip south this week, but he will be joined by Dina Hall.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy live shows start with a local non-profit person talking,\u201d said Glier. \u201cThen, I\u2019ll play \u2018Everything\u2019 front-to-finish followed by a set of older songs.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith \u2018Everything,\u2019 I\u2019m putting out each of the album\u2019s songs \u2013 one each month up until its release in January. There will be a video for every song and two live videos for each. Each song features a different climate solution accompanied by storytelling.\u201d<\/p>\n

Video link for Seth Glier — https:\/\/youtu.be\/sdWKxcAaM48<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Seth Glier show at 118 North on October 4 with Dina Hall will start at 7:30 p.m.<\/p>\n

Tickets are $10.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Denny Dyroff, Entertainment Editor, The Times Any discussion of British bands with impressive longevity has to include Soft Machine. Soft Machine (billed as\u00a0The\u00a0Soft Machine\u00a0up until 1969 or 1970) were formed in mid-1966 by Robert Wyatt\u00a0(drums, vocals), Kevin Ayers\u00a0(bass, guitar, vocals), Daevid Allen\u00a0(guitar) and Mike Ratledge\u00a0(organ). Allen, Wyatt and future bassist Hugh Hopper\u00a0had first played […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":53017,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8457],"tags":[7426,13422,10408,15338],"class_list":["post-53019","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-d-arts-entertainment","tag-featured","tag-sellersville-theater","tag-seth-glier","tag-soft-machine"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53019","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=53019"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53019\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":53020,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53019\/revisions\/53020"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/53017"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=53019"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=53019"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=53019"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}