[Here’s the local show info: Fri. Sep. 23 Monophonics’ Sage Motel Tour w/ GA-20 & Kendra Morris 9pm at Wonder Ballroom, 128 NE Russell St, Portland, OR (503) 284-8686 | $22]
MONOPHONICS TO EMBARK ON 24-CITY NORTH AMERICAN SAGE MOTEL TOUR WITH COLEMINE RECORDS LABEL MATES GA-20 AND KENDRA MORRIS! GET TICKETS HERE
The world’s premier psychedelic soul band, Monophonics cordially invites you to attend the grand re-opening of the once thriving, once vibrant establishment, the legendary Sage Motel. A place where folks experience the highs and lows of human existence. A place where big dreams and broken hearts live, where people arrive without ever knowing how they got there. It’s where individuals find themselves at a crossroads in life.
What started as a quaint motor lodge and a common pitstop for travelers and truckers in the 1940s, Sage Motel morphed into a bohemian’s hang by the 1960s and 1970s. Artists, musicians, and vagabonds of all types would stop there as seedy ownership pumped obnoxious amounts of money into high end renovations, eventually attracting some of the most prominent acts of the era. But when the money ran out, The Sage Motel devolved into a place where you rent by the hour. Sage Motel, Monophonics’ fifth studio album since 2012, tells its story.
“‘Sage Motel’ was the second song we wrote for the album and ultimately was the spark that started this whole concept and story,” says Monophonics bandleader Kelly Finnigan. “It’s a song about a complicated relationship created out of incomparable physical chemistry, lust, passion & love. It’s the struggle of chasing something that will never be a reality, no matter how bad you want it. Some things are meant to happen, but not meant to be… and it all goes down at the Sage Motel.”
Produced by Kelly Finnigan, Sage Motel captures a timeless sound that blends heavy soul with psych-rock. With their previous album, It’s Only Us, selling over 10,000 physical units and garnering over 20 million streams, Monophonics have built a reputation over the past decade as one of the most impactful bands in the country. It’s Only Us was praised by Billboard, FLOOD, Cool Hunting, and more.
If these walls of the Sage Motel could talk, this is what they’d say. So join us as we examine where the stories are told and experiences unfold…..and sink into a soft pillow of soulful psychedelia…..down at the Sage Motel.
Monophonics’ Sage Motel is out now on vinyl, CD and digital/streaming formats via Colemine Records. Click here to order.
MORE INFO ON MONOPHONICS:
Instagram | Facebook | Bandcamp| Colemine Records
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GA-20 clearly is on to something big. It’s a movement, a new traditional blues revival. The dynamic, throwback blues trio are disciples of the place where traditional blues, country and rock ‘n’ roll intersect. “We make records that we would want to listen to,” says guitarist Matt Stubbs. “It’s our take on the song-based traditional electric blues we love.” Stubbs, guitarist/vocalist Pat Faherty, and drummer Tim Carman have been at the forefront of this traditional blues revival since they first formed in 2018. It’s no wonder they skyrocketed to the top of the Billboard Blues Chart.
According to Stubbs, “Since we started the band we’ve focused on the story, the melody, and on creating a mood. Playing live as much as we do, we’re finding more and more that people are discovering how cool it all is. Traditional country, soul and funk music have all had these massive recent revivals, but traditional blues so far has not.” With their new Colemine album, Crackdown, and an intensive tour schedule, that’s all about to change.
On Crackdown, GA-20’s third full-length release, the band creates an unvarnished, ramshackle blues that is at once traditional and refreshingly modern. Expanding on their previous releases (2019’s Lonely Souland 2021’s Try It…You Might Like It! GA-20 Does Hound Dog Taylor) GA-20 finds inspiration on the edges of the genre, where early electric blues first converged with country and rock ‘n’ roll. The album’s nine original songs include the loping, Louisiana-flavored “Dry Run,” the dirty, and bare-bones “Easy On The Eyes” and the melodic, garage-tinged “Fairweather Friend.” With tight, propulsive performances and a brevity and punk energy reminiscent of The Ramones, Crackdown is rowdy and fun, filled with instantly memorable, and well-crafted songs.
GA-20’s Crackdown will be available on vinyl, CD and digital/streaming platforms September 9th via Colemine / Karma Chief Records. Click here to pre-order.
MORE INFO ON GA-20:
Artist Site | Instagram | Facebook | Bandcamp
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Kendra Morris’ new LP Nine Lives marks not only the culmination of the decade since the release of her first LP Banshee, but also a turning point in Kendra’s life professionally and personally. This album heralds the beginning of a new chapter; a new label, and an evolution to the next level of adulthood. Nine Lives is a collection of her original songs encapsulating moments from what could be nine lifetimes lived over a chronological time period, or nine lives lived simultaneously in parallel and convergent realities. Kendra, while very much a New Yorker and veteran of almost two decades on the NYC music scene, hails from Florida and aesthetically embodies the broader sense of American culture, bringing to her contemporary sound a myriad of influences found in music and cinema dating back to the mid 20th century.
Kendra, though she hates to fly, will never refrain from boarding a plane to get where she is going. Her music, however, conjures imagery evocative of endless road trips to weird and wonderful places. Concurrently a visual artist, filmmaker and animator, Kendra harnesses the feline nine lives metaphor again and again. In the context of the chapters of her musical trajectory alone, we see at least nine lives. Discovering the joys of multi-tracking and harmonizing with herself on a karaoke machine in the closet of her childhood home, to playing in cover bands in Florida, moving to NYC with the band she was leading to perform her original music in 2004, dealing with the breakup of that band by creating music alone on an 8 track, once again in her closet, meeting longtime producer Jeremy Page and signing to Wax Poetics for the release of her 2012 debut LP Banshee, self-releasing her 2016 EP Babble and going on to collaborate with artists such as DJ Premier, 9th Wonder, MF Doom, Czarface, Ghostface Killah, Dennis Coffey, and David Sitek, to name a few.
Truthfully, the life of this multi-disciplinarian artist contains multitudes of units of time and story lines through which we can all relate to universal themes of love, loss and overcoming one’s fears, and be inspired by Kendra never ceasing to heed her spiritual calling to continue creating music and art, no matter what.
With no plans of slowing down but a belief in only evolving, the question lies in what will be her next nine lives?
Kendra Morris’ new Nine Lives album is out now on vinyl, CD and digital/streaming formats via Colemine / Karma Chief Records. Purchase / stream here.
MORE INFO ON KENDRA MORRIS:
Instagram | Facebook | Twitter | Bandcamp
MONOPHONICS SAGE MOTEL TOUR DATES W/ GA-20 & KENDRA MORRIS
09/15 MUSIC BOX – SAN DIEGO CA
09/16 THE FONDA THEATRE – LOS ANGELES CA
09/17 THE INDEPENDENT – SAN FRANCISCO CA
09/18 THE CATALYST – SANTA CRUZ CA
09/21 IMPERIAL THEATER – VANCOUVER BC
09/22 THE CROCODILE – SEATTLE WA
09/23 WONDER BALLROOM – PORTLAND OR
09/24 TBA – BOISE ID
09/25 BING CROSBY THEATER – SPOKANE WA
09/28 SOUNDWELL – SALT LAKE CITY UT
09/29 FOX THEATRE – BOULDER CO
09/30 CERVANTES BALLROOM – DENVER CO
10/01 WAVE – WICHITA KS
10/03 FINE LINE – MINNEAPOLIS MN
10/05 SHANK HALL – MILWAUKEE WI
10/06 CHOP SHOP – CHICAGO IL
10/07 MADISON THEATER – CINCINNATI OH
10/08 BUCKHEAD THEATRE – ATLANTA GA
10/09 MUSIC FARM – CHARLESTON SC
10/12 SALVAGE STATION – ASHEVILLE NC
10/13 THE UNDERGROUND – CHARLOTTE NC
10/14 9:30 CLUB – WASHINGTON DC
10/15 MUSIC HALL OF WILLAMSBURG – BROOKLYN NY
10/16 THE MIDDLE EAST – BOSTON MA
