Today we’re happy to give you an exclusive song premiere from Bay Area folk band, Great Spirit.
“Pretend With Me” contains all the ingredients for folk-rock greatness with an old-timey appeal.
The band calls their sound “Cosmic Mountain Folk Grass,” and after a listen to this track you can hear why.
Banjos, acoustic guitars and light percussion swirl beneath lyrics that touch on what guitarist/vocalist Tom Conneely describes as “leaving what you have always known and moving on toward the unknown.”
He continues, “The initial phrase ‘pretend with me’ shot through my head while driving down 101 south on my way toward LA to meet up with a friend. It developed from there on my bedroom floor days later. I can only hope it means many different things to the listener.”
The band’s upcoming release, Front Porch to Frontier, is out January 13, 2015. Until then, enjoy “Pretend With Me”!
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Great Spirit is a unique culmination of a wide-variety of musical influences, from The Flaming Lips to Tony Rice and beyond. Based in the San Francisco Bay Area, Great Spirit combines poetic lyricism with equal parts folk-rock, bluegrass and funk to form a genre uniquely its own and reflect the pervasiveness of the Northern California landscape in which all three members of Great Spirit were raised.
Their debut album Front Porch to Frontier readily touches on the archetypal nature of the landscape – in homage to the greater mystery that encompasses it. Front Porch to Frontier combines tasteful blends of musical ability with distinctive, original songwriting showcasing an honest portrait of the people that compose the band itself.
Tom, Will, and Peter laid out a rough plan to record an album while attending a Bluegrass festival. Days later the group emerged from the studio with Front Porch to Frontier and followed up the recording session with a run of shows up and down the California coast. What started as a short run of five shows in three days, snowballed into an ongoing tour through the West Coast.
Great Spirit is composed of Tom Conneely, Will Durkee and Peter Domenici. Together they share a common musical ground with each drawing from a wide range of unique influences, including Bluegrass and spirit animals; Compassion triangles and Lone Ranger. With Front Porch to Frontier on the way on (out January 13, 2015) and plenty of shows on the horizon, Great Spirit will be seeing you soon.
Acoustic Nation is written by Laura B. Whitmore, a music industry marketing veteran, music journalist and editor, who has contributed to Parade.com, Guitar World, and others. She has interviewed hundreds of musicians and hosts the She Rocks Podcast. As the founder of the Women’s International Music Network, she advocates for women in the music industry and produces the annual She Rocks Awards. She is the Senior Vice President of Marketing for Positive Grid, making the world safe for guitar exploration everywhere! A guitarist and singer/songwriter, Laura is currently co-writing an album of pop songs that empower and energize girls.
