GRASS. The legendary “lost” psychedelic/experimental rock masterpiece featuring members of Espers, Vetiver and Brightblack Morning Light.A band of six individuals who met, played some shows, recorded an album, and then went dormant until, in Spring–or thereabouts–they revived their cherished document in hopes that it would not again go to seed.New England in the early 2000’s was home to a plethora of kindred psychedelic, experimental, folk, and rock bands who played shows together, recorded each other’s records, and otherwise felt something like a large extended family.Grass was formed, for a brief moment in time, out of members of several of those bands, from across Vermont, New York and Philadelphia; Espers, Currituck Co., Feathers, Brightblack Morning Light, and The Valerie Project (a band solely devoted to live soundtracking the 1970 cult classic Czech film ‘Valerie and Her Week of Wonders’).During the late summer of 2006 the band sequestered themselves in a barn in rural Northern California and wrote or arranged the bulk of the material that would go on to be the album. Many songs emerged out of group improvisation, others were brought to the band either partially or fully formed, for collaborative arrangement.The band then embarked on their only tour, a small string of dates along the West coast, ending at the fabled Henry Miller Library in Big Sur. Surviving photos indicate beach visits, rustic barns, and an especially memorable tour of the schoolhouse that Hitchcock featured in his classic film, The Birds. But beyond these documents and a few flyers, little exists that preserves the endeavor.The album was recorded throughout 2006 at band member Greg Week’s Hexham Head studio in Philadelphia. The all analog studio solely used 2 inch tape at the time, which was rescued on ebay from the remains of the recording industry of the 1960’s and 70’s. Improvisations from the previous writing sessions were refined and recreated in the studio. Dueling acid leads were conjured by Weeks and Kevin Barker, and the band’s two drummers, Otto Hauser and Ben McConnell, held court. A range of vintage and invented instruments were also played; omnichord and space echo (expertly wielded by Brooke Sietinsons), Fender Rhodes, and a homemade electrified gamelan Meara O’Reilly designed and built, fondly dubbed “The Jamelan” by members of the band. O’Reilly brought “Redwing”, a song she had originally written for her soon-to-be defunct band, Feathers. Weeks penned “Summer in the Wasteland” to make the record album length.And then the project languished for almost two decades.By 2023, Weeks and Barker had begun discussing the album again in earnest. At that point the tapes themselves had begun to disintegrate, requiring a restoration project; this meant baking the tapes (to temporarily solidify the magnetic particles), transferring the tracks to digital, and finding a willing mix engineer–Hexham Head was by then a distant memory. It was decided to remix the tracks at Miner Street Studios with seasoned mix engineers Brian McTear and Amy Morrissey. Label Spiritual Pajamas got involved, and the emergence of this musical time capsule was set. Grass by Grass
