The Beginnings Tour feat. Levi The Poet, Lowercase Noises & Glowhouse w/ Mic Check Poetry

LEVI THE POET

Dear friends,
I love you with words no poet could ever pen.
I love you with a heart that weighs as heavy as the ocean,
and I will love you with a depth that reaches to its floor,
but when I am no more,
the only word that will live on will be that which was never born.

Levi The Poet on Facebook | Levi The Poet on Twitter | Official Website

LOWERCASE NOISES

Lowercase Noises is the musical brainchild of Andy Othling, a multi-instrumentalist, producer and artist from Albuquerque, NM. All programming and composition on Lowercase Noises’ albums are performed by Andy, with exception of the occasional guest musician or vocalist.

Lowercase Noises was birthed out of a small college dorm with very basic recording gear, a slew of effects pedals and an electric guitar. As Andy’s passion for and interest in the recording/mixing process bloomed, along with his talent for producing, songs and styles emerged that built the framework for what Lowercase Noises is today.

His first serious effort and full-length release, Seafront (Nov. 2009), was a unique blend of styles, including ambient, post-rock and electronica, as well as intriguing dialogue and field recordings.

Marshall (May 2010), named after and written for Andy’s son, is ambient at it’s best; smooth-moving, quiet melodies that ease the listener from one song to the next in a truly lullaby-like quality.

Next came Ambient Songs (Aug. 2010), to tide fans over until the next studio album; a collection of simpler, ‘live’ recordings taken from Andy’s acclaimed YouTube videos that expressed his ability to perform what were essentially improvised songs.

Carry Us All Away (Dec. 2010) was a true milestone in Lowercase Noises’ career. An appropriate follow-up to the
two ‘quieter’ previous releases, Carry Us All Away aims for nothing shy of epic, displaying Andy at the top of his form. The album opens with a fantastic bang, then carries the listener through 45 more minutes of bliss, dipping occasionally to lovely ambient swoons, then vamping back into satisfyingly big beats and driving melodies.

Most recently, Migratory Patterns (May 2011) was released, exploring a sort of soft-electronica sound coupled with somewhat darker melodies, making it Lowercase Noises’ most contemplative album yet. Additionally, the album is loosely themed after the mysterious ’52-hertz Whale,’ a lone-traveling creature who has long evaded researchers. This whale’s low-frequency call can be heard on Migratory Patterns.

Andy has also performed and collaborated on a number of other artist’s albums, and is currently the lead guitarist for Albuquerque singer/songwriter Chuck Elmore.

Lowercase Noises on Facebook | Lowercase Noises on Twitter | Official Website

GLOWHOUSE

This project is solace.

It’s that single pinewood cabin, built with calloused hands, up in all that black, whose single candle light still flickers on the worn, knotted dining room table, and you can make it out on the hillside – a dim, vague glow in the middle of all those trees in the middle of that mist that holds them.

You can go to those places, in the stillness, when you close your eyes to these sounds. Alex Sugg took a dream and told it in a song.

Musically, Albuquerque, New Mexico doesn’t hold a large amount of precedence when it comes to the voices who call it home, but that may soon change. Alex Sugg has been heavily involved in multiple projects vastly different from this particular priority: Glowhouse – a folk-esque, neo-soul, haunting and beautiful focus that acts as an outlet and a love and a dream.

Glowhouse reveals a more minimalistic artistry when compared to his previous endeavors. December’s limited-release, Winter 2009, was little more than an acoustic guitar accompanying heavy vocal direction, but it was something new, and acted as the perfect catalyst towards an enthusiastic acceptance, which encouraged its dreamy, creative freedom. A sadness and a joy seemed to flow out of Sugg’s vocal chords, and they came out together, conflicted and at peace; both teary nods of understanding and blurred questions resonating off of the chords his fingers find in that guitar.

Now, after months of spilling pen to paper, Deadweight follows as Glowhouse’s debut long player. Full instrumentation finds its way into the recordings, and while continuing that vocal drive, there is a song writing maturity manifest structurally and lyrically. Tracks like “Afternoon” explore a lighter tone, and the sounds shine like colors. Life, love, loss and growth pour themselves out in the gloomy, folk-laden ambience of the album, and tenfold from the stage. It resonates thickly, pierces deeply, and it floats in the air like you can see it and get carried away to wherever its waves take you.

Here’s to hoping you find your dream, your glowing candle in that quiet, lonely country.
-Levi Macallister

Glowhouse on Facebook | Glowhouse on Twitter | Official Website

Mic Check Poets

Madison Mae Parker

Madison Mae Parker aka Madi Mae is a recent graduate from Texas A&M University with a degree in English Creative Writing. Having only been in the poetry slam world for a little over a year, she has competed in several independent poetry slams such as Texas Grand Slam and Women of the World Poetry Slam. In addition, she was also a member of the 2013 Mic Check Southern Fried team and 2014 Southwest Shootout team. She co-founded Texas A&M’s literary magazine, The Eckleburg Project, and served as Editor in Chief over the magazine. She is currently president of Mic Check Poetry, a spoken word nonprofit, in Bryan, TX, co-director for Texas Grand Slam, and Director of Texas Youth Poetry Slam. When she isn’t poeting, she is probably watching anime or Adventure Time or wish she owned all the kitties in the world or D.) All of the Above. She is older than she looks; her spirit is younger than it seems.

James Church

James was raised in the jungle of my grandfather’s backyard within the Mission District of San Francisco, California. He was born half-Hispanic, half-sidewalk and would talk to anything that pretended to listen. He moved to College Station, Texas during the summer of 2010. James eventually found a home where words can express themselves openly and walked 6 miles to a blank page hidden away in Bryan, Texas called Revolution. He began reading his past aloud to the ears of audience members for a non-profit organization called Mic Check, which he is now the Community Outreach Director for, and hasn’t stopped since. If you see him talking to himself, don’t be wary, just attempting to transcribe everything the light touches into poetry.

Ryan McMasters