Saturday, 08 March 2008
House Concert:
The Comforters
The
Comforters - Pia and Jason Robbins - live in Eugene, Oregon with their
dog, Walrus. The husband/wife duo write warm and inviting songs that
evoke the rich story telling and pop sensibilities of artists like Aimee
Mann and The Cowboy Junkies.
The Comforters draw from a wellspring of
influences, but cite the three B’s as their foundation: Beatles,
Bergman, Bacharach. Jason explains, “The Beatles, I don’t think I really
need to say anything else, do I? With Bergman, it’s the pace, the
shadows, the internal life, the close up as the tip of the iceberg.
Bacharach, well, we feel quite free to use major 7th chords whenever we
darn well feel like it, thank you very much! But really, it comes down
to the fact that we write songs that we want to hear, about things that
interest us, songs that may well evolve into cinematic-style
productions, but can hold their own when played with just a piano or
guitar.”
Pia sums up The Comforters’s songwriting
atmosphere: “A piano, an acoustic guitar, and lots of trees.” “Yeah,
there’s definitely something about the pacific northwest,” adds Jason,
“that really lends itself to creativity …it’s a very liberating
setting.”
The Comforters recorded their CD
"Transplants" at their own
Big Timbre Studio
in Eugene. “We worked hard on crafting a
record that has a unified sound”, says Jason, “even if we wander around
stylistically. With Pia – you know, she has such a beautiful voice that
communicates so much, that it’s just painting around that with sounds
and textures.”
7:30pm at Brookhaven Lodge.