Our Song of the Day comes via a brilliantly uplifting video premiere for Great Blue Heron, the new single from Alt-folk-rock band Billy Wylder which features on their forthcoming album, “Strike the Match” out Sept. 7, 2018. Billy Wylder is the songwriting project of Avi Salloway, who was a touring member of the Tuareg rock band Bombino for years, and it combines those influences with folk/roots rock in the vein of Darlingside and River Whyless. An uplifting and compelling fresh new sound that is sure to capture the hearts of many on first listen.
Avi shared the following on the song:
“It was a late summer’s day, and I was sitting on the rocks that overlook the White River in Vermont. I was taking in the golden hour, seeking refuge from the city and finding a moment of tranquillity as the river rolled on peacefully downstream. All of a sudden this beautiful great blue heron appeared, spread her wings and flew gracefully over the river towards the fading sun. I had my guitar and began to pick out the melody to this song and the words came quickly and naturally. “Great blue heron in the sky, tell me why, won’t you tell me why, tell me why we live this way… I will follow you, I will follow you, like birds flying away.” I started to think about what the great blue heron might see as she looks down on us humans and how we inhabit the planet. What came out of this meeting at the river is part love song and part meditation, attuning to the spiritual power of the great blue heron.
“When I wrote this song, I had just returned home from touring around the world with Bombino, the Tuareg guitar master from Agadez, Niger. I spent three years digging deep into the Tuareg tradition and the hypnotic rhythms from the Sahara Desert. The experience profoundly infused my consciousness, guitar playing, and songwriting. After recording this song I thought my friend Bridget Kearney would sound great singing on the track. I called her up while she was on tour; she said she had a preamp and a nice mic on her bus and that she was down to give it a go. Two days later she sent me this beautiful vocal performance. Bridget has spent a bunch of time making music in Ghana and Morocco and it felt like a natural fit to have her on this song. I love the fluidity and personality that Jeremy Gustin and Rob Flax brought to the recording.”
– Avi Salloway, Cambridge, MA 5/31/18
On Strike the Match, Billy Wylder grapples with some of the most pressing questions of our time. How can we reorient ourselves to nature as a source of strength for resistance to the forces that seek to destroy and profit from it? How can we use music to move beyond capitalism and nationalism to a global society for the benefit of the earth and all living beings? How can we reconcile our painful history with hope and optimism for the future? The album calls the listener to engage with these questions and illuminates the path towards participating in the creation of a more just and sustainable world.
The band is named after Salloway’s grandmother, Wilma “Billie” Hotaling.” She was a prolific painter, author, musician, and educator. Billie wrote Count the Stars Through the Cracks, a harrowing historical fiction novel about a young brother and sister’s escape from the Antebellum South along the Underground Railroad. Billie’s writing was raw and fearless and her book delivered a powerful narrative about America’s hard truths and the long journey to freedom. “My grandma Billie led by example, showing me what creativity looks like and how critical art can be as a form of love and resistance. She is part of me and part of the Wylder family,” Salloway reflects.
Billy Wylder hit the road this summer and fall to celebrate the release of Strike the Match. The band has been building their family of fans and friends from the ground up. In 2011, Salloway founded the Moonshine Music Series, a surreal concert and community experience that takes place on family-run farms in Massachusetts and Vermont. The Moonshine is a unique gathering and lively opportunity for Wylder fans to come together, break bread, make art, dance and connect with the land and sustainable local food sources. Billy Wylder host the Moonshine Music Festival at Earth Sky Time Farm in Manchester, VT on Sept. 2 and the Harvest Moonshine Music Festival in Wrentham, MA on Sept. 22.
Musicians:
Avi Salloway – vocals, guitar, bass
Bridget Kearney – vocals
Rob Flax – violin
Jeremy Gustin – drums
Dan Fox, Brian Paulding, Avi Salloway – claps