In a national survey completed at one point in the last ten years, Mansfield, Ohio received a rating as one of the top five ugliest cities in the nation. Anyone driving its highways and city roads might half-heartedly agree, the city’s womb and inner parts a sprawling morass of empty warehouses, boarded-up homes, struggling businesses, and grey pavement.And yet, as always, beauty is stubborn and persistent. It spills out between pieces of sidewalk, soars high above in the elegance of church steeples and stained glass, and grows thick despite our best efforts. Outside of the city, down back roads and off of the highways, one finds trees and woodland near-primeval in their greenery, stillness broken only by birdsong and the occasional passing car.It is from this place, named the heart of ugliness by others, that two men, determined in their creativity, have endeavoured to enlist a veritable army of their friends to join them in music-making. It is brave song in the face of urban sprawl, note-woven reminders of hope, peace, and glory in the face of roadway construction. This is not a “band” so much as an orchestra of unique parts, a horn and string
section, marching drums, and vocal choir strung together with denim, dried leaves, and guitar string. It is music made by friends, for friends.
This is Every Gentle Air.
(Performers, sowers, and writers in Every Gentle Air tour and record in a Record Machine band called The Winston Jazz Routine. They reside in this same dreary town and are good friends, comrades, brothers, and sisters to one another. Every Gentle Air’s second release, Part Two, was recorded from January to May of 2005 at The Winter Ship studio in Mansfield, OH by Nathan Phillips, amidst the loud basement heaters, fans, and refrigerators. It was then passed along to Mansfield’s Rob Hemmick for mastering and critique. The original 100 copies were hand-crafted booklets that contained seed pouches, acrylic paint, and polaroid pictures of the cast and crew. After these copies ran out, The Record Machine decided they wanted to re-release the record and see how it did amongst a larger audience. Thank you for listening.)
