Led by Seattle Symphony bassist and composer Travis Gore, Feeds on Majesty merges bits of folk, psychedelia, punk, fusion, and contemporary classical music in its first EP release. Having grown up in the south, Gore brings timbres of the southeast to the northwest. This indie ensemble of classically trained musicians has performed at Benaroya Hall, the Royal Room, and other great Seattle venues, honing a beautiful and eerie sound that weaves rich harmonies and skewed rhythms into its nostalgic, original songs. "The EP opens with the driving textures and raw emotions of *The Haunting*; it continues its sonic journey with the the laid-back layers of *After Us* and the lilting, Bluegrass-tinged strains of *Death and Attachment* incorporating guest artist Bill Patton’s profound pedal steel playing. Bowed contrabass supports the distinctive sound of *Lack*, while *Leaves Turn to Green *evokes a psychedelic romp through the church. The meditative *Postlude* confirms that Feeds of Majesty is a band on a quest for deep resonance and profound feeling." -Aaron Grad, renown program writer and composer Feeds on Majesty: New self-titled EP POSTED ON JULY 29, 2013 BY DONE WITH APLOMB I found a link to this local group in my e-mail inbox recently. Definitely different than the kind of music I usually listen to. I hadn’t heard of Feeds on Majesty before-lead musician, Travis Gore, is a bassist with the Seattle Symphony. While their music certainly reflects great musical proficiency-their self-titled EP isn’t what I would expect to hear from a performer with a symphony. Instead of coming from a classical, or even baroque, setting-the music reflects an interest in folk, bluegrass, and at times, even ‘slow-core’ musical stylings. The chord changes and rhythms are almost experimental in nature. I can’t say these are songs you’ll be singing in the shower, as most of the songs have an ethereal, surreal quality to them. Much of it very beautiful (The Haunting), and at other times, unsettling (Leaves Turn to Green). All of it unique and interesting, though. I think fans of Red House Painters, Joanna Newsom, Fleet Foxes, and even Tortoise will find this of interest. You can download the EP over on their bandcamp page. It looks like the group has a couple of opportunities to catch them live over the next few months as well. They will be playing with their new line-up at the Can Can on August 18th; with the avant-garde contemporary orchestra ‘Scrape’ at the Royal Room on September 8th; and at Benaroya Hall as part of the Day of Music on September 22nd at noon (this is event is FREE too!). I am definitely going to try and catch one of these shows to see them live. Day of Music Performer Profile: Feeds on Majesty Feeds on Majesty Seattle Symphony bassist Travis Gore (pictured above: bottom, right) is one of several Symphony musicians who will be performing with their own ensembles at the Symphony’s free Day of Music this Sunday, September 22. Read on to learn more about Feeds on Majesty, Gore’s indie rock/psychedelic folk side project with fellow Seattle-area musicians Bryant Moore, Margaux Le Sourd and Rob Tucker. Then, check out the full schedule of performers and come on down to Benaroya Hall this weekend! How did you come by Feeds on Majesty as your band’s name? It came from a quote of a Rumi poem translated by Coleman Barks entitled “The Force of Friendship.” The specific quote out of context is, “Anyone who feeds on majesty becomes eloquent” — majesty being God’s manifested beauty inward and outward. The poem is about the relationships of people and their being drawn together in a shared vibration whether they know it or not. That “eloquence” coming from the focus on God (or majesty, spirit, love, inspiration, humanity … however one wishes to view it) is what I think we as musicians, composers and songwriters are always attempting to capture. I felt a resonance with the idea and thought it described the intention behind the music we’re performing. How long have you been playing together? What drew you together as a group? Bryant Moore and I were loosely playing together since 2010 and we had the idea of starting a band together. Then, my sister put on an art auction for prostate cancer two years ago in Sodo and had been asked to play but had no lineup, so we quickly crammed for our first show and brought friends together to play with us for it. We kind of lost momentum for a while after that due to some family health issues on my end over the past few years, but recently, for the first time after an attempt to form the band around the record, I feel like we have a band now. Seattle is a tough town for people to commit to a project — everyone plays in three to seven different bands so scheduling recording sessions, rehearsals and shows is tough, especially when the Symphony schedule is usually opposite to most people’s. We have a great group now who are all fantastic writers of their own and I feel we work and communicate really well. Bryant Moore is mostly playing guitar now and singing, Margaux Le Sourd is playing keys and singing, I’m playing upright and singing, and Rob Tucker from the ballet is playing drums. It’s a great group of people. You lead a double life as a musician: playing classical double bass in the Symphony, and as a member of Feeds on Majesty. How do these two parts of your musical life influence each other? Are they complimentary or competing? Totally complimentary except for scheduling at times. I’ve played in bands my whole life with varying intensity. I think playing in a band really helps your pacing of phrase and sense of rhythm in orchestra and chamber music. The classical realm helps the other too in regard to composition and intricacy of ensemble. I think we as classical musicians are more prone to picking things apart which can be good and bad. You need to learn from your practice, but you can focus so much on a detail that it takes the magic away. If you could describe your band’s style in 5 words or less, what would you say? It’s hard to say when you are so close to it, but I would hope it would go something like this: Haunting, Violent, Beautiful, Ethereal, Surreal. What can Day of Music audiences expect when they hear Feeds on Majesty this coming Sunday? Music from our record, as well as some new songs which will be on our next release!