It is that time of year again, folks. A good time of year. An exciting time of year. A lovely time of year.
Once every 12 months, Everyday Joe’s throws a party for itself. A party to celebrate community & relationships & how much we love you. This party is in the form of a benefit concert for your favorite non-profit coffee house, and the musicians playing this year have me all kinds of excited and I have goosebumps.
Back in April, our longtime friend Aaron Strumpel released an album called Elephants. To record it, he enlisted the help of people he loves from Portland, the mountains of Woodland Park, and Boulder. These people stretched him and told him to throw away what he knew as songwriting and create something from the ashes. The result is an award-winning album that has received critical acclaim from places all around:
If you would have told me six months ago that one of my favorite albums of the year would be based on the Psalms, I would have told you that you don’t know me very well. Long the purview of schlockmeisters and saccharine hacks, Aaron Strumpel has stolen the hymnbook of ancient Israel back for the regular folks, including folks like David (the original blues harp player) who bitch and moan and cry out in pain. This album wails. Add the tribal chanting and the horn section cribbed from avant-garde jazzbos The Art Ensemble of Chicago and you’ve got something very rare and special indeed. - Paste Magazine
Here’s a fresh reminder of the literary and musical beauty of the Bible — no matter what, or whether, you believe. - USA Today
While nothing can replace a live performance, Elephants is by no means any less exciting or musically inferior. Thanks to the layers on each of the tracks, the concert experience translates nicely into the album. The album title is fitting as most tracks are interlaced with deep drum stomps, rough-skinned backing loops and Aaron’s own trumpet. The sound is experimental, but with purpose, folk rock based but uniquely integrated with a variety of instrumentation; it carries an element of abstraction to it with soul that bleeds through the vocals. - Relevant Magazine
That last review speaks of live performance, comparing it to the album. What good is this to you? Allow yourself to now be informed.
On December 5, Aaron Strumpel will perform Elephants in its entirety with the help of those who helped make the album: The Blackthorn Project, Aboyandhiskite, and Agents Of Future. The performance will headline this year’s Everyday Joe’s 90/10 benefit, with short opening sets from each of Aaron’s friends. The creation of the album is one that came out of community & relationships, so we only saw it as fitting to have Aaron perform it from the Everyday Joe’s stage on the very evening we celebrate such things. The 90/10 Benefit has always been an evening to portray the heart of what happens at 144 S. Mason, and if that heart was a person it would be Aaron Strumpel.
Tickets for the show are for sale online here and will be available at the shop soon. Show time is 6:30 pm, and all proceeds from the evening will go to benefit Everyday Joe’s.
FURTHER:
Why 90/10?
Whenever an artist plays at Everyday Joe’s and charges a cover, they get to keep 90% of the ticket sales. This is a generous cut, and we do it because we believe in supporting the arts. One night each year, the musicians split the 10% and allow Everyday Joe’s to take the 90% so we can make improvements and serve you better.
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Together, the two are helping start Grace Orphanage in Togo, Africa. Jonathan has been working on it for years now. Missy came into the picture just over a year ago, already with plans to move to Africa once she finished school. She didn’t know what she’d do there. Then she met Jonathan. Then they got married. Now, they move to Africa in a couple weeks. This coming Friday (October 8), we’ll be hosting a benefit for the orphanage. Deets from the organization’s blog:
