Fresh Sesh: Damn Tall Buildings on The Old Spruce Sessions

While at Freshgrass this year I got a chance to check in with some old friends and make some brand new ones. Damn Tall Buildings was a mix bag for me…I already knew Avery Ballota through some mutual friends and was a big fan of the band’s music. After filming with Ethan Robbins of Cold Chocolate he had mentioned his session to Jordan of DTB and he said he wanted in. A few texts later and we were hauling upright basses and bodies up into the main gallery of Mass MoCa.

As we wandered into the cavernous room our foot steps echoed with the weight of a giant’s and slowly dissipated out with time. It was a HUGE sound and a HUGE space…cool in some ways and difficult to tame in others.

The band first grabbed one guitar and their collective voices which was spooky and haunting and beautiful all at the same time. I wish I took more time in these sessions to focus on balance and thinking ahead to editing but I got so wrapped up in the fun and interplay of the band it was damn near impossible to do so. These are four people who clearly love to perform together. Its infectious and incredible to witness. All four danced about, bumping hips and singing in a jubilant explosion of sound. Pure and utter joy.

 

 

We had a little bit of time and the instruments we scattered across the floor so I said “why don’t we try something else as well?” to which the quartet joyfully obliged. Their take on the Fred Rose/Carter Stanley penned “Think of What You’ve Done” was a real treat. The quick-fire between solos, verse and the perfect, exciting blend of their four voices was electric and filled the giatn space and then some, billowing out into the hall and beyond. Bassist and singer Sasha Dubyk’s voice is gorgeous and super natural…not supernatural like a ghost, but super natural like it flows almost effortless but HUGE and beautiful from her. Just killing it.