Ears Open, Eyes Peeled: Quick Chat with The Horse-Eyed Men’s Noah Harley
The Horse-Eyed Men have become a staple in the Providence music community. Whether popping up at a surprise kid’s tent set at Newport Folk, sharing bills at the always wonderful Columbus Theatre and running around New England from Vermont to New York and everywhere in between.
The brotherly duo has a gig coming up at Atwood’s on May 30th with the ‘Brazilian-folk outfit’ Só Sol and we caught up with Noah for a quick conversation about why they are excited for that show, whats been going on with the band in the past months and what the future holds for The Horse-Eye Men.
Read on.
RLR: So, whats been going on with The Horse-Eyed Men these days?
NH: We just got off 10 days touring around New England with Willy Mason. It was a blast to share the stage with a songwriter and musician whose work we admire. Playing with different bands while touring can sometimes feel like the lost and found box, it was nice to have some continuity over consecutive nights. We’re playing one more show with him on June 2 in Westerly, RI. Highlights from the tour included the HiLO art gallery in Catskill NY, a full house at Union Pool in Brooklyn, and our Providence show at the Columbus Theater. We’ve also been busy with a monthly show we do at the Columbus called WHEM, which is a send up of an old variety radio show. With WHEM it’s been fun to stretch our proverbial wings and incorporate some theatrical elements into the show; we do weird advertisements for fake products, interviews with musicians, dumb little skits, that sort of thing. The next one is June 7th with Lonnie Holley. Finally, we’ve been working like mad dogs to finish our new album, The Uncanny Valley. We have them just about ready, and plan to release it for our July WHEM show!
RLR: You guys are pretty embedded in the PVD music community. Since you guys started performing around town, how have you seen the community evolve?
NH: I’m amazed at how many creative micro-climates there are within Providence, as The Horse Eyed Men we can only speak to a small part of it. I can say that there is something unfinished about the city that keeps people searching and experimenting. Not all those experiments show up in the form of public performances, but they’re constantly bubbling. Maybe built environments that are too new or too ‘finished’ stifle creativity because what else is there to do, really? Overall I’ve found bands to be supportive of each other, whether that is sharing bills or passing off gig opportunities to each other — I’m hopeful that that will continue to grow. It’s been fun to have a number of local acts on WHEM and draw inspiration from that. Particular local acts that come to mind are Allysen Callery, Cowboy and Lady, and the (ever) immaculate Dan Blakeslee.
RLR: Similarly, what does that community mean to you guys as artists and also, just generally as humans?
NH: I like this question a lot. As a band, there’s the immediate geographical community of Providence and New England generally, but then there’s also the wider artistic community of musicians or artists that inspire us and may not live near us (or still be alive). Sometimes we are like epiphytes, drawing inspiration from the air of other climates or times, but other times we need soil to grow, i.e an immediate musical community to trade songs with, or share a bill. Nobody does it on their own; what if there was a war and nobody came? For any one band that gains broader recognition there’s a whole crop of bands that they came from. Another concrete context for community is playing in different contexts; not only nightclubs but also benefit shows, house shows, birthday parties for friends, etc. Expanding the social meaning of the music we make by playing it for different groups of people, and for different reasons.
RLR: Tell us a little about this particular show on the 30th. Why are you excited about this one?
NH: We enjoy playing Atwood’s for starters — it’s a nice size and shape, and combines a good sound system with a good bar. It’s uncommon to find a place that can do both things. We also enjoy the “mixed-use” nature of the spot; folks can listen up front or do their own thing in the back if they despise the song. In particular, we’re looking forward to playing with the group Só Sol for the show on the 30th. The bill is exciting because it seems that we are both trying to do a similar thing — take old sounds or songs then retrofit them for the weird current moment we’re living through. I’m particularly curious to hear how that translates live. Judging by the recordings, I think people can expect good musicianship paired with smart, unexpected aesthetics from them.
RLR: What do the summer months hold for the band?
NH: We’ll be on tour in early July to celebrate the release of The Uncanny Valley; we’re still nailing down the final routing but should be going through Western MA, the Hudson River valley, Vermont for a couple farm shows, and maybe up to Montreal to track down the ghost of Leonard Cohen. Aside from that a lot of swimming, and getting ready for a fall tour in Europe with country musician Sam Doores of The Deslondes. The plan is to start in Berlin where we recorded The Uncanny Valley, travel south through France into Spain, then take a ferry across to Naples (!) and return to Germany via the Alps. If our elephants can handle the mileage, it should be a fantastic run.
RLR: So, anything else you all want to plug?
NH: Our new album comes out in early July and we should have a limited pre-order type thing up by the end of this week, so keep your internet dial tuned for that! The June 7th show in Providence with Lonnie Holley should also be special. Finally, we would like to recommend the beautiful, strange music of a folk singer named Big Kitty. Check him out, you won’t regret it!
