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The Interactive Commune of The Folly

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It was about two years ago when RVA Mag last sat down with The Folly, when the blues/folk/rock band released their debut EP. Since then, they’ve been busy touring and toiling away in the studio on their latest project, Find A Way, which they dropped last month.

Their eclectic mix of folk and bluesy rock has made them a standout. Continuing that effort, lead singers and songwriters Jordan Lette and Anneliese Grant said they wanted to bring in more of the talent and creative contributions of their fellow bandmates. “This one was a lot more interactive, a lot more communal,” Lette said of the album’s creation.

Development on Find A Way started two years after the band’s current lineup had been established. Following the release of their debut EP, bassist Ray Montoro and Johnathan Kirvan bowed out of the band on good terms, with Jonny Powell (Bass, Vibra-slap), Josh Santamaria (Drums), and Jacob Larson (Percussion) joining recurring members Tara Dillard (fiddle) and Gordon Jones (saxophone). Pianist Sid Kingsley and No BS! Brass Band drummer Lance Koehler also contributed to the album.

While The Folly’s makeup in live shows still features shifting roles and numbers from venue to venue, this particular lineup would become a constant over the years; even as The Folly’s rising profile would take the group from a Beatles tribute at the Kimball Theatre in Williamsburg to a Halloween show in New York City. Eventually, the decision was made to ensure this incarnation of the band had a release to call its own.

“We need to have recordings of this group that represents who the band actually is now,” Grant said. “Just make sure we had a project that had our current family on it together.”

Where the band’s first EP had been the marriage of Grant and Lette’s lyrics and vocals to the music created by Lette, the expanded lineup was an integral part of the music from its earliest days. This led to a process of brainstorming and experimentation, fueled by members who had the space and encouragement to bring in their own ideas.

“I’m sure it’ll change the next time, or remain that same way but have a different process, because now everyone wants to bring stuff to the table,” he said. 

Yet when it came time to record and produce the album, The Folly hit their first real obstacle. While they managed to book studio time in May at Minimum Wage Recordings, fulfilling a 10-year wish for Lette, the conflicting schedules and work requirements of the various band members made using that time very challenging.

“If you’re gonna invest in that kind of studio time, try to make sure everybody can get off work to be there altogether and all be in it throughout the entire time,” Grant said, reflecting on the experience. 

The products of those long hours speak for themselves: eight tracks, spanning nearly an hour of various genres, beginning with the free-wheeling tunes of “So You Go Howl” and ending with the somber and sobering sounds of “Killing Machines.”  And while The Folly’s ability to zigzag through their musical influences is still present, it’s matched with an air of improvisation, intimacy and DIY friendliness in the recording. This atmosphere extends to the physical release, including an inner cover that looks more like a family album, and a CD marked with “doodles” of the band by Grant.

For now, the Folly is focused on getting the word out to as many people as possible, using live shows and radio sessions to ensure a wide reach to a potential audience, all the while supporting, and supported by, a local scene as vibrant and communal as the sparks of inspiration behind their latest work.

“We’re here to support the community, and hopefully we’ll get supported as well,” Lette said.

Find A Way is available for streaming and purchase on iTunes or Spotify.  Catch them at The Hof with Alice & the Reverie on Sept. 28 at 8:45 pm, and with People’s Blues of Richmond and Disco Risque at the Jefferson Theatre in Charlottesville on Oct. 6.

Music Sponsored By Graduate Richmond

 

Richmond Songwriter Anneliese Grant Debuts New Video, ‘Go From Here’

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RVA Magazine first caught on to the amazing songstress Anneliese Grant when we heard her sing in The Folly. The local folksy rock band put out their debut EP in 2016 and Grant has been steadily performing with them ever since and prior to that, she was dazzling audiences with her vocals solo.

In May, the songwriter dropped her debut solo EP, Out to Graze,  five bluesy/groovy tracks and she also has an additional house/disco project, Museum District. Grant’s been busy recording new material though, and last weekend she premiered a video for her song “Go From Here.”

The song, which is off her latest EP, focuses on survivors guilt and the phases of grief that one goes through after losing a loved one according to Grant.

“Over the last two years I’ve gone through a lot of surprising tragedy and loss,” she said. The video was an opportunity to show how these phases overlap and overwhelm, but how I’ve personally continued to move, perform, and attempt to heal through music and physical expression. The styling represents the various phases – and the “armor” that can be created with your clothing.”

As she walks by the river, singing gracefully and sweetly, Grant works through this grief shedding different pieces of her “armor” as the song progresses.

“Go From Here” was directed and filmed by Cameron Robinson, styled by Lo-Key Hi-Key, and all done photography is courtesy of Andee Arches.

Grant has a gig coming up at Strange Matter on Jan. 15 alongside Kenneka Cook, Tara Dillard, and Dale, but you can catch her performing with The Folly Sun., Dec. 10 at The Camel. In the meantime, check out Out To Graze below.

The Folly’s Anneliese Grant drops new solo EP, catch her release show tonight at Cary St. Café

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Before Anneliese Grant was captivating us with her incredible vocals in The Folly, the singer/songwriter was performing on her own and after a two-year break, she’s come back with a new EP, Out to Graze.

The five-track album showcases her talent and is a bit of a different direction than The Folly’s sound. This will mark Grant’s third solo release, a follow-up to 2015’s Soul Spectrum.

Grant said Out to Graze, which is also the title of the third track on the EP, was inspired by her time spent on a horse farm during a job transition.

“This idea of frustration with not having done any solo projects in so long and this feeling like I’ve been put out to pasture, like there’s nothing happening, that was the meaning behind it,” Grant said.

The title track “Out to Graze”, which is one of my favorites, very jazzy and smooth and Grant’s voice just glides over the beat, dropped Dec. 2 and the rest was fleshed out in March.

“The rest of the songs as they were coming together, had a very similar sound to that track and it kind of was the thing that got the project going,” she said.

Grant recorded the album in April, putting it together entirely in her room.

“I have this closet studio literally, I do everything in there and it’s nicer than having to find a third party to go record with so that streamlined my process a lot,” she said.

The beats were made by Matthew Rea (Jame Moorfield), a local producer and house music DJ. Grant released the album May 1.

Out to Graze is very different from The Folly’s sound, which tends to blend several genres together. The RVA band consists of Grant, along with Jordan Lette (vocals,guitar), Johnny Powell(bass), Josh Santamaria (drums), and Sid Kingsley(keys) who put out their debut self-titled album back in September and it’s a nice mix of gypsy and jazz sounds, with a little whimsical folk thrown in.

“I started my solo project before I ever met Jordan, that’s actually how he found out about me was finding my music online,” she said. “This EP is really different from the first two EPs I put out and it was a much different process.”

Grant’s solo EP has a bluesy, groovy pop vibe, but one element that’s unmistakable among the two projects is the singer’s powerhouse sultry vocals. Grant delivers in The Folly as well as on Out To Graze and it shows her effort and passion are definitely in both projects as a solo artist and band member.

“I’ve always loved jazz, it’s my favorite kind of music to sing, but definitely more {of a} pop vibe,” said Grant describing her solo work.

It’s hard to pick a favorite on the record, they are all good to grove to on a nice breezy summer day, but “Darling, Darling” and the title track are definitely ones to check out.

Ozark, a member of Satellite Syndicate is also featured on the album with a remix to “Out to Graze”.

Grant will perform her new EP in its entirety tonight at Cary St. Café for her release show. You can also catch her June 4 on WRIR from 1 am to 3 am and at Everybody’s Birthday, a music festival in Amherst, Va. on June 10.

Photo credit: Jason Pevey