The always busy local star John Ralston never got around to having an official release party for his White Spiders EP. So, to make up for it, he and a group of his buddies -- who will be easily recognizable to anyone who's been paying any attention to the Lake Worth music scene over the course of the past year or so -- are getting together at Little Munich to celebrate the material from that release and the opportunity to share a stage under relaxed circumstances.
Joining Ralston at Little Munich for a night of solo sets and sit-ins will be Evan Mui of Dewars (and Evan Mui) fame, Chris Horgan of Sweet Bronco fame, and various other figures who have made their mark with various projects but now find themselves in a state of musical limbo and are currently doing the solo thing. Recently, friend of County Grind Chris Horgan took a break from learning his own songs to chat with us about the show, which is shaping up to be a nice, friendly affair.
County Grind: This bill features a few characters, Ralston, Evan Mui, and yourself, who have been very active figures in the Lake Worth music scene with your respective projects. What's the story behind the all-star solo show?
Chris Horgan: It's being billed as John's White Spiders EP party. I guess he never got to do one when he originally released it. I haven't heard him play any of the songs off that record for a while. That record has some of my personal John Ralston faves. So I'm excited to see that. Other than that, John, Evan, and I are good friends and have been wanting to play a show together for a while. I think at the moment, we're all finding ourselves without officially active bands. So solo shows is where it's at for each of us right now.
The possibility of lots of sit-ins and collaboration during this event has been promoted. Do you all have experience playing with each other and/or plans to team up for projects in the future?
Most of the people who will be playing have played together at one point or another. It's fun because everyone is really solid on their instrument and has good rapport with each other. So things come together pretty easily. Ultimately, I think we'd each like to be in a band with everyone else. Who knows? By the end of the year, maybe we all will be. There are a ton of great songs being written and a lot of studio preparations being made. So I expect this group of musicians to do a lot together throughout the year.
Have you been writing a lot recently? What sort of material do you plan on bringing out at the show? Any new stuff?
I plan to do almost entirely new material. Maybe too new. I'm still writing some of the songs I plan to do. For some reason, I feel like no one wants to see me do the same old songs right now. It's time for something completely different. I've been writing at about the same pace as always. But I have barely played live for the past four months. So a lot of stuff is piling up. I wish I could just play for hours and showcase everything. But there's only so much time.
Are you planning on lining up some more gigs soon to introduce more of the pile?
Yes. But I haven't yet. I need to get on that.
Well, keep us posted on that, sir. And, before we sign off, what have you been listening to lately?
Hmm... Nothing new really -- lots of traditional folk music. Classics.
Like Woody and Seeger and what-not?
Stuff like that, but more like Red River Valley, Home on the Range type stuff. Speaking of Seeger... I've actually been listening to Bob Seger lately. I know... silly.
Ha.
I'm just feeling that these days.
Strong stuff.
That and Chicago.
Right on.
...and the Carpenters. I'm all over the map.
Groovy.
OK, I gotta run. I need to rehearse.
Awesome, man. Thanks for chatting.
These new songs are scaring me.
Soon they will be pleasing us. We're looking forward to the show.
John Ralston, with Chris Horgan, Evan Mui, and Sam Friend. 9 p.m. Saturday, January 22, at Little Munich, 806 Lake Ave., Lake Worth. Click here.
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