Assembly of Dust
Snoe.down 2010, the all-ages Winter Music & Sports Festival hosted by moe., moves to its new home in central Vermont with free performances at Killington Resort's Base Lodges.
Sat Mar 27 2010 - 6:45 - 7:45 p.m.
Spartan Arena, Rutland, VT
For more than a decade, Reid Genauer has built his name and reputation, and experienced a substantial amount of success both on the road and in the studio. Yet like so many performers, he has found that success in these two arenas are in some ways mutually exclusive. “Performing and recording are two very different beasts,” Genauer explains.
The music Genauer makes with Assembly of Dust could be labeled “hick funk,” and has been compared to the likes of Paul Simon, CSNY and The Band. Drummer Andy Herrick and bassist/backing vocalist John Leccese lend the band a funky, almost Motown vibe, while Wilson’s rolling keys drop in jazz references. Guitarist/backing vocalist Adam Terrell, meanwhile, is the musical glue that holds it all together. “He and I have very similar musical influences, but he is also well versed in jazz. So he’s able to weave country, jazz and a Motown groove into one seamless landscape,” he adds.
The Assembly of Dust formed in 2002, a year after Genauer left the Vermont-based Strangefolk, a band that he co-founded some 10 years earlier while pursuing an environmental science degree at the University of Vermont. After a decade with the band, he says it was time for a professional and personal change. “I had to take control of my own destiny again, musically and logistically,” he says.
And part of doing things right is finding that balance between structure and improv, closing that divide between the recorded and live realms. “But with the live performance,” Genauer says, “Having some element of improv keeps it interesting for the audience and for the players. So I don’t think we will ever get away from that. You want to serve up a four-course meal in terms of your musical offerings: rich live shows and rich recordings both demand a unique blend of creativity and structure. A lot of bands just come up and serve steak and that’s it. We’re trying to deliver a well-balanced musical diet.”
