Vine(yl) Club #7 - Painted Shield
The term “supergroup” is an oft-used title in the music world. Cream is a great example (Eric Clapton, Ginger Baker, and Jack Bruce), as is the Traveling Wilburys (Bob Dylan, George Harrison, Roy Orbison, Tom Petty, and Jeff Lynne). The PNW has been the birthing ground for a number of so-called “supergroups”. The most obvious example is Temple of the Dog, a grunge supergroup born from the ashes of Mother Love Bone (that would later become Pearl Jam) and lead by Chris Cornell from Soundgarden. And we can’t forget Mad Season, a collaboration of Layne Staley (Alice in Chains), Mike McCready (Pearl Jam), Barret Martin (Screaming Trees), and John Saunders (The Walkabouts). I’d like to think that our newest release for the Sleight of Hand Cellars VINE(YL) Club falls into this category. I mean, when you have Stone Gossard on guitar (yes, the same Stone Gossard in Pearl Jam), along with singer-songwriter Mason Jennings on vocals, Matt Chamberlain (who sat behind the kit for Bowie, Dylan, Springsteen, etc.) on drums, and the remarkable Brittany Davis on keys, bass, and vocals, well….you have the resulting masterpiece in your hand!
Painted Shield began with an introduction in 2014, when a mutual friend of Gossard and Jennings put the two in touch with each other. Talks about a collaboration ensued and they began writing songs together, releasing a couple of singles in late 2014. Both artists had to step outside of their comfort zone when it came to the writing and recording process, because Jennings lived in the Midwest and Gossard was based in the PNW. They began writing music independently and sending files of musical ideas to each other. Enter Matt Chamberlain, drummer extraordinaire. Gossard and Chamberlain have history already (Chamberlain was briefly Pearl Jam’s drummer during 1991 for a short 7 weeks), and that comfort level was exactly what Gossard was looking for with this new project. The final missing piece was Brittany Davis, keyboardist and vocalist whom Gossard had met in 2019, right before the pandemic. Gossard said that “their capabilities as a musician, improviser, storyteller, producer, and straight-up keyboard hero are as profound as any that I’ve ever experienced. It is beyond an honor to be connected to their blossoming career.
This release is Painted Shield’s sophomore effort, and you can really see how the bands songwriting has stretched and evolved from their debut album. All the members play a prominent role in the songwriting process, and even more remarkably, the album was recorded independently and remotely from each other due to the pandemic. Having musicians from remarkably different backgrounds provides for an album with a sonic soundscape of different genres, from the folky vibes of Jennings, to the funky soul grooves of Davis, the crunchy guitar riffs that Gossard is so famous for in his leading role for Pearl Jam, and of course Chamberlain’s rock-steady drumbeats.
They approached the songwriting of Painted Shield 2 with no boundaries or formulas, allowing the music to develop organically. “Matt or Stone would send over some musical ideas, and I’d listen to these musical beds and just see what wanted to grow there,” explains Jennings. It was a question of, ‘What’s going to fit?’ It was all about listening, getting into a song’s specific state of mind, and trying to make each piece of music better, rather than creating something from scratch.”
I have a great relationship with Regan Hagar from Loosegroove Records, the record label that he and Stone run together. Regan was kind enough to allow us to release a variant version of this album for our VINE(YL) Club members, so know that this is already a collectors item! We are so excited to work with Loosegroove Records and look forward to more releases from this iconic PNW label! I sure hope you love it!
Thank you again for your participation in our awesome VINE(YL) Club! We appreciate you all!
Cheers!
Trey
