Music News

Exclusive: Brad Cole podcasts Songs From the Moon

Moon-dweller librarian offers us advice

Photo: Shervin Lainez

Brad Cole addresses the ups and downs of the human condition with both wit and raw insight. delivered in an eclectic mix of folk, old school jazz, rhythm & blues and rock. Cole’s fourth  album, the critically-acclaimed Lay It Down, is both Cole’s most soulfully eclectic and cohesive work to date.

Cole’s a busy guy. He cut his teeth performing in the Chicago club scene, initially performing alongside iconic Chicago artists, including Junior Wells, Otis Rush, Uncle Tupelo and the Smashing Pumpkins. Touring consistently over the last 10 years, Cole has played many great stages like Lincoln Center, Wrigley Field, City Winery (Chicago, Boston, Nashville), as well numerous residencies and festivals and tours of the UK and Ireland. Numerous side projects include the jazz / blues project Bossa Blue and the acclaimed trio Cole, Nakoa & Treacher. In 2016, his life and music became the subject of a short film, Cole Soul, by award-winning film-maker Steven Weiss.

Imagine his reaction to lockdown, when all performances were cancelled. Cole pivoted, re-imagining his Sci-Fi musical Songs From The Moon. originally conceived as a one-man show, to a podcast and kept working. Conceptualizing a dark, technology-dependent world where freedom, democracy, music, love, and a thriving planet no longer exist, Cole set his story 100+ years in the future, as his character, Cab, warns 21st -century earth to hold on to our humanity.

Photo: Shervin Lainez

Cole told Elmore how the storyline evolved:

“It actually started one day when I could not find my phone. And of course I am thinking we are so dependent on these things, and I thought what if I could no longer reach the ones I love, and what if this connection was permanently severed? I played around with this concept, a different world where freedom, Democracy, music, love, and a thriving planet are no longer wishing our grasp. As I contemplated the horror of this world, songs started to emerge. I kind of let my mind be taken over by all of my worst fears, and I let that vision roll forward unbridled for 20, 50, 100 years. It’s a pretty dark place, and it scared the shit out of me.”

“My main character, Cab, a grumbling, wired, overmedicated guitar-playing librarian, lives in ramshackle quarters a half mile below the Lunar surface. I began to feel that this extraordinary world was so dark it was kind of funny. The songs kept coming, the banter kept coming, and became somewhat routine.”


Episodes 1 and 2 of Songs From The Moon will be released on Earth Day, April 22, at 6 AM EST, with subsequent Transmissions to follow weekly: April 29, May 6, May 13, May 20 and May 27. June 3  will be a live show summary of the series.

The Podcast will be updated weekly with a new episode on all major podcast platforms including Apple Podcasts, Spotify and YouTube. All of these major links will also be available through the HOME WEBSITE.

The featured song from each week’s episode will be simultaneously released as a single on all major steaming music platforms as well as through www.bradcole.com. The entire soundtrack album for Songs From The Moon, will be released digitally and streaming on June 3, 2021

 

Learn more about Songs From the Moon HERE

Connect on FACEBOOK, INSTAGRAMPATREON and SPOTIFY

Get the release schedule HERE

 

ROLL CREDITS:

 

SONGS FROM THE MOON: A SCI-FI MUSICAL PODCAST
Storyline and Screenplay: Brad Cole

CAST:
Cab: Brad Cole
Lo-G: Brad Cole
Dad: Brad Cole
Honoré: Erin Sax
The Power Show: Erin Sax
Narrator Edward Eves: Matthew Bavaro-Phelan

SONGS FROM THE MOON: SOUNDTRACK ALBUM
Lyrics and Music: Brad Cole
Podcast Score: Brad Cole
Lead and harmony vocals: Brad Cole
Guitars: Brad Cole
Percussion: Brad Cole
Bass: Mark Dann
Additional Harmony Vocals: Kate Squire
Additional Percussion: Bobby Sabella

Recorded @ Holiday Hill Studios in Rhinebeck, NY
Mixing, editing and additional engineering: Mark Dann
Artwork: Dylan Cooper

Got something to say?

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Be the first to comment!