We've been hinting at it for weeks, and now we're excited to share that the time has finally come to announce our featured artist and band for The City of Servers. In addition, we'll be sharing information about our film composer, whose talent will help string together the emotional beats of this short investigative documentary piece.
As we shared in early January when we first began our search for local talent, music is a common theme among creatives--no matter the niche, the story, the place, or the people. It drives a story forward & puts an audience in the right headspace to receive the message or emotion a particular piece attempts to convey.
This truth about music, paired with the importance of the local arts scene in Portland, drove us to attempt to connect with the many talented musical artists living in this city. After weeks of conversations and searching, we've found a feature artist to open our film with their music. In addition, our newly added film composer will tie the piece together, and our feature band will close out the documentary with one of their songs.
Read on for a highlight on each person/band & for links to their recent projects!
THE CITY OF SERVERS FEATURED ARTIST: JIM BRADY
FULL BIOGRAPHY: Jim Brady is a Portland, Maine based musician & performer in the folk ballad tradition of Ireland and Scotland. He performs an extensive mix of crowd-pleasing Irish and Scottish drinking songs, love songs, rousing sing-a-longs, and patriotic rebel ballads culled from centuries of folk song tradition. Known for his powerful, gritty, and honest vocals, dynamic guitar playing, and dedication to the roots of folk music, Jim has honed his craft over 25 years performing throughout Boston and New England. Immersing himself completely in the folk ballad tradition, Jim lived in Belfast, Ireland where he researched, collected, and performed songs from some of the best ballad singers in Ireland.
Jim is a graduate of Boston’s Berklee College of Music and has a Master’s Degree in Ethnomusicology from the Queen’s University, Belfast where his research focused on Irish traditional music performance styles and the history of Irish folk song. He also studied the Irish language and played in a Belfast bagpipe band. In 2018 Jim released two studio singles “The Wind That Shakes the Barley”, and "Whiskey on a Sunday" on all streaming platforms. Jim produced, arranged, and performed all vocal and instrumental parts which included tin whistle, acoustic and electric guitars, and all sorts of percussion instruments.
Also in 2018, Jim began his Wednesday night performance residency at Bull Feeney's in the Old Port of Portland, Maine where he performs every Wednesday night. He also held a Saturday night residency at Bull Feeney’s until the shutdowns in 2020. He has also performed at the 2021 & 2022 Old Orchard Beach Scottish Festival & Highland Games and at the famous Black Rose in Quincy Market, Boston, MA.
Jim lives in the woods of Maine with his German Shepherd Bob Marley the Brave.
ROLE IN FILM: Jim Brady's music will play throughout the documentary's opening montage sequence, which introduces Maine's foodie city and the Portland downtown scene. You won't just hear Jim Brady's music either-- we will be recording a live performance at Bull Feeney's within the next two weeks (stay tuned in to our Instagram page for production announcements/behind-the-scenes photos).
WEBSITE: https://www.jimbradymusic.com/
YOUTUBE CHANNEL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IZdmYBvWN24
INSTAGRAM: @adognamedbobmarley
THE CITY OF SERVERS FEATURED BAND: ADLT GRRRL
FULL BIOGRAPHY: adlt grrrl is an art-punk power trio from Portland, ME, comprised of Asher Platts on bass and vocals, Sarah LaPointe on drums, and Ada Bonnevie on guitars and vocals. Formed just before the pandemic hit, they had to get creative to continue to safely play together and create music which helped them form their unique, gritty-but-melodic sound. Their first full length album, “Desperate Times, Desperate Measures” is available on BandCamp and most streaming services.
ROLE IN FILM: adlt grrrl's music with play throughout the closing montage & credits of this short documentary.
BANDCAMP (MUSIC, MERCH & MORE): https://adltgrrrl.bandcamp.com/
INSTAGRAM: @adltgrrrl
YOUTUBE CHANNEL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IZdmYBvWN24
MAINER NEWS ARTICLE BY CAMILLE HOWARD: https://mainernews.com/adlt-grrrl-surpasses-their-personal-best/
THE CITY OF SERVERS FILM COMPOSER: ASHER PLATTS
FULL BIOGRAPHY: Asher earned a BA in Music from USM, where they composed and arranged music for various ensembles, including the Pastel Sound Explosion Jazz Orchestra, and has since appeared on albums as an electric bassist for Theodore Treehouse, Pastel Sound Explosion Trio, adlt grrrl, upright bass with Jacob Augustine, Rachel Griffin, and a number of pit ensembles for musicals and theater productions, and has shared the stage with notable artists like Hop Along, Ghost of Paul Revere, Dave Gutter, Phantom Buffalo, Dawn of Midi, and others. Their musical tastes are all over the map, from bubble gum oldies, classical, electronic, punk, to extreme metal (they also play guitar in the blackened doom trio ERGI and releases Black Metal music under the solo project titled Suit of Swords).
ROLE IN FILM: Asher's musical talent & ability will help string together the emotional beats of this piece and will play throughout the middle part of this short investigative documentary.
BANDCAMP (MUSIC, MERCH & MORE): https://adltgrrrl.bandcamp.com/
INSTAGRAM: @asherplatts
Want to learn more about The City of Servers? Read about our talented team here.