Midheaven’s music project begins!

It’s official! Midheaven now has a place to begin our super exciting new music project! 

Thanks to the kind and wonderful folks at GRACE/Rural Arts Collective, we have found a gathering space at their base in our hometown of Hardwick. It’s the historic building that we had (in the past) referred to as “The Old Firehouse” … that adorable, turn-of-the-century structure nestled between the co-op and (what used to be) Brochu’s garage. We’ll be sharing the space with painters, print-makers, and martial artists but we have been welcomed to make use of our time there, respectful to the communal atmosphere.

We’ve got great plans forming to bring some musical entertainment to Hardwick and our surrounding communities … and beyond!

Definitely contact us — seriously: do not hesitate, dear reader! — if you’d like to contribute as a musician, choral singer, dancer, arranger, choreographer, tech engineer, set designer, videographer, business/marketing manager, or security.

What instruments are we looking for? All of them! We’re going for a big sound and so we need horns and strings, as well as percussion, bass, keys, and guitars. And y’know, a good flute goes a long way.

The only position we’re not asking to fill is for someone to sing lead … however, we do still need singers (baritone, tenor, alto, and soprano) for choir arrangements and sweet, sweeeet backup. 

Sabin, 48, is a multi-instrumentalist who primarily enjoys playing the guitar (acoustic and electric), alto sax, piano, and melodica. He’s comfortable performing every style of music, but what he really wants to do more of is soulful, progressive rock … sorta situated somewhere between the styles of Pink Floyd and Parliament. He’s really looking forward to finding musicians who he can jam with and experiment together to create something new. (And so am I!) I am Danielle, 45, (hello) and I am finding my voice without professional training, but can sing anything in an alto range. I’m vocally familiar with hundreds of songs spanning just about every genre, except country. (Luckily, that won’t be a problem for this band.)

We are leaning towards a 70’s-ish psychedelic pop/prog/rock sound that’s funky, uplifting, and colorful. 

The focus of this project is inspired by several bands, but to offer a few examples for clarity: Earth Wind and Fire (“I Can Feel It In My Bones”, “Beauty”); Steve Miller Band (“Fly Like An Eagle”); Nina Simone’s rendition of “Here Comes The Sun”; Traffic (“Who Knows What Tomorrow May Bring”). We jokingly (and respectfully) see this project as being something like Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem, but bigger and with humanoids and dancers … and yeah, if we’re lucky, maybe some puppets, too.

It’s our intention to lovingly re-imagine and re-arrange the songs we cover to make them fresh when necessary as well as personalized to the band’s collective tastes. 

Our starting vision is to perform for street dances, festivals, and parades. It is our dream to offer some soulful, creative pride to Hardwick and Vermont. Please check out our website for more information. I’ll be adding short bios later today so that we may better introduce ourselves.

Right now we’ve got a perpetually-growing list of entertaining songs that would be awesome to cover, but hey, let’s see how it goes and … ideally, we’ll work out our own tunes and go even further as a recording/traveling band. The future is ours — let’s dream beautifully together.

Please help us spread the word.

Currently our chosen gathering date is every Thursday, but we are available throughout the week for communication and practicing:

Thursdays

6:00PM – 8:00PM 

59 Mill Street, Hardwick

Contact us through email: band@MidheavenVT.com or phone: 802-472-6270 (sometimes we’re late gettin to the phone, so try again if no one answers the first time! Sabin might be on his way!)

January 25, 2024, will be the first date. We realize that’s a short notice, so I (personally) won’t be too sad if no one shows up on day one … however, I have faith that there are people out there who want to be part of this adventure. Who’s comin along? I’m so excited to meet you, whoever you are!

Peace and love,

Danielle

“Be there or be rectangular.” – Sabin