ONLINE: Twisted Pine (album release)

media release: With the help of a little bit of technology and a lot of friends, Boston-based, genre-bending string band Twisted Pine are celebrating the release of their critically acclaimed new album, Right Now. On November 12, Right Now: A Virtual Album Release Party will showcase a difficult and innovative collaboration dreamed up by the members of Twisted Pine; one of which, Anh Phung, has been on the north side of the closed Canadian border. To remedy this, the three south-of-the-border members of the band—Chris Sartori, Dan Bui, and Kathleen Parks—recorded their set on stage at the empty Parlor Room venue in Northampton, Massachusetts, leaving room for Phung and covering the venue sign behind them with a green screen to leave a “portal” for their special guest collaborators. In Canada, Anh used green Spandex to turn her whole room into a green screen. Making musical lemonade out of quite the lemon of a year, Twisted Pine pulled off their wild COVID-friendly idea, but the chemistry of having all four band members performing together ultimately won out, and a very special—and triple-checked legal—performance on a quiet piece of the US/Canada border will bring the show to a close with a glimmer of hope that things will be back to normal soon.

Speaking of special guests, Twisted Pine called on a host of their world-class musician friends to join their party. Lyle Brewer, Kevin Barry, Jerry Douglas, Liv Greene, Sierra Hull, Jacob Jolliff, and Dean Mahoney all make an appearance through the band’s festive green-screen portal, sharing instrumental parts and solos in real-time as if they were standing on stage at Parlor Room. The three U.S.-based members of Twisted Pine have been functioning as their own “pod” during quarantine and film crews were kept to two people; all masked and socially-distanced. If the idea for this virtual album release party seemed far-fetched, Twisted Pine took it upon themselves to prove that wrong. Working carefully within the constraints of a pandemic, they ended up with a live show as innovative as the music itself.

“If there was any way that we were going to play together, we’d have to get creative,” remembers Phung. Sartori adds, “Asking ourselves how we could convey a sense of togetherness given these constraints, we came up with a crazy plan. A couple of green screens, a drive to the border, and some amazing special guests later, we had a show. It’s full of love, and a lot of twists and turns, and we hope you enjoy it.”

This Thursday's live-streamed show is open to the public. The band will be live chatting. Suggested donation is $20 but the band wants everyone to watch at any donation, or come for free if you're low on cash. Tune in at 8pm Eastern on Thursday, Nov 12 at signaturesounds.com/homesessions. On November 17th the show will be archived at WMOT's "Wired In" sessions and at livesessions.npr.org, courtesy of WMOT host Jessie Scott.