Profiles in Creation: Saintseneca

For folk's sake: Saintseneca

Saintseneca is, ostensibly, a folk band. On their most recent EP, Grey Flag, which was released in March of this year, the Columbus foursome employed a vast array of acoustic instruments, including guitar, dulcimer, banjo, autoharp, mandolin, ukulele and various forms of percussion. All of this, in just five songs, clocking in at around 12 minutes.
 
Do not fear conventional folk clichés. Put away your bejeweled hat, your velvet slops and your man tights, because you won’t find Saintseneca at a renaissance fair. They also tend to steer clear of the more countrified sound that turns some away from folk. They are not traditionalists and, while much that falls under the folk umbrella is introspective, ruminative, and by its very nature suggests passive listening, the music of Saintseneca invites listeners to actively participate.
 
The inclusive, communal feel of the songs on Grey Flag might derive from the inclusive and organic manner in which these, and other of the group’s songs, are composed. All of the band’s members – Zac Little, Luke Smith, Steva Jacobs, and Grace Chang – are multi-instrumentalists and the songwriting duties are not the job of one person. Little says of their writing process: “Songwriting is very collaborative. I often begin with a seed for a song. I'll write a few parts, some melodies, but keep it loose.

"Then when I, or whoever, brings this to the rest of the group, we all write our own parts on the instrument of our choosing, typically trying two or three before we figure out which we want to use. We all try things and eventually form a song.”
 
The collective fruit of their labor results in music that is a foot-stomping, hand-clapping, percussive blend of sounds with the energy and immediacy of punk rock, yet it would not be unwelcome around the campfire. The instruments are played with a frenetic intensity and the vocals are sung with conviction, with Little taking lead duties and the rest of the band frequently harmonizing. Their sound is similar to contemporaries Port O’Brien and Mumford & Sons, who have met with recent success and good reviews mining similar territory.
 
This decidedly upbeat take on folk likely derives from the two-year old Saintseneca’s non-folk background. Little, Smith and Jacobs have been playing music together since they were 15 and originally had a band that was “pretty heavily influenced by The White Stripes and the like” as well as playing in a “kind of post-punk/post-rock band for a bit,” notes Little. When they got to college, they realized, as many do, that they no longer had a practice space.

Thus, this resourceful bunch turned to the more easily hushed acoustic instrumentation out of necessity. “We had no practice space and were now sans drums and bass," says Little. "I already had all of the acoustic instruments and had already been writing songs on them. So we started playing acoustic in my tiny apartment. We met Grace, and when she added the violin it really seemed to pull things together and complete what we were doing."  Sometimes working inside the box with a set of limitations is a great way of achieving great results.

With two EPs now under their belts, Grey Flag and a self-titled EP released last year, Saintseneca is not planning on relaxing. They currently continue to play live gigs in all manner of settings and are at work on their first long-player, claiming to already have a lot of new songs written. All of the hard work seems to be grounded in a levelheaded approach, one that is as much about the ride as the destination. Little says: “Success is defined by building relationships, and doing things you are passionate about. This is true in music . . .  I should note that I don't think making money, or having a lot of people know about your music is inherently bad, but it shouldn't be the main objective. You miss out on so many great things if it’s all you strive towards.”
 
This lighthearted, grounded and inclusive attitude rings out in their music and is evident in their live performances. For more on Saintseneca, including digital streams of both EPs and a handful of videos of live performances, visit www.paperbrigade.com. See them do their thing live and in person on Saturday, May 22 from 5:30-6 pm at the Weapons of Mass Creation Festival.

LISTEN: Saintseneca - "God Bones"