By Arthur Gonick
Saratoga TODAY
HUDSON FALLS – There are several things I like about this gig, but this is one thing I LOVE.
To have the opportunity to tout you towards something new in the A+E arena; to expose you to, perhaps, a new star appearing in our musical constellation. Maybe off your radar at this point - yet not for long, and to give it a wider showcase.
It says here that Owls In Orbit – a duo which is pairing Washington County residents Jessica Jenks and Marc Clayton on a variety of electronic gizmos, electric gadgets, acoustic instruments and vocals, could have that type of star power.
The short course is that they will be making their debut performance this Saturday at Hudson River Music Hall and it should prove to be worth the trip from anywhere in our distribution area. Their presentation will be multi-media, with a movie screen that will be the first use of the black box theater inside the Music Hall.
Samples of their music are available on their reverbnation site (see below.) Owls in Orbit describe their music as featuring “musically atmospheric landscapes set upon mood and rhythm…transporting and thought provoking…. A soundtrack to the soul.” The feeling they wish to convey includes ephemeral elements such as “…waves, saltwater breeze, leaves crunching underfoot on an autumnal walk, owls calling out to each other in the night, comets, moons of different planets in various universes.”
“We both love owls, so it made sense to us when we were kicking ideas around,” Jessica said, speaking about the bands intriguing name. “The word owl also sounds like ‘io,’ which is one of Jupiter’s moons.”
Both bring to the table rich musical resumes, despite their relatively young ages. A chance meeting at their church rapidly cemented their harmonious partnership. Songwriter Jessica has also owned the Happy Keys Piano School since 2002, and offers in-home lessons all over the region.
Long Island native Marc’s background includes being signed by Pie Records in the 1990s, a label whose studio in Los Angeles has had appearances by Aerosmith, The Scorpions Dar Williams, Cheap trick, Cyndi Lauper and The Rolling Stones. He immersed himself in the Nashville songwriter scene for a time, working with songwriters who ventured in from around the world, and relocated to be closer to his family and raise his son, Shane (11). Currently, he is involved in many projects, acting as producer, arranger, recording engineer and multi-instrumentalist as needed. A recent achievement was having two songs licensed for a Discovery Channel show called “Deadliest Catch.”
So, suffice to say they know what they’re doing. But this is the music they both really want to play.
“We’re really like two space oddities,” Jessica said, with an expression that was at once amused and yet serious. “This is the best expression of our musical evolution and growth.”
Listening to their music, I felt an eerie flashback to a time over a decade ago – when I was a local radio DJ and a mutual friend handed me a demo CD from a new Saratoga Springs duo she was working with and wanted to get on the air. The band’s name, at the time, was Charlie Everywhere.
Later, they changed it: To Phantogram. They of the worldwide tours, MTV and Jimmy Kimmel appearances. The whole thing.
Whoa! Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. It’s by no means a slam-dunk that Owls In Orbit will achieve anything like Phantogram. For one thing, lifestyles (for instance, Jessica has four children – Trinity, 14; Turner, 8; Jacob, 7 and Caden, 5) may prevent them from ever fully capitalizing on their gifts to that extent.
But it’s certainly nice to have that kind of potential. It’s also nice that they might stay around the area longer, too.
For more information about Owls in Orbit visit reverbnation.com/owlsinorbit and facebook.com/owlsinorbit
Owls In Orbit
With special guest Jeff Westerman
Saturday, September 13 at 7 p.m.
The Hudson River Music Hall
10 Maple Street, Hudson Falls
Tickets at Door: $10 / $8 Students and Seniors
