‘Ashokan’ by Jeffrey Alexander + The Heavy Lidders | New Album, ‘Elixor of Life’
Exclusive track premiere of ‘Ashokan’ by Jeffrey Alexander + The Heavy Lidders, taken from the upcoming album, ‘Elixor of Life’, out November 5 via Centripetal Force and Cardinal Fuzz.
The album is being presented in a 300 copy vinyl pressing. ‘Elixor of Life’ is the second album of 2021 for Jeffrey Alexander + The Heavy Lidders. The first, a self-titled affair, was released on Arrowhawk Records this past August and is well noted for its craftful songwriting and tight musicianship. For Alexander, someone known for his psychedelic meanderings in Dire Wolves and the experimental folk sounds of both The Iditarod and Black Forest/Black Sea, this was a departure from the norm. It is with the release of ‘Elixor of Life’ that we see a different side of this Heavy Lidders project, one that is a bit more unbuttoned and relaxed. All of this isn’t to say that the sound and stylings of the group’s debut have been deserted, for the references to Neil Young’s Crazy Horse days remain omnipresent, as do the nods to Dinosaur Jr. and the Meat Puppets. This second album is a return to the wild abandon so to speak, albeit with a more mystical twist.
In 1694, the Transylvanian-born Johannes Kelpius, a man of great intellect and spirituality, settled in newly-founded Philadelphia. Joining him in establishing residence on the wooded hillsides overlooking Wissahickon Creek were dozens of other men who would become known as “The Society of the Woman in the Wilderness”, a collective of meditational monks whose central tenets included the use of instrumental music as a mode for worship. It should come as no surprise then to learn that Jeffrey Alexander, who today lives mere steps from these mystic grounds, has tapped into the lore of this mysterious society. Alexander and his own band of spiritual wanderers not only practice the same kind of metaphysical transference with their music, a sort of elixor within itself, they also pay homage to Kelpius and his order with the aptly titled “Hermits of the Ridge”.
Alexander’s Heavy Lidders have always featured a variety of collaborators. Early iterations of the lineup included appearances from folks like Kryssi Battalene (Mountain Movers, Headroom), Marissa Nadler, and Jeff Tobias (Sunwatchers). For ‘Elixor of Life’, as well as the band’s self-titled album on Arrowhawk Records, The Heavy Lidders lineup has solidified and includes Jesse Shepherd (bass) and guitarist Drew Gardner (both of Elkhorn), as well drummer Scott Verrastro (Kohoutek). This core unit, like Alexander, is well-versed in the art of improvisation, and while Alexander and crew’s first album leans more towards a more structured and traditional songwriting approach, ‘Elixor of Life’ plays into the group’s collective strength, the ability to create within the moment – and the willingness to expand their playing for the sake of making music a more devotional experience.
“Jeffrey Alexander + The Heavy Lidders is a new band that consists of myself with Jesse Sheppard and Drew Gardner from Elkhorn, as well as Scott Verrastro of Kohoutek. Our first album on Arrowhawk Records was made up entirely of actual songs, which is a stark transition for me and the completely free-form improv of DWLVS / Dire Wolves band. One of the things we did to get in the mood to record those songs from the first album was to jam free-form in the studio before the actual songs were recorded. It was a good way to get loose and to feel the space. Fortunately, some of these free-wheeling jams were caught on tape, and they make up the majority of our second LP, Elixor Of Life.
This album is, in some ways, a complete contrast to our first LP. That one includes a bunch of my original pop songs, along with covers of the Grateful Dead and Gene Clark. In some other ways Elixor of Life isn’t at all a contrast. Obviously, the new LP is all long-form jam outs, but to me the vibe is the same. Songs or not, it’s about a feeling, a sense of place.
We presented these studio explorations to Centripetal Force and Cardinal Fuzz, and they were both totally interested. However, the running time was too short. We needed another fifteen minutes or so of music to fill an LP. So, I tapped into a recording from a low key live Lidders show in upstate New York from late 2020. It was certainly odd to be playing live during the thick of this pandemic, but it was outdoors on a farm, and I was double masked. I hadn’t performed in nearly a year, and I needed to play. I had spent most of the year hiking the trails of the Wissahickon woods with my kids and exploring the haunts of an old spiritual mystic from the 1800s named Johannes Kelpius, who also happened to be a musician who lived in my neighborhood here in Philadelphia. Anyways, Drew was not able to join us for that upstate New York gig and initially wasn’t on “Ashokan”, the jam that ends the album. In true Lidders fashion though, Drew and his guitar did eventually tap in via astral projection and was able to complete the song for the record, the same kind of metaphysical experience Johannes Kelpius and his musical monks had when they performed their music three centuries ago. Talk about tapping into a sense of place.
Ashokan is a reservoir not too far from where we performed in upstate New York. Right there near Woodstock. I think it’s really cool that it’s a live recording on a mostly studio recorded album. It follows in the tradition of classics like the Allman Brothers’ Eat a Peach and early Steppenwolf.” Jeffrey Alexander
Headline photo: Jesse Sheppard
Jeffery Alexander Official Website / Instagram / Twitter / Bandcamp
Centripetal Force Official Website / Facebook / Instagram / Twitter / Bandcamp
Cardinal Fuzz Facebook / Twitter / Bandcamp / Bigcartel
