Glass House
I enjoy “discovering” musical groups, especially when they’ve been prominent for over two decades. Glass House has been a performing, recording, and songwriting duo for that long, and their album Long Way Down is stunning.
Singer and vocal percussionist par excellence David Worm helped found Bobby McFerrin’s Voicestra in 1989 and has remained a regular performer with McFerrin. David is also a founding member of the internationally acclaimed a cappella group SoVoSo, as well as WeBe3, where he teams up with Rhiannon and Joey Blake.
Mark Vickers is a multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and composer with a wide musical range. He joins his guitar prowess with Dave’s stunning vocal range to deliver originals as well as covers by such artists as Robbie Robertson, Pink, and The Beatles. It’s as if Mark’s guitar is his voice, while David’s amazing voice facility is his instrument. Their rendition of Robertson’s “Broken Arrow” is passionate and respectful; original tunes like “Bring Me the Hammer” are topical and timeless, potent in these times of polarity.
Pooling songwriting influences from artists such as Sting, Paul Simon, Peter Gabriel, and Dave Matthews with performance styles influenced by McFerrin and Michael Hedges, Glass House is a tour de force of Mark’s intricate, layered acoustic guitars and Worm’s soaring, blues-inflected vocals. Originally inspired at a young age by the guitar gods of the day (Page, Allman, Hendrix, etc.), Mark developed as a classically trained guitarist with his principle influences being Hedges, Pat Metheny, John McLaughlin, and Joe Pass.
In person or in their recordings, Glass House is both approachable and natural, filled with maturity, spirit, and an expansive consciousness that is fully grounded. Their show at TMS Performing Arts center March 26 (a double bill with Chris Webster and Nina Gerber) is an evening you won’t want to miss!
GlassHouseMusic.org
—LLOYD BARDE (LLOYDBARDE.COM)