The latest artist to enter Viva Radio’s Me+You studio is Glass Rock and, as usual, we’ve got a sneak peek for you of their session. Their aptly titled debut, Tall Firs Meet Soft Location, defines the band’s make-up. Tall Firs coaxed Kathy Leisen, as the band puts it on MySpace, “out of retirement” to collaborate and create the band Glass Rock. And like those by Tall Firs, this album finds a home on Ecstatic Peace.

I think I’ll let Ted Shumaker, mastermind and radio personality behind Me+You, take it from here:

I think Kathy from Glass Rock put it best in the interview when she said, “It’s always weird to get emotional at noon on a Sunday.” We did get emotional on that Sunday bloody Sunday as I invited one of the more striking groups of the last year, Glass Rock, into the Viva Studios for Pt. 68 of Me + You. They performed what was their second official set as a band ever in our studio. The first set being an incredible Sunday performance just a month before at Union Pool. Glass Rock is the melding of two different musical acts. The first being Soft Location featuring Kathy Lieson and Matt Kantor originally from Detroit. The second is the Brooklyn group Tall Firs with Aaron Mullen, David Mies, and Ryan Sawyer. I highly recommend treating yourself to a day massage and a hot listening sesh to both of these bands over a steamy weekend.

I wouldn’t go so far to say that this was the most informative interview ever, but it certainly was a good lesson on social behaviors when slightly inebriated. I knew Kathy from Detroit, when she dated Dr. Z back in 2005, but I knew little about her musical offerings. The wonderful Kerry Davis from Viva tipped me off on Soft Location and said we need to get Kathy in the studio at some point. I was determined to make yet another Detroit connection here with Viva Radio! I was determined to get the real story. Even as bassist Matthew Kantor exclaimed during the interview,”I’m not feeling this at all, this is so serious, let’s just go to another song.” But being the serious music journalist that I am, I wanted to get the full story! Kathy then exclaimed, “you know you got to sing all the time, sometimes you don’t want to talk afterwards.”

Moreover, what started out with five songs Kathy had written for a possible split with Tall Firs became a sweet green light for their full release entitled “Tall Firs meet Soft Location” on Ecstatic Peace. Needless to say there is a warm and fuzzy side to the band and yes that day Glass Rock were definitely frothing up and spilling over the brim! It’s the perfect kick to a nice Winter Me + You session!

It’s pretty ironic that I’m also writing this from Detroit right now. Not to dwell on the comparison too much but I’ll leave you with a quote from Kathy when asked about the comparison of Detroit and New York. “In New York there’s an insane world existing around you all the time, but in Detroit there’s an insane world existing in each and every one of us inside all the time, and that’s the difference. You just have to take that crazy world and make it inside of yourself.” Happy New Year and Much Love to everyone! Tune in to Me + You today at Noon!

Here’s an intimate and exclusive sneak peek at the Glass Rock session:

Glass Rock: Lion Dance (Live on Viva Radio’s Me+You) [mp3]

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