New York, NY (Top40 Charts) Nomadic folksters Ordinary Elephant have revealed the video for their brand new single "Scars We Keep" via Wide Open Country today, and announced the release of their forthcoming LP Honest, out May 3rd. Recorded in Nashville and produced by Neilson Hubbard, the album's eleven tracks explore pressing beyond the confines of others' expectations and pursuing a wholehearted life. "These times are hard and it's harder to heal; when where you were born decides what you fear, it's time to be a brother ot my father's son. I was born to be a bigot, but that don't mean that I am one," the duo, who won the 2017 International Folk
Music Association Artist of the Year Award, sings in "Scars We Keep," about coming to terms with being raised in an area historically entrenched in racism, and refusing to be bound by that. "If you grow up being shown how to hate and fear, it can be hard to go out into the world with love and acceptance. This is sadly the truth that many live," the band told Wide Open Country. "Where the hope comes in for us, is that as humans we are capable of being bigger than our environment, and that cycle can be broken. Detangling tradition from any particular negative aspect is complicated, and sometimes impossible. But it's necessary to change the tradition for it to live on and, hopefully, preserve its core as our culture tries to correct its failings." "I can't fault anybody not overcoming," Pete explains. "I'm not in their shoes. I know I can't change them by telling them they're wrong, but I do know that people can change when they see new things."
Ordinary Elephant, comprised of Crystal and Pete Damore, set aside the work they'd done previously, as a veterinary cardiologist and a computer programmer, respectively, in order to focus on making music. Several year ago, they threw all caution to the wind and hit the road in their van and travel trailer. In song after song, the Damores take on what it means to follow your heart and eschew all the expectations, assumptions, and limitations projected upon you by others. They also use their own life experience to point out that the "safe" route can be anything but safe. "I had a safe job and was on a safe life trajectory, financially," Crystal says, "but those things were like a safety rail you reach for - a habit, a comfortable familiarity... something you're expected to reach for. I was letting those things hold me up instead of learning to stand on my own."
With Ordinary Elephant, it's always about telling the story in the truest, kindest way. "You will wonder if it's worth the weight, the worry that wears you down. Half your life spent figuring out how to make the other half count," they sing. Honest is worth so much more than its weight, and Ordinary Elephant makes every kind word count. "That is why we do this," they agree. "Songs speak, and they can heal."
Oridinary Elephant will embark on a string of tour dates throughout the US and Australia this Spring, see below for more information. "Scars We Keep" will be available digitally on March 22nd. Honest is available for pre-order at iTunes, Bandcamp, and at their website.
Honest Track List:
I Come From
Scars We Keep
The War
Shadow
Jenny & James
Harriet
I'm Alright
Worth The Weight
Rust Right Through
If I Am Being Honest
Hope To Be That Happy
TOUR DATES:
3/23 - Camp Carrie Concerts - Ridgeland, MS
3/28 - Kingdom Growers - Forney, TX
3/29 - Rosen House Concert - Dallas, TX
4/2 - Mucky Duck - Houston, TX (with special guests Libby Koch & Chuck Hawthorne)
4/5 - Cactus Cafe - Austin, TX (with special guests Libby Koch & Matt Harlan)
4/10 - Caravan
Music Club - Bentleigh, VIC
4/11 - The
Oasis Rainbow - Rainbow, VIC
4/12 - HATs Courthouse - Auburn, SA
4/13 - Cooee Arthouse - Aldinga, SA
4/16 - Woodfolk House Concert - Woodford, VIC
4/17 - North East Artisans - Benalia, VIC
4/18-4/22 -
National Folk Festival - Canberra, ACT
4/28 - Macum Creek Concerts - Chester, MD
5/2 - Club Passim* - Cambridge, MA
5/3 - Huntington Public Library - Huntington, VT
5/4 - Ripton Community Coffee House - Ripton, VT
5/10 - Great Swamp Conservancy - Canastota, NY
5/11 - Circle of
Friends Coffeehouse - Franklin, MA
5/12 - House Concert - Hamilton, NY
5/16 - Ashland Coffee & Tea - Ashland, VA
5/17 - The Listening Loft - Reidsville, NC (house concert)
5/18 - SueBru Concerts - Durham, NC (house concert)
5/19 - Isis
Music Hall - Asheville, NC
5/21 - Hamilton House Concert - Pass Christian, MS
5/31 - Sacred Grounds Coffee & Tea - Ruidoso, NM
