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Friday, August 30, 2013
The Tower
A&E
A&E Music Review: The Last Bison By Joeseph Jablonski Tower Staff
It’s the Treefort Music Festival in Boise, Idaho. Ben Hardesty, frontman, songwriter, and composer, prepared for a tough crowd as he and his family’s band, The Last Bison, walked on stage to perform a late 11:00PM set. A previous band had just “kicked butt,” a challenge for The Last Bison to follow. The crowd’s reaction to their music, however, was far from critical. “We went up, and people went crazy,” Hardesty said. “And then, at the end of our set, they cheered for, like, four minutes, non-stop, going crazy.” Yet Hardesty, already an indie folk star at 21, said that he didn’t let the moment get to his head, and says that he instead felt humility about his position as an artist, responsible to his fans and his faith. “It was a moment where, if I was a believer in myself and not a believer in God, I would have been like, ‘Wow, I did this, I’m awesome,” said Hardesty. “But because I am so enriched in my faith and it’s so important to me, it was the exact opposite,” said Hardesty. “It was like ‘Wow, You have done this, you have done amazing things.’” According to Hardesty, the son of a pastor, who also plays in the band, faith in God and the beauty of God’s creation helped shape who Hardesty is as a man, and musician. Growing up in both the jungles of Bolivia and the swamplands of southern Virginia, his memories from these places provide the key insight for his songwriting. “Because it’s so nostalgic, and that is where I draw so much inspiration from, I sometimes just have to drop myself into that situation, and I’ll just run out into the middle woods and sit down,” said Hardesty. The first tour for their album, Inheritance took The Last Bison across the nation with forty five shows throughout the course of March and April of this past year. They played in cities such as; San Francisco, Seattle, Chicago, New York, and, to a group which included enthusiastic CUA students, Washington, DC. The faith that drives their music has not only played out in the band’s musical art, but their service to others as well.
The song “Switzerland,” as Hardesty has repeatedly discussed in other interviews, is a narrative about when Hardesty and friends, during a hiking trip through Switzerland, lacked a place to stay for a night, and were forced to sleep out on the streets. This “sense of compassion for the ones who can’t pick them-
Rated R Limited Release A gripping psychological tale about kids, the games they play, and what happens when what was fanstasy blends borders with reality. Go to impress your arthouse friends COURTESY OF FANDANGO.COM
I Declare War
Rated PG-13 Also, a Limited Release COURTESY OF THELASTBISON.COM
What happens when your ex-lover drops the child you didn’t know you had on your doorstep and vanishes? Watch how actor/director Eugenio Derbez copes in this comedy of errors to find out.
The Last Bison
selves off of the ground,” as the song says, played itself out in the tour with service to the poor and homeless. “I gave alot of money out of my pocket this tour just to people asking for it, and we, as a band, if someone asks for a meal, we try to help them out when we can,” said Hardesty This charitable aspect has been part of the band’s work even before the tour. Every local concert they do in the Chesapeake regional area has been a food drive. Hardesty’s professional music career had its origins when, at 18 years of age, he went to bible school in England. He quickly became connected with the other musicians on the school’s campus, eventually forming an experimental group which called itself The Lost Farmers. Their music can still be found on MySpace today. Within that group, Hardesty learned more about classical music, and grew in his respect for the genre. While he still doesn’t consider himself as “classically trained,” he has since always been sure to surround himself with people that are educated in what he describes as “rules” of classical music. The Last Bison as a band is no exception. “It helps to have people that not only that can read the music, and understand the music, but can also hear things,” said Hardesty, speaking of his fellow band members. “I can then sing parts to
come from an appreciation of classical music. The Last Bison will be playing in an upcoming concert at the U Street Music Hall on September 12th. Hardesty is ready as ever to bring the mountaintop chamber experience to fans and CUA students, and give them the connection with God’s creation he and they both find so important. “When you hear his music, you don’t hear sound, but you hear the heart of what he writes and what they play,” said John Matera, a resident minister at Catholic University who has seen The Last Bison twice in the DC area. And that heart, which Hardesty is more than glad to show audiences across this upcoming tour, is filled with the spirit and energy of God’s creation and beauty. “With the huge movement of our civilization towards urbanization, there’s people that long for authenticity and something genuine and especially to be out in the middle of creation,” said Hardesty. “So the fact I‘ve got to do that, to show them that, is really quite a blessing.” The Last Bison will be coming to the U Street Music Hall on September 12th. Top tickets are $25. Visit www.thelastbison.com for more information.
Visit the Art Gallery Last day to Add or Drop Classes! in Salve Regina Hall September 6th Open: All Day Fall 2013 Mon-Thurs: 10a.m. to 4p.m. Visit Mullen Library 2nd Fri 10a.m. to 12p.m. Cardinal Station Floor Made by Hand Hand Crafted Ceramics
Opening This Week
them, and they can figure out the best voicings and bowing techniques.” The Last Bison’s music, which Hardesty describes as “Mountaintop Chamber” combines the elements that are natural to the Virginian folk and bluegrass sound while incorporating melodies and themes that, according to Hardesty, can only
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