Cellar Sessions: High Fascination - Born Yesterday September 22nd, 2017 City Winery New York

High Fascination sits down for a One On One Session at City Winery New York on September 22nd, 2017. Watch the full session here: https://youtu.be/J5QNTmnPsWQ For more info visit: https://www.facebook.com/highfascination Audio & Video by: Ehud Lazin

Setlist:

Everybody Knows

Born Yesterday

Speaking With The Headhunter

High Fascination, described as having a “pristine and organic” sound by E Train, is an energetic blend of rock, pop, folk, and psychedelic pop. Started in 2009 as a solo recording project, High Fascination’s first four albums were recorded solely by multi-instrumentalist Andrew Weiss. The Music Court characterizes Weiss as "oozing with talent. Weiss is a band in a box." In September 2012, he began writing and recording with other musicians, releasing 2 albums under the High Fascination umbrella. The band’s music has been compared by The Music Court to “a ripe apple: crisp melodies when you sink your teeth into the music and juicy innards when you delve into its intricacies.”

During the first days of 2016, Weiss began recording what would become The Optimist, reverting to his original process of playing all of the instruments. Whenever possible, Weiss insisted on using vintage equipment for these recordings, resulting in the amplifiers, keyboards, and most of the guitars used on the album pre dating 1972.

In between sessions, Weiss began to see more of bassist Eddie Matthews, who have been friends since they were teenagers. Upon playing together multiple times after a long hiatus, they both agreed they should play together more regularly. This idea did not materialize until a New York blizzard in late January 2016. Snowed in, Weiss came across a cover recording of the BB King song “How Blue Can You Get” which featured Mark McIntyre on guitar and Sam Gautier on drums. Weiss was blown away by this recording, and after listening to it dozens of times, insisted they get together to play.

Later that week, the four musicians met up in NYC. Weiss recalls, “I suggested some cover songs that we could play to see if the vibe was there, and after hearing us play the first few seconds of the Stones’ ‘Let It Bleed,’ I knew this was not going to be just a one-time jam session.” Since then, the band has been performing at venues in the New York City area. In October 2016, High Fascination performed at The Outlaw Roadshow in New York City, a festival curated by Ryan Spaulding (founder of Ryan's Smashing Life music blog) and Adam Duritz (lead singer of Counting Crows).

High Fascination combines smooth lyrics, melodies, and riffs to create a sound that optimizes both the studio and live performance. Forkster can “certainly see a big appeal for their glowing rock music charm, great tunes here!” As of mid 2017, the band is finishing up their new album. Stay tuned for more news!