Scott McMicken and THE EVER-EXPANDING Share 'Mountain Lion'

"Everybody just get going on G minor: I'm gonna sing about some animals." Those were the instructions Scott McMicken gave to his new band Scott McMicken and THE EVER-EXPANDING when they recorded his new song "Mountain Lion."

When introducing a new track in the studio, McMicken preferred to encourage improvisation and freedom. To have everyone's idiosyncratic voices join together to make up the whole.

"The last thing I'm going to do is walk in the room and say, 'This is your part,'" he says. The resulting track is a collection of sounds that embody this spirit of self-expression without limitations. As Scott sings in the song, you get a sense you're "flying through space" with nothing on your tail.

While McMicken's other band, Dr. Dog, is composed of lifelong friends who over time developed an unbreakable musical bond, THE EVER-EXPANDING is exactly the opposite.

For this group and their first album, 'SHABANG,' McMicken tasked producer Nick Kinsey with assembling a group of musicians with a specific musical goal in mind, resulting in a collaborative album performed by many people Scott had never met, with McMicken only asking for his longtime friend and collaborator Michael Nau to join the band. THE EVER-EXPANDING also includes Kinsey, Elizabeth Pupo-Walker, Neil Ochoa, Jared Samuel, Zach Tenorio, and Paul Castelluzzo.

By being present and living with these musicians (quite literally: McMicken and Nau stayed in tents outside the studio) united under one common goal, 'Shabang' is full of life and endlessly candid. "I knew nothing good will come of this unless I am totally free and away from any pressure and pretense," says McMicken.

"Such an incredible spectrum of emotion passed through me while making this album. There was this lightness and un-self-seriousness. I feel like music and life cruises at that spot: everybody was so wholeheartedly invested and open."

Today the EVER-EXPANDING are also announcing some of their first-ever shows, to take place at the end of April in New York City, Washington DC and Philadelphia. All dates are listed below.

TOUR DATES

4/20 - Brooklyn, NY - Music Hall of Williamsburg
4/21 - Washington DC - Union Stage
4/23 - Philadelphia, PA - Theatre of The Living Arts

To post a comment, you must register and login.