DANCING WITH THE DEITIES: GAIA CONSORT

by Michaela

Gaia Circles, the latest album by the Seattle-based band Gaia Consort, is not the sort of pagan music you hear everyday. A pagan Sting if ever there was one, Chris Bingham's acoustic pop brings both reverence and mirth together in a musical blend that will keep your toes tapping and a song stuck in the back of your mind all day.

The opening song, 'Just Because', is a pagan love anthem, celebrating the sacredness of love and sexuality with lines like "I don't need a churchman to show me what's holy/when I see you in a doorway surrounded by light". 'Gathering' is a spine-tingler of a circle calling. I don't think I'd ever experienced circle being cast from my speakers before I first heard this song. In 'Gathering', the elements and animals are called together to celebrate the return of the light, an obvious Yule summoning. 'The Old Ones' will rip your heart out if you care anything about ancient trees, or gods for that matter; it could be and is about losing both. The Lorax hasn't anything on this soul searcher for sustainable environmentalism.

For the polyamorous crowd there is 'Move to the Country', which starts with "gonna move to the country/with a half a dozen lovers". It's also a gentle jibe for those who want to "be off the grid" in sustainable environmental bliss, and aren't really ready for all the hard work and dedication that really takes. (If you like this one, try Bingham's earlier album Angel and the Hanged Man and give 'Family' a listen.)

You can catch them live at their various house concerts - small, intimate concerts at their and their friends' homes, for the cost of a donation - as they pass the hat - and get to hear some of the new songs in the works for the next album.

At their most recent house concert 'Move to the Country' was done with a "bagpipe solo". What this means is that the entire audience, especially the tone deaf members, are called on to emulate the worst nasal "bagpipe" sound imaginable, including a solo part in the middle. At the CD release party this was done on kazoos given to the audience for that purpose. In the midst of this joyful cacophony Chris laid into his poor guitar and broke a g-string and we're not talking under garments here. Between the g-string jests of the audience he told the story of his brush with greatness with Lyle Lovett. Young Mr. Bingham had just gotten out of college with his music degree tucked firmly in hand and months of recent ear training under his belt, when he went to see Lyle Lovett. Now Lyle was having the worst time getting his guitar in tune, Chris could tell he was about to launch into his set anyway so he spoke up, "It's your e-string". Lyle tuned his estring looked at him and said, "You want a job or something?" Fortunately for us, Chris didn't have the moxy to say "yes".

The next to last track 'Secret of the Crossroads Devil' reminds us "If you wanna have some kind of life/decide you're not better off dead and/if you want to read the mystic story written in your future/you better start to write it now". I have a sneaking suspicion that Gaia Consort's "mystic future" is being written one song at a time, including an already half written next album.

Gaia Consort is the brainchild of Christopher Bingham, originally of St.Louis and graduate of Evergreen College. It was and is inspired by his muse, life-mate, and back-up singer Sue Tinney, a product of the Hoe rainforest as well as a long time Washington native.

They take most of their inspiration from pagan and polyamorous communities and from things both sacred and mundane, varying from the Wiccan Rede to the rhythm of the dishwasher in their last apartment. Gaia Circles is Gaia Consort's 1st album together and the third album for Bingham, a devoted fulltime musician.

This is his return after recovering from the "European Disaster Tour" during which they encountered the sort of hardships that drive musicians to either despair or to soar above their contemporaries. It did the latter for these outstanding artists.

Also contributing their considerable talents to this album are Heather Alexander, Jennifer Kay, Jay Kenny, Dan Mohler, Dan Ochipinti, Betsy Tinney, and the Pan Pagan Tabernacle and Chanting Circus. Gaia Circles is an album assembled out of love, inspiration, and with the donations of family and friends who love and support these amazing people, and distributed by the Suddenly Naked Arts Collective label created by Chris and Sue.

Now we get to watch and enjoy him and his lovely partner crooning for us at houses everywhere in both the Seattle and Eastside areas, at pagan festivals like Heartland, and if you're particularly lucky, you can occasionally catch them at the Thursday evening open mike at Crossroads mall.

Visit the website and order it directly from the artist at www.gaiaconsort.com. While you're there sample the Ravens WAV file or the Crossroads Devil MP3. Try 'em, you'll like 'em.

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