February 20th, 2020 7pm Stage
Celebrating Rockwood Music Hall’s 15-Year Anniversary!
Goodnight Moonshine
Every once in a while, an album comes along that’s a breath of fresh air...a statement of substance and grace that reminds us of life’s bigger picture: keeping a marriage afloat, raising children, dealing with death, loving your partner, finding yourself, claiming your independence.
On Goodnight Moonshine’s upcoming June 1st ‘I’m the Only One Who Will Tell You, You’re Bad,’ the duo delivers a funny, smart, explicit, raw, honest, mature, witty collection of Folk-Pop songs that reflect the messiness of ‘partnership’ (in its many forms,) parenthood and growing up, while evoking the emotionally resonant aesthetic of Shawn Colvin and Patty Griffin. For Goodnight Moonshine’s wife and husband duo Molly Venter and Eben Pariser, the journey was cathartic and, as Venter describes, “an exploration of post honeymoon, post-kid relationship in all it's heart-opening and door-slamming glory!” Pariser adds, “The album chronicles a revolutionary time in our lives, and the country and world at large.” The semi-autobiographical CD’s opening track and first single, ‘Settle Down’, opens with blunt cleverness: “We never got to experiment with psychedelics before you knocked me up, We never had that 3-way in the heart of Paris, and now we’re all grown up...Baby I love our life, but I don’t want to settle down.” Other highlights on the album, from ‘I Love You Goodbye’ to ‘January Skies’ to ‘Scientist’, blur real-world themes with invented details.
Goodnight Moonshine pairs the intimacy and immediacy of the 90's with the sonic explosion of the 60's. Molly Venter is a viscerally potent singer, à la Fiona Apple and Tracy Chapman, whose songwriting is redemptive and playful. Consummate musician and producer Eben Pariser, is a devotee of Ray Charles, Wes Montgomery, The Beatles and The Band; as well as a powerful singer-songwriter in his own right. Courageous unveiling and depth of experience make the collaboration between married couple Molly Venter and Eben Pariser addictively captivating.
Molly Venter's voice bends from a sweet moan to a gritty shout and back into a playful run in the space of a few bars and "it all goes down like silk," writes American Songwriter Magazine - "few singers turn first time listeners into eternal fanatics as effortlessly as Molly Venter." The emotional potency of her voice is surrounded and supported by a lush landscape of harmonies and minimalist orchestrations conceived by Eben, on vocals and electric guitar. Co-writing often, the couple uses the creative process to explore a healthy authentic relationship. Both wholesome and irreverent, they sing of grief and joy in equal measure; Molly gives smooth delivery to Eben's assertions while Eben gives form and focus to Molly's raw passion. Their music encourages listeners to embrace opposing desires, to challenge as well as support each other through inspiration and dissolution, and hopefully to share this journey with their larger communities.
Venter’s voice has caught the ear of industry giants, and been prominently featured on FOX television, Apple Computers and in Warner Brothers films. Molly and Eben’s Co-write "Willow Tree" was a #1 hit on the folk charts in 2014 and was featured in USA Today. Consummate performers, Molly and Eben have also appeared nationally and internationally, 100+ shows a year, with their respective bands Red Molly and Roosevelt Dime. Goodnight Moonshine tours with upright bassist Adam Chilenski and their two-year old son Otis.