Conversations with Earthmother

Today we’d like to introduce you to Earthmother. Them and their team share their story with us below:

Earthmother was formed at Berklee College of Music in 2016 where Josy Rosales (guitar/vocals), Trevor Mooney (bass), and Zack Weinstein (drums/vocals) all attended. We were all either former classmates or former bandmates before coming together as Earthmother. Josy told Trevor that he’d like to form a band playing music in the style of the Grateful Dead. That type of music calls for instrumental improvisation and it will require the musicians to listen and react to what the other band members are saying musically. Josy didn’t know any drummers to fill out the band line-up, so Trevor contacted Zack. Trevor knew Zack from a previous ensemble class where they played together – funnily enough, it was called the Jam Band Ensemble. That class would foreshadow the exact music they’d be making in the future. At this time, the trio along with Josy’s friend, Luis Gomez, rehearsed and gigged in Boston as Earthmother. Sometime in 2017, Luis was dropped from the band due to musical differences. They all graduated in 2017 and moved in with Zack and his dad, Jim, in Antioch, IL. 

Beginning a new chapter in Illinois, the band rehearsed relentlessly and through the advice and mentorship of Jim, they landed their first gigs in the area. They impressed their early audiences with a raw sound that proved they had skills and potential. This allowed them to build a resume which led to performing at local events and festivals, despite being new to the area. From 2017 through 2020, Earthmother was able to do over 100 shows a year in the Illinois and Wisconsin area. During this time, they’ve released two studio albums and two live albums. Their fanbase has grown slowly but surely. Mainly due to their consistent gigging and their constant musical improvement. 

2021 has proved to be successful for Earthmother. They’ve released their latest live album, “The Road to El Dorado”, which has been well received by fans. They’ve also seen their fan attendance increase in the region. Lastly, they are just coming off a week-long tour from Denver, CO where they played six shows over six days. The tour was a success by all measures with the band quickly gaining a following in the city. 

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
No. Aside from personality conflicts and drama, there’s always been creative tension. In the musical sense, but also which direction to take the band with certain songs or genres. Also, there is endless debate on how to improve our jamming. Since it’s an improvisational artform, it’s difficult to be objective. An example being, someone could play something with one intention, but play the same thing in a different context with a different intention. We three make an ongoing effort to better understand one another as musicians and to get (and stay) on the same page during a jam. The silver lining here is that conflict in musical tastes and understanding sometime leads to positive tension in the music. 

Having everyone agree on other creative projects such as creating the albums, artwork, or video production is rare. Everyone in the band is passionate about putting out the best possible and we’re all hardheaded. 

On the business side, it has been difficult to break of out of the bar circuit in the area. We’re in a space now where we’re a little too big for some of these taverns, but too small still to play nice music venues. It is also challenging to figure out how to put out music we’re happy with. The studio albums are nice, but they don’t exactly capture our sound when we’re playing in front of an audience. Therefore, our business model is based primarily on live performance. That’s fine except it’s disheartening to see our recorded albums not succeed like we think they should. They end up being a vehicle for our fans to learn our original songs, rather than help generate popularity outside of our live performances. In other words, people come to our show then they check out the album, not the other way around. Our live albums have been well received and are more popular than our studio recordings. They still don’t generate any external recognition for us though. 

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
Earthmother is a rock jam band that specializes in instrumental improvisation in the rock n roll genre. We are known for being spontaneous with our instrumental soloing and playing how we want to in the moment. This style is high risk high reward because we don’t rehearse the exact notes that we’re going to play and we force ourselves to make it up as it happens. This leads to the potential of magic happening on stage. It could also lead to some disorganization, confusion, and mistakes. The audience knows about as much as we do when they’re listening to us – and that’s the fun part! Our audience often characterizes us as all soloing at the same time. They also love our intensity. They comment that we often sound like more than a three-piece band because of how many notes we play and how we make the music together. 

I’m proud that we are able to make a full sound with a limited amount of musicians. Our music would be easier to make with more members on stage because they could fill more musical space. 

Because we are only a trio, that sets us apart from most bands and certainly most jam bands. There’s a trend in jam bands to be more pop-oriented, tight sounding (as in funk music), and to utilize repetition in the music. While we’re tight in the sense that we are rehearsed and don’t make that many mistakes, our improvisation is loose and primal. We pride ourselves in taking musical chances on stage. Our style is also rooted in blues music, which I find uncommon. 

How do you think about happiness?
A great performance with each other is what it’s all about. Ideally, there’s a receptive audience in front of us, but the music is the primary focus. The music we play is always fresh to us since we have to make it up each night. When we’re clicking together and firing on all cylinders, it feels great! Selling our t-shirts always brings me joy because we make money and it’s another indicator of the support we have from our fans. A heartfelt compliment from a fan is always nice to hear. 

Pricing:

• We price on a case by case basis, we have the ability to produce our own show and travel. In our area, we typically start at $500. It is best to contact us and discuss the terms so we can accurately price.

Contact Info:

• Email: earthmotherbooking@gmail.com
• Website: www.earthmothertheband.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/earthmothertheband
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/earthmothertheband
• Youtube: www.youtube.com/earthmothertheband