Wednesday, March 14   11:00 p.m.
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Great Northern was born out of a long standing friendship between vocalist/pianist Rachel Stolte and guitarist/vocalist Solon Bixler, two musicians who share mutual desire to write songs that feel true to the heart, that reflect a relentless self exploration and an inherent self-honesty.

"It's difficult to describe what we want to do with the music without sounding trite," explains Bixler, "But we just try to be true to ourselves, to be focused, to be showing our souls to some extent." "The music I'm most responsive to, is music that is vulnerable somehow," continues Stolte, "Music that makes you feel like you're learning something about the person who is making it."

What began as a side-project, a give and take and back and forth between the two, eventually took on a life of its own and evolved into something greater than the sum of its parts: an ethereal, melodic exploration reflective of that grand sweep of the band's name. This is music carved out of hazy afternoon sunshine and wind through grass, delicate webs of melodies woven with raw and emotive lyricism. Great Northern can be epic, cinematic, dramatic, meditative or folksy, but it is always pure, the kind of sound that tears open the locked-up places inside the listener's heart.

"I guess I'm drawn to music that's melancholy," says Stolte, "Or exposed somehow, open - music that makes you feel something, makes you sit and think."

Hailed as "Ones To Watch In 2006" by LA Times and as "New LA Hot Shots" by Filter Magazine, Great Northern is about to spread its good word, worldwide. With a solid line-up that includes Davey Latter on drums / percussion and Ashley Beauchamp on bass, the band has already played alongside the likes of The Fiery Furnaces, Smog, Ladytron, the Earlies and Helen Stellar. The band have also signed a label deal with LA based Eenie Meenie Records which have penciled in a release date of May, 2007.

Think the Flaming Lips meets Dukes of the Stratosphere, The Kinks matched with Mercury Rev. This is pop coupled with poetry, crystalline melodies buoyed on symphonic strings, sugar sweet vocal partnerships and just a touch of playful psychedelia. "Basically," says Bixler with satisfaction, "It's the music that we've always wanted to be making."