words by Black Cohosh's Alex Houchin | photo by Michael Todd
The seeds for death-western act Black Cohosh blew into Lincoln last fall, when Alex Svoboda (viola) brought her partner Jason Friedmutter (guitar) back home from Rhode Island. Upon adding the warmth and sunshine of brother Nick Svoboda (upright bass) and me, Alex Houchin (drums), the lineup was complete.
Nurtured by a shared passion for social justice and watered by a vibrant local community, the music took root. Cramped basement shows and busking at farmers markets soon became kite-flying festivals, bar gigs, guest DJ spots and showcases.
True to their activist roots, Black Cohosh funded a self-titled album by engineering a pair of Secret Cafés, cooking and serving delicious breakfasts to friends, family and fans in exchange for donations. Every step of the process was locally sourced and union-friendly (discs spray-painted manually by band members), and culminated in a release celebration at a friend’s farm.
Black Cohosh from Michael Thurber on Vimeo.
But the wind kept blowing, and Alex and Jason relocated to Denver at the end of summer, placing the band on hiatus. Fortunately, Lincoln Calling organizers reached out and offered the band a slot they couldn’t refuse: Friday night at The Zoo Bar. The band decided that a high-quality live recording would be a great way to give back to the fans (and burn up leftover album revenues in the process), so they once again hired local engineer Mark Wolberg to work his ghost-bustin’ magic. (That performance now lives on as the second Black Cohosh release, titled Live at the Zoo.)
Not content to simply meet fans’ expectations, the band spent the weeks ahead of Lincoln Calling composing and collaborating on a new piece via the magic of the Internets. Dubbed “Pussy Riot’s Revenge” in honor of the Russian feminist collective, the band unleashed the new composition together with traditional closer “The Sow Is Mine” during an epic 12+ minute encore. Watch below:
video by Michael Thurber
audio by Mark Wolberg
The band may be contacted through their Facebook page or their Bandcamp page.