courtesy photo
[Editor's note: This feature previews Underwater Dream Machine's album release show tonight at Barley Street Tavern. Cooper Lakota Moon and Touch People complete the lineup. RSVP here.]
words by Cara Wilwerding
These days, Bret Vovk lets his subconscious do most of the talking.
As founder of the Underwater Dream Machine, Vovk has significantly altered his songwriting process since releasing Underwater Dream Machine’s first self-titled album in 2008. Before, Vovk says, he tended to over-think each song, but now he just lets his mind go to work.
“I kind of took the approach of forming the songs and then kind of putting pretty words in there that I really liked, that later took on a lot of meaning to me,” Vovk says. “Maybe it wasn’t random, it was just words that my subconscious was popping out.”
Vovk is the main UDM band member, but collaborates with a revolving cast of friends such as Colin Duckworth, Mark Goodwin and Matt Cox. After putting out a solo EP in the winter of 2010 and a UDM album in February 2012, Vovk is ready to release his third album, Can You See Behind The Moon? tonight at Barley Street Tavern. Vovk recorded on an eight-track cassette machine, which he says gives the album a “tapey,” unrefined sound, sort of like a ‘70s record.
Because Vovk put more thought into the songwriting process this time around, Vovk says he thinks listeners will be more open to the music. He says this album’s organization is more “organic,” more natural, than previous album’s progressions.
“I think it will probably be more viable to people than the last one,” Vovk says. “I started with a minute-and-a-half catchy song, and go right into it. I think this whole presentation is easier to digest.”
Beginning with high-toned keyboard notes, Vovk slowly mixes in soft and simple piano melodies. Tender vocals enter, as he sings about revolution, about coming to life. As the album progresses, listeners realize that Vovk has mastered more than one instrument. In addition to the piano, he expertly commands guitars, shakers and even uses plastic bags to create an unconventional percussion.
It’s the kind of album you take with you for a night of stargazing. It makes good background music for reading fiction in your favorite ottoman, or taking a lazy nap on a stormy afternoon.
Vovk will celebrate the album with a CD release party at Barley Street Tavern tonight. Cooper Lakota Moon (of Omaha’s Dim Light) will start things off at 9:30, before Vovk takes the stage for a special presentation. Vocalists Nick Carl and Elizabeth Webb will accompany him, in addition to former band members Duckworth and Goodwin. Vovk will also perform solo pieces on the Barley Street’s piano, which is more than 100 years old. Touch People, Darren Keen’s solo project, will close out the show. As part of Benson First Friday, attendees can also browse Katie Martin’s artwork throughout the evening.
Vovk wants to give tonight’s show everything he’s got by bringing his true identity to the stage. Maybe he’ll bring out his funny charm with a few clever jokes, or maybe he’ll just be his quiet, weird self. Maybe he’ll yell at those two annoying people talking in the front row.
“Ideally, I’d be open and living my full potential on stage, and not holding anything back,” Vovk says. “At least that’s how people who are good do it. Living your deepest purpose anyway. People can sense that, man.”
Tonight’s CD release show acts as a warmup for Vovk’s upcoming tour, which he’ll kick off in late September. Carl, the same vocalist who’s joining Vovk tonight, will accompany him on the road south, up the West Coast and throughout the Northwest.
And the tour may also prove to be a whirlwind of inspiration, as Vovk says he hears melodies and lyrics everywhere he goes. Vovk’s learned how to transpose pre-exisiting sounds into his music, and he’s bound to hear some new noises while traveling throughout the country.
“I still remember walking down the street and something would pop into my head, so I would just record the idea into my phone,” Vovk says. “It’s like each song or melody was something that already existed; it came by and I grabbed it out of the air. I kind of borrowed it to let it live in this world.”
Cara Wilwerding is a Hear Nebraska intern. She loves the feeling of being underwater, and that’s exactly where this album puts her. She advises you all to pick up a copy. Reach her at caraw@hearnebraska.org.