December 2012
The poster for the upcoming Mostest Tour through the Rockies shows a skeleton
skiing through fresh powder in a mushroom forest. Older jam-band fans might catch
the allusions to the Grateful Dead and Allman Brothers respectively, but even
without that frame of reference, the art is sure to catch the eye of the outdoorsy,
upbeat tribe that Mark Ransom’s band, The Mostest, attracts.
The highlight of the tour is a few slots opening for Melvin Seals and the Jerry Garcia
Band on December 28 as well as New Year’s Eve at Quixote’s’ True Blue in Denver.
The bill is a great musical match for Ransom, whose music is self-described as
“songwriter meets jam” with lyrics that nod to Robert Hunter’s mysticism and
philosophy, and a guitar style inspired by Garcia’s penchant for improvisation.
The tour will continue past the Front Range and into the mountains of Colorado,
hitting Steamboat Springs, Telluride, Pagosa, Aspen and Crested Butte. For Ransom,
who spent his college years in Fort Collins, touring through the Rockies is a return to
his roots, and a chance to indulge his first love: fresh powder.
“I’m inspired by the mountains, and that is also where I’m well received,” Ransom
said. “I’m psyched a larger audience is realizing that.”
Ransom has spent the better part of the last decade and a half in Bend, Oregon
where he’s produced and recorded seven albums, played with dozens of bands,
founded and curated a music festival, and taught music in Bend’s public and private
schools. To say he is well loved and embraced in his hometown would be an
understatement, but that is the crux of why Ransom insists on getting out on the
road year after year.
“Part of touring is transcending my hometown, and taking that community spirit
and to other audiences,” Ransom said.
The tour will showcase songs from The Mostest’s recent release Zara Dreams, an
ambitious project that sidesteps jam in favor of a “groovy orchestral” sound. Threepart harmonies—combining the pop vocals of Shireen Amini and violins of Julie
Southwell—are anchored by a “polyrhythmic music bed” created by drums from
Lindsey Elias, and percussion from Dale Largent. Ransom’s lyrical craft shines,
especially when he explores the healing and uniting qualities of music and his own
spiritual journey.
In The Other Side Ransom sings:
“People try to explain rainy days and pain
Dissonance and harmony
Listen to the music let your heart feel the beat
Of this bittersweet melody.”
For Ransom and his band The Mostest, playing music is about connecting with
others, with the world, and with the beauty inside of us all. The cover art for Zara
Dreams by Teafly shows it best: a smiling girl has her eyes closed as she listens to
music with headphones connected to both her heart and the forest that surrounds
her. Just like Ransom’s music it is soulful, enchanting, and most of all it makes you
want to dance.