Parsonfield (Formerly Poor Old Shine)

Overview

Parsonsfield, formerly Poor Old Shine is a roots band with a grassroots ethos. The Connecticut quintet prizes the human element that underpins their music, from songwriting to recording to album design and even choice of record label: they recorded with Sam Kassirer (Josh Ritter, Joy Kills Sorrow), Nov. 5 on Signature Sounds.  “You can’t have music without people, whether it’s electronic music or the oldest Delta blues players,” singer and banjo player Chris Freeman says. “The people behind it are really important, and we always want to make sure that everything we do feels handcrafted and pure.”  Purity is subject to interpretation, of course, but the term certainly describes the band’s motives. Formed at the University of Connecticut, where Freeman met banjo and mandolin player Antonio Alcorn in a folk music club on campus, an early version of the band landed its first gig—opening for a friend’s band at the legendary New Haven club Toad’s Place—before the musicians had even decided what to call themselves. “We came up with our (original) name a few hours before the show,” Freeman says. “It was a lot of fun and we figured, we might as well get another gig, and it went on like that for another year or so.”  With the addition Max Shakun on guitar and pump organ and Harrison Goodale on bass, the band began writing songs influenced by Pete Seeger, vintage bluegrass and bands like the Avett Brothers; recording a pair of self-released EPs and spending time on the road. The band played live shows before increasingly appreciative audiences in renowned venues, including the Kennedy Center for the Arts in Washington D.C., Club Passim in Cambridge, Mass., Rockwood Music Hall in New York and Infinity Hall in Norfolk, Conn., where the musicians recorded a live album in 2012. After capturing the band’s onstage sound on the live LP, the group wanted to push themselves into new territory. They found a ready collaborator in Kassirer, whose Great North Sound Society studio in Maine lends itself to focused creativity.  It paid off: the record was one of the most exciting roots albums of the year, from a self-assured young band that’s just now hitting its stride—and worked hard to get there. “The last two years feel very surreal and it’s hard to imagine what will come next,” Freeman says. “We’re just really excited by the opportunities we’ve had and the artists we’ve gotten to meet. We just want to keep living this dream.”