In a time when he was spiritually and artistically aimless, Family Worship Center’s shamanistic figurehead Andy Krissberg took a brief hiatus from creating music. He embarked on a freewheeling, soul-searching journey inspired by the late ethnomusicologist Alan Lomax. Krissberg visited remote places across the country, creating field recordings of musicians he met straight to vinyl on a 1940s record lathe.
His adventures led him to fleabag motels, sketchy back alleys, lonely restaurants, and dive bars. His crusade had him rummaging through old record stores, antique stores, swap meets for long forgotten albums, singles, artwork, and books. On one of his expeditions, in a now-defunct record store in Nashville, Tennessee, Krissberg stumbled upon a 21-page bible for a strange cult-like collective that billed themselves as Family Worship Center.
Leafing through the yellowed pages, he felt a strange resonance with the Family’s communal quest for Groove enlightenment. Family Worship Center proposed a simple prescription to achieve a utopian existence: Surrender material possessions. Walk to the beat. Never hurt another Family Member. In a private mystical moment, Krissberg vowed to adhere to these beliefs, and is now eager to share the message with others through song as the band, Family Worship Center.
Today, the Portland-based collective announces its revelatory debut, Kicked Out Of The Garden (CorpoRAT Records). Family Worship Center specializes in a strain of redemptive, 1970s-styled rock n’ roll that recalls the Rolling Stones, Leon Russell, The Band, and Delaney & Bonnie. The band formed in 2017 in Nashville, Tennessee founded by prophetic visionary, singer-songwriter and keyboardist Krissberg, but it has since relocated to Portland, Oregon. The Family’s latest offering—it’s first long player—Kicked Out Of The Garden, features a core band of devoted musicians, and was produced by Portland go-to producer Cameron Spies (Spoon Benders, Shivas) who specializes in what he calls “mid-fi.” Kicked Out Of The Garden was tracked in Portland with additional recording done in Philadelphia and Ukraine.
The 8-song album’s evocative title speaks to Krissberg’s transformative spiritual journey in achieving righteous communal Groove. “This album was written to draw parallels between the previously mentioned found documents and the many characters I’ve met throughout my travels,” he says.
Today Glide is excited to premiere the album’s first single “The South,” which serves as a potent introduction to Family Worship Center. This tune captures the freewheeling spirit of this band that brings to mind Leon Russell, The Band, New Orleans R&B, and contemporaries like Low Cut Connie. There is plenty of Southern-infused swagger to be savored here as the big band charges through a tune that is a smorgasbord of twanging guitar, swampy backbeats, barrelhouse piano and soul-drenched vocals. This is a band firing on all cylinders that may feel loose, but has clearly carved out the rock and roll sound they want to bring to the people.
Preacherman Andy Krissberg describes the inspiration behind the tune:
During 2020 we were all trying to keep our musical chops up while doing the whole quarantine thing. Our drummer Glendon was especially itching to get new tunes out. He’d sit in his garage with a big bottle of whiskey and strum a few chords. Once a week or so he’d send over voice memos or lyric sheets of what he was working on. He sent me over a batch of lyrics with the opening “city lights” bit, and the “no room in the south” part that eventually turned into the chorus.
I think the original idea, lyrically, was a “get me out of this place, the grass is greener” sentiment – but with me being fresh out of Nashville and now living in Seattle, I wanted it to be more of a compassionate critique. There was a lot of self reflection going on at that time, on a world level. I was thinking about how I grew up, people I’d met moving around, and despite any disagreements we may have had, the love we shared was still there. That is the main theme to this tune – finding the love in a hairy situation.. Like waking up and finding your folks joined a rival cult… you still love them but are like “come on!”
LISTEN:
