In 2014, exhausted after four years of nonstop touring, the six members of The Head and The Heart pointed their individual compasses to new cities, new relationships and new adventures.
Pianist Kenny Hensley learned to fly planes and enrolled in kung-fu training in China, while bassist Chris Zasche packed up a camper and went to the Canadian Rockies. Drummer Tyler Williams immersed himself in the burgeoning music scene in Richmond, Virginia, while vocalist/multi-instrumentalist Charity Rose Thielen honed her songwriting skills by writing for such legends as Mavis Staples.
If you go
› What: The Head and The Heart› Where: Walker Theatre inside Memorial Auditorium, 399 McCallie Ave.› When: 8 p.m. Saturday, April 20› Admission: $39.50 and $49.50› For more info: 423-757-5580
After his own cross-country trip to reconnect with family and friends, vocalist/guitarist Jonathan Russell traveled to Haiti, where he found inspiration working with the nonprofit Artists For Peace and Justice.
"When I found out we were going to have a significant amount of time off, I saw it as an opportunity to touch base again - to listen to what other people were saying and what they were going through," Russell says. "I really wanted to make sure that I reconnected with a world that was starting to feel farther and farther away."
So when The Head and The Heart regrouped a year later to start writing together again, "it almost felt like we were a new band, trying things we hadn't tried," Zasche recalls. "We stayed at a bungalow on the beach. We'd wake up, have coffee and go boogie boarding. We were ready and excited to be back together."
That renewed sense of purpose was felt throughout 2016's "Signs Of Light."
Now the band is about to release its fourth studio album "Living Mirage" on May 17. Fans can hear the new music first when the indie-rock band performs Saturday, April 20, in Walker Theatre on its summer tour in support of the album.
After "Signs of Light," co-founder Josiah Johnson amicably left the band, replaced by Thielen's husband, Matt Gervais, according to JamBase. Then keyboardist Hensley returned to the group. "Living Mirage" reflects these changes, with Zasche describing the collection as a "rebirth, a spirit quest of sorts."
The album's first single "Missed Connection" reflects on how the band met in Seattle a decade ago although the song was originally intended to be a tribute to singer Russell's girlfriend and how they met.