Elliott Smith tribute, is on its way to Portsmouth
Elliott Smith wrote many sad songs in his too-brief life, perhaps none more stirring and intimate than “Everything Means Nothing to Me,” the fifth track on his 2000 album, “Figure 8.” It’s also the second track on “to e.s.,” the latest album from the Portland Cello Project.
To hear Smith’s music replicated on cello is a bit haunting. The strings produce a deep, eerie resonance in contrast to Smith’s light, airy vocals. During the repeated refrain toward the end, multiple cellos join in, prickling the hairs on the back of your neck. Then the drums enter, then a couple of mournful horns. The chills pour down your spine as the instruments weave together in a final crescendo and then gradually fade out.
The Portland Cello Project plays six Elliott Smith songs and six original compositions on “to e.s.,” which came out in December. The band will play two shows at The Press Room in Portsmouth on Saturday, April 11, alongside The Ballroom Thieves.
The Elliott Smith project is not the first time PCP — as they are affectionately known — has adapted popular music for the cello. They’ve covered songs by Taylor Swift, Kanye West, Rihanna, Brittany Spears, Bon Jovi, and Pantera. They’ve performed Radiohead’s entire “Kid A” album. They recorded the music from Beck’s “Song Reader” project with guest singers. They’ve played with members of The Decemberists, The Dandy Warhols, and Laura Gibson (who recently played in Portsmouth at 3S Artspace).
“Elliott Smith’s material … has a little bit of darkness, a little bit of mellowness, that really translates well to the cello. He was a very tortured soul.” — Diane Chaplin
And, of course, they occasionally play classical music. Just about every member of the band has some classical training, but they tend to keep that to a minimum at live shows. Part of the group’s mission is to expose people to the cello’s versatility, and to bring the instrument to venues where it’s not normally seen or heard.
“Sometimes people will come to hear us who think that cellists only play classical music,” said PCP member Diane Chaplin. “We’re opening their ears to the fact that cellists do not just play classical music.”
Likewise, fans who come to see PCP play modern covers may be taken in by a classical arrangement. “We can play in a punk-rock club and play some Bach and everyone in the club loves it, so there’s something very universal about our sound,” Chaplin said.
PCP formed in 2007 in Portland (that other Portland, out in Oregon). Chaplin moved to Portland from New York in 2009 and joined the group about four years ago. She’s been part of a revolving cast of band members, with the ensemble and repertoire changing for nearly every performance and recording. Sometimes it’s a simple quartet of cellos. Sometimes it’s a half-dozen cellos with drums and a trumpet. Sometimes it’s as many as 12 cellos with a full choir, wind, and horn sections, plus several percussionists.
The upcoming tour that will bring the group to Portsmouth includes five cellists. There’s no telling what songs they’ll play, but with “to e.s.” fresh out of the studio, there’s a good chance of hearing at least a couple of Elliott Smith songs.
PCP started working on the album in 2013, inspired by the 10th anniversary of Smith’s death by apparent suicide. Though not originally from Portland, Smith spent much of his life in the city and made an indelible mark on its music scene.
The album was co-produced by Larry Crane, owner of Jackpot Studios and editor of Tape Op magazine. Crane had a close working relationship with Smith and became the archivist of his music, which included a large amount of unreleased material. A few years ago, Crane played some of Smith’s unreleased songs for the Portland Cello Project, and the band arranged its own version of “Taking a Fall.”
“It just sounded so good on cello that the idea of doing more Elliott Smith came up,” Chaplin said. “Elliott Smith’s material … has a little bit of darkness, a little bit of mellowness, that really translates well to the cello. He was a very tortured soul.”
the Portland Cello Project, with Diane Chalpin at far right (photo by Tarina Westlund)
The band also made a music video for the album’s opening track, “Between the Bars.” The video begins with Chaplin playing cello alone in a deep stone crevasse in central Oregon. Watching her drag the bow softly across the strings, the intimacy of playing the cello is apparent. Seated, eyes shut, her arms embracing the almost human-shaped instrument, it’s like a stationary waltz. “Playing the cello has a little bit of an aspect of dancing with someone,” said Chaplin, who has been playing cello since elementary school.
Other Smith covers on the album include “Pitseleh,” “Tomorrow, Tomorrow,” “Southern Belle,” and “Needle in the Hay.” The instrumental cello arrangements bring out new textures and layers to the tunes, giving listeners a fresh experience even if they’ve heard the song before. And yet the spirit and feeling of each song remain. “You definitely get the sadness and the pain,” Chaplin said.
The original compositions on the album are in keeping with the melancholy, beautiful, emotionally lush atmosphere of Smith’s music. The cellos capture and accentuate the mood and spirit of his work in surprising ways.
The Ballroom Thieves, who will share the stage with PCP, have a very different style. The rootsy, bluesy, Americana trio places a premium on impassioned vocals. But they do have at least one thing in common with PCP: a cello. Cellist Calin Peters joined the Thieves less than two years ago.
The Portland Cello Project’s three-week tour starts on Friday in Boston and darts around the Northeast before jumping to the Midwest and then back home to Portland and Seattle. Chaplin revealed few details about the band’s plans for Portsmouth, but promised that audience members would like what they hear, whether they’re fans of classical music, Elliott Smith, or anything in between.
The Portland Cello Project plays two shows with The Ballroom Thieves on Saturday, April 11, at 7 and 9:30 p.m. at The Press Room, 77 Daniel St., Portsmouth. Tickets are $17-$20.
Top of page: The Portland Cello Project, with Diane Chaplin in the foreground (photo by Tarina Westlund)