Planetary Circus Kingdom plays in Keene Brooke Stall | September 10, 2014 One week after the annual Keene Music Festival, an up-and-coming band based outside of Boston got the opportunity to perform in the heart of downtown Keene, N.H. Planetary Circus Kingdom [also known as PCK] performed two live-shows in Central Square on Sept. 6 and 7. The band consists of three members: Louis Johnson, Erik Richard and Wayne Sherman. The members of PCK were more than grateful to get the chance to perform in Keene. They have done numerous performances in the Boston area, but would like to spread the word of their music in other places. “We’ve been more picky and choosy about the gigs so we thought this would be a cool thing for a free show to do around this area, to try and get out of the Massachusetts area and into more of a college town,” Johnson said. PCK has a unique style of music, a style that they like to call “mutt.” “Mutt to us is a combination of blues, jazz, rock, alternative, progressive—really anything that we’ve liked in the past that we’ve incorporated into the music,” Johnson said. “We have so much different material that if someone only sticks around for a half-hour and we have another hour-and-a-half to go, there’s a good chance there’s at least something that somebody will be able to relate to over the course of that next hour-and-a-half if they haven’t already,” Richard said. Many bands and musicians these days are set out to target a specific age group, but not PCK. Their diverse sound brought people of all ages to Central Square. “What we’re trying to push overall, which is just a connective idea of using music as a reason for people to even get together and a way for people to actually feel like something new is going on, something different from the usual.” Johnson said. Sherman said he hopes that the people of Keene will gain a more positive outlook towards new and interesting music that isn’t necessarily something that’s already been done. Due to their love of music, Richard said that the band wants to inspire people to do what they love to do. A few students from KSC came out to enjoy the show. Bethany Towne, a senior at KSC, is a new listener of PCK. “I really love how diverse they are and how in every song you get different concepts. You have jazz, you have hip-hop, you have rock and Indie. And I feel like that’s great at Keene State,” Towne said. She also added that the passion PCK has for their music makes them so appealing. “They’re just so passionate about their music and you can hear it,” Towne said. Hope Moran, another student at KSC, has been to other PCK shows and was rocking-out to their music in Central Square. “I think they’re really awesome. They’re really funky and I think they bring a good crowd,” Moran said. She also said PCK definitely has a big future ahead of them, “…Especially in a place like this [Keene], because it’s a very artsy-community,” Moran said. The band is also attempting to create an organization called “Vibe City,” where they throw shows and full events where creative people of all sorts gather, such as artists, vendors and crafters. Their long-term goal is to “Continuously create a better and better experience for people, and a bigger and better community as time goes on… We are also looking to have it be non-profit with some part of the funds going towards equipment for music education programs in schools,” Johnson said. The band said that through their performances, they want people to use music as a way to bring people together. “What we’re really trying to push over-all is a connective idea of using music as a reason for people to even get together, and a way for people to actually feel like something new is going on. Something different from usual,” Johnson said. Their Central Square performances are not the last Keene will see of PCK. “Hopefully if we get to play here more and more and play the Keene Music Festival, hopefully we’ll get some fans out of it and liven-up this already-bustling community,” Sherman said. [PCK] has plans to meet with the creator of the Keene Music Festival to land PCK a gig for next year. “Check them out, if you’re not, you’re missing a really great experience,” Towne said. Brooke Stall can be contacted at bstall@keene-equinox Article Link: keene-equinox/2014/09/planetary-circus-kingdom-plays-in-keene/
Posted on: Thu, 11 Sep 2014 16:51:11 +0000
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