Levi Fuller and Friends: Songs about Books

Photo by Nat Seymour, via Levi Fuller's Facebook

Levi Fuller put together a star studded event at The Fremont Abbey last week entitled Songs about Books. He got a grant from the City of Seattle to have artists of his choice paired with books assigned by The Stranger‘s Books Editor Paul Constant. Each artist was to write five songs from their perspective that embodied the book they were assigned. They each recorded three of their songs, resulting in a 15-song CD (Ball of Wax Volume 25), released at the concert.

Led to Sea started the night off, followed by R. Barrett of The Pica Beats with three backup singers, Joshua Morrison, Bright Archer (Joanna Kunin), then Levi Fuller himself closed the night with his own set (egomaniac).

As expected, Paul Constant spoke before each set about the reasons he chose each book and why he paired the book with the artist. From reasons such as, “this book is a vital part of modern day literature, and I knew this artist would hate it” to “Joshua Morrison embodies humanity and I knew he would do this book justice” to “this book is poetry, and so is the artist” etc. Of course he was better spoken than my remembrance of his thoughts, but the general thoughts remain the same.

Led to Sea was my favorite of the night. Her playful use of strings and the discombobulated nature of her songs matched the feeling of the book perfectly. Joshua Morrison was a tear jerker, Levi Fuller was heartwarming. It was a night never to be forgotten.

If you missed this event, there will be a partial, acoustic, encore performance on September 9th at the Henry Art Gallery, featuring Led to Sea, Joshua Morrison, and Levi Fuller.

Levi Fuller – “Free Men”

Bright Archer – “Shelter”

Joshua Morrison

Led to Sea – “Say What You Will”