Music

Meet Cherry Pit

Providence’s new guitar-driven supergroup will bowl you over

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In a relatively short period of time, Cherry Pit has made a presence in the Providence music scene. With a lineup that reads like a who’s who of the music world, the band is comprised of Chelsea Paulhus of Tall Teenagers, Julie Bozek of Eric and the Nothing and former member of Cat Has Claws, and Amelia Rose of Seatbelt – an acoustic project with Cody James – and former member of Thug Honey. This trio has been turning up at venues such as The Parlour, AS220, and the Columbus Theatre, among many others. Perhaps it is the energy of the band live, the undefinable style of their music, or the synergy heard in harmonized vocals and a fully realized scope of sound just daring enough to stray outside of comfort zones. What becomes clear is that Cherry Pit is creating a kind of music unique to itself.

Whether live or recorded, Cherry Pit comes off more as friends enjoying the ride rather than an act with intent. “This band was formed with the understanding that we would be challenging ourselves from the start. Each of us took on new roles – taking different steps out of our comfort zones and, in turn, we wrote songs we love to play,” Paulhus explains. “When we perform our songs in new ways, that allows us to continue to challenge each other and bring a new life to them.”

Lyrics capturing actual lived realities accented by impeccable harmonies that create a one-mind-many-voice sort of drift effect, dreamily swaggering in and out of verses and choruses coupled with tremolo rich guitar riffs, and textures within a refreshingly minor-key structure makes the singles released by Cherry Pit stand out as unique pieces of songcraft blissfully unaware of labels or expectations.

While Cherry Pit is a live band first, they are able to capture their essence on a track as evidenced on single recordings on Bandcamp like “Building” and “Quake.” As the band puts it, “[We are into] full band live shows for sure – being in the moment, reading each other, feeding off of the energy – that’s what drives us.”

Cherry Pit recently brought these sensibilities to Big Nice Studio, a full-service digital and analog recording studio in nearby Lincoln. “When we recorded at Big Nice, we tried to keep it as close to our live sound as possible. Chaimes [Parker], the engineer, even set up our vocals to record simultaneously so we could capture our harmonies in sync. I think with this approach you can preserve that energy that is generated when you play as a band live,” says Paulhus.

When asked about any memorable live experiences the band recalls, “Probably when we opened up for Habibi at the Columbus Theater. A good show is made by the combination of good bands, a good sound person, and a good crowd. We had a lot of fun that night. That venue is magical - when you play there you feel like you are a part of something special happening.” 

 

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