Electronic Press Kit
Performing at the Rabbit Hole. 10/22/23
Lavender Blue is…
the vessel for the songwriting and guitar playing of Kayla Zuskin. Lavender Blue the band consists of Mike Henry Johnson on Pedal Steel and Synthesizers, Mary Steinbrecher on Electric Bass and Jack Victor on Drumkit and occasionally keys.
They are in the process of recording and producing their second full length LP.
Their music is best described as slowcore and alternative indie with a dash of Americana.
Located in Asheville, NC, Lavender Blue musicians are also music teachers, engineers/producers, songwriters and multi-instrumentalists.
Long Bio for “Slow Down”
Enter the challenge of recording, producing and mixing your own record and you get the EP “Slow Down” Written, recorded and produced by Zuskin. The production of these songs came together with many rounds of demos, experimentation with new instruments and recording techniques.
Recorded at the Cat’s Claw in Asheville, NC. new characters appear in a tape machine warble, acoustic piano, synthesizer and pedal steel. “Slow Down” is an exploration, and a coming into oneself.
Joined by Landon George on the drum kit throughout, with the addition of George’s upright bass playing and production collaboration on “of my love”. Margo Schultz’s signature off kilter electric bass playing on September Moon and Slow Down. Gentle background vocals from Sophia Corinne on Lucky and September Moon. The core of Lavender Blue remains rooted in shared artistic expression.
“Slow Down” ruminates on the themes, of love, death, existentialism and the passage of time. As many of these songs were written in meditative states with an acoustic guitar, on long walks and drives in the fall and early winter they create a series of landscapes the listener may paint themselves into.
Press
“With a lovely use of pedal steel guitar, reverb, and a dreamy vocal performance, the effect is something that captures a wistful sense of melancholic and looming loss, perfect for the chilly and lonely days of winter, let alone in the current stage of this never-ending pandemic, where we have all been forced to indeed, slow down.”- We All Want Someone to Shout For
Underlying themes of folk and soft-rock brings House on a Highway by Lavender Blue. The song lies out gentleness in the most reposeful way— still breeze, total reminiscence. This is what it feels like to fall in love, finding home in someone and within yourself.-Start Tracks
“Zuskin’s plaintive vocals firmly placed underneath sand waves of slightly off-kilter guitar chords, and instrumental crescendos being teased but not acted upon every once in a while. By the end of the song, though, she’s done with teasing – instead, she lets an unexpected guitar solo rip out. It’s not bombast for the sake of it but a way to finish the song in a determined and tenacious way.- High Clouds.org
““Beware” embodies the unique style of Lavender Blue, summoning both dark and light to create its own atmosphere.”-American Pancake
“Grace and subtlety are the hallmarks of this understated collection of songs.”-Mountain Xpress
Warsaw, Poland
July 2019. ADA Pulawska