Jon Stickley hand-picked his musical partners when he started the Jon Stickley Trio, and despite its eponymous name, the group is very much a cooperative effort. For their latest Organic Records single, the guitarist-bandleader has turned over the leading role to violinist Lyndsay Pruett, as, together with drummer Hunter Deacon, they tackle her original composition, “Death By Rainbow.”
Like its predecessors, the new release’s charms begin with its whimsical, oxymoron-flavored title, but from there, it takes a different path from the Trio’s most recent releases. Where abrupt shifts in mood, rhythm, chords and more have frequently characterized the group’s efforts, “Death By Rainbow” offers instead an elegantly dreamy, pastoral prelude, followed by a sprightly, lyrical main body that — almost! — maintains a consistent approach to the track’s end. Built from equal measures of fiddle tune structure, gypsy jazz-flavored melodic and harmonic flourishes and subtly varied rhythms, its organic motion gives the composition an effortless-sounding flow that makes its nearly four minutes fly by, and will leave many listeners wanting more.
“Lyndsay’s violin playing is nuanced, refined, creative, and always entertaining,” says Stickley. “‘Death By Rainbow’ is very representative of her overall musical vibe — it’s lively and upbeat but dissonant, and it swings like gypsy jazz, too.”
“‘Death by Rainbow’ is a lighthearted title I came up with for a tune I had just written as my boyfriend and I hiked through Rainbow Falls last summer," says Pruett. "We came upon a copperhead snake that was stretched out across the trail, and had a hilarious time deciding how to get across. I felt it was a fitting title since it has a mostly upbeat and bouncy feel, but there’s a bit of a subversive thread throughout. I had a feeling it was going to be a good tune for the Trio, since our music so often explores themes involving the beauty and danger of nature — and, consequently, of life!”
Listen to "Death By Rainbow" HERE.
