Holy Ghost Fathers present.. Ballroom #47 a night of dark and psychadelic folk featuring.. Josh Pearson (ex Lift to Experience, Bella Union Records) with United Bible Studies Patrick Freyne and his Bad Intentions The Spook of the 13th Lock Friday 25th of November The Lower Deck, Portobello Harbour, Dublin 8. €10, free CD-r to the first 100. http://www.ballroomofromance.com Josh Pearson In 2001 a band emerged from Denton, Texas with one of the most awe-inspiring debuts in recent memory. The band was LIFT TO EXPERIENCE and their record was entitled THE TEXAS-JERUSALEM CROSSROADS… a concept album about the end of the world where Texas is the Promised Land… and a record so epic and evangelical it almost made even the staunchest non-believers think there might really be a higher power. The band’s leader was the charismatic and enigmatic JOSH PEARSON, son of a southern Preacher man who grew up listening to endless sermons of fire and brimstone. Listening to his music was akin to hearing Jeff Buckley fronting My Bloody Valentine, Godspeed! or Slint… a beautiful, intoxicating experience for sure.Lift To Experience spent the following year on tour, stunning audiences with their incendiary live shows, looking set to cross over to a huge audience… and then… nothing. The promised second album never arrived and Josh appeared at times to be retreating from the world, a soul in crisis, moving to a hut in a remote part of Texas to wrestle with his demons. When he was occasionally sighted in Denton or Austin he seemed to many to be an outlaw, belonging to an earlier time… Over the years, the Lift To Experience legend has continued to grow, fuelled by the absence of a follow-up, the elusive behaviour of their leader, and the fact that bands such as HOPE OF THE STATES, EXPLOSIONS IN THE SKY and THE DUKE SPIRIT have cited them as such a massive, essential influence on their music.Now Josh is finally emerging from the wilderness… shaking off his demons… and returning to the UK armed with a collection of astonishing new acoustic material to play to his fans, which should hopefully (all being well!) become his debut solo album next year. http://www.bellaunion.com Also on the night.... United Bible Studies Originally formed as a duo with an unhealthy desire to emulate the incredible string band, UBS quickly evolved into a collective and laid the groundwork for the deserted village label and events. Since their formation in winter 2001 they have played and recorded sporadically-never settling on one recording method, never settling on one line-up. The forthcoming album on Deadslackstring "The Shore that Fears the Sea" shows a love of the unadorned beauty of Shirley Collins, Anne Briggs and Vashti Bunyan as well as the work of Current 93, Coil and Sol Invictus. Sparse folk sidles up to a more melodic take on free improv and tales of loss and pagan longing abound. If they could exist anywhere, they would be playing in the green man when Sergeant Howie arrives. Since their sun worship ritual at The Mór Festival in 2003, the students have increased their activities. The set, which included radical reworkings of of some of their quiet new folk songs has been edging towards a more Pharoah Sanders/ Emperor/ Can hybrid thanks to the new drums and horns helping them to blaze brighter in the northern skye. Live shows throughout Ireland including the Leechrum Festival have seen them wildly improvise with up to twelve members or play straight trad as a trio. Their philosophy is that all paths are equal, all approaches relevant. Members have sometimes met on stage for the first time. Standard rock instrumentation is bolstered with theremins, fretless banjos, accordions, bugles... whatever comes to hand... Though inspired by Irish Folk music, United Bible Studies have always seen themselves in a global contact. They've had a slew of releases on microlabels across the planet and have invited many like-minded artists to tour Ireland with them including Avarus, Fursaxa, Corsano/Flaherty, Black Forest/Black Sea, Sunburned Hand of the Man, Daniel Padden and Pumice. UBS played as Damo Suzuki's backing band twice: The new album "The Shore that Fears the Sea" (Deadslackstring/Deserted Village split release) will be on sale at all UBS gigs in November in advance of it's offcial release.United Bible Studies are protected by the ejaculation of Serpents. More importantly the new album "The Shore that Fears the Sea" will be on sale on the night! www.desertedvillage.com Patrick Freyne and His Bad Intentions A brilliant song-writer and his unique band of gifted musicians. Armed with guitars, cello and banjos, their sound is skewed alt. country/rock - a devilish mix of that of Freyne's other projects, NPB & El Diablo. The Spook of the 13th Lock The Spook is Allen from Holy Ghost Fathers/ Ballroom of Romance. Named after a poem about a haunted canal lock, the Spook plucks banjos and twangs guitars. He yelps, drones and hums songs about dead revolutionaries, partisans and haunted cobblestone streets. The hairs rise on the back of your neck and your breath frosts over.