This post is a little overdue, but here goes! My name is Ian McLellan Davis, I am a singer, composer, and guitarist. I have a group with Katie Vogel called Relatives and I work with Mason Jar Music as an orchestral arranger. I have a large family and each year for the past three years I have recorded a short Christmas album consisting of original pieces composed as gifts for each individual member of my family.

Davis Family Christmas 2012 was particularly ambitious as I added my Dad’s girlfriend, her two children, my own girlfriend, and a theme song; thirteen tracks total. I had so much fun making this one and it features a whole cast and crew of some very fine musicians and friends including Mason Jar regulars Jonathan Seale, Rebekah Durham, Kris Nolte, Andy Clausen, Zubin Hensler, Char Prescott, and Stefan Weiner as well as several other great people/players, Willem De Koch, Andrew Mulherkar, Katie Vogel, Stephanie Leke, Carah Naseem, Renata Zeiguer, and Booker Stardrum.

Usually I just put these up on the internet for people to stream/download for free. However, my group Relatives is recording an EP which we are trying to raise money to finish, so the album is streaming for free below or directly on bandcamp, and if you like it and would like to support the Relatives EP, the download is available for $5.

Thanks for listening!
Love,
Ian

The record features MJM-regulars Jason Burger on drums and Zack Rosen on bass, as well as an assorted crew of top notch musicians and friends.  I produced it along with Bennett and Sean O’Brien, both superb guitar players, and between the three of us this is a serious guitar record.

The amazing box sets for our film, The Sea In Between, are now shipping after endless manufacturing delays. We’ve already sold half of this limited run, and the rest will sell out quick, so grab yours now from TheSeaInBetween.com.

Our friends at Stereotonic put together an incredible cigar box package complete with two DVDs, a map of Mayne Island, a great retro poster, a package of postcards with beautiful production photos from MJM photographer Sasha Arutyunova, and a digital download of the film and soundtrack.

The Storm is Passing Over
A Benefit Album by Mason Jar Music & Friends

In the wake of Hurricane Sandy, Brooklyn-based collective Mason Jar Music has assembled an all-star collection of indie-folk artists to create The Storm is Passing Over, a benefit album of fifteen classic American storm songs. Donations exchanged for these recordings will go directly to support ongoing relief work in New York City and the tri-state area.

Though our own house and studio were unharmed by the storm, mere miles from our little corner of Brooklyn, homes were destroyed and lives were lost. As the people of New York City pulled together to support each other in this difficult time, we at MJM were reminded of the blessing of our own close-knit community of artists and musicians - a gift we hope to share through this project. 

Much heartfelt thought and preparation went into the curation, performance, recording, and treatment of these songs. The resulting work is a labor of love inspired by the same challenges and the hope for rebirth that caused our predecessors to pen these songs during the storms that shook their own lives generations ago.

These 16 tracks were recorded and mixed over a two week period in December, 2012. Some artists recorded remotely from their homes and studios in Nashville, Portland, and Paris, but most came to record at Mason Jar Music in Brooklyn. Together we workshopped new interpretations of classic songs, swapping ideas and experiences. Each track centers around a real performance, recorded live.

Your donation will help fund Occupy Sandy and their continued emergency relief efforts, but also much needed long-term rebuilding projects in collaboration with the people and communities that have been affected. Together, we can rebuild and renew what has been lost.

Mason Jar Music & Friends:

Abigail Washburn & Béla Fleck
Aoife O’Donovan (w. Noam Pikelny & Paul Kowert)
Dawn Landes
Emily Elbert
Flearoy
The Gundersen Family
Jus Post Bellum
Lucius
Michael Daves
Piers Faccini
The Relatives
Rosanne Cash
Tift Merritt
Town Hall

Album cover and website design by Stereotonic & Sounds Like Whiz Bang.  Photos collage assembled by Sasha Arutyunova. Album cover photos collected from the wreckage of a neighborhood in Far Rockaway, Brooklyn by Andrew Ellis.