BIO - DEC 09

Seth Bernard was born and raised on a farm in Lake City, Michigan. After graduating from Lake City High School, Seth opted for a postgraduate year at Interlochen Arts Academy where he studied theatre, music and poetry. Shortly after graduation, Seth explored his acting talents in a feature film costarring with Ernest Borgnine. He spent the following fall living in New York, working for a music equipment rental company (a job landed to him by family friend and Rolling Stones roadie, Chuch Magee), and then hit the road with the National Theatre for Children, visiting schools all across the country, dressed as a six-foot-tall bug. Seth then returned to his home in northern Michigan and began working on his debut album Hello Fellow Travelers, recorded in the home of his guitar teacher, Michael Macnamara. He decided to release it under the label name Earthwork. It was Earthwork's first album, though plenty of honey, maple syrup and beef from the herd of Scotch Highland Cattle had been sold under the label which was designed by his mother, Chris Bernard. The Earthwork Music Collective was born, and close friends and collaborators Dan Kahn and Luke Winslow-King soon released albums with the Earthwork label. The collective grew its own identity as many more Michigan musicians began playing shows and recording together under the Earthwork name. Inspired by Woody Guthrie and the American folk tradition, they hosted an annual event at Seth's family farm that has continued as the Harvest Gathering, a music festival unique in its affordability, culinary splendor, intimacy, and at last count, over ninety performing bands. Seth's ability as a musician and songwriter is rivaled only by his ability as a community organizer. In 2003, Daisy May Erlewine went to the Ann Arbor Folk Festival to see Patty Griffin perform at the Michigan Theatre and encountered Seth, also performing. The two soon hit it off and joined forces, performing and recording as a duo ever since. Their voices meld together in rare harmony. May's rhythm guitar frees him to take more leads, while lending strength and depth to his vocals and the occasional fiddle part. Seth, in turn lends his impeccable guitar playing to her instant classics, providing unending diversity in tastefully chosen rhythm, bass lines and leads. Seth's other projects include HiLo, an annual analog recording project currently in its sixth year, and Airborne or Aquatic, a northern Michigan psychedelic roots-rock outfit. As a performer, Seth is equally at home playing his introspective, socially-charged ballads as he is joining a 10 piece electric ensemble on lead vocals, bass, steel or electric guitar. He can shred with the best of them, but also bring it home with stylish, mellow fingerpicking. His singing is intimate and raw. In his latest recording effort, This Here, Seth's abilities at orchestration are apparent. With nearly 30 participating musicians representing the best of the Michigan folk, jazz and roots scenes, the album is nothing less than epic. It moves with theatric intent, and perhaps the greatest triumphs are the transitions between tunes---each carefully contemplated---bridging themes and ideas throughout the entire piece, the first of a two part life cycle. The second album in the series can be expected to hit the airwaves in the coming months.

album one sheets

Being This Being This Here

quotes

"Bernard's earnest delivery is appealing in its simplicity, allowing you to lose yourself in the poetry." -Performing Songwriter Review of Seth's 2005 release Being this Being: "Seth Bernard's frayed balladry will melt your heart. Much like the bare-bones 'rurality' of Royal City or Bonnie 'Prince' Billy, Bernard's Being This Being is accessible without being predictable - the type of collection that reveals its gifts gradually. With their humble presentation and wistful swoon, songs like 'May's Waltz' and 'Travel' leave quite an impression, while 'Dinosaur' and '...being this being...' bask in lo-fi jingle-jangle. Good enough to dazzle Roots Radio and eccentric enough for college airwaves, Seth Bernard's intensely personal approach to folk is nothing less than astounding." -Ryan Hoffer A&R, Shut Eye Records, Atlanta, GA Review of Seth's 2003 release, "Constellation": "Lake City's Seth Bernard stands at the forefront of a talented crop of up-and-coing Michigan songwriters; and his brand new CD 'Constellation' features a fair number of them, including Rachael Davis, Dan Kahn, Josh Davis and Jen Sygit. But Bernard's is a talent that's likely to defy any 'local by' categorization. He's a wordmonger of the first order - playful, exuberant, smart and original - with a musical sophistication beyond his years. 'Constellations' 11 tracks segue seamlessly, giving the impression of spontaneity, belying the meticulous craft involved. His plaintive voice and witty, even cutting lyrics may remind listeners of Loudon Wainwright III without the despair. Album highlights include the anthemic 'Hello Fellow Travelers,' a charmingly goofy love song 'Eliza's,' and the remarkable 'Sari Brown,' with the lines 'and the world may steal your smile for a while/and pain will come from loving, but everything is reason to sing...' There's an ace crew of players aboard, too, including longtime saxman Cesar Alvarez, keyboard wiz Mike Lynch (The Lash, Larry McCray Band), all four of the Steppin' In It boys and prizewinning Ann Arbor fiddler Jeremy Kittel." -Chris Rietz for the Lansing State Journal "As an editor of many books on music, a question I am often asked is: 'Are there any singer/songwriters on the way up out there, as good as the great communicators of the past, like perhaps a young Woody Guthrie?' Until now I never really had much of anyone to suggest. However, a young Michigan musician/entertainer/storyteller, Seth Bernard is more than just a minor talent. He is a singer, a songwriter, and also a true entertainer whose music and broad vision is not only felt by an audience, but will also in time, I predict, embrace more than a few other hardened so-called music critics and experts, like myself. Bernard is a rare bird, an authentic communicator with the right idea for these times. Give him a listen. By all means, see him in person." -Michael Erlewine, Founder of the All-Music Guide "Seth Bernard wields an acoustic guitar, a powerful stage presence and a fiercely contagious spirit... Thought-provoking, compassionate, funny songs backed up by agile picking." -The Ark "Deft picking and a voice filled with innocence and candor are his hallmarks. And then there's the poetry, '...born into a culture of entertainment addicts, our lives have become unconsciously cinematic.'" -Hobart Taylor, Crazy Wisdom Music "A cool breath of fresh, jazzy folk from the north country." -Ann Arbor Current

Seth WAS on wikipedia... Here's what they had to say:

Born April 1, 1980, Lake City, Michigan Biography Born to the waltz fiddler Bob Bernard, Michigan-born Seth Bernard has been an integral part of the Michigan music scene for many years. Raised on a farm collective near Lake City (including a sawmill built out of old machinery), Bernard grew up surrounded by music, new-age people, and progressive ideas; in particular he has a love for and a deep relationship to the land. He was playing music from an early age and today is a master guitar playing and multi-instrumentalist – saxophone, trumpet, drums, the tamborine, and others. Bernard received a music scholarship to the Interlochen Center For The Arts, and an acting scholarship to the University of Michigan. He starred in a film with Ernest Borgnine. Aside from music, Bernard is widely recognized as a lively entertainer and an inspired communicator of ideas relating to the environment. Helping Michigan Folk Music Bernard was in large part responsible for the recent blossoming of the Michigan folk music; He established and developed the Earthwork Music Collective, a loose-knit group of twenty or so well-known Michigan musicians. He is one of Michigan’s best-known singer/songwriters. For the last year, Bernard has teamed up with Michigan singer/songwriter May "Daisy May" Erlewine and the two have become a duo both professionally and personally. Discography Hello Fellow Travelers - Earthwork 000001 Constellation - Earthwork 000303 being this being - Earthwork 000306 Being this Being - Tapes Records 0003 Seth Bernard & Daisy May - 002201 Interests Seth Bernard is widely known to be an avid horticulturalist and notorious outlaw poet. He is rumored to have mastered the art of backgammon by the age of 8, and is a lover of local culture. Bernard wishes, if he could be any animal, to be a seahorse. Future Prospects Seth Bernard has prophetically raised an able army of fellow musicians, called the Earthwork collective, and seeks to redeem Michigan, the nation, and the environment towards unconditional love and sustainable living. This begins, according to Bernard, with admitting our commonality as human beings under the created world. Quotes But, Dick Cheney is part of the one thing. I'd better hold him up to my heart and love him if I want peace. It's important. Ok... "Ahhh... I love you, Dick Cheney. All that greed's bad for your heart, come climb this tree with me. No, I'm not kidding, just give it a try. That's it, Dick, doesn't it feel good? Free energy! There's soul in the soil! There's no false intelligence around here. It's all alive, it's all connected, it's all sustainable. It loves you, too, Dick. Breathe in deep, that there's fresh air. This is what we call 'Local Culture'. This is the stuff dreams are made of!" - Interview with Third Eye Magazine Website Seth's website, along with free songs of his music is found at http://www.earthworkmusic.com