Root Down in the Shadow

Arc Iris may be from Providence RI, but, for me, their front-woman, Jocie Adams , has always been a part of my Philadelphia listening experience. At one of my first shows in Philadelphia six years ago, she was a shy multi-instrumentalist with The Low Anthem. Over the next two years I would catch The Low Anthem every time they came through town It was Jocie’s evolution that really had me hooked. It wasn’t just what new instrument she would play next, as she moved between crotales, hammered dulcimer, clarinet and so many more instruments, but as a vocalist you could see her emerge. This emergence was most stark with the cover of Jack Kerouac “On The Road”/ Tom Waits “Home I’ll Never Be.” Through the years, the vocal duties on the song moved over to Jocie taking the reins. It was so uplifting and exciting, to see this tiny sun-dress-folkster of a free spirit wailing away, channeling some Janice and bringing the whole crowd to their feet. As Jocie’s career has progress...

The concept of a cover song video series is nothing new.  However you have to have something special to make it stick.  For Root Down In The Shadow in honor of our deep love of the Philly scene, we've made sure our cover videos are Philly-centric.  Other famous cover series each have their own special element.  For the Onion's AV Undercover , they start with a list of bands to be covered and unveil the surprise cover artist week by week.  For UK band, To Kill A King 's series, Ralph's Balcony , the videos are a collaboration between Ralph Pelleymounter &/or To Kill A King, plus their special guest, learning each other's songs.  The most prolific may be Live At Daryl's House , the infamous session where bands come to Daryl Hall 's house and record some songs together with Daryl and his all star cast of session musicians. At Cover Club we never intended to copy any series' specific style, but if we had to take one thing from any of these sessions,...