Sunday, October 7th – 7 p.m. at The Student Union Ballroom
During Personnes last show at Burro Bar in september singer Jordan White introduced the set by saying that that night they were performing with “One less voice” as former rhythm guitarist and vocalist Brok Mende has moved to Chicago. Despite the line up change the band has still managed to keep their sound and synchrony intact.
A few months ago Personnes embarked on a camping trip in North Carolina where they recorded all the songs that they had already written and arranged but White says “it was more for the sake of documenting what we sounded like right and that may or may not lead to a record, we didn’t know at that point.” In the week they were gone they managed to record all of the instruments on each song but none of the tracks have recorded vocals so White says that the outcome of the North Carolina sessions are still to be determined. Without Mende the group has had to rearrange certain tracks but as they proved at Burro, they have certainly figured out how to make it work with four members and they have written newer material as well. White says of the recordings ,”We’re in the process right now of trying to decide if we want to rerecord things or see what we can work with with Brok when he’s here for the holidays,” but they are also considering cutting an EP with the smaller collective that makes up Personnes currently.
While in the past Personnes has only played local shows around Jacksonville and in Tallahassee, the group is looking to start their touring career by going on a Florida tour in the coming year possibly with former stage mates such as Tallahassee southern rockers Gator Ghost. On the subject of the UNF show White and keyboardist vocalist Beverly Driskill both expressed excitement. White listed the sound quality of the venue as a major plus and Driskill mentioned that “Everyone at Osprey Radio was really helpful.” They both are also excited to be opening for Here We Go Magic and Hear Hums. “I think its gonna be fun. I’m excited that its a bigger band, everyone that I’ve talked to so far knows the band we’re playing with,” Driskill explains, “Also it being at a college encourages more students to come.” Another plus for this show versus Personnes prior UNF show is the later more audience friendly time slot of 7:30.
The sound of Personnes, for those not familiar is sort like a folkier more modern Pavement. I heard someone describe them once as “Kimya Dawson and four of Kimya
Dawson’s friends,” while the indie folk pop sound suggested by the description may apply the technical proficiency is higher than one would assume. They are a talented bunch with a knack for writing thoughtful sometimes dark lyrics hinged on three part harmonies and surf riffs. Of the more recent indie bands to spring up in Jacksonville, Personnes stand out and it’s exciting to see them play bigger shows.
The show at UNF is free and location in student union ballrooms on the third floor at 7pm, as the Facebook description says “TOTALLY FREE AS IN ANYONE CAN GO.” To hear a sample of Personnes, hit up their bandcamp at http://personnes.bandcamp.com/album/demos
