This is the story of two singer-songwriters whose artistic styles were as different as night and day, who met by chance on MySpace.  Kenny was a California boy who spent most of his life in the Silicon Valley (San Jose) area as a performing musician, music producer, and sound engineer.  Sabine, who was living at the opposite end of the earth in Melbourne, Australia, was a fan of goth and cult music, loved the color black, and wrote songs about dead girls, which she kept to herself and did not perform in public.  Through cyberspace, they formed a bond, which was strong enough to compel Kenny to travel to Australia to visit Sabine.  He ended up staying with her for almost a year, and knew he had found his soulmate.  Kenny encouraged Sabine to write and perform her beautiful, atmospheric songs, and he also wrote songs about his amazing experiences in Oz, which culminated in the wonderful alternative jazz/folk album Under (2007).  They found that they also shared a mutual love of photography of nature, and of natural settings and environments.  Eventually, Kenny had to go back to the U.S., but invited Sabine to come back with him.  She could not initially go, but then made the trip a few months later after settling business in Australia.  They embarked on an amazing adventure, traveling by car across the U.S. and back, staying with old and new-found friends,  performing on their guitars where they could, and recording their journey  through extraordinary photographs. Kenny encouraged Sabine to perform her beautiful songs publicly, and then supported her by providing backing guitar work and vocals for her music, forming the duo ArtemesiaBlack.  Kenny then produced an album of Sabine's beautiful, wistful songs called Alternative Gothic Swamp Lullabies (2008) through his Basement 3  label.

Oh, I almost forgot -- Kenny and Sabine got married last spring, and are now living happily ever after.

ArtemesiaBlack do not perform many gigs, so I was very fortunate to be able to attend this one, which was far from my home, way up in the Santa Cruz mountains above Aptos Village.  It was at a loft converted into a recording studio next to a modern house on a hillside overlooking a green, quiet valley.  Guests were treated to a fine sit-down dinner, and then a performance featuring the artists dressed in Victorian-era costumes, and a guest "ghost," this time a young girl who was the daughter of fishmongers, who hated her lot in life and wanted to be taken away from it by a dashing young sailor, and who was murdered before she could live her dream, by the name of Lily Diamond.  At every gig, a story is told of a different ghost of a murdered girl.  At the last performance, it was a girl named Irma Fox.



Although still billed as a duo, ArtemesiaBlack often adds band members, which greatly enhances the audience members' experience of perhaps sensing some paranormal activity about.  For this show, Mike Freitas performed on drums and percussion, with David Sierra on upright bass (who was literally right next to where I was sitting).  Here, they perform "Rosie" from their debut album.



Some of the songs were very atmospheric - this one seems to have been channeled to Sabine directly by the ghost herself.  This song also appears on the album.



This next song was supposedly written by Irma Fox herself (Irma was not present at this gig, as Sabine explains, "she's on tour"!) The style is very Burlesque.

 

This next song is a new one by Sabine called "The Bride."



This song is about Lily Diamond, the guest of honor, preceded by a monologue (I think it is supposed to be the ghost speaking, using Sabine as a vessel, with her permission of course!) about the grisly manner of poor Lily's demise.  This music, like the Irma Fox tune, is completely divergent of Sabine's musical style.  This is torch, baby! Bassist David Sierra speaks at the beginning of the tune.



Kenny also played a solo set of his own unique music.  This song, "Bottom of the World," is from his album Under (2007).



I have to say that this was one of the most entertaining, intriguing, fascinating, and pleasurable shows that I have ever been to. Kenny and Sabine are personable, gracious hosts who treat everyone like great friends.  They are wonderful to see live, but if you can't, Alternative Gothis Swamp Lullabies is available through their website.