City Dwelling Nature Seekers bring unconventional sound to WPTS

City Dwelling Nature Seekers

Wednesday, September 8

WPTS (92.1 FM) Live Show

9 p.m. — 10… City Dwelling Nature Seekers

Wednesday, September 8

WPTS (92.1 FM) Live Show

9 p.m. — 10 p.m.

To fully understand one of Pittsburgh’s preeminent folk-rock groups, City Dwelling Nature Seekers, you might have to go back in time.

In the late 1960s, rock music changed. Some groups pursued the most cutting-edge musical equipment available, whereas others looked to the past and to the music that, directly or indirectly, created the soul of rock music in the first place.

That musical history is engrained in the sound of the band.

Mike McCormick, the principal singer-songwriter of City Dwelling Nature Seekers, assembled the band of music majors around the spring of 2008 at Duquesne University.

“We were friends,” said bassist Matt Booth, “and put it together there.”

Alongside Booth and singer/acoustic guitarist McCormick are guitarist/harmony vocalist Lee Hintenlang and drummer/multi-instrumentalist Chris Parker. In addition to the band’s core members, City Dwelling Nature Seekers employs a revolving line-up of people who enhance the experience.

In particular, pedal steel guitars expand the group’s sonic detail.

“The pedal steel gives it a more country-oriented kind of sound,” Booth said.

The group’s live country groove might inspire thoughts of Nashville, Tenn., but it was those bands influenced by Nashville artists, rather than Nashville artists themselves, who inspired the songwriting of City Dwelling Nature Seekers.

“The songwriting isn’t really influenced by country as much as the rock singer-songwriters who drew from folk, country and American roots Music,” Booth said, citing “the later records by The Byrds, [Bob Dylan’s] Nashville Skyline and particularly the sonic versatility of The Band” as having a major impact.

That versatility shines through in the group’s new self-titled album that might sound fresh to listeners but has been in the works for some time by the City Dwelling Nature Seekers.

“We had been playing the songs for around a year or more,” Booth said. “So when we went into the studio, we had a pretty clear idea of what they were going to sound like.”

Though the band’s songs are now honed to a sharp edge, they were the product of adventurous jam sessions.

“There was a lot of experimentation with different instruments … Chris Parker ended up playing a lot of different things,” Booth said. “He played the accordion, banjo, dobro guitar and a bunch of different stuff that gave it a lot of different textures.”

Tracks like “It’s All About To Change” juxtapose a distorted electric lead with rhythmic acoustic sound and drumming that seems informed by the subtlety of jazz.

Other standouts like “Fire Met a Soul” make the group’s expansive style clear with wispy vocals and laidback strumming seemingly interrupted by a “honky tonk” style interlude that sounds like it could have been written by Hank Williams himself, later returning to the song’s powerful balladry.

While making the album, City Dwelling Nature Seekers embraced their independence as a musical outfit.

“We’re doing it for ourselves,” Booth said. “We don’t have a boss from a record label telling us what to do, so we don’t really have to please anyone but ourselves with our sound. We’re making it how we want to, and if people like it that’s nice, but we’re definitely not trying to please thousands of people just so we can sell thousands of records. We’re making a product that we’re happy and proud of.”

Accordingly, City Dwelling Nature Seekers has decided to sidestep the traditional city-to-city tour to promote their album.

“We’re not doing a tour per se,” Booth said.

Instead, the group is trying to hit regional areas on the weekends — including stints in Philadelphia, Mt. Lebanon, Rochester, Williamsport and even Virginia and West Virginia — in addition to shows in Pittsburgh. The group will play at Club Cafe on S. 12th St. at 8 p.m. Sept. 23.

Since City Dwelling Nature Seekers recorded its album in April of this year, the group has continued to make new music.

“We’re probably going to start recording a second album early next year,” Booth said. “The release of this album isn’t the end. We basically have an entire album’s worth of songs that we’re going to refine and craft into a new one.”