Alec K. Redfearn & The Eyesores

Singer, composer, and multi-instrumentalist Alec K. Redfearn has been a fixture on the Providence, RI, music scene for years, having performed his music in a variety of projects, including Space Heater, the Amoebic Ensemble, <a href="spotify:artist:0yvn8qxU90azxObqcRUyoa">Barnacled</a>, and Gutterhelmet. But Redfearn has received his greatest recognition with the group Alec K. Redfearn & the Eyesores, an ensemble that fuses Eastern European folk melodies with the freedom of improvisational music and the force of rock. Formed in 1997, the Eyesores feature Redfearn on accordion and lead vocals; Olivia Geiger on violin; Margie Wienk on cello, double bass, and vocals; Ann Schattle on French horn; Erica Schattle on bassoon; Domenick Panzarella on guitar; and Matt McLaren on drums -- though the ensemble has been known to grow or shrink depending on the needs of each individual performance. While the Eyesores began as a vehicle for Redfearn's more singer/songwriter-oriented material, as the group took shape its sonic palette became broader, and since then the Eyesores have used their unusual, evocative music to accompany dance troupes and theatrical performances, as well as scoring movies for Laura Colella, an independent filmmaker working in Providence. Redfearn & the Eyesores made their debut with a split single with the band Iditarod in 1999, and recorded a cassette-only EP and two albums before Redfearn stepped forward as group leader with 2003's Every Man for Himself & God Against All. In 2005, Redfearn and the group released their second LP, The Quiet Room, through the respected independent experimental label Cuneiform Records. North East Indie issued their third album, The Smother Party, in 2006, and Redfearn & the Eyesores returned to Cuneiform for album number four, The Blind Spot, a year later. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi