Old Potion

Old Potion
Denton

Offering an entirely different sub-genre of folk, Old Potion trade in fuzz for fervor. The group is one of innumerable Denton crossover projects, formed by members of No Touching and the talents of solo artist Claire Morales. The call-and-response between Morales and fellow vocalist Dylan Kellam creates a dynamic that's both catchy and entrancing. These carefully constructed arrangements allow even an element as simple as a harmonica solo to command full attention.

In its history, Old Potion has been treated mostly as the side project and less so the main focus. Most of the musicians have been largely preoccupied, but the stars have aligned and the lineup has been fairly finalized. The band is already primed for success to start the year off: Their debut EP is slated for a mid-January release. Judging from the recently shared single, "Cries & Whispers," we can only expect a superlative folk record. - Dallas Observer

So, for the last few years, Denton has been a bastion of AMAZING music. Well, I've got news for you, it hasn't stopped. I'm totally digging (and to be honest, kind of crushing on) a relatively new indie-folk band called Old Potion. Dylan Kellam on guitar and vocals, Claire Morales on guitar, harmonica and vocals, Jesse Gage on drums, banjo, and back-up vocals, and Phillip Gage on bass, well, friends...they are a dream come true to any Metroplex listener who feels the need to jam out to some indie-folk magic.

I have been listening to their EP , Magnetism, which will be available for purchase on January 17th, almost non-stop for several days now. Messenger, the first track on the EP is full of longing, hope, and getting a long worked for lesson taught to an anonymous student. I listen to this song and and think that Kellam, who, so far, has written most of the songs the band performs, might be writing about about a subject that we can all connect with: Love.

The second song on the EP is Cries and Whispers. Morales' obvious passion is audible in spades on this song. Her harmonica and backing vocals to Kellam are like magic. The song is beautiful and heartfelt. Kellam's vocals are amazing, but Morales' addition to the mix really takes this song to the next level. Honestly, from a young-ish band, I would never expect the level of clarity, the crispness, and the professionalism that this band clearly displays.

The third song, Magnetism, the EP's namesake song, is harmonic and filled with longing. Kellam and Morales combine their voices, as the rest of the band combines their obvious talent with their respective instruments, to create a picture of what Folk music is supposed to sound like. It is almost like we're given a picture of Southern life, the importance of love, and the necessity of companionship all in one song.

The last song, Sweet Nothings, lives up to the other tracks. The melodious voice of Kellam, the background vocals by Morales and Gage, as well as the banjo and bass, lend this particular melody with a heart-wrenching longing that seems to identify this album.

I haven't been this excited about a folk band in quite a while, but I have to admit that Kellam's team is beautifully honest in their music, and amazing in their execution of this album. Do me a favor, buy the EP when it comes out on January 17th. Do me another favor: Come to the release party these amazing musicians are hosting on January 17th at The Rubber Gloves Rehearsal Studios in Denton. The address is 409 E. Sycamore St. Denton, TX. Phone number is (904) 387-7781. Old Potion and I look forward to seeing you there! - Ft. Worth Texas Magazine

Old Potion's been on quite an odyssey to get their first record made. The band formed in 2010 under a different line-up, and murmurs of releasing an EP began in 2012. In 2013 the band successfully crowdfunded the money to make the album, but the members of the band at the time all grew distant and the project nearly fizzled into nothingness.

But through the fire and through the flames comes the folk(ish) four-track Magnetism, recorded with new personnel and led by lead guitarist and vocalist Dylan Kellman. The current roster is a quasi-supergroup made up of members of other Denton bands who, god willing, made damn sure this album happened. The album's release show this Saturday will be a cathartic close in the band's current chapter, paving the way for the new songs they've already got drafted.

Old Potion has a complicated family tree. Brothers Jesse and Philip Gage, who play drums and bass respectively, are also two-thirds of the band No Touching. Guitarist and vocalist Claire Morales also has a solo project that's releasing a new album in about a month. "We all meshed together really well after everything had fallen apart with the former line-up," Kellam says. "But it all came together in a great way in the end."

However, this is principel songwriter Kellam's first foray into the music scene. You wouldn't guess it, but Kellam had never picked up an instrument until about three years ago, and he played his first show just a year after that.

Lyrically, Magnetism primarily deals with the idea of taking control of your own life and choosing its direction. A rebelliousness exists in the songs, pushing against the idea of a predestined fate and reluctantly falling into a certain lifestyle that's not where you wanted to end up. The concepts are partly fictionalized, but the roots stem from Kellam's own experience as he discovered music as a tool to work through alienation during his time living in Austin. "The songwriting kind of let me put all of that behind me," he says.

"I was talking to a friend of mine who was an exceptional guitarist, and I told him I wanted to learn," he adds. "I just needed to keep myself moving to get through where I was at." When he moved from Austin to Denton, Kellam was offered a perfect place for a brand new start: a new school, a new city and a newly found interest in playing music.

Though Kellam mostly handles leads vocals, the band frequently uses dual vocals between him and Morales to create a tension that adds a distinct texture to the band's sound. A previously released single from the EP, "Cries and Whispers," features that especially, alternating between the two singers.

The track enters with staccato guitar chords and a marching drumbeat, staying in line until Morales' harmonica part strays from the rhythm, leading into the verse. In the meat of the song, Kellam and Morales trade vocals back and forth as the song reaches its crescendo. Guitar thunders with rapid strumming as the bass drum stomps with fury, and right when it feels like the track might be set ablaze, a single harmonica note lets it hang in the air momentarily as the guitar reprises the riff from the song's intro.

The song is also an example of the trickiness in labeling the band. Elements of it certainly draw from folk, but other parts are aggressive enough to step outside of the genre somewhat. "We're kind of folk, kind of not. Kind of rock, kind of not," Kellam says. One of the key influences is the Mountain Goats, which naturally leads to an emphasis on story-telling lyrics and folk tendencies.

After their release show on Saturday, Old Potion plans to pack it up and head west, ideally to California. "None of us have ever done touring like this," Kellam comments. "We're looking to get our feet wet." The band's got a few fellow musicians out there to make contact with, and they're hoping to come back refreshed and start chipping away at a full-length LP. Kellam says the band is in it for the long haul, looking to book plenty more shows, get a few albums together and pursue it for as long as it'll go. - Dallas Observer