Overview
Biography
Located in New York’s Capital Region, Everest Rising is a tightly-knit quintet influenced by folk, jazz, rock and more. Together they create a progressive acoustic sound that is unique yet comfortably familiar. Their innovative instrumental arrangements and thoughtful lyrics take the listener up less-traveled routes. With a wide dynamic range, Everest Rising’s material spans from heartfelt laments to all out rave-ups, all executed with instrumental finesse and attention to detail.
Instrumentation
Bill Flanagan – Banjo
Pete Gernert-Dott – Upright Bass, Vocals
Dale Wade-Keszey – Vocals, Harmonica, Percussion
Trevor Wood – Guitar, Vocals
Mark Baptiste – Mandolin, Vocals
Bill Flanagan – Banjo
Bill has played banjo in various bands for many years and is also a solo performer on hammered dulcimer. Bill’s unique banjo style stems from many abstract influences including Porcupine Tree, guitarist David Qualey, and U2’s The Edge. He enjoys the challenge of creating musical tapestries and is particularly fond of 3- and 6-note sequences repeated over pedal tones. For Bill, Everest Rising represents a departure from traditional genres and an opportunity to explore new sonic textures.
Pete Gernert-Dott – Upright Bass, Vocals
At age 14, Pete clipped two strings off his acoustic guitar and became a bass player. His propulsive, melodic playing reflects influences from Pete Farndon and Mike Mills to Eric Thorin and Andy Moritz. In Everest Rising, Pete enjoys exploring open space in the music created by an instrumental three piece and providing the foundation to support the creative interplay of banjo, guitar and voice.
Dale Wade-Keszey – Vocals, Harmonica
Dale is an historian, educator, and a volunteer at the Mabee Farm Historic Site. A prolific songwriter, his song “Dirt on My Skirts” was featured in the documentary “Dirt on their Skirts: 150 Years of Pioneers in Women’s Baseball.” In Everest Rising, Dale writes about everything from daily life to the trials and tribulations of people throughout history.
Trevor Wood – Guitar, Vocals
Trevor is one of those confused musicians who enjoys playing everything from classical to metal. Growing up in New Brunswick, Canada, his musical roots are largely folk/country. He brings together the rich melodies of Celtic traditional music and the improvisational, dynamic quality of jazz and blues. In Everest Rising he loves taking a simple song structure and messing with it in a way that is both intellectual and spontaneous… and picking up ideas on-the-fly from the band.
Mark Baptiste – Mandolin, Vocals
Living in beautiful Upstate New York, Mark plays acoustic and electric guitar and mandolin. He’s influenced by such artists as Simon and Garfunkel, Neil Young, Mark Knopfler, Robin and Linda Williams, The Band, Bob Dylan, and the Beatles. He is a talented singer-songwriter and also performs solo throughout the Albany, NY, area, singing a mix of folk, traditional and American popular songs, as well as original songs.
Links
Band website: https://everestrising.com
On-Line Press Kit (this page): https://everestrising.com/press-kit/
Bandcamp: https://everestrising.bandcamp.com
Contact
Email: info@everestrising.com
Phone: will be provided after initial contact via email
Photos
Stage Setup
Our state-of-the art Bose amplification system provides a very clear sound that projects evenly throughout the performance space and is suitable for moderate venues (up to 300-500 audience members). We simply need access to power.
For festivals or venues at which a sound system is provided by the venue, we have two possible setups.
Setup Option 1:
4 vocal mics on boom stands (SM58 or similar)
4 DIs (banjo, guitar, mandolin, upright bass)
mixing board (minimum 8 channels)
3-4 stage monitors
Setup Option 2:
4 vocal mics on boom stands (SM58 or similar)
4 instrument mics on boom stands (for guitar, banjo, mandolin, upright bass)
1 DI (upright bass)
mixing board (minimum 8 channels)
3-4 stage monitors
We typically perform with all five members set up on the front line as follows:
Audio Samples
These Rooms
Chasing Ghosts
Chistochina Rose
I Just
Smallest Things
I Know You Rider (live)
Jack of the Wood
Videos
These Rooms
The songs we sing and the stories we tell…
These rooms have heard them all before…
“These Rooms” was inspired by the Mabee House at the Mabee Farm Historic Site in Rotterdam Junction, NY. We have performed at the Mabee Farm many times over the years. One day we were performing at a music festival there and we had the opportunity to practice a bit in the old Mabee House. We were amazed and inspired by the way our music sounded in the old rooms with the old wood surrounding us. This song came out of that experience, based on the idea that whatever human situation we could write about, these old rooms have seen it all before.
“These Rooms” is the finale track on the Everest Rising EP Chasing Ghosts.
Melodies of Christmas
Everest Rising was featured in the 2013 CBS6 ‘Melodies of Christmas’ holiday extravaganza at Proctors Theater in Schenectady, NY. This is an annual benefit for the Melodies Center for Childhood Cancer at Albany Medical Center. There were four live performances, and the show was also taped and broadcast in the New York Capital Region on Christmas Eve and again on Christmas Day.
Note: these videos can also be viewed in sequence as a Youtube Playlist.
Sample Setlist
Everest Rising performs up to 2 one-hour sets. The setlist includes a variety of original tunes and recognizable covers.
Our shows are medium-to-high energy with good pacing. Representative setlist includes:
Chistochina Rose (original: Dale Wade-Keszey)
Smallest Things (original: Trevor Wood)
New Home Found / New Home Reel (originals: Dale Wade-Keszey / Trevor Wood)
Take All But My Time / Merry Go ‘Round (originals: Dale Wade-Keszey)
I Just (original: Dale Wade-Keszey)
Cool Mountain Green (original: Dale Wade-Keszey)
Early May (original: Trevor Wood)
Wondering (original: Dale Wade-Keszey)
Roll, Mohawk, Roll (original by Dale Wade-Keszey)
Jack of the Wood (Jens Kruger)
Morning Sky (Dan Fogelberg)
Carolina in the Pines (Michael Martin Murphey)
Blackbird (Lennon-McCartney)
Little Maggie (Traditional)
Have You Ever Seen the Rain (John Fogerty – Creedence Clearwater Revival)
Don’t Think Twice It’s Alright (Bob Dylan)
Midnight Rider (Allman Brothers)
Tangled Up in Blue (Bob Dylan)
Shuckin’ the Corn (instrumental)
Wagon Wheel (Bob Dylan / Old Crow Medicine Show)
The Weight (The Band)
Time They Are a Changin’ (Bob Dylan)
Blackberry Blossom (Traditional)
Last Train to Clarksville (The Monkees)
I Know You Rider (Seldom Scene / Grateful Dead)
Dust Bowl Children (Alison Krauss & Union Station)
Little Maggie (Trad. bluegrass)