Live Concert Photography: Joseph with Deep Sea Diver at Webster Hall 9/28/19
Deriving their name from their grandfather Jo and the tiny Oregon town of Joseph, OR, in which he was born and raised, the Portland, OR-based sibling indie pop trio Joseph, comprised of Natalie Closner Schepman and her two, younger twin sisters Meegan and Allison grew up in a musical household — their dad was a jazz singer and drummer, their mom a theater teacher. However, their collaboration together can trace their origins back to around 2014: Schepman who had been pursuing a solo career as a signer/songwriter, recruited her sisters to join her in a new project. When the Closner sisters began collaborating together, they quickly recognized an irresistible and undeniable simpatico.
The trio quickly developed a reputation for playing intimate house shows, in which the siblings accompanied themselves with acoustic guitar and foot drum. Interestingly, within their first year working together, the trio self-released their debut, 2014’s Native Dreamer Kin, which caught the attention of ATO Records, who signed the group the following year. After releasing 2015’s, ATO Sessions EP, an acoustic, two song, digital EP and accompanying video series, the sibling trio went on to release their Mike Mogis-produced, label debut 2016’s I’m Alone, No You’re Not, which featured the smash hit “White Flag.” “White Flag” landed on Spotify’s US Viral Top Ten Chart within days of its release. By October, the track landed at #1 on the Adult Alternative Charts.
Building upon a rapidly growing profile, the trio made appearances on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Later . . . with Jools Holland, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Conan, CBS This Morning and Today. They also opened for James Bay during a sold out, 2016 arena tour — and they made festival stops at Coachella, Lollapalooza, Bonnaroo, Newport Folk Festival, Sasquatch Festival, Glastonbury Festival, Outside Lands Festival, Pilgrimage Music Festival and several others.
Released last month, Joseph’s Christian “Leggy” Langdon-produced Good Luck, Kid is the highly anticipated follow-up to their critically applauded and commercially successful label debut, and the album finds the trio pushing their sound in a grittier, more dynamic direction while retaining the gorgeous harmonizing and earnest vocals that won them attention across the blogosphere and elsewhere. “The through-line of the album is this idea of moving into the driver’s seat of your own life-recognizing that you’re an adult now, and everything’s up to you from this moment on,” Natalie Closner Schepman says in press notes. “You’re not completely sure of how to get where you need to go, and you don’t have any kind of a map to help you. It’s just the universe looking down on you like, ‘Good luck, kid.’”
The rising sibling trio played a career spanning headlining set at Webster Hall. that featured the Phil Spector Wall of Sound-era pop meets old school country-like “Green Eyes,” the anthemic “White Flag” and a cover of Amy Grant’s 1991 smash hit “Baby Baby” among a list of others. Deep Sea Diver, the brainchild of Los Angeles-based singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Jessica Dobson opened.
Joseph is currently in the middle of an extensive tour that will have them in making stops across the European Union in early November. Check out the rest of the tour dates below — and then check out photos from the show.
Jessica Dobson is an incredibly accomplished Los Angeles-born and-based singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, who has performed with a who’s who list of contemporary indie rock including Beck, Conor Oberst, Spoon, Yeah Yeah Yeahs and The Shins. The Los Angeles-based singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist also has had a stint as a solo recording artist. Signing with Atlantic Records when she was 19, Dobson wrote and recorded two albums while with the label, but she wasn’t satisfied with them — and Atlantic ultimately shelved both albums.
After leaving Atlantic Records, Dobson wrote and recorded the New Caves EP under the name Deep Sea Diver. The project became a full-fledged band when she recruited John Raines (bass) and Dobson’s spouse Peter Mansen (drums) to flesh out the project’s sound. Since then the band has self-released their debut, 2012’s History Speaks, 2014’s Always Waiting EP and 2016’s Secrets. The band has been touring to build up buzz for their forthcoming third album.
For these photos and more, check out the Flickr set here: https://flic.kr/s/aHsmHHGgAo
