Members of Pearl Jam, Third Eye Blind, Squirrel Nut Zippers, Spoon and the Softies are among the contributors to “Live From Nowhere Near You,” a benefit album for the Portland, Ore.-based homeless charity Outside In. The set will be released Aug. 19 and distributed by Burnside.
“Live From Nowhere Near You” is the brainchild of Portland resident Kevin Moyer, who paired recordings of local street musicians with contributions from more well known artists. “The project started simple enough — recording friends and street musicians in my attic studio and live on the streets,” Moyer tells Billboard.com. “If I needed a drummer for a song, I would head downtown and find one. I spent many weekends downtown meeting musicians and hanging out with street kids.”
“I think part of the appeal was that the collaboration idea hadn’t been done yet and the benefit tied nicely into the idea,” Moyer continues. “Plus, here was one guy doing the job of an entire label, without having to answer to anyone, in a completely grassroots/garage rock kind of way.”
Moyer wound up experimenting with an array of recording techniques. Local musician Bad Boy Blue was recorded on the roof of an office building, the song “You Kicked Me” features a beat made from a shopping cart and a saxophone overdub to Squirrel Nut Zippers’ “Do What?” was recorded under Portland’s Burnside Bridge.
Other tracks on the compilation include a song from film director Gus Van Sant titled “Before the War,” Pearl Jam’s Mike McCready and Stone Gossard collaborating with the Rockfords’ Chris Friel and Sweet Water’s Cole Peterson on “Powerless,” Spoon’s “Stay Don’t Go” and the cut “Central Park,” featuring former Motown session drummer Mel Brown.
For more information on “Live From Nowhere Near You,” visit the project’s official Web site.
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