Numeral Mineral

Numeral Mineral is a musical project dedicated to the authentic artistic experience and originally conceived in the Southwestern Alaskan Mountains by our guitarist, Michael Cheslock, and our singer Juli Keown. Michael hails from Austin, Texas and Juli from overseas in Sweden, but we’ll get more in depth into individual life stories in a minute, just be patient. Numeral Mineral plays primarily folk tunes with subtle (not so subtle overtones of psychedelia) intertwined together with rock n’ roll steady drum beat, of the Ringo Starr variety, a stead Phil Lesh-esque baseline played, and an alteration of jazzy keys and beautiful melodic flute, trying together the original vocals and guitar parts brought out of Austin-Sweden-Alaska. Truly a sound unheard before, played by a conglomeration/collision of musicians unlike any other band.

Now for getting to know the band:

Michael Cheslock: Born in Austin, his sky high guitar riffs echo the crash course his life has been on, as he managed to hold it all together spending the majority of his adult life backpacking across the United States and up to Alaska, only to recently “settle down” in a music co-op in Austin after finding himself there by happenstance. Definitely worth a listen.

Juli Keown: Born in Sweden and moved to Alaska as a six year old child. Her childhood was a mixture of nature’s bounty and the soft intimacy and humility of rural life. A gifted songwriter she has composed the songs for Numeral Mineral and belts them out with the peace and tenacity of nature untamed and sublimated to an art form.

Pote: A boy from New Jersey. His youthful tact leaves women, desiring something and with not much left to desire. This brother can play a drum beat like no one short of Ringo, if you don’t believe come check it out. While never missing a beat he can certainly throw in an astounding fill, but only when the moment calls for it. And as any good drummer he lives a true rock n’ roll life. In his words “I am not fit for this world” but he manages to find structure in his music, and lends it to all the rest.

Samson: The bassist.  Originally from the center of Manhattan, and then a pistol-shot to Odessa, Texas at the age of seven, he has developed a diverse musical background to draw from. Samson musically embodies the tension between well thought out melodic phrases and spontaneous rock debauchery, all while being creamy peanut butter to the beat’s jelly. Sometimes a band needs a cool level head when emotions run hot, keeping the train on the tracks. Samson plays this role like no other.

Dr. Ken: A classically trained flute and keys player hailing from Taiwan. He is certainly the most successful of the group in navigating the world of order. Dr. Ken splits his time between being a plasma physicist at the University of Texas at Austin, and playing psychedelic folk tunes with numeral mineral. His classical training, and organized life, brings a melodic structure to the band that propels it to a whole new level of musical intrigue, navigating between the steady rhythms of Pote and Samson, the powerful vocals of Jules and the soaring guitar of Michael. Dr. Ken adds a texture that truly distinguishes Numeral Mineral's sound from that of other more traditionally structured bands.