Music
Press
Sarasota’s own Maid Mosephine and the Equines kicked off the PR blitz for their debut EP — Hearts on Faces — at a Saturday night CD release party at The Box Social. The Maid herself, Miss Erin Murphy, preceded the set with some gracious thanks and love for all the folks who helped to make the album happen, right before her Equines broke into a speedy rendition of “It’s My Birthday and I’ll Cry If I Want To,” as it was, indeed, her birthday. The lone and uncharacteristic cover was followed by the seven tracks off the new EP, with the painful but pleasant vibrato of Mosephine’s voice for the most part never veering far from her in-studio performance.
The album follows the tried and true indie formula of happy songs about sad things. The heartbreak and frustration found throughout Murphy’s lyrics seem to disappear behind the playful glee of Greg Ferris’ xylophone work. “Easy St” (which you can stream at top) is, for example, a tune that will have your body bobbing to such cheerful lines as, “It’s so much easier to just hold on, than to just let go of everything I know.” Mosephine’s clean-tone punk riffs fit right in line with her brother Mike’s steady, choppy drumbeats. Throw in the hypnotic motion of bassist Andrew Sink’s zoned-out stage presence and the live show becomes quite a spectacle. Costumes normally play a part too, with Ferris’ ever-present wolf head hat complimenting whatever fairytale fantasy Mosephine pulls out of the toy box — pirate or princess, the Equines will take you to a magical place. And now that they’ve got a record out, you can visit there as much as you want. 3.5 stars - Creative Loafing
Discography
Hearts on Faces EP - November 2009
Cats and Horses Compilations 1 and 2 - 2009
Orange Press Compilation - 2008
Baby Teeth, Alice featured on 96.5 WSLR.
Photos
Bio
The Equines (a.k.a. Maid Mosephine and the Equines), from Sarasota, Florida, started as naught but a funny name for band. Mosephine then got serious-ish and started writing songs. Andrew Sink joined as an equine soon after, playing cello. The other equines found their way one way or another (following their noses, perhaps, as the music smells sweet) and in October 2008 started playing as a band. Now they tell bad jokes instead of being a joke. Their favorite part of playing music is seeing people dance and hearing afterward from strangers-turned-friends that the lyrics struck a chord somewhere within.
The Equines just released their first studio-recorded EP, "Hearts on Faces," in November 2009 and are quickly gathering momentum. Within the past months the Equines have traveled far away from home while remaining deeply rooted in the revival of the local music scene, lending couches and blankets to national acts and booking shows for a wealth of new local talent. Several members of the Equines created Finch House - an umbrella collective and multimedia forum for artists, musicians, and go-getters alike - which can be viewed at www.finchhouse.com.
"Pirate or princess, the Equines will take you to a magical place. And now that theyve got a record out, you can visit there as much as you want." - Tim Sukits, Creative Loafing
Although the Equines are now known for dancey numbers and snazzy outfits, the band was sprung from quite humble beginnings. Driven by a new-found need for an outlet, Mosephine started the band without calluses on her fingers or knowledge of rock-and-roll history, just playing random chords in search of a melody to put to pre-existing lyrics. She put the original recording of Elephant in the Room online in May 2008, a day after it was written and a week after she learned to play her first 2-chord song. Mikey, her brother, started jamming along on his drum kit from the next room over. After a series of open mic "networking sessions" and porch jams, the Equines hatched in its present form among a nest of talented bands in Sarasota, FL.
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