The New Being Human

Founded in 1997 in Nashville, Tn., The New Being Human is singer/writer Roland Justice, and violist, Tiffani Smitha. However, the duo’s relationship goes back six years prior to Cincinnati, Oh where both were members of the band Plough House. A successful local alt rock band in the southwestern region of Ohio. Seeking a higher profile music environment the duo relocated to Nashville in the winter of 1996. Performing in local clubs, the duo played w/ a variety of talented musicians while continuing to write and record. This finally resulted in the release of TNBH’s first album, Trauermusik. The album was recorded essentially live in the bands rehearsal space, which was a storage facility down the street from the couple’s apartment. Using an upturned sofa as a baffold to separate the drums from the guitars, the raw stripped down sessions turned out a solid nine song CD in the autumn of 1999. The record garnered critical praise and exposure, drawing comparisons ranging from The Dave Mathews Band to The Jayhawks. Still the songs were not instep enough with contemporary radio to garner any momentum outside of the local Nashville AAA music scene.

In the summer of 2000 the duo took a break from performing and concentrated on writing and recording songs for a follow up record. A co-worker of Roland’s, New Jersey native Jim Afflerbach joined the duo for a home recording session that proved to be an extremely proliferant experience for all involved. So much so that the trio decided to hastily print up some demo CD’s of the 4 song sessions and play some local gigs under the name “popshow”. The band utilized the shows to develop and work up new material while supplementing the set with covers from the likes of Jeff Buckley and Paul Westerberg to The Indigo Girls and David Gray. Again, the demo received local notoriety and managed to permit popshow inclusion in some local year-end “best of” lists.

With four songs and a handful of incomplete sessions, Roland and Tiffani continued working in their home studio after Afflerbach departed for New Jersey. At what could best be described as a “leisurely pace” the two spent the next few months tidying up what they felt were vital recordings. The result of all this would be Twilight Promenade. Another nine-song album that the couple felt was a logical progression from Trauermusik. Twilight Promenade is the first release on their newly formed label, New Moon Records. Currently performing as a duo, the new program is a stripped down performance in the vein of the influences and predecessors that influenced Twilight Promenade’s creation. Relying on solid harmonies, song craft, and musicianship, The New Being Human present themselves on the strengths of their unique sound and a “beauty in simplicity” philosophy.