*Splash!* is the solo project of Andrew Lentz. It is thoughtful music with a bold but soft sound. You can check it out the debut album, Breaking the Dam, live on October 11 at the Hook and Ladder
Please tell us about yourself, the band and how you came to music.
Hello! I’m Andrew, but you can call me Splash (it was actually a personal nickname of sorts even before I started performing under that name). Music and performing have been a part of my life pretty much since the beginning. I have loved singing for as long as I can remember, took piano lessons from an early age, and began writing my own songs when I was in 8th grade. I have been the front person and songwriter for a band called The Floating Perspectives for almost 15 years, but coming out of the pandemic I was feeling a little burnt out on all the logistical work of running a 7 piece band. On top of that, I had started writing all these songs on guitar– an instrument I had not played previously– that just FELT like a different project. I began playing them out under the name *Splash!*, which, in the time-honored tradition of Iron and Wine or St. Vincent, is essentially a solo project– albeit one in which I frequently collaborate with other musicians.
You can see me performing these songs in various configurations with various musicians, but the band on the album and for the release show consists of Matt Patrick (who also produced the album at his studio, The Library), Hayley Anne (who I play with in several other projects including the aforementioned Floating Perspectives), Matt Blake (a phenomenal bassist and friend of many years who is also in The Floating Perspectives), an exceptional drummer named Zach Miller (who will not be at the release show but who’s work will be very capably handled by Amber Fletcher), and Shannon Frid Rubin (who is the violinist for Cloud Cult, one of my favorite bands of all time).
How did you decide to do a shadow puppet video for Under the Rose? It is spectacularly ornate. There’s something viscera about the imagery and the hard edges that balances the song.
Thank you so much! I’m really glad you enjoyed it. I had very little to do with its actual creation, so I feel pretty free to say that I love the way it turned out as well. Nat Alister is a friend of mine, and the director of Fox and Beggar theater. I had gone to see a show he put on called Vanaheimr, which made heavy use of shadow puppetry and projections, with art also done by Becca Mellstrom. While watching the show, it occured to me that a shadow play was a pretty apt extension of the metaphor of the song, and also something I haven’t really seen before in music videos, so I approached Nat about commissioning a video. He connected me with Becca who single-handedly made every single bit of art that was used to make that video, and the two of them pretty much took it from there. I was very proud and grateful to have that video serve as many people’s introduction to the project.
The Orphic Hymn?! That’s so awesome. Knowing that much of the album was conceived during the pandemic, was Greek mythology a long-held interest or something found during the pandemic? Or is the song more a nod to the mother of the Muses?
Again, thank you! This one actually has a bit of a strange story to it. Greek mythology (and mythology in general) has indeed always been an interest of mine, even from an early age, but the catalyst for this particular work came from an outside source. The Orphic Hymns actually ARE ancient Greek in origin, and this particular one, translated by Thomas Taylor, is something I was tasked to memorize when I signed up for a program called SleepOver Mystery School. I just happen to be the kind of guy where if you tell me to memorize something called an “orphic hymn”, I’m going to set it to music. No if’s, and’s or but’s about it. It was fun and practical! I was trying to do something similar to works in the art song tradition, specifically those of the lutist, John Dowland (who’s music was compiled into an album by none other than Sting a few years back). I ended up really enjoying playing it, and it serves as a good intro to “Answer”, so it ended up on the album!
Maybe it’s the gorgeous video, but God/Willing seems to have a lightness and hopeful hue. What is the inspiration?
Aw, thank you. Hayley and I had a lot of fun filming that. I agree that it’s definitely one of the most prominent moments of levity on the album, and I’m very happy to have it in there balancing things out. Like much of my music, it has its roots in my own personal and spiritual journey, shared in the spirit of bands like Cloud Cult in the hopes that it can be of use to others out there who may feel similarly, as those songs have been so supportive for me. This song in particular is about learning to be still; to come home to the body and the wisdom contained therein– in a word: meditation. The “God” of the title is not actually some external entity floating around in the clouds somewhere, but the voice of one’s own internal guidance and moral compass. A sense of purpose and direction that can be found with time, openness, and intention.
Please tell us about the upcoming album release and show.
The show will be at The Hook and Ladder Theater (in the Mission Room), on Friday, October 11th. Doors at 6:30, music at 7:00. The supporting acts will be Theyself, a good friend, excellent musician and major advocate for local music and local musicians, and Paper Chain, the project of another dear friend, Caitlin Benson, who is a phenomenal writer and cellist. I also sing harmonies and play piano in that band and I am very happy to be sharing what we have been working on as well! Tickets can be purchased at the door, or in advance or on the Hook’s website.
Mostly Minnesota 