The last time I caught up with Teach Me Equals' Erin Murphy and Greg Bortnichak, they were embarking on their first North American tour, armed with a pop-up camper attached to their Honda and ready to perform 12 months of shows across the U.S. and Canada. “When you have three months or six months on the road, you come back as a different band and your sound evolves,” Murphy told me then.
She was right.
Fast forward a year to The Venture Compound, where Teach Me Equals played the Pangea Project 51 following St. Pete Free Skool's 3D Printing Workshop (view Andrew Sink's talk here). Their sound was tighter and stronger, and both musicians possessed an even more commanding and intimate stage presence, one that only comes with time and experience. The set closed with a gut-wrenching rendition of "Sea of Love," Bortnichak and Murphy singing directly to one another so purely and deeply it felt like a Brillo pad done cleaned my soul.
In the midst of performing, they've been recording a swanky new vinyl EP, due to be released with help from a lively Kickstarter campaign, which is really close to but has not yet reached its $8,888 goal. A tour is in the works, and word on the street is the twosome are starting their own record label. According to a post from Teach Me Equals on the campaign site, "After more than 3 years of hard work, consistent touring, and DIY convocation, Teach Me Equals has returned from a most sober vision-quest with a debut album, a new record label with physical distribution in 14 countries, and thrilling tour plans for the coming year! We are casting deep into the karmic well for the resources we need to attain our highest potential."
The Kickstarter campaign ends this Wed., July 9, at 11:59 p.m. To donate or for more information, visit their Kickstarter campaign here.
