By Jeremiah Valenzuela
What would happen if you mixed modern gothic sound with eastern influences? Have an answer? That’s right, the answer is the band, Society of the Silver Cross! Coming all the way from Seattle, the Society is touring the midwest, and will land in Kansas City this Sunday the 21st and also in Wichita Monday the 22nd. I had the amazing opportunity to speak with married couple and bandleaders Joe Reineke and Karyn Gold-Reineke about their music, their experiences, and their mission.
Their tour will share the music of their newest album, Festival of Invocations, which was released on June 14, 2024. It’s a bold experience, carrying the powerful voices of Joe and Karyn in an atmosphere curated by huge, giant drums and the harmonium, which is a reed organ originating in India. Joe touches on the choice of using this instrument-
“It’s used in a lot of chanting and droning and things like that from India. We’ve been to India a number of times and studied some of the art over there and sort of brought all that back and mixed it up with some of our traditional kind of dark music and punk rock roots. And that’s what happened!”
Western music abides by a set of “rules” which differs very much from what Eastern music follows. For example, many pieces of Eastern music are accompanied by a “drone”, or a note that sustains throughout the piece and serves as an anchor for the music. The Beatles were a popular example of the mixing of these two sounds, using these influences to create songs such as “Tomorrow Never Knows” and “Love You To”. How do these ideas appear in Society of the Silver Cross? Joe speaks on the band’s experience between melding the two worlds.
“Our songs…have alchemy in them. Our first single for our first record was When You’re Gone, which starts with a riff, which morphs into a harmonium riff, and later on it morphs into a vocal riff and comes back… even as one of the singers and players in the band, it still feels like, man, I think I’m falling into this trance somehow”
Karyn expands on this thought by stating, “I think that a lot of our music weaves and repeats in different ways, and that’s not necessarily something that’s unintentional either because, you know, I think that there’s a lot of inspiration from chanting. One thing with chants is that they’re very repetitive, cyclical, and weave-y.”
Chanting is often used in meditative scenes to focus the mind on the presence of the present, to keep one anchored in the now. Having experiences with chanting meditation, the cyclical aspect mirrors the ever expanding experience of “now”. Karyn mentions-
“It refocuses your mind to get off of your smaller self, and to be more open to your higher self, and beyond. And so I feel like that’s something we enjoy with music. Like Joe said, whether it’s one instrument trading off something and the next… it’s repeating and sort of transporting you somewhere.”
When asked about their goals, Karyn something to say that that I believe would be a wonderful message for any aspiring artist. I had asked them if they had any expectations for how their music would fit in the modern scene, curious about how their sound would carry in a scene that can be quite overwhelming. Do they think about how their music will do? About how people would feel?
“No. I think that’s the wrong reason to make music, at least for me. The only reason I want to make any music is to make art, and to be creative. I’m not really concerned with what other people are doing at that point… we know that it’s not for everybody, and that’s great, because the people that it’s for are going to really resonate with it. If they don’t resonate with it, that’s fine! We can’t make something that feels really authentic… and then also try to be fitting into any kind of mold or pleasing everybody… so I honestly don’t worry about it. I just put the intention out there that whoever is meant to find this will find it… and then that’s serving its purpose.”
And what about that name, Society of the Silver Cross?
“…We went to a museum in Amsterdam called the Rijksmuseum, and there was a painting of this stoic gentleman who looked kind of like a Viking and Santa Claus at the same time- but underneath it, it said Society of the Silver Cross… who were the Dutch medics of the 18th century… or a long time ago, much like the Red Cross is today”.
Karyn adds, “in the army, they were the army medics. They were out on the battlefield helping wounded soldiers. We liked that name! We found that there and we just tucked it in our pockets, like oh, that’s cool… but we didn’t actually have a band name maybe for a year until we started putting music out, and then we came back to that… and we feel like one of the intentions we have with the music is that it sort of wakes people up or unlocks something in them or provides something meaningful or healing to them in whatever capacity that is. We felt like that name resonated because of the nature of being out there, helping people on the battlefield.”
Just beautiful. Speaking of beauty, since KJHK is performing our fall membership drive this week, I was curious to hear about how this group feels about supporting local music! Karyn and Joe had this to say on supporting local art, respectively-
“ 100%, I think it’s essential. So much of our culture, especially in America, has gotten away from supporting the arts. I think it’s almost come down to the people to do that, and say ‘I still believe in this’, and ‘I’m going to put my money where that is’. We certainly do that in our own community like with KEXP, which is our big local indie station, and other arts organizations that are supporting our community directly.”
“I feel like it’s the community, you know, people should support what they want to be a part of, and that’s a way to show your support, not just showing up for the protest, but donating what you can, you know?
Big thanks to Society of the Silver Cross for this wonderful insight. This Sunday, in Kansas City (MO), you’ll have the chance to experience this wonderful music yourself. The KC MiniBar lies off of Broadway Boulevard, is open seven days a week, and is a wonderful destination for local music.
“I cannot wait to play in Kansas City” Joe remarks. “It’s just one of those places that, you know, I love to play. I’ve played there a few times in some of my past bands…Sunday, we are in Kansas City… We’re looking forward to sharing this experience with you!”
Society of the Silver Cross hits the stage at 8 PM CST. Hope to see you there!