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And Other Lesser Feasts

by Trevor Bates

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1.
The Beheading of Catherine 04:11
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2.
Damascus 03:28
lyrics
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Jesus won't you take me Jesus won't you stone me Jesus won't you wait for me Jesus won't you show me Jesus don't you make me Jesus don't you taste me Jesus don't you speak for me Jesus don't you waste me
3.
Hildegard the Mystic 02:39
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4.
For Hermits 05:49
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5.
Wisdom of the Abbess 06:02
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6.
Thecla's Coat 02:45
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7.
Agnes at Play 01:44
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8.
Sarah, My Desert Mother 02:33
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about

In between his punk, prog, and power-pop releases, Trevor Bates has turned his gaze towards things minimal. In ‘And Other Lesser Feasts’, Bates blends the hissing and howling of found sounds, captured on tape, with primitive steel-stringed guitar. The arrangements are mostly sparse. Haunted finger-picked acoustic guitars and droning organs permeate the entire album. Small speakers squeal and feedback beneath the mix.

Occult themes run throughout Bates’ work. His songs describe rituals and beckon listeners to look for beauty in the unknown, to explore the other. For source material on ‘And Other Lesser Feasts’ Bates unearths a relatively obscure text from the Episcopal Church, The Lesser Feasts and Fasts. The text identifies characters and historical figures who merit celebration between the major Feast Days of the calendar. Bates’ songs are meditations on these lesser-known figures. On theme with his other work that delves into the supernatural, each of the characters from the album have their own story of miraculous heroism, martyrdom, or mysticism. These tales remind us that our own spiritual and cultural beliefs contain fantastic elements that rival the most well-known mythological systems.

The Feasts:

1. The Beheading of Catherine
Catherine of Alexandria rebuked the Roman emperor and won a debate against 50 of the emperor's best orators. She was condemned to death but the breaking wheel shattered at her touch. When she was beheaded, milk flowed from her neck instead of blood.

2. Damascus
This is the only song not named for a Lesser Feast. But there is no shortage of wonder around the city. In fact, magick happens on the roads which lead there.

3. Hildegard the Mystic
Hildegard of Bingen was a visionary, healer, author of illuminated texts, prolific composer of sacred monophony (most recorded in modern history). She invented a language for unknown, mystical purposes.

4. For Hermits
In celebration of all hermits, of which there are many named in the Lesser Feasts text.

5. Wisdom of the Abbess
Hilda of Whitby was known for providing wise counsel to English monarchs and anyone else who sought her advice. Legend has it that she turned a plague of snakes into stone and that birds dip their wings into the ocean when they pass her Abbey.

6. Thecla’s Coat
Saved from being burned at the stake, Thecla cut off her hair to follow the apostle, Paul. She baptized herself in a lake and was attacked by aggressive seals who were all struck dead by lightning bolts. She wore a mantle which was altered to resemble a man’s cloak which I take to be gender-affirming.

7. Agnes at Play
Agnes suffered martyrdom at 12 years old. There are many magickal miracles surrounding her life and death, but for this song I choose to reflect on her innocence as nothing more than a child at play.

8. Sarah, My Desert Mother
In celebration of feminist ascetics who took to the desert in the 4th and 5th centuries AD. Sarah lived alone by a river for 60 years. When two men attempted to humiliate her, she replied, “According to nature I am a woman, but not according to my thoughts."

credits

released October 6, 2023

Performed by Trevor Bates
Produced by Nathan Moore at Rosebud

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Trevor Bates Little Rock, Arkansas

I'm from Little Rock, Arkansas. I enjoy heavy guitars, modular synths, pedal steel music, and esoterica.

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