White Coat Consequences is a breakthrough project combining aspects of blues, folk, rock, jazz, gospel, and punk into music which is new and at the same time familiar. White Coat Consequences finds it roots in American blues and jazz, African and Latin percussion, and European Political Protest songs.
Through collaboration with multi-talented artists/musicians Julie Licata and Andris Balins, Van Tassel has produced a ‘must have’ collection of original songs.
In this interview spotlight, I chat with Van Tassel about the latest project, adapting during lock downs, other challenges and more.
Full Q&A along with links and music below.
Where are you from and how do You describe your style of music?
Thank you so much for the interview! I am living in the Catskill mountains of Upstate New York, via art school in Brooklyn, via a small mill town upstate. Julie Licata (percussion) is originally from Ohio, and Andris Balins (synth, etc.) is from upstate NY. The style of the music. Hummmm. Well, I guess the first thing would be that it is typically more of an open style, where not every space is filled by sound. Overall, I think there is less sound than much of the music that’s out there today. I wouldn’t call it totally minimalistic, but we do listen and try not to add stuff just to add it. We weigh if a new element is needed, and if it is not, we don’t add it. In the latest release, WHITE COAT CONSEQUENCES, I think we’ve managed to explore new genre/s, simply because overall it does not really sound like other music. It has elements of so many things, that it has kind of become its own thing. I called the genre of my song “Speaking Female” ‘Bubble Punk’, because that’s what it sounded like to me. And other tunes have been described by reviewers as linking to Blues, Folk, R&B, and Alternative, although not totally attached to any specific genre.
How did you get here? As in, what inspired or motivated you to take on this journey through music and the music biz?
Oh, that’s a good question! I really think it is just another medium I use as an artist. Like so many other singers, I grew up with lots of church music, and of course the classic Christmas album by Bing Crosby was a big thing in my early years. I think Mele Kalikimaka was my favorite song for a while. I used to sing it with my Dad when I was little. And Louis Armstrong’s ‘Hello Dolly’ too. In my early teens I listened to Carole King, Simon and Garfunkel, and Dionne Warwick. And then later bands like Boston and Foreigner. In college, I started listened to Patti Smith, Talking Heads, DEVO, and The Sex Pistols. My friends and I used to go to CBGBs and Studio 54, so there was the disco thing too. I had really cool friends– we never had to wait in line or pay to go the Studio. We would just walk up past the line to the front door and they would let us in. I never would have had the nerve, but my friends did. And I could not have afforded it either! Around the same time, another friend turned me on to listening to Frank Sinatra, and so I was introduced to the whole Jazz Standards from the Great American Songbook. I think these songs (Rodgers and Hart; Gershwin brothers, Harold Arlen) are probably my favorites. I spent years listening to Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, Lena Horne—all those great singers. I got to see Lena Horne in her one-woman Broadway show. It was funny and breathtaking. After about ten years, I moved back Upstate and went through a brief time listening to Country Music. Then I lived in a barn/house off the grid for six years (a story for a different time) and listened to lots of classical music then. But really, once I started listening to Jazz Standards, I never really gave that up.
I was trained in the visual arts, so I paint and draw, and I also act and write, along with making music. I feel that some messages are better in some medium than in others, or at least fit that way for me and what I am able to do. For a long time now, I’ve liked listening to lots of silence and to birds singing. The songs began coming to me when I walked my dog. They would just enter my head, kind of like they were already out there swimming around and would just swim into my head. Lots of times, they swam in pretty much complete. And I would go home and write them down or record it on my iPad, so I had a reference. Then I would work on them—some more, and some not very much. I make dates for recording with Julie and Andris, and I used to go with all the charts written out. As time has progressed, I usually have the lyrics and the melody, and the creation of what you hear is very organic and happens in the studio. They are the best people for me to work with. They are so creative, talented, and knowledgeable, and supportive. Sometimes I’m less organized than others, and I have to spend the first hour finishing up the lyrics before we start recording. That actually happened with the single WHITE COAT CONSEQUENCES. I used to beat myself up when I was not perfectly organized beforehand, but I have had to accept that I don’t always have the time to be so organized. So, I just warn them when I get there, and they give me a safe place to create, and we just go. We have a really fun time.
How does your latest project compare/contrast with your previous release(s)? Were you setting out to accomplish anything specific, follow a specific theme, or explore different styles of creation?
I had recorded years ago and Andris was the Engineer. I talked to him about my wanting to do a Christmas album with just vocals and percussion, and he suggested Julie. So, Julie and I did QUIET CHRISTMAS, released in 2016, and Andris was the engineer. Just as we were finishing the album, the 2016 elections happened and I needed to voice my dismay of the outcome, so the three of us went right into doing HOPE AND FEAR, which was released 2017. It is primarily socio-political themed. I listened to it a couple of weeks ago after not hearing it for years, and I still like it. WHITE COAT CONSEQUENCES was done during the pandemic. We met about monthly for over a year and would work on a song per session basically. Like I said before, the creation is very organic. I’ll sing the song or play the reference of the tune, and they will listen and start to hear what it sounds like to them. If I do not have a specific instrumentation in mind, they will start to experiment with various percussions and musical phrases. Then Andris sets up the mics and I’ll sing, and they play and after a while it starts to gel and become what it is supposed to be. And pretty much all the songs have been done like that. There were only a couple that we went back and re-started from scratch at a different time. I cannot tell you how humbled and appreciative I am of their talent and patience. They are both trained musicians, and, like I said, I am a visual artist. So sometimes, I am limited to explain myself with visual references (light, color, negative spaces, etc.), and they patiently listen and glean my meaning musically. Because of the organic process, the songs are different, and they give nod to so many elements that have come before, but also defy any specific genre and become their own thing. So, musically, we did not set out to accomplish something different, but I think we inadvertently did.
WHITE COAT CONSEQUENCES (WCC) is about the internal and external struggle between good and evil, and the recognition that sometimes things can kind of be both. For instance, it is great that science has come up with a way to save all these lives through vaccinations and ease so much suffering during the pandemic. But at the same time there is a huge cost to the environment with all these medical supplies ending up in landfills and oceans. So, it is both good and evil, because it helps the immediate issue, but harms us in the long run due to the devastation of the Earth. This is the reason I most likely will not do a physical release of WCC. I would love to make a CD or Vinyl, but I just don’t want to be creating more things that will ultimately become garbage. So, if I produce anything physical, it will be a very limited run. But right now, I doubt there will be a physical product. We’re all hypocrites to a certain extent, but I really am trying to fight against it.
So, about half of the songs on WCC are socio-political and the others are really personal, but with themes I think are kind of universal. Like passage of time and its effect on the psyche-both good and bad- and the feelings of regret and salvation. Always nodding to the past, being in the present, and looking to the future. And, everything with a sense of humor to the extent that there is anything funny about it.
Name the biggest challenge you faced as a creative during these unprecedented times? How did you adapt? How have you kept the creative fires burning during all this?
Like so many artists, I have a ‘real job’ to support my art. And my real job falls into the category of an essential worker, so there has been a huge amount of work throughout the pandemic. I guess the biggest challenge for me is how exhausted I am from constantly working, and then still trying to find time and energy to create. As far as person-to-person contact, I’m normally pretty much a recluse anyway, so the pandemic has lessened the usual guilt and social anxiety. (I’m only kind of kidding.) Luckily, I’ve got quite a few different creative outlets (painting, drawing, writing, music), so I can do a round-robin approach of working on whatever I have the energy for at the moment I find the time. Sometimes I just make some homemade soup instead.
What was the last song you listened to?
Yesterday, I moved all the furniture in my house, and I found a Paul Simon tape and listened to “You Can Call Me Al”. I don’t even think the tape is mine. Great tune.
Which do you prefer? Vinyl? 8-tracks? Cassettes? CDs? MP3s? Streaming platforms?
I don’t own a television, and I only bought a cheap little CD/Tape Player/Radio when we were finishing up WCC, so I could listen to what we made. If I had moved my furniture five months ago and found the Paul Simon tape, I would not have had anything to play it on!
Where is the best place to connect with you and follow your journey?
I’m sure at this point you will not be surprised to know I don’t do social media. (I think I’m too shy and insecure for it.)
I really feel WHITE COAT CONSEQUENCES has managed to go where I could only dream; I think we’ve explored the outskirts of new genres by both defying and standing on the shoulders of what has come before. So, I’m really excited about it! There are influences of blues, protest songs, jazz, gospel, punk, rock, classical, and sounds that come from various cultures. This link is where you can see a picture, hear clips (FREE!) and also choose to buy from Amazon, Apple Music, iTunes or Spotify, if you are so inclined.
vantassel.hearnow.com/white-coat-consequences
A little about the great people who worked on WHITE COAT CONSEQUENCES with me:
Julie Licata has been performing at new music venues across the US for over 20 years. With a focus on commissioning and premiering works by rising composers, her performances range from improvisational soundscapes to solo marimba to works with live computer processing. Julie also performs with numerous regional orchestras and theater companies, and plays regularly with flautist, Ana Laura González. Julie is currently Associate Professor of Percussion at SUNY Oneonta. For more information about Julie’s musical activities, please visit www.julielicata.com.
Andris Balins has been an active musician and engineer the past 15 years. In that time, he has worked with numerous artists including Nels Cline, The Fat White Family, Lana Del Ray, Sean Lennon, and… Patti Van Tassel. Mr. Balins is also a professor in the audio arts program at SUNY Oneonta and is a recent graduate of the Cooperstown Graduate Program.
A couple of the songs have been released prior, and have received the following reviews:
Speakin Female: What could one expect from a band that categorizes this sound as “bubble punk”? Well, Van Tassel are defo a cool treat for all sound explorers, and mainly for avant rock addicts! Christos Doukakis, Beyond Boundaries 71 playlist on Last Day Deaf
PC Van Tassel has released her new tune Come On Love. With simple instrumentation, poppy vocals, and a Blues twist, Come On Love avoids the pigeon-hole of a specific genre and has a unique sound that fans of Blues, Folks, and R&B will enjoy. Comprised of organ and auxiliary percussion, the groove smartly uses space to achieve a bounciness that quickly grabs attention. Van Tassel sings with a care-free attitude that steals the tune’s spotlight. Her voice lilts above the groove, working in cool harmony with the back-up vocals. Giving a voice to hindsight and second chances the lyrics decide to grab life by the horns, say yes, and see what happens. With the release of Come On Love, PC Van Tassel reveals a unique voice to her songwriting that will have listeners coming back for more.
About The Reviewer: Zachary Larson is a professional touring guitarist and multi-instrumentalist. His arrangements of orchestral music are published through Clear Note Publications. Classically trained, he holds a Master of Music degree from the University of Denver.
I really hope you’ll give a listen when you get a minute (yes, I understand), and if you are so inclined, please forward it to anyone you think might be interested. Here’s the link again:
vantassel.hearnow.com/white-coat-consequences
–PC Van Tassel (aka Patricia Van Tassel; aka Patti Van Tassel; aka P Van Tassel; aka Van Tassel)- branding expert– who the IRS claims is an independent artist, writer, performer. https://www.patriciavantassel.com
I really appreciate Your time. Anything else before we sign off?
“Everything we do and everything we buy,
We’ve got a choice for the future you and I.
Keep in heart all the nations,
And all the future generations-
Oh, let’s protect the Creator’s creation!”
-from the song WHITE COAT CONSEQUENCES
I’m really thankful to all my fans all over the world, and humbly appreciate their support.
Thank you so much for the great questions! I totally appreciate this opportunity to share, and I wish you and all your readers the very best life has to offer! And Peace!
