Steffon Moody, who moved to Vashon in 1988 as one of the original members of the now-acclaimed UMO Ensemble, has cut a wide and colorful swath through the island’s cultural scene for decades.
His range of talents raises the question: What do you even call a guy who has made a name for himself as a painter, mural-maker, musician, puppeteer, event-maker and maestro, comedian, theater director and for one memorable stretch during the pandemic, the award-winning editorial cartoonist for The Beachcomber?
The answer, at least for now, will be on display in “From the Ashes, We Will Rise” — a rousing showcase of Moody’s songwriting and storytelling over the past 35 years, set to debut at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 8, at Vashon Center for the Arts.
Describing his music as “self-forged folk Americana,” Moody is promising a night of soulful music first created for his bands Good Dog, Rumpus, United Sheep, the Nilbillies and Dark Carny.
“The creative impetus for the show was me feeling that many of the songs I have written for the past 35 years here on Vashon seemed to align nicely with the current nutty gestalt of the U.S.,” he said.
The title of the concert, he said, refers to the mythological phoenix’s ability to die in flames and then be resurrected, but it also strikes a populist tone — a message that will be hammered home with the Backbone Campaign’s giant mural of the “We the People” preamble to the U.S. Constitution hung as a backdrop for the show.
Three of these murals, now traveling the country, have become iconic symbols of the No Kings movement — featured in outlets including The New York Times, The Guardian, The Rachel Maddow Show, Jimmy Kimmel Live and The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. Moody designed and painted all three.
But his show at VCA won’t be a protest or rally, Moody said. Rather, he called it “a lighting of the flame of inspiration in dark times.”
“The songs can speak to either side of our national divide because the themes address and strike chords common to all of us,” he said. “There will be irreverence and humor mixed in with the solemn.”
Between songs he’ll tell stories, including a counterculture classic — “Hope for the Flowers,” an allegorical tale written by Trina Paulus in the 1970s that reflects both the idealism and turmoil of that time and now.
The result, he said, will be a “concert for the congregation” with 23 numbers including hymn-like interludes, folksy waltzes, bawdy rockers, sci-fi klezmer and even a brief foray to Broadway.
Moody’s backing band will include Bill Moyer, Andre Sapp, Mark Graham and Louisa Moody.
Moyer, a percussionist and the leader of the Backbone Campaign, is one of Moody’s closest friends and allies — a person he has “played songs around the fire with for decades,” he said. Sapp, a member of Moody’s existential bluegrass band, the Nilbillies, will play mandolin, bass and possibly other instruments in the show.
Graham, who plays regularly with Orville Johnson in a legendary Northwest duo called Kings of Mongrel Folk, will add his blazing harmonica and clarinet to the mix.
“I have wanted to play with Mark for years and finally got the courage to ask him for this show,” Moody said. “He said ‘yes’ before he really knew what he was getting into.”
And finally, Moody’s daughter Louisa — who, like her father, has a multitude of intersecting artistic talents — will fly up from Los Angeles to sing harmonies in the show. Her presence beside him onstage, said Moody, “couldn’t make me happier.”
In preparing the show, Moody said he has been overcome with gratitude to his collaborators for giving new life to his music and to VCA for providing the stage for his concert.
His songs — some of which were written 35 years ago — “still have legs,” he said.
Get tickets for the Nov. 8 show, which are free for anyone 18 and younger, at vashoncenterforthearts.org or in person by stopping by VCA’s box office from 12-5 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday, or calling 206-259-3007.
