Church of Starry Wisdom To Bring Immersive Black Rose Xperience to Cleveland Public Theatre

By Jeff Niesel for Cleveland Scene

Billed as “a multi-media theatrical rock event that combines the music of Church of Starry Wisdom with an immersive cinematic narrative,” Church of Starry Wisdom’s new live show, The Black Rose Xperience, will head to Cleveland Public Theatre next month for a four-day stand from Thursday, Dec. 5, to Sunday, Dec. 8.

Set in a dystopian America, the event explores themes of “rebellion and revelation” in a fallen civilization.

“This show has been brewing since we were a band,” says Vince Tyree on a recent conference call with bandmates Kurt Brown, Jaiie Dayo-Aliya and Amy Spencer. Band member Natalie Martin was not available for the interview. “It is a theatrical, multi-media show. We’ve been doing a small-scale version of this with every show we’ve done. Most of our shows involve some kind of projections. This is an expansion and revision of that.”

When the group formed in Akron in 2016, it started working on music for a TV show. It kept writing music even when the project was completed, and the group, which draws from noise, punk, jazz, rock, R&B, and musical theater, sets out to deliver a “cosmic voyage” not unlike the one that George Clinton pioneered with Parliament-Funkadelic. When it can, the group integrates video projection. Over the years, the group has collaborated with other performing and visual artists (live painting, fire-spinning, dancing) to build “unforgettable live experiences.”

“The group had these theatrical origins from an open mic in Akron and just built from there,” says Spencer.

Brown says the band has taken a decidedly cinematic approach to the show that’s coming to CPT.

“While we were working on this story that involved the Church of Starry Wisdom, we were working with Jaiie [Dayo-Aliya] and Vince [Tyree] to produce another movie written and directed by Jaiie,” says Brown. “All these things came together. We felt like we needed to do something more with our theatrical talents and movie talent. As a band, we don’t have a lot of music videos. Cleveland Public Theatre gave us this opportunity, and there’s no excuse. We have to make the movie we never got to make.”

The music draws from Prince, Parliament-Funkadelic, Wu Tang Clan, Kate Bush, Joni Mitchell and Chaka Khan. The themes speak to our troubled times.

“I think the major theme is sort of like a hero’s journey to acceptance,” says Dayo-Aliya. “I think underneath that is a lot of evil domination and social domination. The show is about trying to explore the relationship between power in both society and interpersonal relationships. I think that part of that was inspired by feeling like I’m living in a time when things are changing and things have been dystopic for a while. It’s a literal dystopia. Power is lost and given solely to the people in charge. That’s a fear that myself and many people are feeling.”

While the show kicks off in early December, a time when holiday fare rules the day, Dayo-Aliya says he still hopes that people who come to the show will see that peace on earth is a possibility.

“We have a character who faces these personal things,” says Dayo-Aliya. “At the end, his character finds peace even during these turbulent times. One thing that this concert represents is that no matter how dark it is, we’re still a community. No matter how unclear the future is, we can come together and celebrate and create. What this story is trying to get at is what we are trying to get at with this experience.”

ABOUT CHURCH OF STARRY WISDOM

“…Imagine a mutant lab experiment combining the DNA of Prince and David Bowie singing lead vocals for the Sisters of Mercy. This is some of the best goth-rock I’ve heard live in at least 10 years.”
–Vertigo Xi’an Xavier

A retro-futuristic goth-classic rock band based in Akron, Ohio, formed in 2016.

CoSW is an ensemble of musical griots whose songcraft emphasizes storytelling in modern parables. Their bandmembers’ diverse backgrounds shape their eclectic music, conducting experiments in pop & soul through a rock-operatic lens. They sing songs of life, death, sex, murder, love, hate, and the Chaos that crawls between. Through its analog-digital hybrid sound vibrations, the band takes the listener on a cosmic trip through time and space using elements of noise, punk, jazz, rock, R&B, and musical theater. When it can, CoSW integrates video projection with their live performances; this curated imagery interacts with their songs’ stories and the visceral experiences of those moods. Over the years, CoSW has enthusiastically collaborated with other performing and visual artists of their community (e.g. live painting, fire-spinning, dancing, etc.) to build unforgettable live experiences for audiences. They are inspired by the fire of co-conspired improvisation. A show with Church of Starry Wisdom is never just a band playing music; they always deliver a theatrical ceremony.