Rocky climbs back in the ring
After much-needed break, singer- songwriter Votolato returns to Spokane
Rocky Votolato has long cemented an intimate relationship with Spokane.
Close to a decade ago, local fans flooded The Shop – a tiny neighborhood coffeehouse – crowding around windows and climbing trees to get a glimpse of the Seattle-by-way-of- Texas singer-songwriter.
Later visits to Spokane would pack considerably larger venues – the gigantic Service Station coffeehouse, and a record-setting attendance at The Big Dipper – without sacrificing the feeling of intimacy that is evoked from his deeply introspective lyrics and compelling songwriting.
While fans have grown accustomed to seeing Votolato accompanied only by his own guitar on stage, he has been touring with a full band that will back him on Sunday at The A Club, 416 W. Sprague Ave.
But recently, Votolato has been off the grid, and not just locally.
Leading up to his latest album, last year’s “True Devotion,” he withdrew from his regularly relentless tour schedule and dense songwriting output while he toiled with his lifelong bouts of depression and anxiety.
During the three years between 2007’s “The Brag and Cuss” and 2010’s “True Devotion,” Votolato was in a deep funk that kept him away from music. Since the release of “True Devotion,” he has been very public about his seclusion and the time he spent alone, studying existential philosophy, physics and theology.
At one point he barely left his apartment for more than a year, according to a news release.
Votolato eventually conquered his paralyzing mood and returned to writing songs, the bulk of which materialized as “True Devotion.” It was almost entirely self-recorded but mixed with the help of longtime musical collaborators and friends Casey Foubert (Sufjan Stevens, David Bazan) and John Goodmanson (The Blood Brothers, Sleater-Kinney).
The result is a re-energized sense of hope and peace. As Votolato sings on “Sun Devil”: “True devotion and true virtue will hold you at the center/As the waves crash over.”
Aurally, “True Devotion” is largely sparse, guitar-anchored arrangements that are shaped around the vocals. Here and there, strategic tweaks in the instrumentation add more color to songs, such as the album’s opener, “Lucky Clover Coin,” led by beckoning cello lines, and “Red River,” with its electronic beat backdrop.
In addition to “True Devotion,” fans at Sunday’s show can snag a limited edition 7-inch, pressed on transparent blue vinyl, which Votolato recorded with tour mate Matt Pond.