Woven Green

Woven green will be featured on the Relix Magazine CD sampler in the November 2010 issue. - Relix Magazine

Available in PDF form at http://wovengreenmusic.com/

Introduce yourself:

We are Jim and Ashley Cash, husband and wife singer-songwriters and we perform original eclectic folk-rock.

How did you get your start?
Jim: My first guitar was gifted to me in 1995. Shortly following that I became a serious student of the guitar and gravitated toward the songwriting craft. I met Ashley in the summer of 2002 while we were both in college. Ashley had been performing in local coffee shops since she was in high school. The day that I met Ashley, I heard her sing and was blown away by the power in her voice. We fell in love, decided to put our talents to work and began performing together in 2004 and were married in 2005.

How long have you been performing for?

We have been performing together since 2004.

What has been your best memory when it comes to music?

Jim: I was at a Carlos Santana concert back in 1997 when he was doing a benefit tour to help save music education. During the show Santana was speaking about many of the great musicians who have impacted our lives. Interestingly, there was unrest in the crowd. People did not seem interested in what he had to say and at one point actually booed him, wanting him to just play his music and be entertained. Most notable was the mastery demonstrated by Santana in reaction to this. Instead of getting angry with the crowd he spoke with conviction and compassion about discovering life’s purpose and letting your light shine through even in the darkest of times. He said, “You have succeeded if you have positively impacted just one person.” It was in this moment I felt as if he was speaking directly to me, which provided me with the inspiration to write music that I believe in.

Describe your sound:

Stylistically our music is interspersed with elements of folk, rock, and alternative. We will often alternate between acoustic and electric guitars, which creates a dynamic contrast that range from hypnotic and introspective to energetic and empowering.

Biggest musical influences:
U2, Peter Gabriel, Dave Matthews, Paul Simon, Van Morrison, John Lennon, Jack Johnson, Santana, Jackson Browne, C.S.N.Y, Eva Cassidy, Joni Mitchell, Tracy Chapman, Grateful Dead, Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, and Michael Hedges.

Other influences:

Nature. Poets and Writers: Walt Whitman, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, Rumi, J.R Tolkien, Don Miguel Ruiz, Greg Braden, and Deepak Chopra.

Favorite pieces? Why?

Our Favorite Pieces are, More than this by Peter Gabriel, One by U2, and Imagine by John Lennon because of their universal themes of love and compassion.

Where is your favorite place to perform and why?

Currently, one of our favorite places to perform is Cameron Perks Coffeehouse in Alexandria. It is an artsy intimate setting that is very comfortable and laid back. They have a separate room where they host live music and the acoustics are superb. We put on acoustic shows there once a month.

What do you enjoy most about performing live?

The opportunity to share our music and the excitement that we feel when we know we have moved someone.

Anyone you would really like to play with? Why?

We would love to play with Jack Johnson and Carlos Santana because they are on the cutting edge of helping to inspire change and doing a phenomenal job reaching the younger generations.

Best compliment about a performance?

After one of our performances someone came up to us and said that they could tell that we were meant to be doing this and that the message in our music was truly positive and inspiring.

Anything special about the upcoming show?

The show is at Riverbend Park in Great Falls. This is one of our favorite places to visit for it’s natural beauty. The opportunity to play at such a scenic place is a real treat for us. Also, there will be several conservation groups there to help raise awareness about protecting our environment. This is an important theme in our music and we love being part of the collective effort.

Most recent song you've listened to?

The most recent song we have listened to is Lives in the Balance, by Jackson Browne

How can people hear your music?

We have our studio recordings available to sample and download on both myspace and digistation. Also, we currently have Saturday performances lined up from now through the month of August. We run an email list to keep our fans posted of upcoming performances and post our upcoming performances on our websites:

www.jimandashleycash.com

www.myspace.com/thejimashleycashband


Future Plans:

We would love to make performing our full-time occupation. At present we own and operate a private music instruction business called Potomac Falls Music. We have several instructors who teach for our company in the local area. We plan to continue running this business w - Cascades Connection May 21-27, 2008

Woven Green blends influences to create music to empower and entertain.

By Jennifer Lesinski Jones
Thursday, December 03, 2009

Talk about a trial by fire. Two weeks after joining the group Woven Green, drummer Zujey D’Jesus — who was discovered on craigslist — found herself in a studio laying down tracks for the band’s first self-titled EP. The result is four songs that combine the quartet’s varied influences and share a positive message without being preachy to the audience.

"At the heart of the music is a message of empowering people," Jim Cash, the band’s songwriter and guitarist, said.

The line up for Woven Green has only been playing together as a full band for about three months. The core, Jim and Ashley Cash, previously performed as Jim and Ashley Cash and Friends. Bassist Franz Kellner joined the group about a year ago. It was this incarnation that was slated to record the EP, but conflicts led to personnel changes and the addition of D’Jesus. The band, newly christened Woven Green — after one of Jim Cash’s songs, which was inspired by a Walt Whitman poem — was born.

"Zujey and myself kind of changed the dynamic of the group," Kellner said. "The sound is raw and newer."

"We knew from the first day that we played with Franz, he was our man," Jim Cash said. "Similarly with Zujey. I was on craigslist everyday to find the right person. It was like a needle in a haystack. Everything in her ad was what we were looking for. When we got together the first time, it wasn’t a surprise to me [that we all gelled]."

THE BAND describes its sound as "eclectic rock," with each member bringing their personal influences to the table. The music is primarily rock, but becomes a mix of world music, jazz, funk and folk thrown in for good measure.

"A song starts out as rock and ends up like Latin," D’Jesus said. "It’s a combination of different rhythms."

"Some of it is synergy. When you get four people together with completely different backgrounds … we play off each other’s strengths. We’re empowered by it," Ashley Cash, lead vocals, said.

The songs are also a reflection of Jim Cash’s vision of being able to bring about positive change in a world that is experiencing turmoil. And with the ever-growing digital world, allows the musicians to remain independent while reaching an international market. As a result, the band financed its first recording and isn’t seeking a record label.

"Basically, we took out a mortgage on our house to do it," Ashley Cash, said. "As independent musicians, we own everything … which is important to us."

"I’m not saying we don’t want to reap the rewards … there’s another intention. It’s not about ego and creating music to be rock stars. The shared thing is we’re all passionate about our music and craft," Jim Cash said. "We don’t want to come off as a message band, we want to have good music, too."

Maintaining their own identity and sound has also met having to learn all aspects of the recording business, including doing their own public relations, scheduling performances, working with people to create their logo, EP artwork and photography and in general, just being business savvy.

"Digitally, with MySpace, Facebook, digital music, blogs and pod casts, the size of the market is global now. We can sell our music overseas now," Ashley Cash said. "There doesn’t have to be a label behind you."

WOVEN GREEN also thinks locally, by playing in venues and at festivals throughout Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C. The Cashes, who met while both were students at George Mason University, live in a townhouse in Sterling that also serves as the band’s home base and practice studio. When neighbors are out walking their dogs, they’ll stop to listen to the band play, Ashley Cash said.

One of the band’s first "live performances" was at D’Jesus’ Ashburn home soon after she joined the line up.
"We played at my house on the deck," D’Jesus said. "And people came and sat on the lawn." Ashley Cash adds, "People brought their kids out."

Prior to the impromptu concert, the band had only played together once. Now they are looking to put together a tour throughout the northeast. In the meantime, the ensemble has upcoming shows at Miller’s Tavern in Fairfax, a monthly show at the Downtown Saloon in Leesburg and an appearance at Bangkok Blues in Falls Church, among others.

When they aren’t performing, the members of Woven Green have jobs "that pay the bills." The Cashes provide music lessons through their business, Potomac Falls Music. D’Jesus is a dental assistant and also teaches music. Kellner, who lives in Silver Spring, Md., works in retail.

"It’s a constant interplay. We’re doing what we have to do to keep us in an advantageous position to play music," Ashley Cash said.

"I dream of being on stage and of having lots of people out there. Not to be famous, but to get our message out there," D’Jesus said. "The kids I teach have listened to our music and lo - Connection Newspapers

available on itunes as podcast. - WGMU George Mason Universities Radio Station

mp3 release pending. - WXJM - James Madison Universities Radio Station

Woven Green with Jim & Ashley Cash enchant the audience with an artful intensity that is rare and phenomenal. Their creative performances do not go to predictable places, but each aural feast of a musical moment leads to the next one, and it goes exactly where it ought to go.

Songwriter Harry Blevins and I were mesmerized, and we glued our ears to each segment of every song to find out where it was headed. Harry was right when he smiled at me and said, "They have a vision, don't they?" At rare moments like that, I stop in my tracks and think "Oh yeah. That's why I do this."

- Ron Goad, SAW Showcase Director & Member Board of Directors February 9, 2009

Jim and Ashley Cash: I must describe you two as "the dynamic duo"!
Again, wow! What I like most about the performance was that you brought
your beliefs and ideas to the stage. It is rare that an artist or group
of artists can pull that off without the appearance of being on a
"soap box". The music was true to heart. Thank You!

- Celesitno Zapata, Director, Cultural Stage, Organizing Committee September 14, 2008

Translation pending.
pdf available http://www.wovengreenmusic.com - Apna Punjab Weekly 11 February- 17 February, 2009

Woven Green - Woven Green
2009, Woven Green

Jim and Ashley Cash met while students at George Mason University. Him a late-blooming songwriter with a penchant for deep lyrics and esoteric yet memorable melodies; she with a voice that turns heads and drops jaws. It was a match made in musical heaven. Nowadays the married couple are the core of Woven Green, the Sterling, Virginia-based rock quartet with an unusually vibrant and intelligent sound. Woven Green’s debut EP, Woven Green, is sure to please.

Woven Green opens with the effervescent Folk Rocker Wild Love. This uplifting song carries a Carpe Diem optimism, a memorable melody and the amazing voice of Ashley Cash who could front anything from a wedding band to an arena rock powerhouse without breaking a sweat. Woven Green breaks out the funk of Generation Zero, a song that calls out society for failing our children with less-than-competent education and healthcare. The song is highly danceable and yet runs deep with heavy subject matter; calling for a revolution of sorts -- a return to the American Dream that pre-dated the "Greed Is Good" generation. Sixth Sun starts out with a Middle-Eastern feel, ironic in that Sixth Sun is a reference to Toltec/Aztec prophecies about the end of the world as we know it (and I feel fine). It is a play into the coming mass hysteria over 2012, but calls for the sort of transformational change of society that is called for in the same prophecies. Woven Green says goodnight with Between Worlds, a spiritual call for self-consolidation; the sort of rising on consciousness required for humanity to evolve into whatever some believe we are to come next.

Woven Green is a bit off the beaten path; creating wonderfully addictive Pop/Folk/Rock songs with highly unusual subject matter. Truth to tell, Woven Green is more like a religious album than secular one. The band sings their beliefs and is obviously looking to change the world through their music. I wouldn't make any judgments on that up front, as I don't know exactly what system of belief underlies it all, but it is something to bear in mind when you listen to them. Ashley Cash is going to get comparisons to Grace Slick, among others, and her voice is well-deserving of praise. Jim Cash's songwriting is also superb; nuanced and complex without ever overdoing on either quality. Woven Green is a superb introduction.

Rating: 4.5 Stars (Out of 5)

You can learn more about Woven Green at http://www.jimandashleycash.com/ or www.myspace.com/wovengreen. You can purchase the Woven Green EP on CD at Woven Green’s web store. - Wildy's World

"Woven Green wears everything on its sleeve. Even the band’s name points toward its philosophy; while not necessarily “green,” the members of Woven Green espouse taking care of the earth, being unified with each other, and loving one another. The lyrics bear no subtlety; Woven Green is what it is, and it’s not hiding it.

The same aesthetic carries over into the songs on their self-titled EP. They have a sound similar to what you might imagine from the themes presented; a few parts wah-pedal funk, a few parts upbeat acoustic pop, a few parts middle eastern instrumentation. They wear their influences on their sleeve, not trying to hide. This total honesty is to be commended, as posturing, irony and cynicism has become the norm in independent music.

Thankfully, Woven Green meets their honest aesthetic with songwriting skill. Woven Green has taken steps to make their songs not just your average song. “Sixth Sun” experiments not just with middle eastern instruments, but with middle eastern chord structures (which are unusual to the western ear, but intriguing!). “Between Worlds” uses strings in an unusual breakdown of sorts. “Generation Zero” has an extended guitar solo. “Wild Love” has a violin solo in the way that other bands would have a guitar solo. It’s these touches that make their songs better than the standard upbeat acoustic-pop fare.

This four-song EP establishes Woven Green as a band that wants to take a tired genre and make it interesting again. I hope that their creative energy and unique ideas keep flowing to future releases. Their songwriting skill makes them a band to watch for fans of John Mayer, Dave Matthews Band, OAR, Jason Mraz and others of the like."

By Stephen Carradini
Thursday January 7, 2010 - Independent Clauses

Woven Green's track, " Between Worlds" has received honorable mention for notable song writing achievement. - Mike Pinder's Bandwars