Originally called the Rock Springs Six, Free Salamander Exhibit makes no bones about being influenced by the early work of Sleepytime Gorilla Museum. “Yeah, we all have that first record,” they mutter nonchalantly. Their new name is taken from the Sleepytime Gorilla Press’s 1916 leaflet distributed by Pentecostal snake-handler George Went Hensley of Tennessee, wherein the gospel dictum “They shall take up serpents and salamanders” was treated to more or less literal interpretation. “Yeah, we all handle them, salamanders that is,” they confess. Yes, they have renounced their snake handling ways in favor of the modern hair-shirt, i.e. the burlap gown. Certainly their outfits are uncomfortable and make playing difficult, especially for the non-rock instruments they sometimes employ, but what price beauty?
It seems the past is something this band of burlap brothers would rather put to rest. Free Salamander Exhibit gained some notoriety in the early 2000s by impersonating the members of Sleepytime Gorilla Museum, even going so far as insinuating themselves into the SGM members’ households. When it was announced in 2010 that SGM had been “subsumed” into the very bodies of Free Salamander Exhibit, the music press understood this to figuratively refer to a simple regrouping. Boy, were they wrong.
Currently based in Oakland, CA, Free Salamander Exhibit continues to shed its dead skin cells, casting off an accumulated detritus of metal, prog-rock, and art-rock influences. Nils, Dan, Michael, David, and Drew (at least these are the names they claim) meet regularly in an underground concrete shelter. Here they sit at an oval-shaped table in a spirit of constructive argumentation, poring over the nature of memory and the illusory promise of free will. Eventually they emerge, ready again to absorb the environmental stimuli that nourish their world-view. Through this circular process of absorption and molting, Free Salamander Exhibit hopes to augment the mass of your own pillow as well.
Shed some skin with Free Salamander Exhibit in your town soon!
-taken from http://freesalamanderexhibit.com
FREE SALAMANDER EXHIBIT is:
Nils Frykdahl – vocals, guitar, flute
Dan Rathbun – bass, sledgehammer dulcimer, vocals
Michael Mellender – guitar, trumpet, baritone, tangularium, spleen, double-bladed cat sneeze, percussion-guitar, vocals
David Shamrock – drums, glockenspiel
Drew Wheeler – guitar, glockenspiel, theremin, waterphone, vocals
The Keep
Free Salamander Exhibit Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Fire keeps us safe
Stay in the light
Don't go outside
Fearful blight but you wanted it to
Wrecking light but you asked for it before
The blight is real
And the sun will eat itself
Over the hollow eyes
Close the door
We don't know what's outside
In the Keep
We're nothing if not alive
Soon is the night and laughing backwards (throw it away)
Burning alive just duck and cover
You never know until it's over
Say never want say never had to (closing the shell)
Burning alive just duck and cover
You never know until it's over
Suffocation - it is mine
Close the door
We don't know what's outside
In the Keep
We're nothing if not alive
Close the door
Kill the light
Bury me
In the Keep
Soon is the night and laughing backwards (throw it away)
Burning alive just duck and cover
You never know until it's over
Say never want say never had to (closing the shell)
Burning alive just duck and cover
You never know until it's over
Under the spreading tree
Rank enclosure, suffocating
We're living unalive
Lock all the doors, bury the cage
The lyrics of "The Keep" by Free Salamander Exhibit seem to be describing a feeling of being trapped inside a safe space, shielding oneself from the blight and chaos of the outside world. The repeated lines "We're safe from fire / Fire keeps us safe" can be interpreted as a metaphor for the isolation and self-preservation that the characters in the song are feeling. The lines "Stay in the light / Don't go outside" further emphasize the need to stay within the bounds of the safe space.
The second half of the song seems to be describing a feeling of inevitability and surrender to the blight, as seen in the lyrics "The blight is real / And the sun will eat itself." The lines "Close the door / Kill the light / Bury me / In the Keep" suggest that the characters are willing to sacrifice themselves to maintain their safety and security.
Overall, the lyrics of "The Keep" seem to be exploring the concept of self-isolation and its consequences, as well as the sense of safety and entrapment that can come with it.
Line by Line Meaning
We're safe from fire
We find security in staying indoors as it protects us from the danger outside
Fire keeps us safe
Our fear of the outside world leads us to believe that staying indoors provides us safety from external danger
Stay in the light
We feel comfort in the familiar, so we only venture out into the light where we can see what is ahead of us
Don't go outside
The fear of the unknown drives us to stay indoors and avoid confronting the dangers that lurk outside
Fearful blight but you wanted it to
Although it's scary, you still want to experience the danger
Wrecking light but you asked for it before
You were already aware of the potential danger yet you still sought it out
Silence in the perfect stain
There is a sense of calm in the stillness that comes with being enclosed
The blight is real
The danger is real, and it's not just a figment of our imagination
And the sun will eat itself
Even the most reliable, stable things in life may not last forever
Over the hollow eyes
The sense of emptiness that comes with isolation and confinement can be overwhelming
Close the door
Shut the world out and stay in the safety of the known
We don't know what's outside
There is an inherent fear of the unknown that keeps us from venturing out
In the Keep
We find a sense of security within our enclosed space
We're nothing if not alive
We may be confined and limited, but we are still living beings
Soon is the night and laughing backwards (throw it away)
Time is running out, and the fear of impending doom causes us to seek safety at all costs
Burning alive just duck and cover
Even when we feel trapped and helpless, we will still fight for survival
You never know until it's over
We can never truly be sure of the outcome until it has already happened
Say never want say never had to (closing the shell)
We'll deny ever feeling the desire for adventure, dismissing it as a passing thought
Suffocation - it is mine
The overwhelming feeling of confinement and limitation is suffocating
Close the door
Shut out the fear of the unknown and stay enclosed
Kill the light
Go completely dark in order to avoid being seen or detected
Bury me
Embrace the sense of entrapment and stay enclosed forever
Under the spreading tree
Find shelter under something that has grown and thrived on its own
Rank enclosure, suffocating
The enclosure has become overwhelming and stagnant, leading to feelings of suffocation
We're living unalive
We may be physically alive, but we are experiencing a lack of vitality and growth
Lock all the doors, bury the cage
Fully embrace confinement and isolation as a means of protection and security
Contributed by Bailey H. Suggest a correction in the comments below.