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Local Music: The Wonder Revolution Sets Firefly Free

The Wonder Revolution

David Lord, guitarist and founder of Wichita’s The Wonder Revolution, explains that the project is more than just a band-- it’s a state of mind and a lifestyle. 

In addition to writing music, Lord explains that he’s also a longtime fiction writer and photographer. All of his artistic work, he says, had this in common:

“The theme was always wonder, that seemed to be the constant theme. The revolution part comes in because there’s countless influences,” he adds, “that can block that mindset––from culture, from habitual patterns of thinking, it goes on and on as to how we can lose the ability to experience wonder. It’s sort of an internal revolution.”

The group’s third album in 2012, Firefly, departs from the concepts explored on previous albums, Dots and The Forest Meeting. This time the songs aren’t about imaginary landscapes but instead something closer to his heart.

“I wrote this one for my girlfriend, Lindsay [Bowling],” he notes, “it was a birthday present for her.”

He kept the project secret for the better part of a year, he says, before presenting her with the finished CD.

“It took her a few minutes to figure out what was going on. It was really fun.”

The track “Layers Of Miracles,” in particular, was inspired by travels the couple took together, vacationing in Puerto Rico. They were on an airplane when Bowling uttered the titular phrase. Later, while wandering through a forest there, they saw many natural wonders that found them at least mentally echoing the phrase.

“That track builds and adds layers. On the surface it’s the same thing but underneath that there’s a lot going on.”

The Wonder Revolution performs Saturday evening, December 15 at Wichita’s Fisch Haus. The venue is one that is especially close to Lord. His old band, Solagget, performed there on several occasions and he’s returned many times since with various musical projects.

“It’s always been the place for me,” he says. “Generally, when people go to a show there, they’re just there to watch the performance. It’s by far my favorite place to play. It’s just a beautiful atmosphere and a beautiful experience every time.”

Jedd Beaudoin is host/producer of the nationally syndicated program Strange Currency. He has also served as an arts reporter, a producer of A Musical Life and a founding member of the KMUW Movie Club. As a music journalist, his work has appeared in Pop Matters, Vox, No Depression and Keyboard Magazine.