"Gaia Consort" Evolves
interview by Terisa Greenan

Chris Bingham has been a singer-songwriter for more than 20 years, most of that time performing as a solo artist. But only recently, with the formation of Gaia Consort, has he found a loyal audience. Chris' wife, Sue Tinney, is his primary partner, in the band as well as in life; Sue sings backup alto harmonies, which add depth to Gaia's vocal sound. In addition, Gaia Consort consists of a large entourage of various musicians and instruments that, at various times, may include cello, violin, bass, drums, keyboard, flute or a saxophone or even a didgeridoo.

Chris believes it's more than simply the different sound he has now with Gaia Consort that makes him more popular and marketable than when he was a solo artist. "People can get excited by a band, to go see a band, in a way that they just don't about a solo singer-songwriter," he says. "We have a lot of fun up there, and that makes it fun for the audience as well."

I have to agree with Chris as I watch the band in concert; Gaia Consort creates quite a clap-and-dance-and-sing-along atmosphere. They're clearly having as much fun as their fans, particularly Chris and Sue next to him, with her beautiful dress, striking red hair and warm smile. "It's simply more fun," Chris comments, "to go out and see a rockin' band in concert than just some guy like me with his guitar."

When I arrive to interview Chris, his house is in disarray. There are stacks of audio equipment, cables and plastic packing crates everywhere. They are preparing for a concert on the coming weekend, Chris explains. This is what it means to be an independent artist.

Chris clears me a spot on the sofa, directly opposite the old upright piano where he does most of his composing. I want to find out about the Pagan and polyamory beliefs which imbue his music, and about the Seattle-area communities in which many of their loyal fans are active. First things first - is Gaia Consort a Pagan band? A poly band? Both - or neither?

"To start with," Chris tells me, "I'm a hippie at heart. As [my wife Sue and I] got more involved in the Pagan community, the tradition that rang most true for us was the Church of All Worlds, the real freaks of the Pagan community. And I mean that in the 'counter-culture' way, as espousing the ideals of polyamory, the ideals of free love, free lives, free music, a lot of the hippie ethic." Chris and Sue try to live their beliefs. Elaborating on their philosophy and lifestyle, Chris says, "I don't want to live my one life only making love with one person for fifty years, and neither does [Sue], so we have a partnership that accepts other lovers … and it may be a little more complex than what some people do, but we're having a good time and we've been together twelve years."

Chris certainly doesn't mind if fans to use Gaia Consort music in their rituals, although the band itself hasn't participated in ritual for some time. "We incorporated our music into several spiral dances back in the late nineties," he says, but, "in my experience the music part is really the best replacement for religion." Firmly grounded in rationality and science, Chris adds that he is skeptical about the more "occult" aspects of Pagan culture. "If you believe that you can create a beam of blue light which is going to stream over to Joe Pagan and cure the cancer in him … well, that's where my beliefs probably differ from those of a lot of my audience."
Chris "stands with the Pagans," as he puts it, and believes that the magick and the ritual and the Goddess herself are metaphors. "If you use ritual as a tool to get you in touch with your inner strength to go out and change the world, then you're really doing something," he comments.

Halfway through our discussion about the future of Gaia Consort, Chris suddenly says, with a mischievous smile, "This may be the last Gaia Consort album; we may turn into Pleasure Melon and just play sex clubs or something - I don't know. The future's wide open." Pleasure Melon? Indeed, the future is wide open for Chris and Sue and the band, and no matter what they call themselves, their music will continue, as Chris says, "putting ideas in people's heads." Oh yes, that and giving people a reason to dance - naked.

Gaia Consort is playing up and down the west coast this summer and fall; to find out more about what they are up to, or to "Evolve" yourself, see their website at www.gaiaconsort.com.

(This interview is excerpted from a much longer piece in newWitch #7.)
Terisa Greenan is an actress mostly, a writer sometimes, and lately, an eBay entrepreneur. See her on stage in Seattle, in random and varied independent films, and browse her kitschy wares on eBay at vintage*daisy. When not working, she spoils her dogs rotten.