Acoustic-folk duo Patchouli will be performing once again at the Dawg House Wednesday at 7p.m. The duo has performed at other on-campus locations including Barnes & Noble and the Dawg House. This will be their first performance in the Dawg House since last year’s Union renovation.
Patchouli’s audiences at the Dawg House usually consist of between 45 to 70 students as well as MSU faculty and staff. They are favored the most among the art students, head of the Campus Activities Board coffeehouse committee Jacob Jones said.
“We choose Patchouli because the art students insist that they come every year. They are huge fans of Patchouli,” Jones said. “[The band] has played here for the last five years.”
Patchouli is composed of Julie and Bruce Hecksel, who both perform on acoustic guitar, upright bass and percussion, accompanied by calming lyrical expressions of emotion, love, freedom and the beauty of the world.
“Our music is kind of indie folk rock, we’ve been compared to a sort of acoustic Carlos Santana meets Joni Mitchell, a lot like Neo-Soul in a way,” Julie said.
Julie, lead vocalist and Bruce who is responsible for melody and bringing the music together, have been working together for 10 years.
The two currently live in Wisconsin. Julie, who is originally from Chicago and Bruce from Minneapolis, met each other at a church in Chicago.
The two attended the same college and were working on an art project together when they discovered each other’s love for music.
“We’re a couple, and it’s fun to share the passion of music together,” Julie said. “We have a partnership that works; we push each other to achieve the best that we can. We have a connection with each other, and it transforms into the music we make.”
They are also the owners of independent label Earthsign Records. They split everything equally, from the office work to the performances.
The duo’s name was inspired by the plant Patchouli, which is an herb that encourages self-assurance and positive feelings while relieving stress, which Julie said is all combined to become the muse of their music.
“It’s chill-out and relax music,” Julie said.
Patchouli has toured across the country for many years, and their audiences have been highly diverse, she said.
“I like to think of our music as universal. We don’t want to reach just one kind of age group or one kind of audience. We want everyone to be able to relate and enjoy our music,” Julie said.
Many students first learned of Patchouli from fliers that were passed around on the Drill Field. In going to their performances, some become life-long fans.
“My first reaction to hearing Patchouli perform was that I just loved the sound and the great acoustics,” said biological sciences alumna Erin McCoy. “[Julie Hecksel} has such a beautiful voice. It’s very upbeat and happy music to me, happy and hippy.”
Wednesday the duo will have a noon teaser performance in front of the State Fountain Bakery. The band’s performance is one of a number of events sponsored by CAB, Jones said.
“We usually have pretty good turn-outs for [CAB] events,” he said.
Patchouli recently released Terra Guitarra, their 10th album and first all instrumental guitar project. The CD is available online at terraguitarra.com.