Meet the Band
Nicole Laby’s formative training as a vocalist began in her early 20’s, utilizing classical skills as a solid foundation for the development of alternative vocalizations. Further influences came from her travels in Africa, Asia, and the Middle East, where she drew inspiration from environments, cultures, and native music. As a singer-songwriter, she plays rhythm guitar to form the music. Prior to founding Frances8, Nicole performed in the San Francisco female fronted band, See Jane Run. She later developed WaterSaw–an ensemble creating music for modern dance choreography– which won the Isadora Duncan Award for Outstanding Achievement in Music/Sound/Text.
watersaw.org
www.nicolelabyart.com
Revi Airborne-Williams has played the violin and viola since childhood, in a multitude of styles beginning with classical and ranging through various forms of European folk music, klezmer, jazz, rock n roll, and American roots music. She most enjoys collaboration and improvisation with other musicians and dancers, and loves music for being the universal language of all humans.
Mark Fassett has performed on guitar in rock, funk, folk and indie rock bands, including Fat Man’s Picnic, Inglas, Liquid State and Particle Salad, and on bass as part of WaterSaw, Entamoeba, and the ambient chamber music ensemble Kevin Keller Trio. He records and releases music as both Mark Fassett The Rewilders, available on streaming services. He loves using the guitar to create texture and sonic ear candy.
mfassett.com
tinymikeband.com
Gal Cohen has played bass in the US and internationally over many decades. Growing up in Milwaukee, he convinced his parents to tie a string bass to the roof of the car to drive him to music camp in Madison. He played in orchestras and jazz bands, but switched to alternative and folk bands in college. Since then, he has performed at most of the clubs in San Francisco at one time or another. Most recently he has been exploring electronic music creation as Warsaw Mixtape. He loves exploring the uncanny valley between the familiar and the unknown.
Sean Donoghue began playing drums in elementary school, learning Swing, Big Band, and Jazz before diving into Rock, Grunge, and heavier styles. Living in Detroit exposed him to Motown, Funk, Soul, and R&B, while time in Tampa added Southern and Classic Rock to his vocabulary. A stint in Guam introduced him to Island music and Reggae, and he considers himself a well-rounded drummer.
After moving to the Bay Area, a humbling Blues jam sparked a deep dive into shuffles and traditional Blues. Sean fell in love with the music—especially early Chicago Blues—and continues a lifelong journey to become the best traditional Blues drummer he can, guided by the rich Blues community around him.
