Joe Hertler & The Rainbow Seekers Asks Bold Questions on “How Many Licks To The Center of the Universe”
June 23, 2023 BY Jason Currell
Today, the genre-bending Michigan collective Joe Hertler & the Rainbow Seekers announces their forthcoming new album Pursuit of Wonder and unveils their hard-hitting new single “How Many Licks to the Center of the Universe?” The Rainbow Seekers asks philosophical questions through the dayglow lens of beat-driven funky-soul and fiery guitar riffs. The song prefaces an ongoing theme of life and death that runs throughout the band’s new album. Listen to “How Many Licks to the Center of the Universe?” on all digital retailers (here).
Joe Hertler elaborates on the song’s meaning: “Our scope of knowledge is incredibly limited. Most people spend their entire lives focused on one thing, yet only a few are considered experts. Our species, for all our advancements, is still in its sentient infancy. ‘How Many Licks to the Center of the Universe’ discusses impermanence and the inherent chaos of the universe in which we live. We have so little control and are constantly trying to come up with ways to make us feel like we’re in control. Things can change quickly and dramatically. Nothing is permanent, nor sacred. We own nothing. We only think we own things, yet it can all be taken away in a flash. Death is the only certainty. Again, this is not meant to be spun in a nihilistic way, but rather urges the listener to appreciate the brevity of their existence. The song poses the idea that eternal life could perhaps be meaningless. We’d be bored and aimless. Our short lifespan means that we had better make the best use of the time that we have – and that there can be no life without death.”
“How Many Licks…” follows singles “Again,” “The Last Ovation,” “Them Jeans,” “What I Want,” and “HELP,” which will all appear on the band’s new effort.
Joe Hertler & the Rainbow Seekers continue to deliver unforgettable, high-energy performances with new tour dates throughout the summer including festival dates, and support dates with The Motet, Pigeons Playing Ping Pong, and Andy Frasco & the U.N. this December. Find the full list of tour dates at https://joehertler.com/.
LISTEN & SHARE “HOW MANY LICKS TO THE CENTER OF THE UNIVERSE?”:
https://youtu.be/rVZirCVti38
Joe Hertler & The Rainbow Seekers Tour Dates:
Jun 24 Wolverine, MI @ Sol of The Lost Tamarack
Jun 28 Nashville, TN @ The Basement East w/The Motet
Jun 29 Lexington, KY @ The Burl w/The Motet
Jul 1 Charleston, SC @ Charleston Pour House w/Pigeons Playing Ping Pong
Jul 2 Charleston, SC @ Charleston Pour House w/Pigeons Playing Ping Pong
Jul 7-9 Harbor Springs @ MI Bliss Fest
Jul 13-15 Snowshoe, WV @ 4848 Festival
Jul 16 Grass Valley, CA @ California Worldfest
Jul 26-30 Floyd, VA @ FloydFest
Jul 27 Middlesboro, KY @ Levitt Amp Music Series
Aug 4 Lansing, MI Grewal Hall @ 224
Aug 10 Ann Arbor, MI @ Sonic Lunch w/Misty Lyn & The Big Beautiful
Sep 9 Sherman, NY @ Fire Lights Music & Arts Festival
Sep 22 Kalamazoo, MI @ Bell’s Eccentric Cafe – Beer Garden
Nov 4 Denver, CO @ The Mission Ballroom w/Pigeons Playing Ping Pong
Dec 5 Little Rock, AR @ Revolution Music Hall w/Andy Frasco & The U.N.
Dec 6 Tulsa, OK @ The Vanguard w/Andy Frasco & The U.N.
Dec 7 Austin, TX @ Mohawk w/Andy Frasco & The U.N.
Dec 8 Dallas, TX @ Deep Ellum Art Company w/Andy Frasco & The U.N.
Dec 9 Houston, TX @ Last Concert Cafe w/Andy Frasco & The U.N.
Dec 10 Baton Rouge, LA @ Chelsea’s Live w/ Andy Frasco & The U.N.
Joe Hertler & the Rainbow Seekers in the Press…
“Winding through grooves that sound like The Strokes at a chic ’70s party, the band interlaces existential wonderings on the nature of fate with pulsating synths that make mortality merely an afterthought as we dance away our fleeting moments.”
– Live for Live Music
“… containing a tangible disco energy…”
– Melodic Magazine
“…playful and reflective… with hints of vintage soul and world music flavors…”
— Billboard
“…genre-bending indie music that blends elements of pop, rock, and folk in equal measure, with an uplifting, funky effervescence to boot…”
— PopMatters
Track List:
1. Marrow Dream
2. Spinning Out
3. Them Jeans
4. What I Want
5. Deep Dark Pool (What It Is)
6. Everyone is Wasted
7. HELP
8. The Last Ovation
9. On & On
10. Voyager
11. How Many Licks to the Center of the Universe
12. Again
13. Last One Awake
ABOUT JOE HERTLER & THE RAINBOW SEEKERS:
Midway through Pursuit of Wonder, the forthcoming album from funk-pop band Joe Hertler & the Rainbow Seekers, the band meets the ‘Angel of Death.’ Preoccupied and casually dressed, he’s hitching a ride because he’s got places to go, things to do. And somehow, this band are the ones that are going to get him there. “The album is a celebration of the shared, often private melancholy we feel. Everyone suffers to some degree,” says frontman and chief songwriter Joe Hertler. “One of the big themes on this record is looking at opposites: life or death, good or bad, happiness or sadness. None of those things can exist without the other.” Imagine dancing at the apocalypse, at a rave commandeered by the Rainbow Seekers — and you have a good idea about what they have accomplished with the pensive-but-uplifting Pursuit of Wonder. A dip into darkness is an unexpected turn for The Rainbow Seekers, who are practically synonymous with joyous, life-affirming live shows, earning loyal, grassroots followings thanks to gigs at major festivals and opening for jam bands. But we are living in unprecedented times (as the newspapers relentlessly reminds us each day), and that has really gotten Hertler thinking about how we might want to live more dangerously — by which he means, out of our comfort zones. Hertler may explore existential topics, but he is no nihilist. “I needed to uplift myself, and I’m urging the listener to appreciate the brevity of their existence, too. We had better make the best use of the time that we have,” he says. “I think it’s a really powerful message to send people: I started from this darkness, and I’ve come out of it in very much a better place.”
