We’ve been talking with singer-songwriter, Nicole Atkins about being a guest curator for about a year now. We were happy that schedules opened during a break in the making of her new album, allowing her to bring herself, and the remarkably talented Invisible Familiars to Philadelphia’s Miner Street Recordings in January, 2013. 
   Invisible Familiars is the work of Jared Samuels, a remarkable live and session multi-instrumentalist from New York City. He’s played with bands like Superhuman Happiness, Cibo Matto, Yoko Ono, and several others over the past decade, but Invisible Familiars specifically features his songwriting and decision-making. 
   As always, this series strives to show the community the processes and techniques of great independent music is made. The song, “Disturbing Wildlife” turned out to be a really cool, authentic specimen of early 70s simplicity (think John Lennon’s Plastic Ono Band record), and a great change of pace for the Shaking Through audience. 
   Jared and Nicole arrived on a very cold night in January. She was battling a bit of exhaustion, and he was nursing a foot injury that had him dependent on a cane. But somehow, the sense of humor about their respective ailments was able to carry them through. They were joined for this session by guitarist, Robbie Mangano (Project Object), and longtime collaborator, producer and multi-instrumentalist, Michael Leonhart(Steely Dan, Yoko Ono, Mos Def). As hoped, Nicole contributed production ideas and her unmistakable backup vocals. Oh, and we’d be remiss not to mention our own video crew member, Joshua Freedman, who saved the day in basic tracking by providing a shaker for the group to keep time with (earning him the title “Shaker Joe” for the rest of the session).