The Hush Sound may be on hiatus, but its front woman and musical heart — Greta Morgan — is more active on the music scene than ever.
If you go
Gold Motel (featuring Greta Morgan from the Hush Sound)
Where: DC9, 1940 Ninth St. NW
When: 7 p.m. Thursday
Info: $10; all ages; 202-483-9000; dcnine.com
Her new band, Gold Motel, just put out a self-titled EP and is geared up to release its full-length debut, “Summer House,” on June 1. The band is touring on the East Coast, much to the delight of her followers. “That’s one really nice thing about social media,” Morgan said of her loyal fans who clamor for new music. “I have almost 5,000 followers [on Twitter], so I play shows and hundreds of people show up. It’s amazing.”
Although Morgan has fond words for the Hush Sound, her focus these days is on the pop-infused, up-tempo indie rock sounds of Gold Motel.
“For this new music, I have a clearer vision of what I want,” Morgan said of how her writing has shifted between bands. “I want to honor the classic songwriters of Motown, Bob Dylan, the Beach Boys, the Kinks. I love the music that you could dance to for 100 hours in a row, that made people feel good.”
A move from the Chicago home of the Hush Sound to California is in keeping with her new, high-energy musical aspirations for Gold Motel.
“Once I got there, I started going to five or six concerts a week — I would go to everything and anything,” she said. “I also think of it as going to school for a year. … I wanted to carve out my place to make music.”
The other members of her band, which includes three members of the band This Is Me Smiling, are also something of musical sponges, and the combined influences meld perfectly on Gold Motel.
Although most of the music is original tunes primarily written by Morgan for Gold Motel, expect to hear a few Motown and other covers sprinkled into some sets.
“This is really my dream team,” Morgan said. “I think it’s very authentic, it’s very energetic. That why our shows are so high energy, because we just can’t contain how excited we are to play this music together.”
