(bouncy music) - [Announcer] Coming up on "Ocean State Sessions," (touching music) Space Cowboy Newt- ♪ I wanna ♪ (seething music) - [Announcer] and Animal Face.

(touching music) ♪ I'll wake up like a siren, scaly from the sea ♪ ♪ By the time it's noon, I'm at the haberdashery ♪ ♪ Late at night, sometimes, I feel my femininity ♪ ♪ But I just wanna love myself the hours in between ♪ ♪ I'm in costume ♪ ♪ As I walk through life ♪ ♪ Wanting to shapeshift ♪ ♪ And then butterflies ♪ ♪ The grass is all dried up on either side ♪ ♪ And there's a stranger in the mirror in my mind ♪ ♪ I thought I wanted something ♪ ♪ But it came in the wrong shape ♪ ♪ My body's like a mountain range I wanna excavate ♪ ♪ But if I've razed the girl you know ♪ ♪ You won't love me the same ♪ ♪ 'Cause you've got heart eyes ♪ ♪ For the things about me that I hate ♪ ♪ I'm in costume ♪ ♪ When we're alone at night ♪ ♪ I wanna please you ♪ ♪ But there's no compromise ♪ ♪ There's always something wrong on either side ♪ ♪ A dissonance that plays back all the time ♪ (worried music) ♪ Something wrong on either side ♪ ♪ Plays back all the time ♪ ♪ Something wrong ♪ ♪ Something wrong ♪ ♪ On either side ♪ ♪ On either side ♪ (expectant music) (touching music) ♪ I wanna cut my hair ♪ ♪ Skip dinner till I'm skin and bones ♪ ♪ Dress up like my punk rock boyfriend ♪ ♪ Sell my fancy clothes ♪ ♪ But then I see a pretty girl ♪ ♪ Ah ♪ ♪ And take it all right back ♪ ♪ I wanna be somebody else ♪ ♪ Ah ♪ ♪ I can't stand what I have ♪ ♪ I'm in costume ♪ ♪ As I walk through life ♪ ♪ Wanting to shapeshift ♪ ♪ And every day I try ♪ ♪ The grass is all dried up on either side ♪ ♪ And there's a stranger in the mirror in my mind ♪ ♪ Ah ♪ ♪ Ah ♪ ♪ There's a stranger in the mirror in my mind ♪ (perky music) - [Audience Member] (claps) Whoo!

- My name is Emma Newton; stage name, Space Cowboy Newt, and I make dream pop-themed botanical-imagery harp music, I am a recording and mixing engineer and producer at Big Nice Studio in Lincoln, Rhode Island.

Dream pop contains elements of synthesizers and, usually, dreamy kind of reverbed-out guitars, but I do replace that with harp.

♪ I found an olive tree ♪ I started playing piano when I was four, got into writing songs when I was in middle school.

And for my birthday one year, I got to go to a local recording studio in my hometown and record some of my songs.

What really interested me was learning to find the words to describe the sound I was looking for.

The first song that I was obsessed with learning, when I was six, was from "Toy Story 2."

It was the song "When She Loved Me"- ♪ Every hour we spent together ♪ ♪ Lives within my heart ♪ - by Sarah McLachlan.

It was a devastating song.

♪ And when she was sad ♪ - So naturally, I started playing it all the time, and I'm sure my parents were like, "Oh my God, this sad child."

I love a good cry.

I really do.

It's beautiful to be able to connect to someone else's experience with your own.

(intrepid music) I loved the video game "Legend of Zelda: Link to the Past."

I loved the fairy fountain, where you would go down and the fairy would heal you.

(enchanting music) And there's this beautiful, ♪ Brrr, brrr, brrr, brrr ♪ (enchanting music) like, magical-sounding thing that happened, and this is what I need to do in life.

I need to be the fairy that lives in the cave that plays the harp to heal people, and it was true love ever since.

(wistful harp music) Space Cowboy Newt is my- ♪ You stay at home while I'm in the cosmos ♪ harpy synthy background vocally solo project.

♪ That I thought I wouldn't miss ♪ I have a enormous backlog of things, right now, that I'm working on.

I'm trying to work on my full-length album.

It's called "Suffering!!!"

with three exclamation points, (exclamation points screech) (laughs) suffering in the form of gender identity, suffering in the form of mental health.

But I think there are some happy songs too.

There's... No, there's none.

There's none.

- It's just darkness.

- It's just suffering but in a funny way.

It's a great source of healing, to be able to create it, especially.

(perky harp music) (wistful harp music) ♪ Writing down my thoughts ♪ ♪ And it's a whole damn week ♪ ♪ Until you take me ♪ ♪ To my favorite place in the world ♪ ♪ And it's just ♪ ♪ To soothe my aching mind ♪ ♪ How could you think that I'm fine ♪ ♪ With crystal salt lamp ♪ ♪ When it feels like I'm dying ♪ ♪ I think I'm dying ♪ ♪ I heard a whistle in the dark ♪ ♪ Back when I thought that a god ♪ ♪ Could mend my brain ♪ ♪ Or maybe she just stopped my heart ♪ ♪ And through the white noise ♪ ♪ From the room next door ♪ ♪ The Boston line would soar down the rails ♪ ♪ Into neighboring towns ♪ ♪ A lifeguard watching me drown ♪ ♪ Say someone's awake ♪ ♪ And maybe they're looking out for me ♪ ♪ Say someone's awake ♪ ♪ And maybe they're looking out ♪ ♪ For me, for me ♪ (wistful harp music continues) ♪ Say someone's awake ♪ ♪ And maybe they're looking out for me ♪ ♪ Say someone's awake ♪ ♪ And maybe they're looking out ♪ ♪ For me, for me ♪ ♪ Writing down my thoughts ♪ ♪ And it's a whole damn week ♪ ♪ Until you take me ♪ ♪ To my favorite place in the world ♪ - One, two, three, four.

(drumsticks clack) (seething music) (seething music continues) (seething music continues) (seething music continues) (scheming music) (brooding trumpet solo) (seething music) (seething music continues) (tentative saxophone solo) (cursing saxophone solo) (manic saxophone solo) (deranged saxophone solo) (hectic music) (swaggering guitar solo) (seething music) (delirious music) - Drawing from a page from the Lupo's and The Met book, they have these amazing pictures of these rockstars that were downtown, and they hang inside at The Met now; it's, like, Janis Joplin and Jimi Hendrix; there was a cool Elvis one; paintings of artists that have passed, you know, but, like, rockstars, right?

So we went through a period of time that was pretty devastating to our community, where we lost some of our major players in the community, musicians that actually brought people together, and that was... Aside from being great musicians, they were great people.

First, we lost my dear friend Mike Schiavone.

He was a killer guitar player from Slurp and various other bands.

He actually was prominent fixture at Empire Guitar down the street here.

Big-up, Empire.

Good guy, and he loved this club, so his band would always pack it here.

- [Keyboardist] Directly to my left, the one and only- - [Audience Member] Schiavone.

- [Keyboardist] Mr. Michael Schiavone.

- Whoo!

- Respect it.

- Just very full of life, very full of fun, great musician, really had a knack of just bringing all walks of life together.

(persevering music continues) He passed.

And then actually, Nick passed, Nick as in the drummer.

Don't believe he had a enemy out there, and him and I had a very close personal friendship for years, years, years, years.

You know, it was back in the living room days, and if you were feeling down, that kid would come in and just, like, light you up.

He never had bad word, just very positive force in the community and in my life as well.

We have Mibbit Threats out there, the amazing bass player.

He played with Big Nazo.

Very accomplished musician.

I encountered Mibbit at a jazz jam back when I shouldn't have been at a jazz jam, and he very kindly told me I needed to go home and work on some stuff, and I did.

But just a very kind guy who held you at a high level.

(singers sing indistinctly) (dominant music continues) Pete McLanahan, who was the bass player for The Worried and numerous other bands, Warrior Soul was his big national band, who I'd actually seen at the Bubble Living Room back in the day.

My boy Jon Tierney, a force, man.

♪ Well, I done nothing but just talking ♪ ♪ Baby, I got nothing against you ♪ - It's actually one of the first bands I ever got fired from, and he was absolutely right for firing me, because not everybody's the right guy for the gig, so we remained dear friends, and you know, I think it's good to get fired every now and then.

Mikhiel, nother one, a radiant soul, had a very amazing gift of poetry and bringing out the best in the people around her and bringing people together.

You get one shot as far as we know, so I think you're doing the right things if you're uplifting people around you, and I can say every one of these individuals on the wall did that.

(brooding music) (feverish music) (feverish music continues) (feverish music continues) (feverish music continues) (feverish music continues) (restrained music continues) (hectic music) (feverish music) (feverish music continues) ♪ All, now, come on, now ♪ ♪ For 19.99, buy one, get two free ♪ ♪ Your life's purpose ♪ ♪ If you'd just listen to us ♪ ♪ We will unfold all the truths ♪ ♪ Buy now ♪ ♪ Act fast, quick ♪ ♪ Call in the next 20 minutes, and lend me your mind ♪ ♪ An answer you've been seeking ♪ ♪ For 19.99 ♪ ♪ You could, in fact, find your life's purpose ♪ (feverish music continues) (restrained music) (delirious music) (brooding music) (audience applauds) (audience applauds) - [Announcer] For more "Ocean State Sessions" plus all your Rhode Island PBS favorites, visit RIPBS.org.

(bouncy music continues) ♪ Ah, oh, ah, oh, oh ♪ ♪ Ah, oh, ah, oh, oh ♪ ♪ What else can I do ♪ ♪ What else can I do ♪ ♪ Hmm ♪ ♪ Hmm ♪ ♪ Ah ♪ ♪ Ah ♪