PeaceBang

How Sweet the Sound

I’m excited about the debut of my group “Sweet the Sound” tonight at the Village Congregational Church:

http://www.boston.com/ae/music/articles/2005/11/13/sacred_songs_down_to_the_roots/

I went to get my hair cut yesterday and my stylist said, “I can always tell when you’ve got some performance thing going on because you bop in here with such energy.”

This group has been a little bit difficult for me. First of all, most everyone knows each other from belonging to the same church and you know it’s always hard being the new(ish) kid. Second, it’s a totally new genre of music for me, which is unusual, and I also feel a little useless not playing an instrument. I vow to take up the banjo or fiddle this summer. Actually, if you want to know the truth, I really want to learn the jazz trumpet so I can play in a Dixieland band, but I’ll have to get my fantasies sorted out and make a choice. Mom was right, though: when I quit piano when I was eleven she said, “You’ll regret this!” Shirley, you’re right. I regret it.

Some of the music we do is in this style:

http://fasola.org/introduction/introduction.html

It’s very loud and harsh and rhythmic and the harmonies are strange and intense, and it just gives you chills. Kind of like what you’d get if you crossed a hog caller with a barbershop quartet. Very addictive.

Our joke is that we were going to call ourselves, “Wretch Like Me” but decided that “Sweet the Sound” was more upbeat. If you don’t know the lyrics to “Amazing Grace,” you won’t find that comment in the least funny.

Sister of PeaceBang is coming up AND she is bringing GORDON the handsome-ist, bestest dog in the world, so PeaceBang is extra happy today. The cat, however, is not at all happy as she has been confined to the sock monkey guest bedroom and is even now howling to be liberated.

Speaking of the sock monkey guest bedroom, all I can say is that Christmas IS coming:

http://collector-connection.site.yahoo.net/socmonwitfez.html