Debra Dylan: Mad Tea Party
As writer Peggy Seeger said of Mad Tea Party, "Drop whatever you're doing when they are in your neighborhood and join in the fun."
On Thursday, October 26, 2006, the fun will be in our neighborhoon at two locations. Beginning noon, at WDVX's noon Blue Plate Special, Mad Tea Party will be sharing the bill with Larry Keel & Natural Bridge. At 10:00 p.m., on the same day, the fun continues at the Corner Lounge, as the band celebrates their new CD release Big Top Soda Pop. This follow-up to the band's wonderful CD Flying Saucers, a collection of 1920-1940 covers songs, shifts gears with original 1960's pop style influenced songs that are ukulele fried in Mad Tea Party's unique and special way.
This past summer, I was fortunate enough to catch this band's standing room only evening performance at Preservation Pub and I fell in love instantly their "vaudeville rock" music and style. Multi-instrumentalist Jason Rakel's gutteral back up vocals on "L'il Liza Jane" will forever be imprinted in my memory. As The Laurel newspaper reports, "There is nothing else on the acoustic music scene quite like Mad Tea Party." Becki Carr excellently sums up the fun and intrigue of Mad Tea Party's music:
"Take an 1874 Arthur O’Shaughn's poem and turn it into a Spike Jones-inspired ditty? Why not?! Discover Ami Wort hen’s ukulele and Jason Rakel’s guitar dancing over the backdrop of Valarie Miller’s solid bass line, and you’ll soon want more of this modernized-yet-old-school folk group. Their harmonizing vocals highlight wickedly clever commentary on love, life, death and the music business. The result is the thought-provoking, smile-inducing Mad Tea Party.
This year Mad Tea Party is releasing Big Top, Soda Pop, which showcases the group’s edgy-sweet retro sound. The title track bounces like a trapeze and rocks out at the same time, with lyrics that describe both the glitzy lure and underlying facade of the circus. Displaying their remarkable versatility, the song 'Berry-Bevin' brings listeners back to the era of 60s pop, while 'Whistle Pig' is a spooky fiddle tune with tongue-in-cheek lyrics. Big Top, Soda Pop is Mad Tea Party’s most ambitious project to date, a genuine display of refreshingly imaginative music.
Mad Tea Party began in 2000 as the solo project of Ami Wort hen (on vocals, ukulele and banjo), whose singing style has been described as 'the band’s greatest asset, instantly imparting a flirty, irresistible charm to anything she sings' (Max Price, The Beat). Within just two years, experienced multi-instrumentalist Rakel joined her on vocals, guitar, fiddle, kazoo and slide whistle. The duo caught the attention of the indie scene in their hometown of Ashe ville, NC. National Public Radio stations across the country began picking up the 2004 album 73% Post-Consumer Novelty, and Lora Pendelton joined the same year, contributing her skill in old-time and jazz bass. (Miss Pendelton has since left the band and has been replaced with Valorie Miller.)
While sharing the stage with such artists as Donna the Buffalo, Baby Gramps, The Avett Brothers, Larry Keel Experience, Malcom Holcolmbe, Reeltime Travelers and Peggy Seeger, Mad Tea Party began to charm festival audiences nationwide. The group plays a variety of venues and festivals, such as the Grassroots Festival, the Lake Eden Arts Festival, the Oregon Country Fair, Atlanta’s Who Fest, CBGB’s 313 in New York City, The Variety Playhouse in Atlanta, and the Tractor Tavern in Seattle. The trio released Flying Saucers in 2005 (recorded live), also to positive response at NPR and college stations.
Jason Krekel is also a part of Hand-Cranked Letterpress Company, where he creates hand-made ephemera on an old printing press. He utilizes his artistic skills to create the graphic look for Mad Tea Party which perfectly compliments their 'Nutty, Naughty, Nostalgic' appeal.
Mad Tea Party’s amusing and sharp approach to an evolved brand of folk music makes them one-of-a-kind. Whether performing in front of a festival audience or the original New York City underground punk scene, this band carries its weight. The exotic harping of the ukulele, the familiar guitar and the plucking bass will transport audiences to a different time and place – both traditional and progressive, both comfortable and foreign."
When: Thursday, October 26, 2006
12:00 p.m. WDVX Blue Plate Special with Larry Keel & Natural Bridge
10:00 p.m. Corner Lounge
Comments
they have a kazoo? :) I'm there - never heard of them before but i want to come now, thanks for the enlightenment!
Posted by: talullah | October 24, 2006 04:20 PM