Siren's Wild Ride
I was honored to be able to play host to a Sirens Wild Ride show right here
in my living room. Due to the storm, I lost power around 3:30 a.m. I was
standing on my porch watching Mother Nature do her thing and it was an
amazing sight. As I stood there watching a huge tree branch whack into the
house across the street, I thought, well, people might think the show has
been called off because of this. So, I came in and send out a show reminder
to the people I had invited. Storm or not, the show must go on. A few
minutes after I sent out the e-mail, my computer screen went blank and I
was sitting in the dark.
I went the rest of the day without power. About an hour before the show was
to start, it still wasn't on. So, we had to run to town to pick up a few
candles. I got home, set 'em up, got the snack table ready. No power, no
coffee. That was almost like the nail in the coffin for me. I wasn't sure
how this was gonna turn out and, to be honest, I wasn't thinking happy
thoughts.
Pennsylvania singer/songwriter Hannah Bingman arrived first and a short
time later, Emily Zuzik and Denise Barbarita pulled up and everything was
in place. Only problem was, no one else was here. So, we waited for a
little bit, stood around talking. I'm not exactly sure what time it was
when people started showing up since I didn't have a clock. It was after
eight, that much I know. When it was all said and done, we had about twenty
people here in my house.
It was a rather unique show. The whole having no power, candle light thing
created a very cool vibe. It was kind of like an "in the round" sort of
deal, each performer would do about three tunes and then it would switch
over to someone else. I wasn't really counting. But, if you do the math,
each performer did six songs total. They took a break after the first set,
which gave everyone a chance to get to know each other, have a smoke on the
porch. I've been to a number of different places, bars, clubs, a coffee
house, I've hung out backstage with national artists. But, I've never had
an experience quite like this. It was really a personal experience, a very
down to earth thing. The people who came out to hear the music had a real
appreciation for what they were hearing. I say that because it wasn't loud,
there was no major production, there was no power, it wasn't a huge event
so to speak. As for the artists themselves, there was no ego, no showing
off, none of that rock star stuff where they're too "important" to hang out
and have a conversation. It was quiet, low key and very friendly.
It might have been pitch black outside. But, the stars were shining bright
inside and those stars were Hannah Bingman, Emily Zuzik and Denise
Barbarita. And, wouldn't you know it, once the show was over and the last
person left for the evening, the power came back on. It's almost like it
was meant to be. It was a real rock 'n' roll moment. I think it was good
though because if we would've had the lights on, I don't think we would've
had the same vibe.
This show was part of the Sirens Wild Ride tour. For those of you who
aren't familiar with this, Sirens Wild Ride, which started with Emily Zuzik
and Athena Reich, is a collective of female musicians, kind of like the
whole Lilith Fair thing, who try to give their audience more than a show.
They get involved with local organizations and help publicize them and
stuff like that. See the website for more information.
Anyway, Hannah Bingman was the local connection for this show. Denise
caught her at the singer/songwriter festival earlier this year and she was
really impressed with her performance. Can't argue with her because
Hannah's got something special going on. She could easily be described as a
younger Ani DiFranco. She's got a lot of originality in her music and she's
a local artist that's worth keeping your eye on. With her talent, there's
no doubt in my mind that she's gonna make a name for herself in this
business. Her debut album will soon see the light of day and I'm really
looking forward to hearing it and writing about it. I already know it's
gonna be a great record. There's no doubt in my mind about that. Yeah!
Emily Zuzik was the artist that I knew nothing about before this show.
Never saw her live, never heard her music. But, after meeting her and
watching her perform, well, I'm hooked. The one thing I noticed right away
was that she had a lot of soul in her performance. I'm now getting familiar
with her debut solo disc, "The Way It's Got To Be," and, from what I've
heard so far, it's really, really good. She's also does the band thing with
Sexfresh, which I haven't heard. But, from what she told me, it's got a lot
of variety to it. So, it's worth looking into.
Denise Barbarita, what can I say. I've known her for years and this was the
third time I've seen her live. She's got more of a rock edge in her music.
She's really into King's X and Queensryche and you may hear that on her
current release, "Beauty Lied." It might not be so obvious as to where it
would slap you in the face. But, it's there. She did a song or two that had
a deep, emotional impact, which I haven't seen before. I believe they were
new tunes. Not sure. But, it was a side of her I've never seen before and I
thought it was kind of cool. I also got to hear my favorite song, which
hasn't been released yet, "Are You Happy" I believe it's called. I forget
stuff. That's one of her more rocking tunes and I can't wait to get that
one on CD.
This show was a success and I may do something like this again in the
future. I'll have to start watching the weather channel so I can set
something up when there's another storm coming though town. Either that or
I can just turn off the lights and pull the candles out once again. As long
as I have a fresh pot of coffee next time, I'll be happy.
EMILY: http://www.emilyzuzik.com
DENISE: http://www.myshytune.com
HANNAH: http://www.hannahbingman.com
SIRENS WILD RIDE: http://www.sirenswildride.com