Admittedly, the allure of cat dancing may escape all but an ardent few. Done wrong, and both participants are left scarred for life. But done right, nothing short of transcendent beauty. And a terrific way to start off a weekend. My good friend John Wallingford is the Roger Clemens of cat dancing, a veritable interpretative genius.
So, when the Packway Handle Band sings, "Oh glory, glory, Somebody touched me," I can't help but envision Mr. Wallingford, perhaps on a slow Saturday morning, a strange startled smile crossing his face, reaching for that cat crouched in the corner with the ears laid back, and claws clinging to the carpet. Because the cat knows. He always knows.
For the appeal of Packway Handle Band, a bluegrass music quintet, lies not only in its tight four-part harmonies, its impressive straight-up musical chops, oddball lyrics, nor even its squirrelly interpretation of old traditionals.
Listen for a few minutes, and you're overcome with an urge for silliness. For there remains something ethereal, joyful in this music.
So, when the Packway Handle Band sings, "Oh glory, glory, Somebody touched me," I can't help but envision Mr. Wallingford, perhaps on a slow Saturday morning, a strange startled smile crossing his face, reaching for that cat crouched in the corner with the ears laid back, and claws clinging to the carpet. Because the cat knows. He always knows.
For the appeal of Packway Handle Band, a bluegrass music quintet, lies not only in its tight four-part harmonies, its impressive straight-up musical chops, oddball lyrics, nor even its squirrelly interpretation of old traditionals.
Listen for a few minutes, and you're overcome with an urge for silliness. For there remains something ethereal, joyful in this music.
I have to thank Randy Stewart, my husband's mandolin teacher down at the wonderful Campbell's Music Store in Spry, Pa., for turning the Lebo household onto PHB. Apparently, musician Chris Warner, former banjo player for Rhonda Vincent, who repairs instruments at Campbell's, turned Stewart onto them. And so it goes. When I was in the store last week, waiting for Jeff to finish his lesson, it seemed everyone behind the counter was talking about the band.
The Packway Handle Band originated seven years ago in Athens, Ga., a town which has nurtured the indie rock sounds of the B-52s and REM and the jam-band groove of Widespread Panic, but is not exactly known for its bluegrass scene.
The band, which has been a finalist at the Telluride bluegrass competition three times, consists of Josh Erwin on guitar, Tom Baker on banjo, Andrew Heaton on fiddle, Michael Paynter on the mandolin and Zach McCoy on bass.
Some interesting tidbits about the band from their bios: Heaton, also dubbed "the Carolina Heatwave," plays fiddle on a more-than 150-year-old Austrian violin made by the Thier family; Paynter plays the mandolin upside down; In performances, band members play old-style, clustering around two stand-up mics.
Most of the band members cite Bela Fleck as their source of bluegrass inspiration. Like their hero, there is more going on with PHB than just adherence to a traditional sound. For even as their playing belies a love of traditional music, these guys are decidedly nontraditional in their approach.
The band's self-titled latest release, which I haven't yet heard, includes the song Earl the Duck - a tender ode to a man's gay-agenda promoting pet.
The Packway Handle Band originated seven years ago in Athens, Ga., a town which has nurtured the indie rock sounds of the B-52s and REM and the jam-band groove of Widespread Panic, but is not exactly known for its bluegrass scene.
The band, which has been a finalist at the Telluride bluegrass competition three times, consists of Josh Erwin on guitar, Tom Baker on banjo, Andrew Heaton on fiddle, Michael Paynter on the mandolin and Zach McCoy on bass.
Some interesting tidbits about the band from their bios: Heaton, also dubbed "the Carolina Heatwave," plays fiddle on a more-than 150-year-old Austrian violin made by the Thier family; Paynter plays the mandolin upside down; In performances, band members play old-style, clustering around two stand-up mics.
Most of the band members cite Bela Fleck as their source of bluegrass inspiration. Like their hero, there is more going on with PHB than just adherence to a traditional sound. For even as their playing belies a love of traditional music, these guys are decidedly nontraditional in their approach.
The band's self-titled latest release, which I haven't yet heard, includes the song Earl the Duck - a tender ode to a man's gay-agenda promoting pet.
You say that some ducks come in disguise.
Some of them are girls.
And some of them are guys.
For some reason, I'm drawn to straightforward religious lyrics of ambiguously subversive intent. The band's self-released 2005 CD (Sinner) You Better Get Ready - a collection of traditional gospel and bluegrass hymns - is exactly what I'm talking about.
PHB's terrific cover of Roy Acuff's This World Can't Stand Long (For it is Too Full of Hate) begins with the sweet strains of a fiddle bouncing over the strings, but the bellicose vocals are downright goofy, estranged from the earnestness of the lyrics.
If we only give our hearts to GOD!
And let him take us by the HAND!
We'd have nothing in the world to FEAR!
He'd lead us beyond the burning SAAAANNDD!
Sure the song's theme is brutal, but it's still fun as hell, leaving you with the impression that the band members aren't really wasting too much time concerning themselves with the approaching Apocalypse.
On the final track, special guest Leah Calvert sings Madonna's Like a Prayer to the accompaniment of some mighty fine fiddle and mandolin playing. And, get this, this version doesn't sound dirty at all.
But my favorite remains the traditional There's Something Going On In the Graveyard. You can practically envision the rotting dirt-covered corpses, celebrating their resurrection, spinning around to the bouncing mandolin and fiddle playing with pissed-off skeleton cats clutched in their arms.
There's something going on in the graveyard like you ain't never
seen.
Whoo Whee!
The saints are coming up out of the ground.
Oh can't you hear them sing...More info and merchandise from the Packway Handle Band can be found here.
UPDATE: Tips for cat dancing. Mr. Wallingford says, "Really, the key is the cat. You gotta have a pliable forgiving cat."
CLARIFICATION: The Roger Clemens comparison to John Wallingford in no way implies that Mr. Wallingford is "the biggest cheater in the competitive world of cat dancing." Indie Twang & Roots Music regrets the confusing analogy.
