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Monthly Feature. |
         
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Romancing The Crooners August 2005 Feature Monthly Partnership with Block Magazine Feature Article by Cameron Brindise There's a grace that upholds the masses, a kind hand that gives you a whiskey when your thumb is the size of a damn grapefruit, a bracelet in place of money as an act of gratitude, a room in a boat with a pack of gypsies smoking for fantasy and talking to listen.
To speak something of the nature of drunken hobos masquerading around town would be wrong, but not completely wrong, there is a romance in chipping your teeth from too much wine and sitting closer to that stranger on a bar stool somewhere in Spain talking of the rhythm and talking of the blues, there is a way the washtub bass is played on a corner in Paris and the way a bottle is sipped on a train going north. This is a romance. In the chance meeting of a great uncle that goes by the name of Dan Fitzgerald who played as a street musician for twenty five years in The Lost Wandering Blues and Jazz Band, The Crooners were influenced to find their own version of this knight on the road wayward band. By self recording their records before each plane ride to hotel room, to cheap liquored Paris night busking, these brutes have found a way to roam and play and smoke with just enough for a bus ticket to the next town over. With Nyles Fitzgerald (washtub bass, drums, vocals), Chris Merkley (guitar, vocals), Jenn Grauer (keys, vocals) and Kevin Denton (guitar), The Crooners play a mix of blues, jazz and swing rooted in the 1920's and 30's. Each member of the outfit has brought a different musical tradition and together they have turned their sound into a contemporary guise of the classics. Whether it be Nyles' hip hop, Chris' blues, Jenn's classical or Kevin's funk, this ain't no sideshow ballyhoo, this is a distinct sound. "For some reason or another we are able to meet at this point and make art together, and it's beautiful," Nyles says.
But still, there ain't nothing like a Paris crowd who isn't worried about swinging their hips with seduction and dancing the salsa with no shoes on. "Out of all the corners we've played on we seem to gravitate toward Le Boulevard St. Michel in the Latin Quarter of Paris," the band agrees. "People will clap and shout. Sometimes professional dancers will give it a go, it is great as long as the police don't send us packin'," Nyles declares. With two albums and an EP in the bag, The Crooners are recording their third. And with a new album comes a red eye to Paris, some sidewalk bantering, a touch of Alcool Fort for the heart, more drawings, money and well, phone numbers for the guitar case. "It doesn't hurt to be rewarded with great food and drink." says Chris. Water pours on the band from windows sometimes, indicating good acoustics from the street but angry neighbors from above. No matter where you are, you always find a stranger to spit on and a lover to kiss. It's that sweet taste of chocolate on your tongue followed by that cold fish slap to remind you just where you are and what you are doing with yourself. And although this band is doing the right thing, busking and even venue shows will bring its glory and its hell. But it is a romance. Un idylle pour les âges. A romance for the ages. Find more information about The Crooners at http://www.thecrooners.com. This article presented with permission from Block Magazine and can be found in their monthly section of Uproar. |
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