Every tongue has a tale to tell and I say we got more than our share.
We took our name from a Dylan Thomas poem and, in the winter of 2001, set out to create our own brand of roots music—dubbed "American Swamp". We tap everything from Roots Rock and Roll, Blues and Motown to Americana, Cajun and Gospel. Once forced to describe the Bells sound in a single sentence, Miner retorted; "Imagine if the Stones came from Louisiana...they might sound like us".
We're known for two distinctly different kinds of shows. The first is our Electrified Roots Rock 'n Roll Show for which we plug-in and are often joined by gospel singers and special guest artists. Our brand of roots music has proven to be a great fit with Blues, Rock, Americana and Country acts. We get along with everybody.
Our second show is an all acoustic "Swamp Opera" entitled; That Great and Dreadful Day...Tall Tales from the American Swamp. A play of the musical theatre variety, it employs the classic combination of storyteller and song with a cast of seven in period costume staged on a sharecroppers cabin set. Tales are told in story and song that take the audience on a journey through the Depression Era, the War Years and into the 1960s. Sold-out performances and standing ovations continue to propel this production.
The Black Tongued Bells are:
Anthony Cook, D Miner, Dave Resnik and Ray Herron.
Our gospel singers are:
Mary Stewart and Louis Cox
Additional cast members of the Swamp Opera are:
Louis Cox as The Reverend, Mary Stewart as Miss Mary, and Jack Curenton as The Storyteller with Rick D. Davis serving as his understudy.
For more info, visit our website at http://www.theblacktonguedbells.com
