Member Since: 10/05/2006
Band Website: http://www.acousticalternatives.net
Band Members: Kathleen is an accomplished musician from way back (that's Way Back, Tennessee.) She plays keyboards and guitar (sometimes), and writes music, and records, and does all sorts of really useful stuff.. In Acoustic Alternatives, she primarily sings, makes sure the next song is up and ready to go, and makes some extraneous rhythmic sounds with clacky things, jingly things, and poundy things.
Sherry is an alto, and is actually related through a variety of hitch-ups to Merle Travis. She's our own personal booking agent and works the PR for the group. Aside from singing most of the songs that are written in lower keys, she's also responsible for making sound with the clacky things, jingly things, and poundy things. Her personal turn ons include men without hair. Don't ask. Just take off your hat and stand in front of her.
Jack plays the guitar. His personal favorite is the Yahama 12 String amplified acoustic, and he exclusively uses Martin SP's, and is willing to accept any endorsement deals. He is a great great great great great grandson to the guy who wrote Silent Night (Franz Gruber [with an umlaut over the "u"]) and is trying to figure out a way to collect the royalties. He's also written "The Rubber Song" and "The Road Kill Polka," which explains the whirring noises coming from his great great great great great grandfather's tomb.
Influences: We've got influences that are seriously almost too numerous to mention.
Kathleen lists her musical influences as: everyone. (thanks for that, Kath...)
Sherry lists her's as: My favorite band is ACOUSTIC ALTERNATIVES!! (naturally) This is my band with my husband Jack and my best girl friend, Kathleen. Check us out at www.acousticalternatives.net. I love all kinds of music; you name it, I'll probably sing along with it--I'm especially partial to Zydeco, oldies, reggae, some country and anything deep, low and rich sounding and/or tight harmonies. It's ALL about the harmonies. I do NOT like Whitney Houston, Celine Dion, Mariah Carey or anyone who can't find a note and STICK with it! Damn, I hate note-searching! Except the little bit that you do Kathleen...'walkin' ouuuuuuuutt the dooooooooooooooooooooor'....lol. The favs floating around the floor board of the ol' convertible these days: The Beatles, The Kinks, The Who (are we noticing an affinity for the British Invasion sound), Tom Petty, The Beach Boys, Little Feat, Buckwheat Zydeco, Dwight Yoakum, Elvis Costello, Billy Joel, Doug Kershaw, The Judds, KT Tunstall, Adam Ant, Warren Zevon, Todd Rundgren as well as two original bands: Sudden Dark; A Statement of Imagery and Reaching for Mercy. I like some rap--if it has a good beat and NO SCREAMING (see note above about note-searching.)
Now, as for Jack, his are: Aside from being directly decended from a damned lucky organist in Germany in the mid 1800's (see bio above), Jack's Dad was a piano player back when jazz was top 40. He played in a number of bands and orchestras until responsibility became more important. Up through the early 60's, Jack Sr. alternately played for, co-directed, co-wrote, and finally directed several minstrel shows for various charities in Johnstown PA. These were among the last black-face minstrel shows presented in the United States. Jack's grandfather, Gabe, was a black face minstrel back in the 20's and 30's, and claimed to have known such historic performers as Al Jolson and Eddie Cantor. The last minstrel show that Jack's dad directed attempted to deflect the heat of the racial turbulence that was brewing with the progression of the Civil Rights movement by casting white face clowns in the roles of the end-men. Jack's Dad quit the minstrel shows for two reasons: he agreed with the sentiment of the Civil Rights movement in the demeaning tradition of using white comedians and singers in burnt cork, and he realized the folly of having a character that resembled Ronald McDonald or Bozo sing "Ole Man River" and "Alabammy Bound." Jack retains a deep love for all of the music he grew up with, including these old minstrel songs, John Philip Sousa, Louis Armstrong, George Gershwin, Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis, Jr. and on and on. Jack spent a number of years in high school marching bands, so there's lots of that in his backround, too. Then came The Beatles. Despite that, his first major concert was Liberace. After that, Led Zeppelin, The Doors, Frank Zappa, The Who, Ten Years After, Harry Chapin (whom he shot a few baskets with after the concert while the roadies were packing up), Jesus Christ Superstar, Pink Floyd, Billy Joel (about 8 times and counting), Paul Simon (3 times now), Huey Lewis and the News (took a leak next to Huey, but managed to avoid shaking his hand until other parts were respectively shaken and put away), Weird Al Yankovic (twice), 'Nsync, Smashmouth, and probably several others that he just can't remember right now. At the moment, and for the last few years, his strongest musical influence is Alabama 3 (NOT ALABAMA!!! ALABAMA 3-- note the THREE!). Being a mixture of acoustic, gospel, jazz, techno, acid house, rock, country and blues, Alabama 3 is representitive of the music (and politics, by the way) that plays in Jack's head nearly round the clock. His favorite place to go in the world is New Orleans, just to wander around the French Quarter and absorb the music on the streets, thundering from the bars on Bourbon, and creeping out of the clubs. His dream is to direct a minstrel show, and to have a full-blown jazz band march down the street at his funeral with all his friends, led by Sherry, Heidi, and Jackson, dancing all the way to the boneyard.
Sounds Like: We sound like us. If we can't do a cover song as well as or better than the original recording, we drop it. This is not to say that we sound like any of the bands that we cover. We just have our own way of doing them. And we DO songs we probably shouldn't. As long as we have fun, and the audience has fun, our job is done.
Type of Label: Major