Clockwork on KPIX

Wow we are hot on KPIX right now. You might remember a few weeks ago KPIX did an awesome piece about PME and the Bernstein Mass Grammy Nod. Well after Clockwork won the BA Harmony Sweeps this weekend, we scored an interview with Bill Schechner of the Weekend Morning News. Cool cool cool! We met at Crowden School in Berkeley (peemer rehearsal space), sang a few tunes and talked for about a 1/2 hour. I have to say the interview was quite enjoyable. Bill knows a lot about music, especially the 60s jazz and old Broadway songwiters that provide the bulk of our material. He brought up a connection between Hoagy Carmichael and Back Home Indiana that frankly stumped us. Hoagy didn't write the song, but there's a strong Indiana connection so good guess. I found a nice (long) article about it at our old friends WNYC. (I'll be honest I haven't read it yet). We in turn had a fun time talking about singing and discussing the things we love about the A Cappella Jazz medium. Jacquie was there so I enlisted her in taking a few photos. Thanks Jacquie!

Bill told us it's unlikely the piece will air this Sat due to Oscar coverage. Maybe next weekend. I'll be sure to keep y'all posted.

Next stop, the Columbia Jazz Festival.
-E

Yay Clockwork!

What a night! Clockwork sang at the Bay Area Harmony Sweepstakes last night and won the whole freakin' thing! Audience Favorite and First Place. Amazing. It was such a great show this year. The strongest I've seen in a while. Every group had something very cool to offer. The big story this year was of course The Blanks. One of the guys in the group plays Ted on Scrubs and the group's had the chance to sing on the show. (TV aside - Scrubs rocks. It's one of a short list of shows that I'll actually make time for. Scrubs, Arrested Development, Larry David, The Office. That's about it for me these days. No laugh track. Sharp dialogue. Respecting the intelligence of the viewer etc etc...)

But I digress. The Blanks were Hilarious! They did a dead clever bit where the fifth singer was a toy soldier doll timed to fit their tune perfectly. And they finished with an awesome rendition of the Theme from Superman. I talked to the guys after the show and they told me not to expect a recording any time soon. Evidently the Superman peeps won't clear the lyrics. This sucks ass 'cause I'd really like to play it for some folks.

Did I mention the host group Moodswing. We didn't get to hear them much 'cause we were running around, but I did managed to catch them singing "Calling You." This totally haunting tune by Jevetta Steele comes from the 1988 movie Bagdad Cafe. I've always loved this song. I actually remember having a conversation with some folks from the Nylons way in the way back about working up this song. Yay for Moodswing. They knocked it out.

Anyhoo, everyone's really excited today. The big prize, of course, is that we get to sing in the Finals in San Rafael. (May 6, mark your calendars!). For now here's some pics from last night.

Thanks to everyone that came out. Especially thanks to Jacquie and Penny who came and handled the merch table. Also to the lovely and talented Trish Tillman worked with us on our presentation? Yes, that same Trish that was invaluable at the PME Fund Raiser. She worked her magic on us over two rehearsals. I think it pushed us over the top. Thanks Trish! Also, those 2 rehearsals were at space provided by your fellow Peemer Bryan Matheson. We are very lucky to have such good friends.

-E