Arts
Girlyman Music
Girlyman
Music
by Stacey Horn
Remember
Who I Am |
I
am thrilled to say that Girlyman really does Remember Who I Am.
I first heard Girlyman, an inventive folk trio, at the Falcon Ridge Folk
Festival in July of 2003, and I've been smitten ever since. Not just because
they're the kind of band that remembers your name when you accost them
after shows and ask them to sign stuff (babbling, stuttering, and generally
making a fool of yourself), but also because Doris Muramatsu, Ty Greenstein
and Nate Borofsky are making music worth embarrassing yourself for.
Girlyman's perfectly tuned three-part
harmony will send shivers down your spine with surprising frequency. Further,
their music is textured and complex enough to keep you guessing. You'll
hear soprano, alto and tenor lines crossing over one another as the artists'
voices refuse to remain in their assigned sections of the musical staff.
Most of the time, you'll hear Muramatsu
on acoustic guitar, Borofsky on baritone guitar, and Greenstein on percussion,
but keep your ears sharpened for the occasional mandolin, and note tracks
like "David" that drop percussion to bring poignant lyrics to
the forefront. Also listen for the group's playing with conventional musical
forms: "Postcards from Mexico" leans toward the country end
of the folk spectrum, yet features a fugue-like section during which words
and harmonies tumble over one another, breaking from the lead-singer-with-backup-harmony
configuration. Girlyman’s sound might be compared to that of harmony-driven
folk groups like Eddie From Ohio, although when the two bands shared a
stage at Falcon Ridge, EFO's Robbie Schaefer commented, "I don't
know what it is, but I like it."
The band has also picked up
endorsements from the Village Voice ("really good, really
unexpected, and really different"), the Washington Post
("harmonic, multi-instrumental mastery of buoyant folk-pop"),
and the gay New York Blade ("their blend is beautifully
complete, their harmonies seductive and complex").
As their name suggests, Girlyman's
refusal to conform to expectations extends beyond their music. The band
wrote a tongue-in-cheek open letter to Governor Schwarzenegger after his
remark that California legislators were "girlie men," suggesting
that he apply the phrase in a different context: "[T]ry using phrases
like, 'Girlyman has changed my life for the better,' or, 'There's nothing
I love more than the folk-trio Girlyman.' Even better, you could try,
'Here, sweet Girlyman, let me help you carry your equipment off stage.'"
Borofsky has said that the band's
name "reflects our annoyance with traditional gender roles."
The lyrics on Remember Who I Am feature no overt discussion of
these issues, but the band's live performances certainly bring them to
the forefront. This past July at Falcon Ridge, Borofsky, wearing vibrant
pink flip flops, sang the lead vocals to "Son of a Preacher Man"
while Muramatsu and Greenstein sang backup during the festival's Gospel
Wake-up Call. Greenstein introduced a new song titled "Young James
Dean" that chronicles the escapades of a girl who gets more girls
than the boys.
Though Remember Who I Am
has been out since 2003 on the band's independent label, Clever Shark
Records, it was released nationally for the first time on September 7.
Girlyman recently signed with Daemon Records, the Atlanta-based non-profit
label founded by Amy Ray of the Indigo Girls. A second album, which the
band began recording in August, should be out in the spring of 2005. You
can also order Remember Who I Am from www.girlyman.com
Check the website for performance dates/locations as well as more information
about the band.
Stacey Horn is frequently too busy teaching at Champlain College to
remember who she is, but listening to Girlyman helps.