“Tongue in Cheek” 1980

In the seventies and eighties, my stepdaughter Marta had a band called “Tongue in Cheek.” There were five members – all easy on the eye, fine musicians and with great voices.  They began in Berkeley and played in various venues in the Bay Area.  I, the proud and dutiful “second mom” went to almost every gig.  I never understood a word they sang.  I saw their lips move but their voices were drowned by the electronic music.

That has been my experience with almost all amplified music.  No matter how much set-up time, no matter how many sound engineers, no matter how many times the ‘balances’ are tested —  at the end of the day, I can’t make out the lyrics. Yesterday at the Ilwaco Library listening to the Bushwick Book Club presentation about Timothy Egan’s latest book was no exception.  I was sorely disappointed because I had looked forward with great anticipation to hearing their thoughts about Short Nights of the Shadow Catcher, the biography of Edward Curtis.

Bushwick Book Club, Seattle – at Ilwaco Timberland Library

Wes Weddell’s introductory remarks were hard to hear over the rhythmic beat of Aimee Zoe’s drums.  In fact, even when Moe Proevencher and Geoff Larson added their voices to those of Wes and Aimee, I could catch only a few of the words and a hint of their harmonies.  I would chalk that up to ‘old ears’ except for the fact that I’ve never ever had a good electronic experience and, more importantly, the folks I talked with after the performance all said the same thing.

Geof Larson, Founder of Bushwick Book Club Seattle

We also all agreed that we loved the music and the variety of moods the songs encompassed.  If only we could have heard the words!  I’m sure that’s why I prefer acoustic music; I can understand the lyrics and enjoy the instrumental accompaniment.  We urge our House Concert musicians to avoid “plugging in” and, the few times we have been overridden, we’ve found the performances less than satisfactory.  Ditto musicians in the church.  Both those Oysterville venues are small, the acoustics (especially in the church) are fabulous – no need to amplify vocalists or instruments.

Yesterday’s presentation was a multi-media event and included a slide show, excerpts read from the book, the original songs based on the book and even an audience-participation quiz show event.  Since the show all revolved around a book and was taking place in a library, it seemed ironic that it was the words we couldn’t make out.  If I had a vote about a next time, I’d say “Go Acoustic!”  But that might fall on deaf ears…