Sweetback Sisters: Silky Harmonies and Retro Honky-tonk Swing at EOH
The Earlville Opera House features the silky harmonies and the honky-tonk swing of the Sweetback Sisters on Saturday, July 6 at 8pm. The Sweetbacks mine the traditional subjects of heartbreak, revenge, remorse and staying strong in the face of relationships gone wrong with a contemporary sensibility. “We’re a renegade retro band that mixes up country, swing and honky tonk,” explains Bode. “Sometimes what we deliver is straight out of the 50s; other times it’s BR549 meets The B52s.” Their performance is generously sponsored by Syracuse New Times.
The Sweetback Sisters romp through vintage honkytonk, western swing and Tex-Mex with equal expertise.
The Brooklyn-based Sweetback Sisters have been touring relentlessly since they released Chicken Ain’t Chicken in 2009. Their recent CD, Looking For A Fight showcases the band’s razor sharp musicianship, complex arrangements and growing confidence as songwriters.
The New York Music Daily blog captures the essence of the band: “For one, this band knows their roots. The songs start out sounding about 1953 and go about as far as ten years later, beginning around the time country bands started using electric guitars and taking it up to the Bakersfield era, which employed electric bass and drums along with the Telecasters. They romp through vintage honkytonk, western swing and Tex-Mex with equal expertise. They get their signature sound from the badass vocals of Emily Miller and Zara Bode, who blend voices like the long lost twin granddaughters of Rose Maddox…And yet they’re not totally retro either: the bad-girl personas aren’t just a cliche out of the rockabilly fakebook. The songs here are some of the most enjoyable ones to come out of this town in a long time.”
Cowtown Pattie (really) of BlogCritics.org condenses the band’s sound: “Think “Indigo Girls Meet Sweethearts of the Rodeo and Get Possessed by the Ghost of Patsy Cline While Riding Shot Gun with Bob Wills in a 1939 Ford Pickup,” or even “Dale Evans With Attitude and Swagger” and you might be closer to a description of the band’s special sound…
“Looking For A Fight has another delight in store for you: The tunes were recorded on analogue tape with vocals sung around an RCA 44 ribbon mic. All this throwback technology is industry-wide known for producing the richest, most pleasing sound of recorded music. Perfect combination for this soulful, yet edgy band.” ~ Cowtown Pattie
“Like a pair of luxurious soft cashmere socks for your ears, the silky vocal harmonies of Emily Miller and Zara Bode are a decadent treat.” Don’t miss them on Saturday, July 6th. General admission is $18 and $16 for EOH members and students are discounted to $13. Premium seating in the first 4 rows is an added $5.
The EOH Theater is wheelchair-accessible with a ramp and a lift. During your visit, take advantage of the exhibits in the three EOH Art Galleries, the Artisan’s Gift Shop featuring New York artists and the EOH Arts Café! Delicious refreshments will be available before the show and during intermission, including hot and cold drinks. For more information, or to reserve your seats, call 315-691-3550 or order online at www.earlvilleoperahouse.com. The Opera House is located at 18 East Main Street, in Earlville, NY.
You tube links:
Looking for a Fight: the title track of their CD
I’m Gonna Cry: an unrecorded, unreleased song performed at Threadgills…showcases great harmonies and guitar playing
Earlville Opera House 