Wednesday, April 16, 2014

The song in my head


Every time I watch Preston Sturgis’s Hail the Conquering Hero, I go around hearing "We want Woodrow for Our Mayor," for a day or so.

Today, there’s a darker, deeper song on my mind: the Horseflies’ "Sally Ann."

I first heard the Horseflies in the 90s, at CBGB, on the recommendation of the Village Voice, which described their music as something like "warped old time." Whatever you’d call it, it thrilled my ears and my brain, defying labels.

A few years later, I heard the Horseflies at the Falcon Ridge and Dance Flurry festivals, where I discovered that besides making memorable and original boundary-transcending music, they were a dynamite contra dance band.

Then at the 2009 Flurry, the Horseflies performed at the Cafe Lena, and Jim captured the concert  on a little Zoom recorder.  The band gave him permission to post the recording here:

archive.org/details/horseflies2009-02-15.CafeLena

For more information about the Horseflies go to

thehorseflies.com


They'll be back at Falcon Ridge this year.