Publication Date: Friday, July 16, 2004
Four voices, one vision
Four voices, one vision
(July 16, 2004) Blame Sally returns to Palo Alto for Twilight Concert
by Robyn Israel
M onica Pasqual fondly remembers the first time her band, Blame Sally, played in Palo Alto. The occasion was last summer's Twilight Concert Series, and even though the conditions were somewhat rudimentary -- there wasn't a stage set up at Peers Park -- the band nevertheless enjoyed the experience.
"People were right up front, dancing. Kids were playing. We sold a lot of CDs," Pasqual recalled. "We have a lot of fans from that show that continue to come to concerts."
Those fans will probably be out in force on Tuesday, when Blame Sally returns to play the Twilight Concert Series at Johnson Park. Once again, there will be no stage set up for the female folk-pop quartet. That's to be expected, since the budget for the series is limited, according to concert organizer Suzanne Warren.
Right now, things are not looking promising for 2005. Only $10,000 has been raised (including beer sales), with an additional $15,000 needed to mount both the Brown Bag and Twilight Concert Series. There is a chance, Warren said, that the Brown Bag will be cut from next year's schedule.
Hopefully Blame Sally will help rally the crowd. The emerging band, whose members include pianist Pasqual, percussionist Pam Delgado and guitarists/bassists Renee Harcourt and Jeri Jones, has started to make a name for itself in the Bay Area music scene over the last year.
And they are out to prove there is more to this "girl group" than first meets the eye.
"People don't really think of women bands as having great players," Pasqual said. "But everyone in this band is a great instrumentalist."
Besides their individual musical talents, the women are all songwriters and vocalists. They all contribute songs, work on the arrangements together and take turns singing lead.
"We decided from the outset that it would be a really democratic project, and it's turned out to be that way," Pasqual said. "The energy is really positive and it's just as fun playing back-up for someone as it is playing lead."
Asked to define Blame Sally's sound, Pasqual called it "Americana," but added that a lot of influences are incorporated into the band's sound, a result of each woman's distinct background.
Pasqual studied classical piano, while Harcourt grew up around jazz and pop. Delgado sang in Top-40 bands for years, while Jones worked in funk and rock bands.
"Everyone brings these different sensibilities, and somehow we've managed to incorporate them into one sound," Pasqual said.
Although Blame Sally was formed four years ago, most of the group had known each other before. Delgado and Jones had played in Pasqual's previous band, Planet Ranch, and had formed Blue Water Triplets together. Harcourt (previously of Sugar Danks and Ruby's Tattoo) first met Pasqual in the early '90s, when the two ended up as finalists in a songwriter's contest at the Napa Folk Festival.
Fast-forward to 2000, when Pasqual threw a CD-release party for a new Planet Ranch album. She asked her three friends to play with her on a tune called "With What Is Mine." It was the first time the quartet had sung together.
"It was clear the four of us had a great sound together -- great harmonies," Pasqual recalled.
They decided to form their own band and called it Blame Sally. The quirky moniker can be attributed to Pasqual's old roommate.
"Sally was hanging out with Jeri, who didn't show up on time. Since 'Blame Jeri' didn't sound as good, we went with 'Blame Sally,'" Pasqual explained.
The quartet's first album, "Live No. 1" (recorded at Expressions for New Media in Emeryville) caught the ear of KFOG DJ Rosalie Howarth, who started playing the track "Planet Ranch" on her "Acoustic Sunrise" show. The station also included it on its 10-year anniversary CD. "Water," a tune from Blame Sally's new self-titled CD, was recently included in a compilation of local artists released by KFOG.
After obsessing for the past year over the writing and recording of the sophomore album, Blame Sally is looking forward to touring. Unlike the first album, which primarily showcased Pasqual's songs, the new CD features original compositions written by all four members (there is one cover version of a traditional Mexican ballad, "La Llorona," sung by Delgado and Pasqual).
And though "Blame Sally" wasn't recorded live (the album was recorded at Harcourt's Mill Valley home using ProTools), the band still strove to infuse it with a live feel.
"We didn't make it wet and slick-sounding. We didn't put tons of reverb in it. We wanted to keep it sounding raw," Pasqual said. "We think it's a lot of what people respond to -- the interplay of our instruments and vocals. But it's richer -- we could play with it more and we could overdub more."
So how do these four women get along with one another when they're not performing?
"We love each other -- we really do!" Pasqual said, adding that three of them live within a few miles of each other in San Francisco. "We hang out, and we're all friends first."
So who gets blamed when things aren't working out?
"It's a band -- we've worked through stuff, too," said. "In some ways, it was an adjustment to go from having our bands to being a collaborative project. But it's been surprising, how much we've liked it. It doesn't feel competitive. It feels supportive. We all respect each other musically and we get a lot of joy out of listening to one another. It hasn't been an ego struggle. The occasional control struggle, yes, but ego no!
Who: Blame Sally, presented by the Twilight Concert Series
Where: Johnson Park, corner of Everett Avenue and Waverley Street in Palo Alto
When: Tuesday from 6:30 to 8 p.m.
Cost: Admission is free.
Info: Call (650) 463-4940 or visit www.PaloAltoOnline.com.
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