speed of dark

Jesca Hoop

Photo by Eric J. Meacham
Jesca Hoop has traveled a strange path toward fame. Spending several years in backwoods homesteads in Wyoming and Northern California would not seem to be the straight road, but being hired as a nanny by Tom Waits and his wife was a step in the right direction. Waits became her mentor and gave her demos to his publisher who in turn gave them to Nic Harcourt of KCRW's Morning Becomes Eclectic. Her song "Seed of Wonder" became one of KCRW's top five requests for eight weeks running, a station record.

My husband Mr. Folkie and I were introduced to Jesca Hoop last spring when she opened for Mark Kozelek at the Troubadour in Hollywood. Mr. Folkie was immediately charmed by her quirky tunes and stream-of-consciousness lyrics. As this photo shows, she has a theatrical side in addition to her bag-of-tricks vocal style, which like the Ditty Bops somehow sounds very old-fashioned while also seeming entirely new and different.

She has been a busy girl since we last saw her. Release of her debut full-length CD Kismet is set for September 18. Her current schedule of dates will end back in Los Angeles opening for the Ditty Bops next Saturday.

Jesca Hoop: Money Makes the World Go Round (live)
Jesca Hoop: Life Within A Life Live at KCRW, 12/2/2004
Jesca Hoop: Seed of Wonder Live at KCRW, 12/2/2004

NPR concert, opening for Polyphonic Spree on June 30

MySpace | Website | excellent Fansite | Label: 3Entertainment/Columbia/Red Ink
Buy Kismet at Amazon.com and iTunes

Shows:
Jul 22 2007 - Gothic Theater, Denver, CO
Jul 23 2007 - The Belly Up, Aspen, CO
Jul 26 2007 - Hotel Cafe, Los Angeles, CA
Jul 28 2007 - The Fonda w/ the Ditty Bops, Los Angeles, CA



The Ditty Bops


Amanda and Abby pedaled 4,700 miles on their 2006 tour

Musically, Jesca Hoop and the Ditty Bops are a perfect match-up with their wickedly cute harmonies, 1920's burlesque style, and flair for costumes and ad lib dramatics. Just as Hoop is ending her schedule, the Ditty Bops are starting a long and ambitious string of dates to which more venues may be added.

Next Saturday night, July 28, at the Henry Fonda Theater in Hollywood, Abby De Wald and Amanda Barrett, the creative forces of the Ditty Bops, kick off the band's 2007 Farm Tour. This schedule of dates includes concerts on farms to raise money for nonprofit local farm organizations, The Growing Connection and FARM AID. Their blog site for this new tour begins with a video montage from last year's tour on which they bicycled 4,700 miles to 40 venues in 12 states across the U.S. Their obvious physical fitness must be what enables them to play two shows a night on some of their dates on the current tour.

The Ditty Bops are a super-green duo too. They have started their own nonprofit organization called You and I Save the World with the specific goal of reducing the use of plastic. We can all help tremendously just by recycling plastic grocery bags. I have started taking cloth bags to the store with me, and I'm surprised and pleased by how much hassle such a small change in habit saves me. Stores sell them for as little as 99 cents each.

Saturday's show is also the release party for Abby and Amanda's 2008 Bikini Calendar, printed on recycled paper with soy-based ink, and picturing the pair illustrating ways to save the environment while wearing bikinis. Their latest musical release is an EP called Pack Rat which adds five more songs to their collection of ditties.

The Ditty Bops: Pack Rat from Pack Rat EP (2007)
The Ditty Bops: Angel With An Attitude from Moon Over the Freeway (2006)
The Ditty Bops: Wishful Thinking - live, KCRW's Morning Becomes Eclectic (10-26-04)

MySpace | Website | Lyrics
2007 Farm Tour Blog | 2006 Tour Blog | Label: Warner Brothers
Buy at Ditty Bops' Store and iTunes

Shows:
Jul 28 2007 - 2008 Bikini Calendar Release - Henry Fonda Music Box Theatre, Los Angeles, CA
Aug 1 2007 - Windrose Farm, Paso Robles, CA
Aug 2 2007 - Todos Santos Plaza, Concord, CA
Aug 3 2007 - Freight and Salvage Coffee House, Berkeley, CA
Aug 4 2007 - Kuumbwa Jazz Center, Santa Cruz, CA
Aug 5 2007 - The Palms Playhouse, Winters, CA
Aug 8 2007 - W.O.W. Hall, Eugene, OR
Aug 10 2007 - Two shows: The Triple Door, Seattle, WA
Aug 11 2007 - Aladdin Theater Portland, OR
Aug 16 2007 - Two shows: Fanny Hill, Snowmass Village, CO
Aug 17 2007 - Rocky Mountain Folks Festival Lyons, Colorado
Aug 19 2007 - Knickerbocker's, Lincoln, NB
Aug 20 2007 - The Bottleneck, Lawrence, KS
Aug 23 2007 - Two shows: Mad Art Gallery, St. Louis, MO
Aug 25 2007 - Old Town School Of Folk Music, Chicago, IL
Aug 26 2007 - Old Town School Of Folk Music, Chicago, IL
Aug 29 2007 - The Ark, Ann Arbor, MI
Aug 30 2007 - Capitol Theatre, Columbus, OH
Aug 31 2007 - Southgate House, Newport, KY
Sep 1 2007 - The Kent Stage, Kent, OH
Sep 2 2007 - Mr. Smalls Funhouse, Millvale, PA
Sep 3 2007 - World Cafe Live, Philadelphia, PA
Sep 4 2007 - Birchmere, Alexandria, VA
Sep 6 2007 - Rams Head On Stage, Annapolis, MD
Sep 8 2007 - Two shows: The Fillmore at Irving Plaza, New York, NY