Pearl and the Beard recently sat down with Root Down in the Shadow for a casual look at some myths and legends about the band! Topics ranged from the silly to the serious, touching on their backgrounds and the awesomeness of the David Wax Museum!
Pearl and the Beard is three voices, one cello, one guitar, one glockenspiel, one melodica, several drums, one accordion, ninety-six teeth, and one soul. Former strangers Jocelyn Mackenzie, Emily Hope Price, and Jeremy Styles were united in the great city of New York. Each had migrated there from a far corner of the nation with naught but food in their pockets and money in their bellies. Each had the same true love. Since then, the three have nested, and their unique brand of brightly melodic songcraft continues to blossom of its own accord.
The Brooklyn-based trio Pearl and the Beard released their first full-length album, God Bless Your Weary Soul, Amanda Richardson, spring of 2009, followed by the Black Vessel EP. They released their second full-length album, Killing the Darlings,in the spring of 2011.
MYTH: Jeremy Styles is the Beard
FACT: Despite a fantastic flowing beard that gives him extra resonance when singing (ok, the resonance part is also a myth, but his beard is killer!), Jeremy Styles is not “the Beard”. There is no Pearl either. The name means....
MYTH: Pearl and the Beard is a simple folk trio.
FACT: Pearl and the Beard can’t be constrained to one genre, although iTunes lists them as Singer/Songwriter, and elsewhere they are listed as Acoustic or Alternative. The best description given was “Mix-Tape Folk”, although the funniest description was mid-show last Saturday at Concerts@the Crossing, when Jeremy described their witty charm, plus beautiful harmonies as “Harmersan (sounds like Parmesan) Cheese”. The trio brings such vast experiences and styles to the group, that truly the only criteria of a PatB song is that all 3 were involved in the making!
MYTH: Amanda Richardson, the namesake of God Bless Your Weary Soul, Amanda Richardson is also fictitious!
FACT: I have been told that Amanda Richardson is real and fantastic human being. Pearl and the Beard recently played at her wedding ceremony!
MYTH: Jocelyn Mackenzie was an acclaimed Melodica player, classically trained @ MICA!
FACT: Neither of those was true. As a former Baltimore resident, I was stumped finding out that Jocelyn had gone to MICA for undergrad. It’s an Art school, not music? What gives? Well, here’s the scoop:
Jocelyn always loved music, writing songs since her childhood. She always wanted to be a musician, but the music she was making didn’t require a degree, so she to school based on the plan of what would be the second best thing to do for a career if music didn’t work out! She went to Maryland Institute College of Art, in Baltimore, where she followed her heart and made an album for her Senior Thesis. The project gave her the confidence to do the band thing!
Everything worked out for the best as she has had jobs with textile companies, network designers, and a knit shop! The most noticeable by product has been the Killing the Darlings album cover which is an honest to goodness three person sweater.
As far as the Melodica goes, Jocelyn was clear with the band that she was just a singer! But after some Jedi-mind trickery, she has added Glockenspiel, Melodica, Percussion, and Kazoo amongst other instruments with the guidance of the other Pearl and the Beard members!
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| Photo From Pearlandthebeard.com Sweater by Jocelyn Mackenzie |
MYTH: On 2009’s God Bless Your Weary Soul, Amanda Richardson, ‘Lost In Singapore’ features each of Singapore’s four official languages: English, Chinese, Malay and Tamil.
FACT: The only truth to that statement is that ‘Lost in Singapore Emily Hope Price sings in English, while playing the Cello. Jocelyn Mackenzie plays the Glockenspiel and does a verse in Spanish that means "Give me your hand and I'll put a pearl inside it. All of the Kings of Heaven are smiling."
MYTH: Soon after moving to NYC and meeting Jocelyn and Emily, Jeremy Styles landed a record deal for the group!
FACT: According to Jocelyn Mackenzie “We signed with Family Records after having the band for about 6 months, so really, this "myth" is true! We had self-released At Home, and were already a fully formed band at that time. We then worked with Family Records to release our 1st full-length album“
As amazing as Jeremy Styles’ story of moving to New York and actually landing a record deal is, the serendipitous tale of how fate became involved to bring the Pearl and the Beard together tops it. In September ‘07, Jocelyn just happened to have been enjoying a Happy Hour that was during an Open Mic night when she met Jeremy Styles at Pete's Candy Store in Brooklyn!
Meeting Emily Hope Price, in January 08, was a crap shoot or better yet a lottery, which is precisely how the Side Walk Cafe, the Manhattan venue that gave exposure for Regina Spektor and Kimya Dawson, arranged the weekly roster for their Open Mic night. Jeremy & Jocelyn had already been on a few performers back and we’re soaking in the post performance. Emily went on soon after and the rest was history. As Jeremy described it, the timing had to have been perfect. If the order was reversed, they would have crossed paths, but he would have been mentally preparing for his own set, and wouldn’t have really listened to Emily at all.
MYTH: Emily originally a banjo player, decided she was too cool for that trendy piece and picked up the Cello in hopes to be picked up by a band!
FACT: Anything but whimsical as the myth might suggest, Emily has been playing the cello for years. While undergrad at Utah she studied Cello, but facing the limited choices of Solo work, Orchestra or Chamber music she was convinced to move ahead with her musical education. Emily completed her Masters in 2004 in Cello Performance from Carnegie Mellon University and a one year post-graduate program in Cello performance at SUNY Purchase. Both graduate experiences allowed the freedom to just play & learn the depths of the Cello. At CMU she worked with Singer/Songwriter Anna Vogelzang, but when she went back to Utah, she found herself knowing all the cello parts, but had no singer to match up with. She started singing herself out of necessity and started hitting Open Mic scenes doing both the singing and cello parts.
Clearly this move has worked out for the best, joining Pearl & the Beard in 2008. Besides Cello, Emily also does accordion and vocals in the group. On June 1, 2009, she released her first solo studio-EP, The Crux and The Bluestocking. She is currently working on a full-length album which will include re-recorded and re-produced work from her 365 Project.
MYTH: Jeremy Styles started his musical career as a member of California band Dredg
FACT: Jeremy played in a Dredg knock-off in college, playing the cool house concert scene @ UC Santa Barbara, but was not associated to the actual band. Jeremy Styles (Vocals, Guitar) grew up in the church, singing in the choir, along with his mom. One Christmas he wanted drums. Fortunately for us, he got a guitar. Rather than playing the guitar, as most kids he wanted to play video games etc instead. He dreaded the lessons as he knew he hadn’t practiced, and when it was time for lessons, he would smile uncomfortably, while the teacher shredded away, saying this is what he could be playing. Another friend, Scott, started playing and soon was getting better than Jeremy. Finally, pride kicked in and he started applying himself. Eventually, he Scott and a friend Zac started a band Worlds Greatest Grandpa, in high school.
Pearl and the Beard play 7pm tonight, December 3rd, 2011 @ World Cafe Live, in Wilmington DE. Opening is You Won't
Tomorrow, Pearl and the Beard headline @ Kung Fu Necktie, in the Fishtown section of Philadelphia, along with Auctioneer and On The Water
Next week, Pearl and the Beard play the Bowery Ballroom in NYC on 12/15!
Check out the current video, 'Lament of Coronado Brown' by Pearl and the Beard!
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