Postmodern Parlor Music, including novelty jazz and novel originals. Ukulele joy.

14 MP3 Songs
JAZZ: Ragtime, FOLK: Traditional Folk



Details:
Asheville's innovative folk group, the Mad Tea Party, performs original songs as well as novelty music from the 20's and 30's. In the course of a performance they sing and play ukulele, banjo, guitar, tenor banjo, fiddle, kazoo, slide whistle, horns, bells, whistles and more! Their material ranges from silly to sincere. And their delivery is delightfully refreshing. As one reviewer put it, "Perhaps the most meaningful thing I can say about the show is this: It's a rare night when I can walk out of a bar at 2 a.m. and feel a little more innocent than when I came in" (Steve Shanafelt, Mountain Xpress). They will make you laugh and make you think - and they will most certainly entertain you.

Ukulele player, banjo picker, singer & songwriter Ami Worthen offers an eccentric musical combination that brings a swing to your step and a smile to your face. Ami's clever lyrics, distinct voice and nimble fingers are enhanced by a stage performance that is infused with humor, an eye-catching wardrobe of coquettish nostalgia, and Ami's own unique presence. As Carol Mallett wrote in the Asheville Citizen-Times, "Worthen's warmth and personality shine through in all her performances and her endearing quality and talent come through just as well in Hawaiian clothes and a lei as they do in old-time garb." Ami is also a member of the Hula Cats.

Multi-instrumentalist and virtuoso Jason Krekel is a favorite musician of the Western North Carolina area. He performs with such diverse groups as the Firecracker Jazz Band, AVAS, Hula Cats, Sufi Brothers, and with his father, renowned songwriter Tim Krekel. In the Mad Tea Party, Krekel sings and plays fiddle, guitar, and banjo. He also plays kazoo, slide whistle, horns and noisemakers a la Spike Jones. A solid and innovative accompanist on every song, he especially makes the novelty numbers shine. In a review of a Mad Tea Party performance writer Will Cumberland had this to say of Krekel, "onstage his music is explosive, imaginative and wildly improvisational."

Here's what Peggy Seeger has to say about the Mad Tea Party:
"The Mad Tea Party is a serious, silly, cheerful, colourful, funny, hoppity-hippity, bouncy, Alice-in-Wonderland kind of "mad". They play old favorites and create new ones. Jason Krekel's one-man instrument set-up is hilarious. Ami Worthen's ukulele playing makes you want to dance and her butterfly/wallpaper couture are... well, MAD. Drop whatever you're doing when they're in your neighborhood and join in the fun."

73 Post-Consumer Novelty has Ami singing and playing ukulele, and Jason singing and playing everthing but the kitchen sink. Guests on the album are Joe Edel on sousaphone, Sean Foley on accordian, and Reese Grey on saw and piano.