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It all began back in the winter of 1995 when Perry Serpa escaped to rural Pennsylvania with drummer/co-conspirator Steven Gonzalez to record a demo of songs which he entitled The Sharp Things, based on a fictitious band he never expected to become tangible. Having long abandoned the twin pursuits of unattainable commercial success and equally unattainable indie credibility, he had taken to creating something closer to the sounds he heard inside his head and finally stopped torturing everybody. They mounted a series of shows at the predictable NYC haunts. Performing as a duo, with Perry on a not-very-well-played acoustic guitar and singing, the focus was, for the first time, on the pretty tunes. One of those shows, in August 1997, was witnessed by Jim Santo, then-lead guitarist for downtown noise-pop band Jenifer Convertible. Jim, a fan of Perry's music from the past, was knocked out by the new songs and demanded Perry form a band to play them. Without missing a beat, Perry invited Jim to be in the band; pleasantly surprised, Jim accepted. Within a few weeks, the trio, having adopted The Sharp Things as its name, began playing shows around the East Village, with Jim on electric guitar, Perry on acoustic (still bad), and Steve behind the drums. Without a definite plan in mind, Perry began inviting friends and acquaintances to join in, and before long the group had grown to include violin, bass guitar and piano. Supporting players came and went as Perry, Steve and Jim continued to focus their sound and direction. In 1999, Perry recruited Janet Treadaway, former guitarist for East Village babe-rockers Fluffer; and Erica Maeyama, then-drummer for Knocked Out Loaded; to play bass and keyboards, respectively. Shortly thereafter the band acquired a talented new violinist, Dawn Hui. This line-up proved somewhat stable and The Sharp Things' orchestral sound began to come together. The Sharp Things entered the studio in early 2000 for a weekend recording marathon that produced 10 tracks in less than 24 hours. For this session, the core band was supplemented by Brian McWhorter (trumpet, flugelhorn), John Dunbar (keyboards), Michael "Sport" Murphy (pennywhistle, lu sheng), Erich Schoen-Rene (cello) and Mercury Rev guitarist Grasshopper, on clarinet. Although never officially released, the recording won accolades from the few who heard it. Bill Konig from CMJ wrote: "The Sharp Things are a wonderfully verdant pop ensemble...The group's self-titled debut was recorded in just two days, yet the rich end result undeniably suggests otherwise. Singer-songwriter Perry Serpa possesses a real flair for constructing beautiful arrangements that perfectly frame his poignant, picturesque wordplay." After a year of some activity, including a splendid opening spot with Tahiti 80 at the Bowery Ballroom, with Jenny Toomey at the Mercury Lounge and a regular gig at free jazz outpost Tonic, (post-Klezmer Sunday brunches) the ensemble recorded six new songs in the fateful month of September 2001, but now with Serpa playing his songs on his first instrument, the piano. Earlier songs such as the loser-grandiose "I Will Always Be Swimming In This Sea" and "Right" (complete with McWhorter's near-perfect and very Bacharach flugelhorn solo) were enmeshed with newer songs like the sprawling "Vacationing" and the haunted, Serpa/Santo-penned "It Took Forever To Get Home Tonight." The result is The Sharp Things' debut CD, appropriately entitled Here Comes The Sharp Things. The long player is now slated for release in February 2003 on Dive Records and through their Web site (www.thesharpthings.com). Check out the artist's website: http://www.thesharpthings.com Track List: 1. I Will Always Be Swimming In This Sea 2. Boys Club 3. Vacationing 4. Right 5. Demon Of Love 6. Lies About You And I 7. Precious 8. Lament/A Million Things 9. It Took Forever To Get Home Tonight 10. Lonesome For The Man 11. Missing The Daze Suggested CDs:Other Genres:
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