In a white, tribal-inspired shirt and two, lonesome dreadlocks hanging from beneath his woven hat, Preach Freedom looked at home sitting behind his bongo drum. Behind him hung vintage, Cuban-esque paintings, adding to the very Latin feel of the evening. Of course, Preach was the main contribution to the ambience, joined by Puerto Rican turned Pittsburgh singer Geña and Rusted Root guitarist Colter Harper. The trio filled the bar with their African and Caribbean beats, a far cry from what is commonly known of Preach’s hometown of Erie, Pennsylvania. The musician is tearing down those typecasts, however, as he explores the music world, which for him and so many other artists, began in the church.Get ready to shake your tail feathers!
Sister Sparrow & The Dirty Birds has been tearing up local clubs since 2008 with its rollicking blend of soul, funk and backwoods Americana rock ’n’ roll, which draws even indifferent hipsters onto the dance floor.
But with a slew of gigs wrapping up their seven-week tour (including Brooklyn Bowl on Friday) and a new album dropping in February, the buzz around this nine-piece powerhouse is reaching fever pitch.
“Sometimes I have to pinch myself. . . . Am I a professional musician? Really? Did I somehow pull that off?” says sultry frontwoman Arleigh Kincheloe, 24, who remembers decamping from the Catskills to Brooklyn with her brother Jackson when she was just 19.
The pint-sized singer packs a voice that shakes the rafters, while her brother shreds the harmonica — which they’ve dubbed “the Mississippi saxophone.”
After the requisite “starving-artist years” waiting tables and sitting in with other bands, the duo’s turning point came after they teamed up with their cousin, drummer Bram Kincheloe, who brought the rest of the flock (including a four-piece horn section, bass and lead guitar) into the fold.
“From the first rehearsal, we felt the chemistry,” says Kincheloe — which is vital when nine musicians are crammed into a used Ramada Inn van for a cross-country tour.
“My language has definitely deteriorated very fast,” laughs the band’s sole sister, “but they’ve also made me very patient . . . because you have to be, to deal with eight boys and the dirty things they talk about all day.”
The band revels in ruffling feathers and getting down during their celebrated live shows.
“This is not high-class, wearing-suits stuff,” says Kincheloe with a smirk. “We're getting really sweaty. I’m dancing my ass off. This is rock ’n’ roll.”
Their stage act was honed by a five-month residency that Rockwood Music Hall granted the group in 2009 after the band won over the lower East Side venue with its first public show.
“We owe it all to them,” says Kincheloe. “They took a chance on us . . . and that really catapulted us from a good idea into something that’s now so tight and well-rehearsed.”
They recorded their self-titled debut album that year in one 12-hour stint at Modern Vintage.
“We look back now, and we’re like, ‘Wow, that was a shotgun album,’ ” she laughs. “But it’s a great snapshot of who we were at the time.”
They’ve spread their wings on the upcoming “Pound of Dirt” under Modern Vintage Recordings, which they recorded whenever they returned home from shows on the road.
Read more at the original posting by NY's Daily News.