Members
Carmela Pedicini (Vocals and acoustic guitar)
Tanya Radtke (Vocals and acoustic guitar)
David Brain (dobro)
Miles Tweed (upright bass)
Passerine's music.
Passerine's distinctive sound combines vocal harmonies, the ringing tones and crisp rhythms of an acoustic guitar, the haunting voice of the dobro (resonator slide guitar), the resonant lows of an acoustic bass. With this unusual arrangement of voices and instruments, Passerine offers a fresh take on traditional folk and bluegrass music as well as a repertoire of original songs that range from sweet ballads to the edgier side of contemporary Americana.
Carmela Pedicini and Tanya Radtke are both established singer/songwriters who have each been leading successful bands in recent years, both developing a substantial following. Together, their harmonies have been described as ?magical.? As Passerine, they have added David Brain's dobro, for accents that can go from sweet and melodic to a bluesy moan, from the old time mountain sound to more contemporary urban folk and rock. Miles Tweed, with classical training on the double bass, moves from lively and chest-thumping bass lines to slow and melodic accompaniment, pizzicato or played with a bow as fits the music. Occasionally adding mandolin or fiddle into the mix, they have joined their talents in search of an acoustic sound that is simple and compelling, that has both purity and depth, and that adds new musical layers to the tradition of the singer/songwriter.
?Passerine' is the common name for any of the perching birds, an order that includes not only songbirds known for the sweetness of their songs but the raven, a bird known in myth as the companion of deities, as a courier who inspires laughter and reveals truth, and as a trickster whose appetite for life brings wisdom, healing and great acts of creativity.
