Bv STACEY Honu ’

Girlyman really does
Remember Who I Am. I first
heard Girlyman, an inventive
folk trio, at the Falcon Ridge
Folk Festival in July of 2003,
and I’ve been smitten ever since.
Not just because they’re the kind
of band that remembers your
name when you accost them
after shows and ask them to sign
stuff (babbling, stuttering, and
generally making a fool of your-
self), but also because Doris
Muramatsu, Ty Greenstein and
Nate Borofsky are making music
worth embarrassing yourself for.
Girlyman’s perfectly
tuned three—part harmony will
send shivers down your spine
with surprising frequency.
Further, their music is textured
and complex enough to keep you

lam thrilled to say that

 

leans-toward the country end of
the folk spectrum, yet features a
fugue-like section during which
words and harmonies tumble
over one another, breaking from
the lead-singer-with-backup-har-
mony configuration. Girlyman’s

. sound might be compared to that

of harmony-driven folk groups
like Eddie From Ohio, although
when the two bands shared a
stage at Falcon Ridge, EFO’s
Robbie Schaefer commented, “I
don’t know what it is, but I like
it.”

The band has also
picked up endorsements from the
Wllage Voice (“really good, real-
ly unexpected, and really differ-
ent”), the Washington Post (“har-

_ monic, multi-instrumental mas-

(Girlyman’s perfectly tuned

three-‘part harmony will send
shivers down your spine

guessing. You’ll hear soprano,
alto and tenor lines crossing over
one another as the artists’ voices
refuse to remain in their assigned
sections of the musical staff. .

Most of the time, you’ll -

hear Muramatsu on acoustic gui-
tar, Borofsky on baritone guitar,
and Greenstein on percussion,
but keep your ears sharpened for
the occasional mandolin, and
note tracks like “David”_ that
drop percussion to bring
poignant lyrics to the forefront.
Also listen for the group’s play-
ing with conventional musical
forms: “Postcards from Mexico”

tery of buoyant fo1k—pop”), and
the gay New York Blade (“their
blend is beautifully complete,
their harmonies seductive and
complex”);

As their name suggests,
Girlyman’s refusal to conform to
expectations extends beyond

* their music. The band wrote a

tongue—in-cheek open letter to
Governor Schwarzenegger after
his remark that California legis-
lators were “girlie men,” sug-
gesting that he apply the phrase
in a different context: “[T]ry
using phrases like, ‘Girlyman
has changed my life for the bet-

- your equipment off stage.

out in the mountains

Girlyman Music

ter,’ or, ‘There's nothing I love
more than the folk-trio
Girlyman.’ Even better, you
could try, ‘Here, sweet
Girlyman, let me help you carry
Borofsky has said that
the band’s name “reflects our
annoyance with traditional gen-
der roles.” The lyrics on
Remember Who I Am feature no
overt discussion of these issues,
but the band’s live performances
certainly bring them to the fore-
front. This past July at Falcon
Ridge, Borofsky, wearing vibrant
pink flip flops, sang the lead
vocals to “Son of a Preacher
Man” while Muramatsu and
Greenstein sang backupduring
the festival’s Gospel Wake—up
Call. Greenstein introduced a
new song titled “Young James
Dean” that chronicles the
escapades of a girl who gets
more girls than the boys.
Though Remember Who

I Am has been out since 2003 on
the band’s independent label,

' Clever Shark Records, it was

released nationally for the first
time on September 7. Girlyman
recently signed with Daemon
Records, the Atlanta-based non-
profit label founded by Amy Ray
of the Indigo Girls. A second
album, which the band began
recording in August, should be
out in the spring of 2005 . You
can also order Remember Who I
Am from http://girlyman.com.
Check the website for perform-
ance dates/locations as well as
more information about the
band. V

Stacey Horn is frequently too
busy teaching at Champlain
College to remember who she. is,
but listening to Girlyman helps.

YOU‘VE HAD UNPROTECTED SEX OR SHARED A NEEDLE SINCE YOUR LAST TEST, NOW 18 THE TIME TO GET AN HIV TEST. IF YOU'VE NEVER BEEN TESTED. OR IF YOU'VE I-TAD UNPROT

 

IF YOU'VE NEVER BEEN TESTED. OR IF YOU'VE HAD UNPROTECTED SEX OR  A N

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For information on HIV testing:

I call toll~free from in Vermont
800-882~AlDS (800-882-2437)*
I for hearing impaired TTY access
800-319-3141*

I or visit us on-line at
http://www.healthyvermonters.info
* The Vermont AIDS Ho/tline is open weekdays. 8:30-4:30.

(For information 24/7,oa1l the National AIDS Hotline
800-342-2437.)

take the TEST. Take l}0NTB0l.

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH

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