Kopecky brothers sound amazing on CD, even more amazing live; vote for favorite local musicians
Sounding Board by Patrick Fineran (November 4, 1999 --> The Journal Time)What would you do for a night, a week, or two months for that matter if time did not exist? Whether you realized it or not, you had that chance this past Sunday with the holiday of Samhain. To the Celtic people of old the holiday, pronounced, "SOW-in," was the most important of the ancient feasts. The day that westerners have usurped as Halloween was recognized as "summer's end" and also marked the end of the Celtic year.
It was on this night that the veil between humans and spirits was at its thinnest. People would set places for their ancestors at the table with ceremony, and it was widely believed to be the day that did not exist. Many Celts viewed Samhain as the end of the old year with the new year not coming until the Yule. As a result, there is the period of "time which is no time."
I bring this up because I wonder what you would do differently if you had time that did not exist on the earthly plane. Would you work that overtime that day? Would you take a moment to tell your little hottie how nice she looked? Would you set down the mouse or the remote and turn off "Baywatch Hawaii"? Maybe, just perhaps you would check out some live music by some spirited souls in one the fine clubs around here.
One of the local bands that I'm guessing just may get hip to this whole Samhain thing is the exceptional Kopecky. I had the chance to hear them live and on CD this past week. No matter how solid Chris Djuricic's production work is on the disc, brothers Joe, Paul, and Billy are all the more amazing live. The siblings played at a recent benefit for the University of Wisconsin-Parkside's WIPZ and tore the place up.
The live show and, to a greater extent, the CD lay out a deeply spiritual, otherworldly groove. You can feel the veil between today's musicians and long passed-on masters of instrumentation lifting within the first minute of listening to Kopecky. Other than all coming from the same womb, there's something else just a wee bit spooky going on. The boys are flat-out picking something up from the other side.
Joe Kopecky's guitar lines jump from crunchy rock and metal licks to an ethereal, sinewy flow. Drummer Paul Kopecky drives the pace of a show with masterful combination of tempo and touch. William Kopecky's keyboards and especially his bass run the musical gamut conjuring up sounds rarely heard on any stage by any player.
I have never seen a local auience so mesmerized by an instrumental group before.
A European progressive label has released Kopecky's first CD, and the band has a second CD just about in the can. I strongly recommend looking for the self-titled recording Until the second recording is released, just keep your eyes open for anther area live show.
Kopecky can be e-mailed at kopecky@wi.net.
Believe it or not, it's getting to be that time of year again. It's time to let me know who your favorite area musical performers are. Here's a reminder of the basic ground rules. The artist or group must be Racine area-based. Sturtevant, Burlington, Union Grove and Caledonia count. Milwaukee, Madison, Bay View and Cleveland do not. Even Detroit doesn't count no matter how much the artist or group appears here. The only exception to the out-of-town rule is for favorite concert. Please note that there are a couple of additions this year. Due to so many wonderful releases and so many Webbers out there, I've added "Favorite CD/Cassette/Vinyl" and "Favorite Music-oriented Web Page."
I will also introduce three people who I believe belong in the Racine Music hall of Fame. Sorry, this one is up to me, but I'd love to hear your suggestions. As usual, send nominations to:
Sounding Board
The Journal Times
212 Forth Street
Racine, WI 53403
No photocopies and only one ballot per envelope please.
Hey, before I forget, Epstien's Mother is reforming with its original singer for a Friday return of Sahara Jack at Confettiz.
That's it for this week. Keep music live.
Updated November 5, 1999 © TCK Graphics