Album Notes

Who are these people? Are they a swing band? Bluegrass group? Jazz combo? Country band? Bluesmen? Folk singers? Vaudevillians?

Mandolins and muted horns, banjos and swing strings; funny and sad songs, old standards and fresh, new songs; music from high up in the mountains and down on Tin Pan Alley... they put it all on this latest compilation. Annie & the Hedonists is a group that blossomed out of the "make your own music" festivals of the Pickin' and Singin' Gatherin', Inc., (PSG) of the NYS Capitol District.

I get to my campsite and turn off my engine. I hear music coming from across the field and tilt my head to hear the sweet sounds of Annie's voice with Jonny, Steve and Betsy accompanying her. They've already pitched their tents, raised their tarps and organized their kitchens, which leaves them free to pursue the main purpose of this weekend -- making music with friends, old and new.

This is the PSG's "Last Gasp," an annual event held every Labor Day weekend, and it's the best way I know to end a summer. Some of the hottest regional, acoustic musicians are found within the PSG's community of folk music lovers and their families. I'm often amazed by the incredible talent that gathers to support, share and revel in the simple pleasure of making music with others. By the end of the weekend, I will have heard groups playing bluegrass, jazz, swing, Klezmer, folk, blues and classical, as well as a cappella voices singing sea shanties, gospel and doo-wop (not to mention recitations of a sage or silly nature). It is from this nurturing soup that Annie and the Hedonists have emerged.

When the four of them met they found they shared a love of a variety of music, especially songs with strong rhythm, emotion, soulful singing and harmony.
Their evolution was cultivated by the support and encouragement of the other fine pickers and grinners of the PSG.

Take a short walk through the dictionary, and just before you get to the heebie-jeebies, you'll find the hedonist, one who believes that "pleasure or happiness is the sole or chief good in life."

Doesn't sound like a bad thing, especially if you're talking about musical hedonists, which is what Annie and the Hedonists are. They take their pleasure and happiness from music, and they give as good as they get.

Sharon Riley,
Fellow musician, friend, and confidant (so I've been told)