Have you been searching the web for Rafe Pomeroy? I have been for about four years now. Perhaps I'm not as good at it as I'd like to believe. I finally came across a message board posing the same question: what happened to Rafe? Rafe (or Raif) responded and directed all frustrated searchers to his new band, Ballyrag. It was worth the search.
Rafe was one of the first live and local performers that I saw in Upstate New York. He was playing at a small coffeehouse in Chatham called the Supreme Bean. The show was spectacular. The songs were smart, creative, dynamic, and all solo acoustic. The coffee house, no larger than the average living room, was filled past capacity.
The next time I saw Rafe, it was at Barnes and Noble in Colonie. I brought a few friends, most of whom bought his first album, The Horse I Rode In On. After a few more shows, Rafe disappeared...and now he's back, or at least his CD is available to all the world including his Upstate New York fan base.
Ballyrag has released two CD's so far in Santa Monica, California:
Waxing Poetic, released in 2001, includes many of the songs he used to play in our coffee houses. Although there is a band behind them, the songs such as "UFO's", "Marilyn", and "Come Along Mary" are dominated by a pounding acoustic guitar and the quintessential rock, from-the-throat voice. Waxing Poetic is an apt sequel to Horse I Rode in On. There are some new and somewhat demented songs on this album such as Murder, an upbeat ditty told from the perspective of a psychotic pre-teen. I recommend listening to this CD first, get to know Rafe again, then listen to Ballyrag's latest.
Where the Ocean Meets the 10, released in 2003, has some more Rafe favorites such as "Jack Horner" and "Dirty". It also includes typical Rafe humor.
But this album is not the third installment in a trilogy. This is not Rafe with a back-up band. This is Ballyrag, and they have a unique rock sound with a bit of Latin, a bit of swing, jazz, and even some California surf music. This CD reveals evidence that the band found its identity through repeated performances on the Santa Monica promenade.
It's great to once again hear Rafe, but it's even better to hear Ballyrag.
(CD's are available online at Ballyrag.com. The link is at the top of this page.) |
