* How did you get started in music?
Tank started taking piano lessons back in grade school which led to playing in the symphony and marching band in high school. He played in several rock cover bands through his teens and early twenties, mostly on keyboards and some form of vocals.
Beez grew up singing with her siblings and father, who is a church Musical Director and plays in a sixties rock and roll cover band. She performed in choirs, musicals, and operas throughout high school and college, where she studied Music Therapy.

* Who were your influences?
Our biggest musical influence is definitely The Beatles. Even though their songs are a little more modern than the music we play, we think our appreciation still comes through in our musicality, especially in our original songs.
Other influences include Bessie Smith, WC Handy, Leadbelly, and more recently, Leon Redbone. 

* How do you describe your style?
American Roots and Americana. But when people don't know what that means, we usually just say early folk and jazz.

* What's your favorite part of performing?
The looks on peoples' faces when they realize that they've heard a song before. Folks tend to think they don't know any music from the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. We like helping people realize that these songs are the precursors of virtually all modern American music.
​
* What's something surprising about you?
Most people from our day job are surprised to find out that we're musicians. So, audience members might be surprised to know that, outside of the band, we're married and work together at a non-profit that assists people with disabilities.

* What brought you to the Friendly Music Community?
We were looking for venues in and around Chicago that work with smaller acoustic acts. Our first experience with the venue was a Boozeday Tuesday with Ian Leith, and we immediately felt at home at Friendly Tap. The patrons are supportive and the staff is warm and welcoming.

* What can the audience expect from your Dec. 16 show?
We've been playing as a duo for the past four years, so this show is an exciting opportunity for us to work with a full, four-piece band. Tommy and Amy Malouf (below) are incredibly talented musicians from the Chicagoland area who will be playing a couple of solo tunes before sitting in with Tank & the Beez. Audience members can expect high-energy music, tight harmonies, and some old-fashioned, family fun.

To learn more about Tank and the Beez, check out their website: tankandthebeez.com
and their YouTube Channel. 
But first, treat yourself by taking a listen to
​"Hard Times Come Again No More" (1854, Written by Stephen Collins Foster).

* How did you get started in music?
I sang in choruses as a youngster; in high school I was in a vocal jazz group with three other girls. We arranged our own harmonies, and I learned so much about harmony by using my ear. After college I sang at open mics here and there; at 26 I met my husband and began performing in Atlanta with his accompaniment on guitar. We then moved to New York where he attended music school, and during those ten years we performed in NYC and on Long Island with jazz ensembles and a large party cover band. We moved to Oak Park in 2009; within the next few years I began writing and playing mandolin.

* Who were your influences?
I grew up listening to Simon and Garfunkel, classic rock groups such as The Who, progressive rock groups like Yes and I was especially drawn to powerful women musicians such as Stevie Nicks and Bonnie Raitt. In high school I got really interested in jazz and listened to a ton of Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald and Sarah Vaughn. After college I was obsessed with Nina Simone and Nancy Wilson. Most of my current influences are local songwriters including Jenny Bienemann, Naomi Ashley, Cheryl Tomblin, Ron Lazzeretti and the late great James McCandless.

* What's your favorite part of performing?
Collaborating with other musicians, listening to my songs fleshed out by the insanely talented people I play with, and singing back up harmonies

* What's something surprising about you?
I am very socially awkward in new situations and I consider myself to be introverted. I love people but I also love love love my alone time.

* Do you have a special Friendly memory/performance?
There are so many; it's hard to choose. The Friendly Folk Festivals and What the Folk shows stand out for sure. In particular, I feel very honored to have been present for the Lopardo family's set several years back at the Friendly Folk Festival. Glorious harmonies and power vocals soaring through the space until you thought the roof might blow off.

 * What should potential Friendly visitors know about the Night of 1000 Stars show?
We are so fortunate to have this night every month! Rob basically said, "Come on in and do whatever," and we took that very seriously. Every month we feature two performers - usually a solo singer-songwriter and a small ensemble. We feature local artists from the Oak Park/Berwyn area primarily but have also had folks in from the Westside and Northside, from Door County, WI where we also perform, and occasionally from as far as New York. And as to genre, you never know what you might find: we've had folk, free jazz, hip-hop, roots rock; basically if we see an act we love we ask them to come play. The night always finishes up with our band The Significant Others which features the original songs of Robin Bienemann, Jenny Bienemann and me with an occasional Dave Walker or Cheryl Tomblin original thrown in for good measure. It's a ton of fun and we also raise money via the tip jar each month to support Kidz Express, which is an after school program in Austin. Last year we were able to buy a number of guitars and sheet music for our volunteer music lesson program.

* I love the song "Listen" from Broken Bubble. Can you tell me how that song came about? Did the lyrics or music come first?  
I'm so glad you asked about that song! I have been involved for about 20 years in a process called Community Building developed by the late Dr. M. Scott Peck in the late 1980's. For the past 7 years I have built community with a fabulous poet named Joe DeMars out of Minneapolis. Joe brought a poem called "Listen" to one of our workshops several years ago and I fell in love with it. I took the poem and wrote some music around it to create the song. And I'm not the only one! There is another version of that song out there being performed in churches in Minneapolis.

Here are some links to find more Basement Bluegrass:
https://www.facebook.com/Basementblue...
http://www.basementbluegrass.com 
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list...

There’s a kind of joy that’s indescribable when a music lover comes across a new band that identifies with songs on a personal mix-tape (showing my age) or downloaded playlist.  That joy is amplified when the band happens to live around the corner and play in the community.  I had the honor of sitting down with two members of the up-and-coming group, Sails, a band with an Americana soul and a Midwestern sound.  

How did you get started in music? How did you come together as a group?
Sean Prendiville-drums and Tim Bulster-bass, are cousins and grew up two doors away from each other in Berwyn.  “We probably started playing music together when we were in the 3rd and 6th grades, and living on a tightly knit block, our formative years were spent with neighborhood kids who were also getting into music, especially throughout high school.  Like most teenagers, our weekends always included music, and we met other people who shared our interests.”  Fast forward to 2013, Sean was in Scotland, and Tim was teaching and playing for a cover band in central Illinois in a town called Hoopston.  The two decided to inspire one another through across-the-Atlantic correspondence.  They made deadlines, created new songs, and gave feedback.  Sean picked up guitar in order to put his writings to music.  Ultimately, the cousins reunited in Berwyn and contacted a former classmate, Tom Johnson. Tom was all about roots rock Americana, and things just started to come together.  When playing a gig in Lyons, Jimmie Sit heard the group.  “We were in the market for a guitarist, and Jimmie fell into place.”

My personal favorite Sails song is “Brouhaha.”  How did you collaborate on this one?
The lyrics came from Sean’s experience with a long distance relationship that didn’t work out.  “The music starts out like a folk song—acoustic, organic—and then each band member adds a bit more to the sound until we mesh.”  Both guys agree that jamming until the final version of “Brouhaha” came to fruition, was the first collaboration that showed their musical chemistry.

Who were your influences?
Steve Earle’s influence is credited to Tim’s dad, but as a group, other influences include Jackson Brown, John Prine, Wilco, The Band, Ryan Adams and Warren Zevon

What is your favorite part of performing?
Tim - “We’re still in the beginning stages of live performance, so I like seeing how we develop and progress from show to show.”
Sean - “I like hearing the honest and raw sound of our live shows.”

What is something surprising about you? 
Sean lived in Uruguay and speaks fluent Spanish.
Tim is a middle school teacher, and his students would find it surprising that he’s a performing musician.

A Fan’s Two Cents:  When reaching out to Sails for an interview, it was after I spent some time on their YouTube and SoundCloud sites, listening to their music and being transported to a time when I first heard the BoDeans or Son Volt.  When I learned about their influences, it was no surprise that Wilco was included, because like I said in this introduction, I think they have an Americana soul and Midwestern sound.  With that said, the Gin Blossoms‘ New Miserable Experience also came to mind.  

​So, here’s what you need to do: Press play and hear/watch Sails from their July 15 performance at Friendly, and then comment below with your own band description.  
​- GHM