I like to say that music is formula plus shivers.

Earlier this month, I had a ridiculously good night being treated to both when I saw the nascent Chicago-land band Under the Willow at a house party in Rock Island.

Check them out on Reverb Nation or on Facebook.

On the formula side, it's a 5-piece band that looks good, sounds good, and knows how to listen to each other. Hayley, Joe, and Patrick play a variety of stringed instruments, rotating among mandolin, banjo, guitar, and slide guitar. Dani plays varied percussion instruments, and Erin shreds the fiddle. All three of the ladies contributed vocals, and the blend was effortless. I noticed some very advanced vocal techniques from Erin, in particular a messa di voce dynamic swell that raised the hair on my neck.

Here's the goods:
DOWNLOAD THE EP (32 MB ZIP FILE).

And previews for your general edification:
01 Children | Africa

02 Epic Song

03 Room for Improvement

04 John the Baptist

Formerly billed as The Sassy Pomegranates.....

In April 2008, Moline was visited by graduate students in music from China's Tianjin Conservatory of Music. Each performer took a turn playing a solo, and I've posted several of those here.

The Pipa.

Wikipedia entry for Pipa



Photo by John Schultz for the Quad City Times.

Read the original story here.

More instruments after the break.....

The second movement of Rachmaninov's Sonata in G Minor recorded live at Chamber Music Quad Cities' memorable concert on May 29, 2008. This recording features Katinka Kleijn on cello and Spencer Myer on piano. Read on for full program notes.