Ah, West Philly. It's kind of mythical. Back in my days as a capitalism-hatin', pepper spray-dodgin', train-hoppin', would-be abandoned building-squattin' young(ish) punk-ass good-for-nothing misanthrope* it seemed like that neighborhood was always on someone's lips with a kind of reverence now reserved for -- well, no place (maybe Berlin, but omigod Berlin is so last June). It was an overlooked Shangri-la that became sort of conspicuous by dint of its overlooked-ness. I never did move there, like a lot of people said they were going to, but maybe I should've.
The blog Stranded in Stereo has an interview with Gregg Mervine of the West Philadelphia Orchestra up. WPO has been together for something like two years, but seem to have turned up in an inordinate number of out-of-town places in that time (no link for that tidbit -- it's just an impression, not a fact). It's interesting to read the interview and go through a mental checklist of what's the same and what's different from other bands I know. I.e., flexible lineup [check!]; musical backgrounds tending toward Eastern Europe, jazz, and punk [check!]; brass and strings in happy-go-lucky collaboration [huh?]. Yeah. Emperor Norton's and Mucca Pazza manage that balancing act, and more power to 'em, I say. It's not so much a difficult thing to do as a difficult thing to do well.
Anyways, this interview is a good introduction to what WPO does. Which is nice, 'cause I hardly know what they do, having only seen them do one rocking set late on the second night of last year's Golden Festival. Hopefully there'll be more of that down the road.
By the way, WPO has a CD out, which I haven't heard yet so I can't say anything about it, but if you have, don't be shy about using the comments section, eh sparky?
* Whence I evolved into a capitalism-hatin', rent-sweatin', BA-havin', hygiene-neglectin', freelance hermit-livin' fancy pants know-it-all misanthrope.
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