Ditty Bops Hawk Bikini Pin-Up Calendar, Tour
Matthew Solarski reports:
Being at least as pleasing on the eye as they are on the ear, Los Angeles-based honky-tonk pixies the Ditty Bops yearn to be a presence in your home, office, garage, cell and/or locker all 365 days of 2006. That's why the buoyant duo has created a "Bicycle Bikini Calendar" especially for the sophisticated modern gentleman or lady.
As its title suggests, the classy, quirky, and possibly weird calendar features Bops Amanda Barrett and Abby DeWald donning various bikinis and riding various bicycles through what appear to be exotic and semi-exotic locales. In their own words, "We hope it will inspire you to ride a bike or wear a bikini."
Should this move surprise you, note that Barrett, whose father is a circus clown, has been modeling professionally for over ten years. The novelty and possible future eBay prize-piece is available now from the Ditty Bops' internet headquarters. Just think of it as an LP without the vinyl.
Now if your fancy has been adequately tickled, why not catch the Ditty Bops' dazzling post-cabaret act at assorted venues across this whimsical land?
For the most ditty for your bop, New York and San Francisco residents may consult their local listings for the Ditty Bops cable access TV show, said to include live shows, tour footage, cooking, and more. And how!
* The Ditty Bops: www.thedittybops.com |
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Ditty Bops SUGAR AND SPICE
THE DITTY BOPS, an acoustic duo who have been creating a stir in alt-folk circles lately, play an infectious blend of neo-ragtime, swing and jazzy pop, with sweet-as-cotton-candy vocal harmonies and sophisticated, sometimes wacky lyrics. Amanda Barrett and Abby DeWald have managed to attract an unlikely following that includes fans of Dan Hicks, the Hot Club of Cowtown and the Andrew Sisters.
Signed by Warner Brothers after a mere handful of live performances, their 2004 self-titled CD, brilliantly produced by Mitchell Froom, led to national radio and TV appearances and even a New York Times fashion spread. They've opened for Tori Amos, will soon tour with Nickel Creek and hope to record their next CD in the fall.
But the fact that the twenty-somethings had planned on other careers—DeWald majored in art while Barrett has been a model and is co-producer of a sketch comedy cable show—belies their music's well-crafted artistry. Barrett was taught dulcimer from her musician mother and also plays mandolin. DeWald has studied guitar since age 13, and she credits classical music for developing her dexterity and jazz for teaching her chords, voicings and fretboard. She's also been influenced by the likes of Doc Watson and Jorma Kaukonen, though her spiky strumming and picking styles are clearly her own.
"I like to write with my guitar," she says, "to use open strings and keys that are not violin-friendly".
The Ditty Bops alter perceptions of what's hip and what's passé, what's vintage and what's contemporary. Their live vaudevillian shows incorporate themes, sets, costumes and even puppetry. "We didn't want clear lines," says DeWald. Adds Barrett, "We challenge ourselves and the audience, and sometimes we fall flat on our faces--that's a good way to explore ideas"
— Celine Keating
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| Ditty Bops Juggle Pop, Folk and a Bit of Juggling
October 25, 2005
BY BRIAN ORLOFF |
Not too many pop acts feature unicyclists and jugglers in concert. But for Los Angeles-based cabaret-pop duo the Ditty Bops, these ingredients are essential toward honing just the right look and feel for their retro-inspired sound.
"I love how performers in the old days would have to sing and dance to be able to perform," says Amanda Barrett, one half of the duo, while on tour driving through the mountains with fellow Ditty Bop Abby DeWald. "We're certainly not at that level, being able to multitask that much, but I think that's a wonderful quality for people who really enjoy performing and putting on a show.
"And we can definitely play a straight set," she adds, with a laugh, "But it's just more fun when we add [theatrical elements]."
While Barrett acknowledges the theatricality inherent in the '20s-era sounds she and DeWald find so inspiring -- the Ditty Bops' sound marries folk music, vaudeville influences and straight-ahead pop-styled writing into an unusual and winning whole -- there's also the matter of her father's work with the circus, and Barrett's upbringing and diverse career path pre-Ditty Bops, which included an extended stint as a high fashion model.
"I didn't grow up in the circus," Barrett explains. "My parents were finished with the actual traveling circus by the time I was 4, but my dad was doing clowning for companies and birthday parties for my whole childhood."
Still, Barrett managed to pick up a few tricks -- some of which are incorporated into the band's live show -- thanks to her father's influence.
"I can juggle, and Abby can juggle, too," Barrett says. "I don't eat fire. I've tried it two times in my life, and once I was 16 and my mom said, 'You can't do that again until you're 18.' So I tried it again when I was 18 and I was like, 'You know, I'm a little afraid of catching my face on fire.' And sword swallowing would certainly not be good for the singing career."
From her mother, Barrett picked up the dulcimer, which she plays on the band's self-titled album. She also rounds out the Ditty Bops' sound with her warm mandolin playing. DeWald contributes vocals and acoustic guitar to the mix.
On the album, and in concert, the Ditty Bops' sound is fleshed out with sassy, boogie piano work, banjo and lots of percussion. In fact, Barrett plays the washboard, which she often trots out live.
"The washboard has now been coming out on every tour, and I'm playing it on our next record," she says about the instrument, which she straps on with a seat belt. "I don't travel with the dulcimer because it's too delicate and it's hard to get the sound right."
While the ragtime influence is undeniable, as is the Ditty Bops' emphasis on performance, Barrett says she and DeWald are sometimes unfairly pigeonholed based on their look.
"That's one of many influences in our music, but it's definitely been mentioned most," she says of the '20s comparisons. "I mean, Led Zeppelin is just as much of an influence as the Boswell Sisters.
"But we'd just see what worked with what we could do with our voices and how we could arrange the songs," she continues. "We weren't concerned with making it fit one style."
Brian Orloff is a Chicago free-lance writer. |
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BUZZ BANDS; [HOME EDITION]
Kevin Bronson, Frank Farrar
Sep 15, 2005
Ditties to Keep 'em Bopping
Fans showing up for Tori Amos' Summer of Sin tour, which culminates Saturday at the Greek Theatre, are getting a tasteful tease from the Ditty Bops, who have been out on the road with Amos since early August. The
sweetly anachronistic L.A. duo of Amanda Barrett (vocals and mandolin) and Abby DeWald (vocals and guitar) blends bits of ragtime, folk, swing and Depression-era color with a zestful spirit that's
anything but stale.
"We haven't played the same show twice," says Barrett, talking from their van in the midst of some East Coast dates. "Tori has a lot of fans that come to multiple shows, and we want to give them a different set each time."
It's also a way to test out new material for a follow-up to last year's debut CD. "We're hoping that pretty much the day after the Greek we'll start
recording our next record," she says.
They will partner again with producer Mitchell Froom. Barrett said it's been a kick to find people knowing their music from TV shows (including "Grey's Anatomy"), the clever video for "Wishful Thinking,"
scattered radio play or even their January stint on "Late Night With Conan O'Brien."
As for the step-up to playing these big venues? Says Barrett: "It's a joy to go into places that don't smell like cigarettes, vomit and yesterday's alchohol.
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DITTY BOPS Meld Musical Styles for a Unique Sound
6/21/05
Erik Ernst for the State Journal
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 Many bands spend their pre-concert time while on tour with a steady mix of sleeping late, soundchecks, publicity work and pre-show meet-and-greets.
Deciding what to wear for that night's theme isn't usually on the top of a touring musician's to-do list - unless that band is the Ditty Bops.
"I love putting on a show," said Amanda Barrett, one-half of the unusual but fascinating band Ditty Bops with Abby Dewald.
Barrett called recently from Los Feliz, Calif., where she and Dewald were still pulling together that night's "prom" theme. Other shows have gone beyond the music to include skits and costumes related to circus or even underwater themes.
"Sometimes we have a show like tonight's, where we've been scrambling for the right theme for this venue," Barrett added. "We also have a long list of ideas that we've written down when they pop into our heads. The idea is the easy part. It's making it work that can be interesting."
As a band whose catchy, yet exceedingly quirky music is tough to describe with one tidy term, the Ditty Bops - performing at High Noon Saloon Thursday - have bucked the commercial music industry trends at every step.
For Barrett, a former model and theater student, music is a fairly recent occupation. She only recently learned to play the mandolin and was taught dulcimer by her mother, a Celtic musician. Her musical collaboration with her friend Dewald, a talented guitarist, was a nearly overlooked afterthought.
After meeting at a showing of "Rocky Horror Picture Show" and working together at a California farmers' market, Barrett and Dewald put their musical heads together and the resulting material was a melding of early 20th century ragtime jazz, soaring harmonies and whimsical poetry. It didn't sound like anything being played on the radio, yet unlike artists who toil for years without any attention from the mainstream recording industry, the Ditty Bops found themselves with a major-label deal from Warner Bros. Records after one of their first shows.
"Getting a record deal was definitely a surprise," Barrett said. "We wouldn't have played this kind of music if we were looking for a deal. At the same time, it's such a long process. Getting a deal is just the beginning.
"It's not like 'Here's your deal, now you're a star,'• " she said with a laugh. "The best parts have been getting the chance to make an album with Mitchell Froom (a producer whose credits include Elvis Costello and Los Lobos) and getting the chance to tour behind our own music. It's really been a lot of fun."
The duo's self-titled debut album is a diverse mix of songs. From the up-tempo "Wishful Thinking" to the more brooding and swampy "Ooh La La," Barrett and Dewald's creativity and originality shine through.
While the duo's music is steadily building an audience through progressive radio airplay, appearances on programs like public radio's "Prairie Home Companion" and soundtrack spots for the TV series "Grey's Anatomy," they've regularly played to capacity crowds near their Los Angeles residences. Touring as a developing band doesn't mix with the often elaborate homemade sets, puppets and costumes that usually accompany a Ditty Bops show, but they've succeeded in clubs on the East and the Midwest.
Their previous visit to Madison earlier this year - a quasi- homecoming for Barrett, whose mother moved to the city in recent years - earned an endorsement and airplay from WMMM 105.5 FM ("Triple M").
"It isn't too surprising that people are interested in hearing new and diverse music," Barrett said. "Often, I think record labels are afraid to push bands that don't sound like others, but people in general are open to new sounds and the labels and radio just need to open up to new things. For me, it's wonderful when something stands out from the usual."
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Tuesday, June 14, 2005
The Ditty Bops
They're cuter than anything at the candy counter, their Web site is a playground for the brain, and the pink-haired one occasionally plays the slide whistle.
Fortunately, the Ditty Bops' quirky-hip image never overwhelmed their masterly tunes at Iota on Sunday night. The Los Angeles-based group makes the sort of music that evokes memories of the Boswell Sisters in mature listeners (several of whom were in evidence) and reminds the rest of us, pleasantly, of the recent animated film "The Triplets of Belleville."
Guitarist Abby DeWald and guitarist/mandolinist/washboardist/whistle-ist Amanda Barrett -- she of the cotton-candy hair -- crafted captivating soprano harmonies to go with the retro arrangements, aided by John Lambdin on fiddle, guitar and lap steel (and the occasional improvised poem) and Ian Walker on upright bass.
Close listening revealed some freaky lyrics (in the languid "Short Stacks": "I am treading on cow-pile mountains") more reminiscent of an acid-laced beatnik gathering than a vaudeville stage; the straight-faced, exuberant presentation swept the "What the . . . ?" moments into one big captivating feel-good rush. The between-song patter was equally intriguing: Barrett introduced the sweetly romantic "Dreaming Away" as having been written "by my dad in the '70s when he was with my mom in the traveling circus." "Nosy Neighbor" is "sung every Halloween in Paris," Lambdin quipped
Speaking of spooky, opener Mark Charles presented an intriguing set of gloom-folkie songs, concluding with "Death Is Not the End," whose lyrics about hell-burning flesh somehow made the title less reassurance than threat. Like the Ditty Bops, Charles reveled in the unexpected: His up-tempo arrangement of John Prine's "Sam Stone" made a sort of high-lonesome eulogy out of the addiction tragedy.
-- Pamela Murray Winters
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A Couple of Cool Cats
By James Reed
June 10, 2005
The Ditty Bops, the Los Angeles-based duo of Amanda Barrett and Abby DeWald, have a lot of good stories for a band that formed only two years ago. Like when they opened for Nancy Sinatra last year, and Barrett, a former model, asked Sinatra to sign her pair of white boots. The thing is, Barrett gave Sinatra the boots in the wrong order. Now, when Barrett wears them, they say "Sinatra Nancy."
Or when Barrett talks about how they got the name Ditty Bops while looking for her lost cat. They stumbled into their neighbor's yard, and an elderly man named Marty who was sipping gin on his porch invited them to come over and play some music with him. They did and soon befriended Marty, who took to calling them the Ditty Bops, an apparent term from his generation for "cool cats." Such kookiness comes as no sur prise to anyone who has heard the Ditty Bops' quaint, self-titled debut. If you can imagine what the Indigo Girls might have sounded like as the house band for Garrison Keillor's folksy radio show, "A Prairie Home Companion," you're halfway to understanding the undeniable charm of the Ditty Bops. They open for Blanche tonight at T.T. the Bear's.
The duo's music is a jaunty hodgepodge of styles from bygone eras, from Western swing and early vocal jazz to folk and pop all topped with a dollop of vaudevillian gloss and theatrics. It didn't take long for the major labels to come around.
"At our sixth show, our A&R person [from Warner Bros.] came to see us," Barrett says on a cellphone from the road. "We signed a contract and made the album, and now they're dealing with how to market it to the right audience."
That shouldn't be too hard. Part of the band's appeal stems from the duo's sense of humor, which is on proud display on the album. On "Walk or Ride," DeWald sings: "You might find the meaning of life/ In the barrel of a rifle/ If it's pointed at a bird/ Or it's pointed at your head/ Me, I'd rather a plant a tree/ That grows up tall for all to see." It's a shout-out to the band's environmental concerns. But then DeWald unexpectedly adds, "Until I need a pencil, then I'll chop it to the ground."
Nor is every song a stroll down memory lane. "Short Stacks" is a thoroughly modern slice of ambient pop, with the women musing rather abstractly, "Friends do tell me that it's best to say little/ The less you put out the less that's gone/ But sitting here lazing the smaller I feel/ 'Cause I expand when I let on." Still, their dulcet harmonies ground these songs in another era, a time when the Andrews Sisters reigned over radio.
Barrett and DeWald first met five years ago in California when Barrett was visiting a friend who attended DeWald's college. Later, when both of them were living separately in New York, they met randomly, this time at "The Rocky Horror Picture Show." The women, in their mid-20s, knew each other for three years before they formed the Ditty Bops, previously playing together in a 1920s cover band.
Barrett and DeWald, who play mandolin and guitar, respectively, are case studies in the differences between growing up in Northern and Southern California. Barrett was raised in Los Angeles's Topanga Canyon, by a father who was a clown and a mother who had a Celtic pagan combo and taught her daughter to play the dulcimer. Meanwhile, DeWald comes from Shasta County. In her house, classical music was a staple, and she later developed a fascination with ragtime and blues.
"We had this insecurity that we couldn't make our different styles work," Barrett says. "I was really into experimental synthesizer stuff at the time, and Abby was listening to a lot of Western swing. But Marty liked our harmonies and really encouraged us."
Their live shows have become famous for their theatricality, often centered around a theme such as "Gods and Goddesses." They don the appropriate attire and makeup, of course, but they've also been known to hold puppet shows and act out skits. Barrett says it's their dream to do a show while riding bicycles.
Peter Moore, singer of the local band Control Zero, toured with the Ditty Bops and the Dresden Dolls last November, and he remembers thinking, "It's pretty much like you're zapped back to the 1940s. Or it's like seeing the Carter Family, but more sophisticated and modern, obviously."
Moore says the Ditty Bops' eccentricities made for an interesting tour. "It was the first time we didn't feel like the oddball band on the bill," he says. "That's not to say the Ditty Bops are making weird music, but they were playing for all these goth kids who seemed to get it."
Funny he should say that, because Barrett also mentions the band's diverse following. "We get all kinds of people at our shows, from grandmothers who like the old-timey stuff to little kids singing," she says. "But we also had this guy who was a total Slayer fan who said he had driven 13 hours to see our show in Seattle. He's like, `I don't know why I like your music so much, but I just do.' And then he asked us if we could sell our T-shirts in black, since we only had pink and green ones, and that wasn't doing it for him." |
 
Combining a magical attic's worth of dusty musical idioms, iridescent golden harmonies, and a quirk-laden lyrical worldview, the Ditty Bops provide a refreshing antidote to the misbegotten, soul-grinding notion of thinking you know what happens next. Against the backdrop of this alternate reality, it's entirely appropriate the L.A. duo wound up with a major label contract after just eight public performances. Abby DeWald (guitar) and Amanda Barrett (mandolin/dulcimer) embody the simple Saturday afternoon pleasures – of thrift store finds and getting lost in the library – with their amalgam of ragtime, jazz, vaudeville, Western swing, and folk, but it would sell the Bops short to lump them in with nostalgia-driven absolutists. Their opening statement, "Walk or Ride," is a gently swinging children's lullaby that could've been written by They Might Be Giants and sung by the Andrews Sisters. As such, it's easy to imagine parental anxiety arising from a lyric like "When you stomp your feet, you aren't hurting me, but you're always killing something just by living on the earth." By contrast, their rollicking cover of the New Orleans jazz standard "I Wish I Could Shimmy Like My Sister Kate" should please just about anything with a pulse. Mitchell Froom's tasteful production accentuates DeWald and Barrett without overriding them. It could be said the Ditty Bops are sometimes a little too clever for their own good, but only a right bastard would let that ruin the parade. (Friday, March 18, 11pm @ 18th Floor @ Crowne Plaza)
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March 14, 2005
Record Reviews
By Isaiah Trost |
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Just what the Ditty Bops do on their terrific debut is hard to categorize. Perhaps textured acoustic psychedelia with gentle jass, blues, folk, lounge and vaudeville vibes will have to do, or just brainy folk-pop. There are two lead Ditty Bops, acoustic guitarist Abby DeWald and mandolinist/dulcimer player Amanda Barrett. Based in Los Angeles, both women are in their early twenties and are appealing singers, quirky songwriters and confident instrumentalists. They have the advantage of having as co-producer on their debut world-class studio hand Mitchell Froom (Paul McCartney, Elvis Costello) and the result is a rich sound that reflects numerous influences but genuinely belongs to the Ditty Bops. Audiophiles will love it. |
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March 2005
Sing Along |
Amanda Barrett and Abby DeWald – the women behind the California-based Ditty Bops – are as surprising, quirky and charming as their name suggests. While most contemporary young artists know nothing about ragtime, early jazz and musical theater that can’t be learned from a 30-second Gap ad, the Ditty Bops are actually influenced by such genres, incorporating elements of performance art, visual art, storytelling and, of course, their own unique brand of genre-splicing music into all of their performances. In a music world full of one-note talents and one-hit wonders, the Ditty Bops’s eclecticism is a welcome oasis. –Sasha Carvel |
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The Name Game: “Our friend Marty used to call us ‘Ditty Bops’ when we first started singing together,” Abby explains. “We didn’t have a band nor did we have a band name, but he would tell everybody, ‘Hey, you gotta hear these Ditty Bops.’ The name eventually just stuck to us. I found out later that ‘ditty bops’ was slang for Morse code operators and I enjoy that meaning as well.”
First Encounters: “Abby and I met in California briefly and then I randomly sat in front of her at Rocky Horror months later,” Amanda explains. “I thought Susan Sarandon looked amazing, especially in that dance number when she wore her bra and underwear.”
Stage Presence: “There is definitely something fantastic – and I guess it must be a sort of fear factor – that comes from performing in front of others and being in a state where you could crash the train at any minute,” Abby says. “For me, this only happens on stage. However, much joy for me comes from laying around on the floor and making up ridiculous songs that I think no one will ever hear or watching Amanda do crazy dances that will never be performed for anyone but me. Just allowing myself to be full of flaws and engage in embarrassingly bad behavior is freeing and very important to my life. I highly recommend embracing your own flaws. It’s more fun than pretending they don’t exist.”
Involuntary Head Bops: When asked what music makes her do the ever-popular involuntary head bop, Abby responds, “Usually it’s pop music that I really don’t enjoy listening to at home. But when I hear it in a department store, I change character and embrace the grossness of shopping and easing listening.”
Ultimate Concert Experience: “I would love to sing songs from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory with Gene Wilder,” Amanda says, “a lounge song with Bill Murray (who shares my birthday, by the way), listen to a lullaby sung by Joni Mitchell and watch Kate Bush dance to her song ‘Babushka.’ ”
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| January 23, 2005
Photograph by Norman Jean Roy
Text by Mark Jacobs
Fashion Editor Elisabeth Stewart |
It’s true that L.A. fashion suffers from a sunny disposition, something Nony Tochterman, Petro Zillia’s designer, applauds. Her spring collection was inspired by the adorable swing-and-twang duo Abby DeWald and Amanda Barrett of the Ditty Bops (wearing Petro Zillia here), who performed at her show, which she described as “naïve, sweet, cute, positive and freethinking. On Dewald (left), Megan Shoemaker necklaces and Mang by George Mang shoes. On Barrett, Marc Jacobs shoes.
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