When singer Christy Sperling and her band had a CD release party at the Village Inn in North Hudson on Sunday, it was also the convergence of many local musical forces.
“I met Christy when I was asked by Sheila Earley to play bass for a project band, Anonymous Angels, that she was producing,” said local musician John Garden of the Rhythm Roosters, who also stands in with other acts, and many have been included in the Minnesota Music Hall of Fame. Garden described the Angels as “a young band with a positive message.”
That was one year ago. “The group combined rap and beats with traditional melodies, which made for an interest blend,” Garden said. “Christy sang lead vocals and Sean Higgins, of Primes, provided the rap. After hearing Christy I became interested in promoting her solo work and original songs. I spent the year working on her live solo shows and recording her first CD, which was just released.”
That of course, took place at the Village during a four-hour show before a very receptive audience scattered throughout the venue, which is the size of a veritable banquet hall.
Soon a relationship started where Sperling made regular guest appearances with the Rhythm Roosters, which combine blues, R & B and some horns. These including those at the Northwoods Blues Festival in Minong, where Sperling was a crowd favorite.
“I then met Steven Slama when I was hired to play bass guitar for his group, Levitating Train Committee, for a show at the Fine Line in Minneapolis,” Garden said. The result was a veteran musician rocking with some young, wide-eyed dudes as the Committee ratcheted up the tempo for a noisier-than-the-usual-gig, in a good way, during an in-between set at Sunday’s CD release party.
“I did play several shows with them after that, and finally asked Steve to join both Anonymous Angels and Christy’s band, Early Morning Sunshine,” Garden summarized.
Shelia Earley, a drummer who also got behind the kit as they mixed and matched during the gig at the Village Inn, had lived in New York and played at a prominent club, the Blue Note, as well as with the legendary Eretha Franklin.
What these bands try to do with their cover songs, to a large degree, is really amp them up. During the last set on Sunday, the band started with a mellower song that showcased Sperling’s vocals — and as was true in many cases, incorporated whistling as a sort of additional instrument. Then they stepped up the tempo on the Eagle’s Hotel California, although Sperling resisted what had to be a temptation to really snarl during the song’s darker signature phrases. Unlike the Eagles themselves, they did not go acoustic when covering their own song live.
“When we do these covers, we like to dress them up,” Garden said of the various projects.
Another similarity between Sperling, a sprite of a woman with a big voice, and at least one of her interchanging bandmates, was to play barefoot, even while pumping on the pedal below the guitar.

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