Opening Night Party featuring Conspiracy of Beards (Leonard Cohen tribute choir) and The Jerk Church Tabernacle Choir.
San Francisco’s Conspiracy of Beards is a 30 member male choir that performs dynamic, original, a cappella arrangements of the poetic songs of Leonard Cohen.
Well dressed in suits, ties, and the occasional fedora, the choir brings an energized live choral music experience out of churches and tabernacles and into the taverns, art houses, and theaters of the Bay Area and beyond. Transforming Cohen’s lyrics and simple melodies into complex 4- and 5-part harmonies, and with a wide variety of small ensemble and full choir pieces, Conspiracy of Beards achieves a sound that is both robust and tender. Drawing on influences ranging from jazz and gospel to barbershop and doo-wop, the unique arrangements that choir members create capture all of the emotion and humor of Leonard Cohen’s original music and inspire audiences to ponder common human experiences like romance, heartbreak, politics, sex, longing, and spirituality.
Formed in 2003 through the inspiration of the late San Francisco performance artist Peter Kadyk, his brother Patrick Kadyk, along with friend and composer Daryl Henline, gathered a small group of friends to learn and sing a couple of Leonard Cohen songs as a tribute. Since then the choir, still directed by Daryl Henline, has grown to over 30 members.
Conspiracy of Beards has become an integral part of the San Francisco music scene with performances at Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival, The Jewish Music Festival, Cafe Du Nord, Great American Music Hall, San Francisco City Hall, and San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, as well as dozens of bars, bookstores, galleries, hospices, and various other community centers. The choir has also been featured on several radio programs including NPR’s “West Coast Live,” “The California Report,” “Weekend Edition,” KQED, KFOG, KPFA, WFMU, and on PBS television.
Jerk Church is a creative musical learning community for musicians and non-musicians alike. We gather each Sunday to break bread, share a cup and a song.
http://jerkchurch.com/
Ten Commandments of Jerk Church
COMMANDMENT I
Thou shalt tithe
COMMANDMENT II
Thou shalt not be a douche
COMMANDMENT III
Thou shalt treat the host home with upmost respect
COMMANDMENT IV
Thou shalt enculturate newcomers to ways of Jerk
COMMANDMENT V
Thou shalt not drink and drive
COMMANDMENT VI
Thou shalt leave thy drama at the door
Commandment VII
Thou shalt strive to create harmony
COMMANDMENT VIII
Thou shalt forget what 8 is for
COMMANDMENT IX
Thou shalt participate. (host, help with camp, organize church services etc.)
COMMANDMENT X
Thou shalt SING!
The Jerk Church hymnal includes psalms by artists such as: Flogging Molly, Cee Lo Green, Pogues, Johnny Cash, Devil Makes Three, Old Crow Medicine Show and traditional blues and Irish songs.