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| Courtesy of Mudlark
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 Return home: The folk trio Mudlark - Ray Frank, Katie Henry, center, and Laura Sandage - will perform at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Northern Light United Church. |
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Somewhere in a conversation ranging from operatic vocal training to who burps the loudest, the three members of Mudlark are uncharacteristically secretive about one bit of real dirt.
The guitar/banjo/bass and vocals folk trio, scheduled to perform at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Northern Light United Church, went through weeks of brainstorming before one of them - they won't say who - threw out the word that became the band's name.
The word refers to street children in England who subsisted by scavenging on the banks of the River Thames. The band said it's fitting for music its promotional material describes as "a deep, sometimes raw place, with wild beauty, earthy humor, mournful longing and a touch of the grotesque."
"The image of scavenging through the earth to find treasure just seemed to be an analogy of what we were doing," said guitarist Ray Frank during a speakerphone interview with the band from their hometown of Davis, Calif.
Their mix of old-time and modern bluegrass, country, blues and pop comes partially from their backgrounds. Frank, a longtime studio musician from the Bronx, helped record the 2005 album "Bloom" by Laura Sandage, a classically trained Californian who was writing advertising jingles at age 14.
During that time they met Katie Henry, a longtime Juneau resident and banjo player who had recently moved to Davis but wasn't finding much time to play music while raising her two kids.
"I liked their voices together and just kind of lured her into the process," Sandage said.
Some of the songs on "Bloom" became, in effect, the earliest works of Mudlark. Sandage, venturing into folk music for the first time, also stretched her education by picking up a string bass for the first time.
The different musical and personal backgrounds resulted in a richly compatible foundation.
"A lot of what holds us together is the richness and intenseness of the friendship we've developed after all this time of playing together - so strong it can help somebody play a new instrument, or get over an illness, or help raise their children," Henry said.
When asked about their co-players' strengths, Henry is called an "instant harmonizer" who uses wide-ranging dynamics to capture emotion.
Frank gets kudos for an ability to play any piece of music immediately, plus the ability to compose lyrics ranging from tear-jerkers to crude humor.
Sandage earns praise for her broad lyrical styles, musical intuition and composing skills.
The concert is a homecoming for Henry, who marks her 32nd Alaska Folk Festival when Mudlark plays at 8:45 p.m. next Thursday. Sandage is returning after a festival appearance two years ago.
Tickets are $8-$10 and may be purchased at the door. Those wanting to hear the group can find streaming audio at http://mudlarkmusic.com/music.html. There are also numerous free downloadable MP3s at http://atonal.ucdavis.edu/~petr/kt/ (Katie Henry) and www.laurasandage.com/music.html (Laura Sandage).
