By Matthew Russell Lee
NEW YORK, November 26 -- In the Cake Shop basement on Ludlow Street, the quintet Palmyra played what have been been its last show. The band's lead singer Gina Pensiero is headed to LA. Between song she asked the crowd for its advice. “Don't go!” was the reply.
“Something constructive,” she retorted. As she sang of Michigan, her father was in the front row. The trumpet player Kenny Roebuck put on his mute, twanged his background lyrics. The bass and drums Largo brothers put a happy face on things, the former on Korg synthesizer. Guitarist Karl Sturk hawked the band's five song cassette tape: $5 dollars each, and they'd only made 25 copies. Given this economy, no wonder Gina's headed west.
The songs were heartfelt, authentic, necessary. (Click here for their MySpace space). But with Gina headed West, what will become of Palmyra? Upstairs in the Cake Shop, a Friday night crowd thronged, and apricot beer from Ithaca was sold. Surely there are other bands. But not another Palmyra.
Palmyra on Nov. 26, drummer not shown, but heard (c) MRLee
Before, however, there was a pigtailed Korg keyboard singer named Heather Duby. She too sounded earnest, with Tommy Yunish on electric guitar behind. When finally her lyrics were heard, they were about being unfaithful. She is not leaving New York, and she pitched her Facebook page. (Here's her MySpace.) Could she be Palmyra's vocalist? It's worth at least a try, before the boys disband.
Footnote: a longer shot for Gina's replacement would be the plaid shirted leader of the Heliotropes, who played the Matchless Bar in Greenpoint last summer. Click here for that - the advice is (too) freely given.
