Broadside Electric : Interview : Page 2

Helene Zisook talks about joining the band:

Tom:	We auditioned Helene.
Helene:	That was a weird audition.
Ashley:	Tell me more.
Helene:	Well, it was two hours before I even took my instrument out, of mostly just talking and listening to what they already recorded. And they asked me if I'd heard of all these bands that I'd never heard of. And it was getting sadder and sadder: "No … no … no …" And then finally: "Jethro Tull." "Yeah! Yeah!" And everybody went: "Yeah, yeah, yeah!" and we nodded a lot.
Tom:	Yeah, it was that bad.
Ashley:	And that was the bonding factor?
Helene:	Yeah, that was –
Tom:	That was how we got it started, yeah.
Helene:	I had this feeling afterward, when I was thinking about it, that you guys liked me and wanted me to be, what's the word I'm looking for … "qualified."
Tom:	Mmm-hmm.
Helene:	And there was some sight-reading. I sight read the melody to "Matty Groves." And everybody acted impressed. And then there was some check to see if I could hear a melody and then play it. But mostly it was just sitting around and talking.
Amy:	So what made you answer the ad?
Helene:	I had been wanting to get back into music because I hadn't played in a year or so. I started to have nightmares about it. So I signed up for the pit band for West Side Story and that's actually what I was doing at that point. It was fun to play. And then I saw the ad. I've never been one to not say yes, so I've played in a lot of weird things with a lot of weird people, and thought: "Oh look, some more weird people playing weird things." Actually I thought they were going to be playing my kind of folk rock that I'd heard before: Kenny Loggins and Cat Stevens and stuff like that. So I had a totally different idea about what I was getting into.
Tom:	The term kind of means something different in America.
Ashley:	"Peace Train?"
Helene:	Well I was thinking "Watching the River Run."

Forming the Band | Helene Joins | From 1991-1997 | Ashley Meets B.E. | Amy Meets B.E. | Ashley and Amy Join | The Philadelphia Folk Festival | It's New All Over Again | Adding Drums | Fun with Woodwinds | Arranging | Traditional Music | Complete Interview
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