Sultry with a Chance of Swing
Christabel and the Jons play Boone Saloon April 15

By Frank Ruggiero

Speakeasies are a relic of the past, and smoky lounges may soon follow.

But a few well-played notes can transport listeners to a different time, vivid in its nostalgic atmosphere and sultry sounds.

It’s that old black magic that Christabel and the Jons weave so well, and on Wednesday, April 15, they’ll cast their spell at the Boone Saloon.

From their origin four years ago as a folk honky-tonk band, Christabel and the Jons have developed their contagiously foot-tapping sound into full-fledged Tennessee swing.

With the vocals of lead singer and namesake Christa DeCicco combined with the honest, old-school sounds of violin, upright bass, guitar, mandolin and accordion, the Knoxville-based outfit incorporates something else into their “sultry, southern swing”– fun.

“After we’d been playing about a year, we had a gig in our hometown, and a whole bunch of dancers from our swing dance society came out,” DeCicco said, “and they proceeded to dance to a bunch of our tunes. I had no concept we’d had any kind of dance beat, and we just got the biggest kick out of that. We thought that was awesome, that we need to cater to those people and make them come back.”

The swing dancers directly influenced the band’s music-making, with DeCicco saying they began learning jazz standards soon after. Eventually, DeCicco found herself writing a new album of original swing tunes, “and that’s kind of how we got to where we are now –a vintage swing band and a modern folk band, sort of a blend between the two.”

This persona is now an integral part of their performance, complementing by way of vintage clothes and decoration. “Sometimes polyester, sometimes loud, sometimes not-so-loud – it’s kind of that visual flair matching the era we’re going for,” DeCicco said.

This particular era spans the 1920s through the early 1960s, a generous slice of Americana for Christabel, the Jons and their audience to enjoy.

DeCicco was nicknamed Christabel by a group of friends, who gleaned it from a Robert Earl Keen song of the same name, though she believes its origin comes from a medieval vampire love poem. “It’s a creepy poem and a creepy song, but I’m not a creepy person,” she promised.

She is, however, distinctive. Her voice has been likened to Madeleine Peyroux, who has been likened to Billie Holiday, but with DeCicco’s clever brand of songwriting and playful singing, her own individually developed sound is unmistakable.

“I have no vocal training, so what I’ve learned, I just picked up,” she said.

DeCicco feels her voice has grown smoother since the band’s first days, due in part to her favorite singers and the practice gained from experience. She takes a critical approach when listening to her recordings, oftentimes rerecording after hearing certain tones or her pronunciation of certain words.

“I sort of think of it as the way the caterpillar in ‘Alice in Wonderland,’ when it was smoking, would blow out the letters to his words. I blow out the words and picture that as I’m singing,” she said.

DeCicco’s musical background is in classical piano, and she taught herself guitar in high school with a simplified Beatles chord book. After a couple years, she started writing ditties on the piano, but the Jons are her first group effort.

The Jons were named after themselves. When the band first formed as a trio, the drummer and bassist were both named Jon. “So, it was just me and the Jons,” DeCicco said.

A couple member changes later found another Jonathan on bass, followed by another whose middle name was Jon.

“It was not a prerequisite by any means,” DeCicco said. “Now, we have only one Jon, but he’s the original.”
The Jons now consist of Jon Whitlock on drums, vocals and whistle; Seth Hopper on violin, mandolin, accordion and vocals; and Milly Sue Cavendar on upright bass. Bassist Vince Ilagan joins the group for several tracks on their latest album, “Custom Made for You,” released in December 2008.

“We decided to (record) a little bit live and a little bit in the studio, so it’s a mixture,” DeCicco said of the album. “You get the feel of us all playing together, but we were able to finesse some solos into other parts to get what I think is a more tight and polished record.”

The bulk of the album’s content is original, often inspired by songs of a bygone era that offer a foundation on which Christabel and the Jons build their own unique structure.

“Those melodies are beautiful, catchy melodies,” DeCicco said. “You get inspired by something, and then usually a line of poetry will pop into my head to a certain little melody, and then I’ll pick up my guitar and find the chords that go with it. To me, a song should be like a story that has purpose, has a point that’s hopefully more than, ‘I’m so in love with you.’”

Christabel and the Jons will make their point Wednesday, April 15, at 10:30 p.m. at the Boone Saloon.

“We hope to transport them to a different time, taking them out of where and when they really are,” DeCicco said. “We consciously try to be warm, so we have fun. We have the easiest and most fun job ever in the world, and it hasn’t been taken away by the recession. We’re really having a great time in life, and I think that comes out when we play.

“We hope to lighten people’s spirits, hopefully make them dance a little bit and make them feel like they’ve been somewhere else.”

For more information on Christabel and the Jons, visit www.myspace.com/christabelmusic on the Web.