Heroines: The Ditty Bops
A new group on me as of today, actually within the last couple of hours – they are pretty unique – called the Ditty Bops. They are a musical group, consisting of two ladies named Abby DeWald and Amanda Barrett. Their music is to be treasured, but probably only the odd few here and there will appreciate it, as the sound is about as unique as it gets. Imagine if you will a good bit of rag time, a healthy dose of swing, all rolled in with some good old fashion blue grass/traditional folk music, and blend with some lovely vocal harmonies. Add to that a quick witty set of vocals that are sometimes nonsensical and others just so right on (and maybe those that nonsensical my wit is not quick enough to catch up with yet) and you have the wonderful duet. Check out their website or do some searching on YouTube to get a feel for the music.
However, in the meantime while I am listing them as a couple of heroines? Simply put I am impressed by their wherewithal of putting their actions where their mouths are. Case in point, during their 2nd album release and tour that was to support that. They were big on a kick at the time that we need to help the world with a little less pollution. So, they did their tour from CA to NY via bicycle. It was, as you can imagine with a smaller lesser known group like this, not all completely planned. However, they did 40 performances along the route and it was measured a success. Their comments on the endeavor ran something like if we can do a tour this way across the country then everyone can make a small effort to reduce the usage of the automobile just a little bit.
They followed this up by being instrumental in the ban of plastic bags in the city of San Francisco. Now, I am personally not sure where I stand on this, but come to think of it paper bags are not nearly as apt to be found blowing around as the urban version of a tumble weed that I see a lot of plastic bags become. Further, while both are recyclable, I feel that the renewable aspect of paper over plastic (oil based) has a plus to it. Further, with such a ban maybe everyone would be more apt to lead to a much wider adoption of re-usable bags, such as canvas. This reminds me of something that I need to get in a better habit of doing myself.
Lastly, the one most near and dear to my own heart. They toured in America’s heartland in 2007, promoting the plight of the American farmer and the ideas of sustainable agriculture. I especially like the sustainable aspect of what they were doing with this and need to find some additional information on just what all that involved. That mini tour ended with a performance at, you guessed it, Farm Aid with Willie.
