The Band
Members of Sweet Cacophony met each other at the weekly Friends of Old Time Music jam sessions of at the Hill Top Tavern in Iowa City. Originally formed as a trio of Peter, Jim and Dave they had the first performance at the 2013 Fiddlers Picnic. Soon after Dennis joined the group.
Peter
My wife Sue and I are new to Iowa City compared to Jim, Dave and Dennis. I enjoy playing country, western, classical, popular, Appalachian, rock and Celtic music, and I considers it all folk music. I especially resonate with acoustic country blues. I am moved by certain musicians (Leadbelly and Howlin’ Wolf, for example) who managed to play and invent great music over their lifetimes while living in a way that is respectful to themselves and others, under often horrific circumstances.
I love music, I love playing music and I love playing music with and for other people. Playing music with other people – the same people over a long period of time – gives rise to something I could never come up with on my own.
Jim
In High School I played in a rock n roll band for a few years but had to give it up to finish studies.
The responsibilities of college, work, kids and mortgage took over and left little time to pursue music again until a few years ago.
I had always loved harmony so I joined Barbershop and Quire, which really helped with vocal skills. Resuming drums and guitar, then learning keyboards, brought about the opportunity to play with others who shared passion for the same music.
My musical influences have been: Gram Parsons, Roy Orbison, the Everly Brothers and Pete Seeger.
Dave
Dave Parsons is a native Iowa Citian who is a relatively recent convert to folk/blues/bluegrass and the upright bass. His first incarnation was on vocals and brass instruments, and he still plays trombone with a British-style brass band, a big band and a Dixieland band. He has also performed on cornet, baritone, and Eb tenor horn.
Dennis
Growing up in Cleveland Ohio I was drawn to almost any music from mass media. There was Hawaiian songs sung by Aurthur Godfrey my grandmother adored, the songs in the endlesss cowboy movies I watched, Spike Jones records (seeing Spike live was one of my few childhood exposures to live music). Rock and roll was a big and DJ Alan Freed (he coined “rock and roll”) was on WJW. In the evenings when reception was good I could hear country and bluegrass on WLS Cincinattii, and I was a big fan of Sunday Polka Time on WERE-TV with Frankie Yankovic.
While in Iowa City I have played with the square dance band Scotch Grove Pioneers, contradance band Preservation of Wildlife Dance Band, traditional Irish band Stones in the Field, polka band Mike Lasik and the Rythmaires, two traditional jazz bands Brick Street Ramblers and Spontaneous Combustion. I have also been an organizer for many years for the Iowa Friends of Old Time Music.