Temporarily Speaking: Sweet Bluegrass

by Stephen Tringali

“Hey, you guys want to hear some sweet bluegrass?” asked Freshman Kailynn West from the Berklee College of Music as the crowd gathered at the Lower Paxton Youth Center (LPYC) on an uncharacteristically warm January night in Pennsylvania.

This wasn’t the kind of question typically posed to the LPYC audience, a mostly high-school-aged demographic raised on pop-punk, hard rock, and metal. Nevertheless, the crowd erupted with cheers as Temporarily Speaking — the bluegrass trio composed of West (guitar), Kelly Muser (upright bass), and Elizabeth Zook (violin) — went through sound check and prepared to play their first song.

“It was kind of scary [playing that venue],” West said. “I knew they were all hard rockers at the show....But at LPYC, the kids are all really open minded….”

A small, cinderblock structure adorned with kids’ colorful artwork, the center opens its doors on varying nights of the week to allow youth in the Harrisburg area a showcase for their musical talents.

I first visited the venue earlier this year, Jan. 5, and was met with an eclectic mix of high school and college acts — everything from grunge to indie rock to metal took the makeshift stage that night. West and LPYC’s Youth President Abbey Wheeler were kind enough to allow me and a few of my friends to film Temporarily Speaking’s performance.

My task was simple: I wanted to prove that I was capable of filming a concert. My last effort, attempted less than a year ago, worked in the context of its project, a documentary detailing the senior year of my high school class. But there were still many improvements I could make, one being an increase in the number of camera angles.

What I eventually captured on video was a band much in love with the folk and bluegrass traditions. Their strengths: incredible vocal harmonies, a curious sense of storytelling, and lively instrumentation. You can judge for yourself whether I created a satisfactory product — one song from Temporarily Speaking’s performance, entitled “Peter Pan,” is posted at the end of this article.

Temporarily Speaking formed during the 2005-2006 school year when West, Musser, and Zook met at the Capital Area School for the Arts, located in Harrisburg. A midterm project was assigned and forming this band seemed to be the best solution.

“We didn’t have any trouble coming up with things to play or any certain style,” West said. “I started getting into Nickel Creek in the middle of my senior year…Kelly really likes folk like James Taylor…[and] Liz is into Sufjan Stevens and more modern [music].”

As far as future plans are concerned, a full-length LP is in the works.

“We’re aiming for that by June,” West said. “And eventually we’re going to start touring around PA….We’re seeing how much we can do with [the band].”

However, the songwriting process has been altered significantly for all three members. With West at Berklee, Musser at University of the Arts, and Zook at Houghton College, Temporarily Speaking is only able to rehearse between semesters.

“Even though I’ve been away, I’ve still been writing, Kelly’s still been writing, [and] Liz’s still writing,” West said. “It will be interesting [to see how the material for the new album turns out] considering this is the first time we’ve been writing away from each other.”

(Promotional photo of Temporarily Speaking used with permission. To see Temporarily Speaking's concert video -- produced and directed by Stephen Tringali -- please check below.)



(For more examples of regional artists, please see this week's podcast.)

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