Imagine a modern-day Peter, Paul & Mary — only edgier, sexier, and with a quirky sense of humor. Girlyman's harmony-driven style veers from contemporary folk to country rock to pop. Each member switches off songwriting duties, lead vocals, and a range of instruments, including acoustic guitar, djembe, banjo, baritone guitar and mandolin.
Nate Borofsky, Doris Muramatsu, and Ty Greenstein scheduled the group's first rehearsal for September 11, 2001. Doris and Ty, who met in the second grade, had recently abandoned their former project as a duo; their friend Nate had just moved to New York after four solo years on the Boston music scene. When all three suddenly found themselves living in the same Brooklyn apartment, it seemed only natural to combine their talents into a new group. According to Nate, the rehearsal was quickly forgotten, but the events of September 11 helped shape the trio's vision: "It brought us in touch with our own mortality. We realized that we wanted to have fun, to do what felt right to us, and to not take ourselves too seriously. We started out by calling ourselves Girlyman."
In 2004 Girlyman released its debut CD Remember Who I Am on Amy Ray's indie imprint Daemon Records. Since then the band has appeared on internationally syndicated radio shows like Mountain Stage and has performed at major festivals, including the Winnipeg, Philadelphia and Boston Folk Festivals, as well as Falcon Ridge. Last year the band toured nationally with the Indigo Girls and also completed a nine-week run with Dar Williams. In 2005 Daemon released Girlyman's second CD, Little Star.
After spending the last six years living, cooking meals, writing songs, and even attending therapy together in a cramped New York City apartment, the members of Girlyman are ready to make a change. Perhaps the title track off their new CD, Joyful Sign, says it best: Sometimes leaving is a joyful sign/Like a little child singing, "This little light of mine, gonna let it shine." Band member Nate Borofsky admits that leaving is a major theme throughout the CD. "When we moved in together and started Girlyman six years ago, we all kind of fell in love and had this creative explosion. Now that we're all moving out, there's a sense of possibility and excitement about what could happen next."
Come join us in welcoming Girlyman in concert at the Hansen Student Center on the campus of Illinois Wesleyan on Saturday, September 15! Doors open at 7:30 PM and the show goes up at 8:00 PM. To learn more about Girlyman, checkout their web site at www.girlyman.com