Harmony

 ST. LOUIS JOURNALS

Monday, August 17, 2009 

By Jim Merkel

jmerkel@yourjournal.com

Jim Ford and Steve Galati know all about reunion bands.

Ford, 57, and Galati, 56, played acoustic guitar and sang as the duo Harmony for eight years from the late 1970s to the mid-1980s.

Then they separated, pursued careers in education and played in various places individually.

Now, more than 20 years later, Harmony is back with Ford, Galati and vocalist, violinist and keyboard player, Darlene Luebber, 25.

The group has been playing since last fall and plans to officially release a self-published CD called "Shelter From the Storm" at a concert at 7:30 p.m. Aug. 25 at the Sheldon Concert Hall, 3648 Washington Blvd.

Made up of present and retired educators, Harmony plays a mix of pop songs from the 1950s to 1970s by the likes of the Beatles, Crosby Stills and Nash and Neil Diamond and members' original songs.

"Music is a medicine to humans. It relaxes us. Life has many storms," said Ford, of Webster Groves, explaining the purpose behind the original songs in "Shelter From the Storm."

Ford, the principal of St. Cecilia Catholic School, in Carondelet, said, "We look at music as a metaphor for helping us to have a more healthy life."

Songs in the CD have topics ranging from lighthouses and the light in our lives to ravioli, baseball, beer and St. Louis to reflections on 9/11.

People can obtain more information or order the CD by calling 780-0574 or going to www.stlharmony.com.

Ford and Galati began playing together after they met while they were teaching at All Souls School in Overland. Galati, of Florissant, retired last year as a teacher at Kratz Elementary School in the Ritenour School District.

For Luebber, who is the music teacher at St. Cecilia, this is the first time she's sung in a band like Harmony. The University City resident has sung in church choirs and in an a cappella singing group at the University of Notre Dame.

Since the group first played at a Halloween party last year at St. Cecilia Elementary School, it has played about three times a month.

Two of those are on the second and fourth Saturdays of each month at the Wine Press, 4436 Olive St.

"When I sang as a single, I missed singing harmonies.," Galati said, explaining why he wanted to come back to the group. "I just enjoy playing music and singing out."

Review of SHELTER FROM THE STORM

from Playback stl   

   St. Louis folk duo Harmony  held their CD release concert at the acoustically pristine Sheldon on August 25. The group consists of multi-instrumentalists Jim Ford and Steve Galati, each with years of local band experience on their resumes. Their sound bears the influence of acoustic rockers such as CSNY, Heartsfield, America and others, as well as a strong spiritual component.
   The band's debut release, Shelter From the Storm, is an earnest collection of amiable, contemplative tunes that reveal Ford, who wrote all 14 songs, to be a songwriter with humanitarian concerns as well as an eye for detail. Highlights include the evocative "Maine Light" ("about a real lighthouse in Maine, and the light in our lives," according to the brief notes on the CD back cover), the good-natured "I Got a Lot on My Mind" and the melodically strong "Hawk," a song Ford has had kicking around since the brief sojourn of one of his previous incarnations, Just Folk.
   Fans of St. Louis-themed material should enjoy "River of Beer," which crams a number of local cultural touchstones into its brisk running time, and "Roll on River," another of Ford's older tunes-a tribute to the "mighty Mississip." And "First Pew" manages to not take religion seriously while at the same time making a wryly amusing case for the churchgoing experience.
Guest musicians on Harmony's CD  includes Darlene Luebbert, the director of St. Cecilia School's music program and  guitarist/vocalist/recording engineer Tom Knecht.  by Kevin Renick, writer for playback stl.