Bob Hay & the Jolly Beggars, The Squallz

Friday, August 4, Melting Point

originally published August 2, 2006

Since 2003, Bob Hay & the Jolly Beggars have been known for their acoustic interpretations of the melodies and eloquent prose of Scottish poet Robert Burns. Hay and fellow Beggars Ken Starratt and Diana Torell are also internationally known for their days in The Squalls, the popular Athens pop band from the 1980s. So far, Hay & Co. have released two albums of Burns’ songs with a third in the works [see Record Reviews], but tonight the folkies meld their own storied past with Burns' literary past.

“Some of the Jolly Beggars have been pushing some of the Squalls stuff,” says Hay. “I had been resisting the idea. They're always like, ‘They're such good songs,’ and I've been like, ‘Yawn.’ But one night I felt a certain emotional resonance to a couple songs and now I just want to do them one time in a show, to revisit some emotional territory and see what happens.”

Hay makes clear that this will not be the original Squalls’ electric dance party like their shows circa 1985. This is the Squalls two decades on and seen through the eyes of the Beggars. He’s even billing the stripped-down troupe as “The Squallz” to differentiate this from the original band; a 12-song Squallz set follows the full Jolly Beggars set.

The Squalls’ quirky rhythms and danceable rock have been altered to fit the stripped-down mood of the show. “The more strummy songs seem to work okay,” says Hay. “Several of the songs were written specifically to avoid strumming. They were more in a call-and-response mode where each instrument would play a melody, interweaving with a couple other melodies… I'd like to get ‘Crickets’ working, but a lot of the songs were about ‘the sound.’ Maybe we can simulate guitar feedback and delay with pennywhistles or something. We'll see.” Show starts at 8 p.m.

Lee Valentine Smith

Lee Valentine Smith