The Mona Lisa Tribe

A native of Deland, Florida, Tabitha Meeks organized her first quartet in elementary school and has been getting girls together to sing ever since.  In high school, she briefly started an all-female group. More recently, with the help of some smooth singing friends, she formed “The Mona Lisa Tribe.”

It happened after church one day, when future band member, Caroline Shrope asked Tabitha if she wanted to start a girl-band. Tabitha was all over it, and they invited a third player. Tabitha saw a kind of Mona Lisa look in Caroline, so she dubbed the band “The Mona Lisa Trio;” then changed “Trio” to “Tribe.” Good thing, because they are now a quartet (which includes Sarah Elkins and Erin Cascioli) and sometimes a sextet when they add the drummer and bassist—who happen to be male. They call John McGrath and John Wagner, the boys in the band, the “Man-a-Lisas.” 

MLT’s lush vocals sing a blend of classic and modern folk music. Sarah and Caroline alternate on percussion and mandolin; Erin, the fourth member, adds her velvety cello to the mix. In short, it’s the freshest sound in South Florida—a trendy acoustic combo of folk, pop, and a tinge of bluegrass dressed in Madewell fashion. They do a few covers, like “500 Miles” and “Wildflowers” but offer mostly some very well written originals. Playing since 2017, the band is excited to bring a folk music scene back to West Palm Beach and beyond.

Mona Lisa Tribe is one of those bands that people really can’t stereotype, which is testament to their innovative sound. While the band has a unique Americana vibe full of energizing rhythms, unexpected tempo changes, instrumental solos and clever lyrics, Tabitha cites influences from bands like, “The Staves,” “First Aid Kit,” “Joseph,” and “The Wailin’ Jennys.”  

And the members aren’t your typical hobbyist players. Three out of six of them have music degrees, resulting in tunes that are both musically solid and accessible.  As the primary songwriter, Tabitha says, “We try to take our songwriting seriously, but also make sure it’s fun and feels good.  The combination of trained musicians and non-music graduates makes a good dynamic. I usually bring a song I’ve started and let the team work their magic. We’re having a lot of fun and are becoming each other’s best friends.” There’s nothing like the camaraderie that musicians share. The bond runs deep and the connection long lasting. 

Mona Lisa Tribe has been featured on NPR’s Sunday afternoon “Folk and Acoustic Hour.” I asked Tabitha to explain the experience. “It was a bit nerve-wracking. We went to the NPR Miami offices, met briefly with the host of the show and then set up to play.” Everything was live radio. Yup, a bit unnerving, to say the least in this pre-recorded, edited, vocally enhanced audio age. But of course, they did great and reached a large audience. You can see the entire NPR show at https://youtu.be/fAX2Rzi2hHQ. 

One might wonder if the female band genre inherently holds a feminist agenda. While they don’t fly a girl-power flag from the stage, the band is eager to see more women take the lead in music. Rather than settling as token background singers, Mona Lisa Tribe hopes to encourage other young girls to step up front-and-center, by demonstrating that women can be musical directors, arrangers, lead vocalists and instrumentalists. “It’s important that younger girls see women doing what they love with excellence. I hope we can help break the stereotype that women are second class musicians. I would love to see the music-playing field more equalized—a place where gender is not a consideration—only good artists are.”

When I asked Tabitha what plans are in store for the band, she said they hope to tour in 2019, play major festivals, and maybe head to Nashville for a time. “The band has gone farther and grown faster than anticipated. It really has surpassed our expectations,” she says.

You can hear their original single on ITunes, Google play Music and Spotify, with two new releases on the way, as well as an album. Freshly minted t-shirts are their latest offering and are sold at their concerts. You can hear the band play at “Elizabeth Ave Station,” “Respectables,” “E.R. Bradley’s,” and “Voltaire.” But their favorite venue so far was in Jacksonville at the “Blue Jay Listening Room.” “We all said that show felt like we’d reached another level. The audience was so engaged,” says Tabitha. 

Here’s their schedule of upcoming performances: September 8 - Bumble fest; Sept. 9 - Matthew Brewing Co.; Sept. 19 - Voltaire; and Sept. 29 - Hullabaloo. And in October ;

Oct 5th Subculture Aleeyway, WPB

Oct 10 - Ladies' Night Voltaire - 9-12am

Oct 20 - WPB Green Market  9-1

Oct 20 ER Bradley - 6-9pm

Mona Lisa Tribe is sure to become your favorite Instagram feed. Like them on Facebook.com/monalisatribe and visit their website at monalisatribe.com  for more information.  Enjoy these links to their videos and songs.

 https://open.spotify.com/artist/59c6s4aOPZuzKun2aaAOXC

https://youtu.be/oY8VeB8S8C4

https://youtu.be/OrlAmYtCkYw

https://youtu.be/MX53DsNeesc

https://youtu.be/s2e1BW-okao

Why I Can't Shake the Kate Spade News

I don't know why I'm obsessed--in almost an unhealthy way--about the news of designer Kate Spade's sad and sudden death. I didn't follow her on social media, didn't know her age or family status and I never owned a purse of hers.  Nor do I remember her rise to fashion fame.

I do know, when I entered the mall through Nordstrom and walked passed her tailored handbags with her name all in lower case letters, was that I really wanted one. Coach and MK and Yves St. Laurent were familiar. But, Kate Spade, not so much. Only one person in my circles owned the diminutive bag.

I imagined her a young, chic designer who lived on Madison or Fifth Avenue. Turns out it was Park Avenue. Of course! 

With every mall visit, I'd saunter by the simple bright bags with a longing gaze and the clear realization that, unless I found one on Poshmart or at World Thrift, I could never call the stylish clutch my own. I would leisurely pass with a longing gaze until my neck hurt from looking backwards.  My brother bought one or two for his wife. Lucky sister-in-law, I envied.

What I didn't realize was how much I epitomized this unknown designer as the pinnacle of success. Nor that I'd begun to idolized her. Her business savvy, her dreams fulfilled. Her trio-of-a-family: a self-assured husband-business partner and a daughter with the middle name of Beatrix.

Photo credit: Akira Yamada

To me, Ms. Spade's life was Audrey Hepburn, Jackie Kennedy and Beatrix Potter and Coco Chanel all in one package. Just being married to a man who wore faded jeans with well-made blazers and good shoes would do it for me.

When I heard the news of her suicide, I was dumbfounded; mystified that someone with so much could feel so empty. Yes, there is talk of her depression and mental health issues and marital struggles. But to have arrived, so to speak, at the not-so-old age of 55 and to have strung her self up with a red Hermes scarf surrounded by Andy Warhol art, custom furniture, a breathtaking New York City view, and a world of fashion ventures to pursue, appeared unthinkable. Money would answer most of my problems. My brain sort of short-circuited to see someone dispose of everything I've ever desired.

Then two days later, cuisine and travel icon, Anthony Bourdain does the same. He was my husband's age, birthdays two weeks apart. Admired by many for his wit, earthiness, writing, again, I can't fathom the degree of desperation that made him just stop living. He had "the life," I thought. I mean, really, all that fascinating travel and exotic tasting.

Both celebrities possessed what I dream about while cleaning my toilets, teaching unruly third-graders, and shopping at Costco. What? Their lives didn't bring the 'it' I chase?  'It' will leave my handbag only half-full?

The obvious radiates in blinking neon lights. All those things, fashion, beauty, creative fulfillment, travel, delicious food were meant to be enjoyed, but not worshiped. They are meant to be enjoyed with the Savior by our side. Inside.

Conversations with neighbors reason out. "I think it's the anti-depressants that put people over the edge. They're no good and too easily dispensed," said one friend who has taken them and knows from personal experience.

My husband said this morning as we talked in the kitchen, trying to understand why these two people who had it all, ended it all. "All I know is that in my deepest gut (while he pressed his hand on my stomach), when I am in right relationship with Jesus, I'm satiated.  It's like sunshine on your face and a breeze in your hair. It's like the dancing flowers sunning themselves as they reach upward. That's how we are with Him."

Without Him, all the beauty and pleasure in this world is nothing.  Can I learn this? Could I live this? Or will I keep seeking the same stuff instead of the stuff of his Kingdom? Kindness, gentleness, love, righteousness.  

"Happy are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled."

If I'm going to dream or pine or pick an obsession, unhealthy or otherwise, it better be Him, and nothing else.

A Month of Love and Presidents

Poetry is one of the most romantic ways of expressing love, and many other sentiments as well. For being the shortest-month-of the year, February packs a lot into it's 28 days.
And it's all worth celebrating, pondering, and even debating. After all, not all chocolates in the Valentine box are palatable...

I found a wonderful poem by  Countee Cullen in Caroline Kennedy's The Best-Loved Poems of Jaqueline Kennedy-Onassis  that combines brotherly love and Black History.

                                           Tableau

photo credit letterpile.com

Locked arm in arm they cross the way,

    The black boy and the white,

The golden splendor of the day,

    The sable pride of night.

From lowered blinds the dark folk stare,

   And here the fair folk talk,

Indignant that these two should dare

   In unison to walk.

Oblivious to look and word

   They pass, and see no wonder

That lightning brilliant as a sword

   Should blaze the path of thunder

And another by Lanston Hughs, born 1902 and a pioneer of Jazz Poetry:

Merry Go-Round

Where is the Jim Crow section

On this merry-go-round, 

Mister, cause I want to ride?

Down South where I come from

White and colored

Can't sit side by side.

Down South on the train

There's a Jim Crow car

On the bus we're put in the back--

But there ain't no back 

To a merry-go-round!

Where's the horse

For a kid that's black?

 Each of these two poets deserve more print the the above. Pick up their books and you'll be enriched.

 Yes, February is the month of love, presidents, and Black history.  May we spend each of the 28 days and beyond, honoring from the heart, all three.