Jul 16 2000 12:00AM By By JESSICA PIERCE Times Staff Writer
ARCADIA - When she wasn't riding horses on her parents' farm as a kid, Tammy
Brackett used to play the drums in a makeshift family band and make up songs
and skits for a radio show she and her siblings recorded on their father's
Lowery organ. The band's only venue was the living room, and the radio show was
broadcast over some walkie talkies. But little did Brackett know it was the
beginning of what would become her life's passion. Today, the 31-year-old
Newark native is making a name for herself as the head of a folk-rock band
called "Swindle Sisters." Formed three years ago, the band has become
popular in regional coffeehouses, clubs and bars, and band members just
celebrated the release of their first compact disc, "This is the
Life." Songs such as "Daddy" and "One More for the Road
(The Coffee Song)" feature a colorful mix of Brackett's lead vocals and
backup guitar harmonies, and her four bandmates' instrumental stylings. Besides
Brackett, Swindle Sisters is made up of lead guitarist Don Christiano, bass
guitarist and mandolin player Jean Cardinale, drummer Judi Salsburgh and, on
occasion, fiddler Rebecca McCallum. The band - which has changed drummers since
its inception - formed out of a regular open mic night hosted by the Dady
Brothers in Rochester and a women's songwriting circle Brackett formed. "I
met a lot of musicians down there," said Brackett. Brackett moved to
Rochester after she graduated from Newark High School in 1986, but she didn't
know what she wanted to do with her life. In high school, Brackett says she was
known for her talents in theater, art and music classes. During her junior
year, the high school drama club dissolved, so Brackett and some friends
decided to produce their own high school musical production of
"Grease." "She always was talented - both she and her brother,
Tim," said Newark Board of Education member David Honness, who was
Brackett's choir director in high school. "She was a good student and I'm
sure she's learned her craft well. I'm only surprised it took this long."
In Rochester, Brackett wound up back in the theater - but this time she worked
behind the scenes as a stagehand for local ballet groups and at the GeVa
Theatre. During the summer months, she supplemented her income by working as a
landscaper. Then, just over three years ago, came her break. During an AIDS
benefit open mic performance at GeVa, Brackett decided to get on stage and sing
a song she wrote. "Everybody was floored and that was it," she said.
"I knew I had to [play music] all the time. I only knew about three chords
when I did that." So Brackett bought herself a guitar and stopped working
nights and weekends so she could learn to play. She started going to open mic
nights and even formed The Women's Songwriter Circle to learn more about
writing music and getting booked for performances at coffeehouses and pubs. The
Songwriter's Circle came to have two monthly bookings at two clubs in Rochester
on the prized Saturday night slot, says Brackett. "Every step of the way
it became more and more attractive to me, then one day I decided I was going to
put a band together," she said. From the Dady Brothers open mic and the
songwriter circle, Brackett and fellow musician Dee Adams formed a band and
named it after a group of female characters in a musical called Radio Gals. The
Swindle Sisters went to any length to be heard on the radio. Soon after the
band's inception, Adams left to pursue a different career and original drummer
Laura Catraccia - who was tied up performing with other groups - was eventually
replaced. Brackett, who is influenced by "girl musicians" such as
Melissa Etheridge, Ani Difranco and the Indigo Girls, continues to write most
of the Swindle Sisters' music. The band's versatile sound makes it suitable for
almost any radio station - from country to modern rock and pop. There are songs
with a definite message - like the call for dignity in "I Want it
Back." But there are also those that appear to be just for fun, like the
twangy drinking song "Winkin' Blinkin' & Nod." The first release
features 12 songs and Brackett says she has about 13 others that are ready to
record. Today, Brackett spends her time divided between Lima in Livingston
County and Milwaukee, Wis. - where her band mate and girlfriend Cardinale is
pursuing a career as a scientist. Eventually, Brackett said he would like to
settle down permanently somewhere in rural New York. Her mother lives in Sodus,
her sister lives in Newark and her brother lives in Yates County. "I'm
living in a little green minivan with everything from guitars to fishing
poles," she laughed. "It is kinda nice to be an adult and be back in
the country - I've kind of gone full circle." The Swindle Sisters will
have an acoustical performance at 8 p.m. July 21 at Barnes & Noble in
Pittsford Plaza, 3349 Monroe Ave., Rochester. For more information, call (716)
586-6113. Copies of the group's first album, "This is the Life," are
available at both Rochester Record Archive locations and on the web at
Amazon.com.