SAN FRANCISCO, CA
Barney Jones sets five poems by Lawrence Ferlinghetti to song.
From Far Rockaway of the Heart #21 published by New Directions in 1977
O heart
Listen below to hear more recordings done with “Quivering Fringe”
Hanging out with my fellow geezers at The Ramp in San Francisco, I got to know Erik Bauersfeld and Lawrence Ferlinghetti, both of them into their nineties. When Erik left us, Lawrence dedicated his poem “In Socrates’ Garden” to his memory. I thought I’d just memorize that poem for fun and respect. The more I recited the more it sang to me, so I set it for my friends in Quivering Fringe to sing in four part acapella harmony.
That song couldn’t just stand there on its own so I found four more short poems that felt singable and set them to all go together as a set. We enjoyed premiering them in Lawrence’s kitchen for his 99th birthday.
The Quivering Fringe is an nouveau amateur barbershop quartet.
We all work at Pixar Animation Studios and try to practice at least a half-hour per week. We like to do odd material that does not normally get acapella four part harmony, like Frank Zappas’ “Evelyn the Dog”, from which we get our name.
Quivering Fringe is;
1st tenor Galyn Susman, 2nd tenor Andrew Vernon, baritone Barney Jones, and bass James Dashe.
Barney Jones is one of Earwax Productions founding partners having created music and sound design for theater, film and dance since the company began in 1984. Barney is currently the senior music editor at Pixar Animation Studios in Emeryville, CA.
The World
Lords Last Prayer
In Socrates Grove
Dove Sta Amore