East Branch Revival debut album ‘Tributary’ dedicated to memory of band members who died
HARLEYSVILLE » East Branch Revival was all set to go into the studio in August of 2020 and make its first album.
Then came the deaths of band members Dina Palski who died of cancer in September of 2020 and Dave Manners who died of a heart condition in January 2021, band member Jenn (Harris) Wilkinson said.
With those deaths, some of the lines in the songs, all original music written by band members, stood out even more, she said.
“Some of the songs just became more meaningful,” Wilkinson, who is a certified music therapist, said.
“Tributary,” which was recorded in the fall of 2021, will have a release party 5:30 to 9 p.m. Earth Day, Friday, April 22 at Country Creek Winery, 133 Cressman Road, Telford (Salford Township).
The release is also an opportunity to celebrate Palski and Manners and raise funds in their honor,
Wilkinson said. There is no admission fee, but proceeds from the sale of the album and on-line donations will support the Play to Learn Initiative through the Indian Valley Education Fund and the Dave Manners Family Fund. Palski, who was a teacher at Souderton Area School District’s Oak Ridge Elementary School, was one of the developers of the Play to Learn Initiative. Manners was a Central Bucks West High School guidance counselor. The “Broke the Mold: Tribute to Dave Manners” GoFundMe page was set up following his death.
The title of the album alludes to both the group members’ connections to the East Branch of the Perkiomen Creek, itself a tributary, and to the tribute to Palski and Manners.
“It’s kind of a play on words,” said Rick Palski, Dina’s husband and a band member.
The album contains nine songs, which will be performed at the launch, along with band members telling about how they wrote the songs, Wilkinson said. There will also be light food fare and a cash bar.
Short samples of Palski’s banjo playing and Manners’ guitar playing that were previously recorded were retrieved and appear on the album, she said.
“Thank goodness our engineer could do that,” she said.
Two of the songs, “Mary Lyons Baldwin” and “Hurts to Say Goodbye,” were written by Dina Palski.
East Branch Revival was formed in 2017, Rick Palski said, although the members had previously been playing together for a few years.
The fact that the launch falls on Earth Day was not specifically planned, but is “a happy coincidence,” Palski and Wilkinson said.
Some of the group members live along the East Branch, including she and her husband, Andrew, Wilkinson said. The group also practices by the creek, she said, particularly during the COVID pandemic.
“That was the only way we could continue playing music together because online music playing really didn’t work so well, so we would practice and socially distance out there with microphones and everything,” Wilkinson said.
One of the songs on the album, “Fly With The Heron,” was written as she watched herons fly while she was beside the creek, she said.
The group lists its genre and sound as folk, rock and soul.
“I think what is important with our band, too, is it’s really vocally driven,” Wilkinson said, citing the harmonies between fellow band member Bob Angst and herself.
Along with original music written by band members, the group also does cover music. Information is available at EastBranchRevival.com and the East Branch Revival Facebook page. The album may also be sampled or purchased through the website.
The current group members are Jenn Wilkinson, Bob Angst, Chris Bukata, Rick Palski, Mark Bukata and Andrew Wilkinson.
Rick and Dina Palski’s son also is on the album where he does spoken word rap with the song “Breaking Waves.” He will also be at the launch to perform with that song, Wilkinson said.
“It’s great to be able to be talking about live music events again,” she said. “It’s been a long time.”