The Old Ceremony is a pop-noir musical association figureheaded by songwriter/raconteur Django Haskins (International Orange). The Old Ceremony includes pianist James Wallace, bassist Matt Brandau, drummer Dan Hall, vibes/organist Mark Simonsen, violinists Gabriele Pelli and Daniel Hart, and cellist Josh Starmer. They are joined by a rotating cast of musical luminaries which have included Vamsi Tadepalli on sax, Will Caviness on trumpet, Jil Christensen on accordion, and Harmony Keeney on vocals.
Inspired by the Great American Songbook (and its finest interpreters such as Sinatra and Chet Baker), as well as the theatricality of Tom Waits, Serge Gainesbourg, Astor Piazzolla and Nick Cave, The Old Ceremony creates their own shoebox panorama of a world of paper palm trees, unsolved mysteries and unopened air mail. It is distinctly American and faintly exotic.
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