Big Rock Balalaikas: A fresh Russian blend

Extremely talented talented, a bit offbeat, and a ton of fun to listen to

By Patrick S. Pemberton
ppemberton@thetribunenews.com

Talk to Judy Sherman and, chances are, you'll quickly find yourself surrounded by balalaikas.

She'll show you the ones smuggled from Russia, the one made by her old Balalaika Russe bandmate and the one given to her by the leader of the Detroit Balalaika Orchestra.

Want your own balalaika? Sherman can hook you up.

"You just have to call me," she says, like a woman with serious connections, "and I'll make some calls."

The balalaika, a three-stringed instrument the size of a mandolin, provides the signature pingy sound of Russian folk music -- and of Sherman's band, Big Rock Balalaikas.

The nine-piece band -- with their funny-looking instruments and colorful outfits -- will play their blend of Russian gypsy, cabaret and folk music at 2 Dogs Coffee Co. on Sunday.

Although Russian folk music is obscure to most Americans, for years Sherman made a living playing it, taking her balalaika to places like Carnegie Hall and the Hollywood Bowl.

Now she's introducing Central Coast audiences to Russian music, playing at festivals, weddings, farmers markets and local coffee houses.

An early interest

Sherman's love of Russian music began at UCLA in the late 1960s. She was studying world music, with an emphasis on Greek and Bulgarian, when she met well-known Russian musician Steve Wolownik.

Eventually, Sherman, Wolownik and others hit the road as the Odessa Balalaikas.

"We'd put on our costumes, we'd go out to the music center and play for tips, and agents would throw their cards in our boxes," she said.

Bucking the disco and arena rock trends of the day, the Odessa Balalaikas were a band that did without drums, electric guitars and bell-bottoms. They arrived at churches, festivals and college auditoriums with a set list of 50-year-old songs, stringed acoustic instruments and attire that seemed about a century out of style.

"We were always a big hit because we were different," Sherman said.

In 1980, Sherman followed Wolownik to the East Coast, playing regularly in Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., and New York. Eventually, Sherman limited play to weekends while working as a special education teacher in inner-city Philadelphia during the day. ("It was fun -- you know, once you got through the metal detectors.")

Coping through music

When Wolownik died unexpectedly in 2000, Sherman's life was shaken up. She moved closer to family in Morro Bay, occasionally flying east for gigs, and landed a teaching job at Santa Lucia Elementary School in King City.

But there was a void in her life with no local Russian music scene.

Still grieving the loss of Wolownik, Sherman turned to music for therapy, taking her balalaika to the Morro Bay Farmers Market and 2 Dogs Coffee Co.

"There I was, thinking, 'It's my first night, I'm going to just do it. I'm going to overcome this deep grief,'" she said.

As she played, musicians began approaching her, wanting to play along.

Guitarist Walt Langford saw her play at the Farmers Market, and when he heard she was going to play 2 Dogs later that night, he brought his guitar and asked if he could play along.

Not long after that, Carl Moody saw her at Coalesce Bookstore in Morro Bay.

"The lady in front of me had a strange-looking music instrument case over her shoulders," said Moody, who taught Russian language at UC Santa Barbara. "And I said, 'If I didn't know any better, I'd say that was a balalaika.'"

Sherman said, "You know what a balalaika is?" Soon after, Moody joined the band.

"I just had to build up a group somehow," Sherman recalled.

Tina Granados' inclusion was more obvious.

Not only is she Sherman's cousin, she also lives next door. When she heard Sherman was forming a group, she was eager to continue a family tradition of playing music together.

"The joy is that we are doing something that we know our mothers would have been thrilled about, and that we are enjoying doing this together," Grenados said.

The group comes together

Eventually, the band swelled to nine, including Stephanie Moss, Evelyn Spencer, Chuck Aronson, Monty Ellman and Andy King. The other instruments include an accordion, a violin, and more Russian instruments, like domras -- also three-stringed instruments -- and the large contrabass balalaika.

"Everybody brought a different level of prior musical knowledge to the group," Sherman said.

Some of the band members, like Granados, were already accomplished musicians before joining, while others had limited experience. None besides Sherman had played a significant amount of Russian music. Still, the band's sound is tight, the sum of several parts forming to make for one cohesive, rollicking sound. (For a preview, listen to samples on the group's Web site.)

The group plays songs from the end of the 19th century to the 1950s. The tunes are fast and sometimes a little comical -- something you might expect to hear during a zany chase scene set in Russia.

"I don't think people think of us first thing when they say, 'Let's have a party band,' and for a lot of people, I think we'd be kind of off the wall," Granados said. "But I think the music is infectious, and it's fun, and it's joyful and it's unique."