A New Year’s rally with Swear and Shake

Sometimes people, bands, and even music festivals turn out to be exactly what you had hoped they were.

Such is the case for Molly B and Me, whose 2014 did not kick off as smoothly as we had planned, but whose January 2 brought a fresh wave of optimism and fun.

Perhaps we should have taken heed of the smoke signals coming from the upstairs bathroom on New Year’s Eve. “Stay Home,” they said, with an acrid, burnt flesh kind of twang. “Log into your Netflix account, pour a hot drink and relax.”

Defective Christmas curling irons aside, we ventured out, politely ignoring the smell of poor Molly’s burnt hair and looking forward to the Mile of Music New Year’s Eve festivities.  Unbeknownst to us, though, Mile of Music limited the audience for this event to the 21-and-over crowd, meaning 15-year old Molly couldn’t attend.

So, a half hour after we set out for our New Year’s Eve adventure, a disappointed Molly and her baffled parents headed back home. Molly rallied and went to a friend’s New Year’s Eve party, while I fired off a message to the event coordinators.

Neither of us could have imagined such a swift and kind response.

Apologizing for the snafu, they offered to refund the cost of our tickets. And then, best of all, they arranged for Molly to meet Swear and Shake, a band we discovered during the summer Mile of Music, whose CD Maple Ridge has been a mainstay at our house. “Marbles” and “Brother” were two of Molly’s favorite songs.

Remember when Marcia Brady got to meet Davey Jones on an iconic episode of the Brady Bunch?

That’s how thrilled Molly was to meet Adam McHeffey, Ben Goldstein, Shaun Savage and Kari Speiler of Swear and Shake. They chatted with her and gave her a signed T-shirt and a copy of their new EP.

If you get a chance to see this upbeat and talented band, jump on it. Check out their tour schedule here.

And start gearing up now for this summer’s Mile of Music, a festival of original music that celebrates world class musicians, upcoming song writers and our sweet little city.

As for us, burnt hair and all, 2014 is looking very good indeed. Happy New Year.