3 Merry Widows: Jar
A few weeks back, three members of the folk-rock band Three Merry Widows rented a rehearsal space at Utopia Studios, on the City’s near-south side. The timing worked out just right; guitarists Brian Simpson and Sean Garica and bassist Charles Shipman were joined by vocalist Alice Spencer. She’s been been splitting time between St. Louis and Austin, Tex. over the past year, as she’s worked in the duo Tom & Alice with Tom Hall, as well as their touchstone group, The Geyer Street Sheiks. Other members of the Widows have spent time away from St. Louis in the years since the group’s dissolution in the late ’90s.
The idea was to get the group together for a bit, see if songs came back naturally or through labor. Deep down, though, various members of the band had long wondered about the possibility of a reunion show. And it appears that the group will, in fact, get together for a one-time show later this year. Though the time and date are still being hashed out, a late autumn show is likely, with cuts performed from the group’s debut album Which Dreamed It? (1991, TVT Records), along with some tracks written and rough-demo’ed for what would’ve been the band’s next record.
Sending questions to a handful of the group’s members, we got back some thoughts from Spencer, Garcia and Shipman, all of them sounding as enthusiastic as can be for this fall’s gig.
What songs did you practice?
Garcia: We played selections from Which Dreamed It? such as “The Other Side,” “Relevance,” “Solucinations,” “Which Dreamed It?,” “In a Box,” “Early in the Spring,” and a few others. We also played a bunch of post-album songs that we used to play at our live shows towards the end of the band. Some of these songs included “All Through the Day, “Step Inside,” “Walks on the Water,” “Jar,” “Moon,” and many more. All in all, we probably ran through about 15 songs.
Spencer: We played through “Jar,” “Billy She Said,” “All Through The Day,” “Step Inside,” and “Coke Bottle.” The vibe was very comfortable and easy. Then we took a break and told some war stories, and then I left. They hung out and played for a while more, and I think they ran through some album stuff.
What was the mood in the room?
Shipman: I'd just say the mood was great, natural, relaxed—as if we'd been playing together all along. Also, I didn't realize Alice would be there until practically that day, so that made playing together all the more exciting. Of course, we were rusty, but I felt like we still had the same sense of connection we had before.
Spencer: We hadn't seen each other, well, probably since the last time the Widows played The Duck Room, which would've been back in the late ’90s; ’99 maybe? That was probably the last time we were all in the same room together. We all kept remarking on how it felt like it had been a million years and yet, at the same time, felt like no time had passed at all. You know how it is with people who know your stuff: we immediately fell into our old rhythms with one another. We always got along really well together, always genuinely enjoyed each other.
Garcia: I think we were all excited and very happy to see one another. The mood was very joyous, fun, a lot of kidding around, and it felt like family. We've all maintained our friendships over the years, and we've seen each other in various combinations. However, I believe we haven't all been in the same room since 1999, when the Widows played with Tinhorn and The Barkers at the Duck Room.
How "natural" did things feel?
Spencer: We looked at pictures of the kids and caught up, while Brian and Sean set up their monster pedal boards. We got some beers and started to run through stuff.
Garcia: It felt like we set a time machine to go forward 20 years into the future. When we got off, we looked a little older, but the friendship and chemistry of the band hadn't changed. The feeling of playing music together was magical and inspiring. It felt exactly the same as it did 20 years ago. I think we all walked away that night knowing how wonderful it felt to be together as people, how much we missed each other, and how great it felt to play music as a band again.
