Garland of Hours
An Interview Upstairs at the Khyber
by Bonnie MacAllister

Amy Domingues sits upstairs at the Khyber, a stomach full of calamari, midway into a night that began with three frantic folks on cell phones. Domingues is trying desperately to ensure that merchandise belonging to her and Mary Timony and will be transported from the Knitting Factory in New York to this Philadelphia venue. Three gifted musicians, their equipment and various sundry items must be carefully schlepped on an East Coast tour of Timony and Garland of Hours, Domingues? newest project.

Timony rushes upstairs to lie down after her sound check, the stress of the evening visible in her face. Prostrate on the couch, she cries out, "Amy, we got the merch!"
Relief overtakes Domingues' face, and she resumes talking about the advent of Garland of Hours. Unfulfilled with touring and recording for bands as a cellist and a bass player, Domingues felt she needed to confront her musical issues. Domingues produced a self-recorded demo, authoring five instrumental songs for a 1957 Wurlitzer. After playing two shows, she began singing.
"I'd never taken voice lessons, I just never considered myself a singer. It slowly started happening," Domingues says.
A classically trained cellist and private music instructor, Domingues has toured and done session work with independent powerhouses such as Ted Leo, Jenny Toomey (while she was a soloist and with Tsunami), songstress Edith Frost, and Jets to Brazil.
"I am influenced a lot by formal composition," Domingues explains. "I was never really passionate about [composition] while I was studying. I didn't have the creative maturity to put it into perspective. I do use some classical influences when I'm thinking about writing music and thinking about which chords work together to evoke a certain feeling.?
?I'm really into color,? she says. "Scriabin [a Russian composer] had this whole theory of tones as colors and seeing sound or hearing colors. I've always been into the idea of trying to paint. I use that metaphor when I'm teaching because kids really understand that. Painting sound. Painting a landscape."
Earlier in the evening, founding Fugazi member Brendan Canty illustrates how he became involved with Garland of Hours. Doing soundtrack work, Canty met Domingues when he needed a cellist. A friend of Jerry Busher (one of Garland of Hour?s three drummers), Domnigues performed session work for the Fugazi album The Argument.
?Amy improvises. She writes off the top of her head really well. Her technique is flawless. For me as a producer, it was just really refreshing. We just hit it off immediately, working on these TV shows, collaborating on the sound,? Canty describes.
Playing solo as Garland of Hours, Domingues ?had just been playing a show and asks if Jerry and I want to play her music,? Canty says. ?She'd have parts and we'd arrange them. All this Garland of Hours stuff ? nothing happens without her writing.?
When Busher?s band French Toast toured with the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Devin Ocampo (Smart but Crazy, Faraquet, Medications) filled out Garland?s touring line up and eventually became part of the permanent line up, as the third drummer. Ocampo and Domingues support Mary Timony as well on the current tour."We have three drummers. Everybody wants to play drums,? Canty says, grinning as he describes the rehearsal dynamic. ?We just jam and write shit. We're all major King Crimson Heads. We're all ready just to throw down. It's like a pony ? a pony in the practice room. All the time we're noodling away. ? Amy's, like, ?Fellas, can we work on that song we're supposed to be working on???

Bonnie MacAllister - Venus E-Zine March 2003 (Mar 31, 2004)