Senior band brings homemade music to life

Published 12:00 am Monday, March 17, 2003

For the past six years the Kitchen Cedar Band gathers to practice every Tuesday at the Cedars of Austin retirement center. These dedicated musicians don't get paid for their talents, but choose to perform for the public because they enjoy doing it so much.

This is no ordinary band. The members range in ages from 70 to 93.

The band currently has 11 women who are having a ball playing their hand-made instruments of plastic jugs, a broom handle stuck in an overturned plastic bucket with strings attached to make a makeshift cello, metal pots that the rhythm is beat on with spoons and little kiddy kazoos they toot away on.

Email newsletter signup

The instruments are decorated with the theme of the songs they will be singing. For St. Patrick's Day, the women have their spoons and pots decorated with green paper and shamrocks. They tease each other "to act your age."

"Right now we have only women in the kitchen band. We have had men, but one had Alzheimer's and he had to quit. We have two men that are interested in joining," said Shirley Cahill, who has accompanied the band on the piano since its conception.

The band members perform skits to the songs they sing. They sing and do shows for each season. For St. Patrick's Day, they were singing 'I'm Looking Over a Four Leaf Clover'. One of the women was carrying a large clover with silk flowers attached and walked through the crowd. 'My Wild Irish Rose', another old favorite, is sung with a group member passing out silk flowers. 'When Irish Eyes are Smiling' is accompanied by laughter from members.

"We go all over and perform," Cahill said. "We have been as far as the Twin Cities. A couple of the gals in the group will start dancing and we have gotten people that are so crippled up and they will get up and dance with us. These old songs do a lot for people that have not heard them for years."

Cahill is a collector of old music and has a large repertoire that she can choose from and share with members of the band.

The Cedar Kitchen Band's performances are usually between 30 and 40 minutes. They will be performing at the center at 3:30 p.m. today and at 1:30 p.m. Tuesday.