Tamara deMent and the Cold Club to Perform at Smithville Art Walk

The Smithville Art Walk, scheduled for April 21 in the parking lot at , already has 40 artists scheduled to appear. Art Walk organizer and owner Mike Spagnola is hoping to see as many artists as possible come out for the event, the second of its kind in Smithville.

In addition to painters, Galloway Patch contributor Tamara deMent is bringing another kind of artist to the event: that of the musical variety.

Tamara deMent and the Cold Club, deMent’s most recent music project that she describes as a “retro-sounding acoustic act that features violin, upright bass, guitar, xylophone and various other percussion instruments,” will perform in some way at the walk.

She said the group has roughly seven or eight members to pull from, but they appear on a rotating basis as they will at the Art Walk. They play a range of instruments, which includes the guitar, violin, the xylophone, the drums, the upright bass, the bells and the accordion.

“I’ll be walking around, and people will be coming and going,” said deMent, who plays guitar and violin. “It’s going to have a spontaneous look to it.”

She has played violin since she was 3 years old, and she said her sister could engage in dueling violins on April 21.

According to Mike Spagnola, Tamara deMent and the Cold Club is the only band scheduled to appear at the Art Walk, but more bands are welcome to appear if they wish.

Tamara deMent started out serenading diners at the for two years. Since then, she has done numerous weddings, including some at the Ram’s Head, and was a part of a couple of bands. She started writing songs for her latest band in November. She said she’s written five original songs, and hopes to have more finished by the time the Art Walk comes around.

They also do old jazz/blues standards like, “All of Me,” “Why Don't you do Right,” and “I'd Rather be Blue,” deMent said.

Her latest band’s debut single “Dead Lotus” was recently named Single of the Week by Atlantic City Weekly, and it’s in the rotation on the Monday night playlist on WLFR. 91.7 radio station  out of the

To date, they’ve performed at Le Grand Frommage, Open Mic Night at , the Pilot House in Cape May and Malelani Café in Ventnor.

For more information about the band or to listen to the band’s singles, including French Toast and Dead Lotus, visit http://www.reverbnation.com/tamaradementthecoldclub or visit their Facebook page.

For more information on the Smithville Art Walk, visit the event’s Facebook page.