"A procession (via Middle English processioun, French procession, derived from Latin, processio, itself from procedere, to go forth, advance, proceed) is, in general, an organized body of people advancing in a formal or ceremonial manner."
And it's also a band. Two bands actually, and not marching bands (I don't think. At least none of the pictures on their My Space page shows case manager Paul strutting down a lane, playing keyboards and twirling a baton) as the name would indicate, but a contemporary indie band, with a sixties, melodic, wacky flavor, that I found to be engaging, original, clever, and most of all, fun to listen to.
The Procession consists of case manager J. Paul Zawacki (the lanky one on the right in the picture above, taken at a Laundromat while washing their pillow cases), John Schreffler, Andy Creighton, Jesse Carmichael, and Greg Jong. They unapologetically stole the name from the 1960s Australian jazz/rock band with Mick Rogers (later of the Manfred Mann's Earth Band) and Craig Collinge. Indeed, today's The Procession seems to be heavily influenced by the music of the 60s. They say so themselves, stating their influences to be: The Lovin' Spoonful, The Beatles, Queen, Chicago's Wilco, Rod Argent's The Zombies, tape machines, The Kinks, and early Weezer (as opposed to late Weezer). I'm not exactly sure how tape dispensers affected The Procession, but I'm sure they were a healthy influence as Paul is a vegetarian and does not drink.
I've known Paul was a musician for a long time (see, Erin's Birthday Party), and I knew he played in a band as well. But he rarely speaks of it at work. He's so self effacing and unpretentious... but crafty. Now that he's recently engaged maybe his fiance will knock some of the unpretentiousness out of him.
Anyway, after Movie Day last Friday ("Beerfest," the amazing true story of American exceptionalism. While watching the film and munching some nice hot popcorn with my lovely case manager, Erin, she asked me if this made me want to drink again. I told her no, I eat popcorn all the time), Paul gave me a CD with five of The Procession's songs on it. He explained that this was his band, and that he hoped I would enjoy the music. So, this morning while washing my pillow cases, I had a chance to listen to his CD, and I did enjoy the music... very much!
Now I'll let The Procession tell you in their own words how they got started:
"Hi, we are The Procession. Two of us (Paul and John) started this whole thing back in Michigan, in 2003. We spent a long, fun time recording a handful of songs on an eight-track, which became an E.P. [We] then found us a manager and a publisher and a label and a whole slew of other exciting things that sound like they are a big deal. It also found us a sixteen-track, which sounds like it isn't a big deal, but it is. Anyway, time passed, and we started to think that we were pretty clever, so we made a record called Musique Magnifique [that means magnificent music, for all of you Anglophiles]. Shortly thereafter, Musique Magnifique, in conjunction with Manager and Publisher, gave rise to other important entities and alliances, such as California, British Record Label, and Additional Bandmates (Greg, Jesse, Andy). Before we knew it, we were us and we had a lot more than we had when we started. Now, we are playing a lot more music than we used to--which is a good thing--and we are, most certainly, having a good time. We are also meeting a lot more people than ever before, and we'd love to make your acquaintance, too. Come out to a show and hang with us or leave us a comment or a message. We will try our best to get back to you. Thanks for stopping by and, please, stop by again. Best wishes and thanks for reading."
You can buy their stuff on Amazon.com, and I invite all of my dear readers to visit The Procession's My Space page to get a taste of their fabulous music, and give them the Joyce's Take bump in the process:
And now for an added post bonus, Erin's recipe for Crisp Lemon Chicken (recipe #683) which she borrowed from Doreen Randal, and which we enjoyed at last Thursday's Cooking Club (I was in charge of the rice. Very important):
For 4 to 6 servings.
CHICKEN:
2 egg whites
1/2 cup cornflour
2 tablespoons water (2 atoms of hydrogen, 1 atom of oxygen)
350 grams (not 349 or 351) chicken tenderloins (Erin says, "I use breast slices." Rick says, "I bet you do, Erin.")
1 table spoon oil (cooking)
spring onion, chopped
LEMON SAUCE:
1 tablespoon cornflour
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 teaspoon lemon rind, grated
1 & 1/2 cups chicken stock
1 teaspoon ginger, grated
1 tablespoon brown sugar
Now, for the lemon sauce: mix cornflour with lemon juice. Mix the lemon rind, stock, ginger, brown sugar, and cornflour mixture together in a saucepan. Bring it to a boil and cook for 1 minute. Set aside while preparing the chicken as it needs to be prepared.
Crisp chicken: Lightly beat the egg whites, cornflour and water together. Dip the chicken in this mixture. Heat the oil in a wok, or frying pan and fry the chicken until the juices run clear.
Next: Place the nice chicken over the rice that Rick has so thoughtfully prepared for you, then pour the lemon sauce on top and garnish with some chopped spring onion.
Erin says, "No onion for me, Rick, they're yucky!"
Rick says, "Okay Erin. This is the best lemon chicken I've ever had!"
Erin says, "Thanks Rick."
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