Lakeport >> Saro and Reikor Deacon grew up with vastly different musical backgrounds. Saro started playing the harp after discovering the instrument at a Renaissance fair. Reikor was in a swing band. “When we got together we tried singing together and we found it didn’t work very well because we didn’t sing in the same key,” Saro Deacon recalled.
So it seems unlikely that the couple would come to perform as a duo, playing at wineries, weddings, the Blue Wing Saloon and even the Soper Reese Theatre. But the two discovered that singing harmony worked and From the Heart was born.
The Deacon’s were married five years ago and formed From the Heart a year and a half later. They started out practicing their songs and participating in open mic nights until they had their first professional performance of sorts at a local restaurant. “We just played for four hours straight and everybody was dancing and signing and we were not asked back,” Deacon laughed. The rejection didn’t discourage the duo though. “But we just got the bug and we’ve been playing ever since.”
It’s difficult to describe From the Heart’s sound, as evidenced by their business card, which reads, “folk/rock, jazz, and Celtic duet.” Deacon gave a similar description of the duo. “We like to play a lot of variety. So we do some kind of folk rock and Reikor loves to do the jazz standards with the horn and we do a little bit of Celtic, so it’s a variety,” she said.
Their musical act also represents their contrasting roots. “I call [Reikor] a romantic crooner. He loves Toni Bennett,” Deacon said, revealing that she didn’t listen to Bennett much until her relationship with Reiker Deacon. “I didn’t grow up with that type of music … and now I just love it.”
Deacon has been practicing the harp for 25 years, however. “My grandfather and I started playing the harp the same summer years back and we didn’t know the other was doing it,” she laughed. “He eventually gave it up and he gave me his harp and that’s the one I play now.” But Deacon never played the instrument in any kind of a professional sense. “Mostly you could say I just grew up with the tradition of just getting together with people and playing their music.”
From the Heart’s latest performance was this past Friday night at the Main Street Art Gallery First Friday Fling. The event featured a number of works by local artists, wine from Moore Family Winery and melodies from the duo. They played tunes by The Beatles, Simon and Garfunkle and Colbie Caillat, a few of their musical inspirations. Their music also featured saxophone numbers by Reikor Deacon and harp performances by Saro Deacon.
Their name also acts as a band descriptor, as they play mostly upbeat love songs, or numbers that are “From the Heart.” However, their act isn’t completely devoid of sad tunes. “Something that we think is beautiful about music is it’s just kind of a way to express whatever you’re feeling and it just transforms the feeling. If you’re happy and you sing loving and happy songs people can feel that and feel joy,” Deacon explained. The same is true for melancholy numbers. “It transforms that too and almost makes you deeply enjoy the feeling to be able to sing it.”
The duo plays covers of many of their favorite love songs while shying away from original tunes, though not for a lack of interest. “We’re both wannabe songwriters,” Deacon admitted. “We’ve each written like one song in our life. I wrote one when I was 13 so we do sing that sometimes.” But even if they did possess more of their own tunes, Deacon isn’t so sure they would play too many of them. “We do enjoy doing ones that people are familiar with too because that brings back memories and they can sing along,” she said.
Their performance Friday night was infectious. Though hardly a venue for dancing, the Main Street Gallery saw people swaying and swinging to the music as the Deacon’s melodies filled the room. “The interaction with the audience and when we see people happy and enjoying it – like last night when everybody started dancing – it really makes us feel good,” Deacon said.
So while From the Heart is only a hobby for the couple, who are both teachers, it’s certainly one that the community appreciates, enough so that they were asked to be involved in the recent MusicFest. “She [Toni Hyden, hostess and marketer for the Arts Council] asked us to play at the Arts Council and after seeing us there she asked us to audition for the Soper Reese event,” Deacon said. Though they wont be quitting their day jobs, the music act has been an enjoyable side project.
“We just really enjoy sharing the joy of music and connecting with people and we love it when people sing along,” Deacon said. “I just think that music is a great way for people to connect with each other, across all cultures.”
Jennifer Gruenke can be reached at 900-2019.
