Cecilia was a pop-rock band based in New York. The band was from the

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

area, then later moved to Astoria,

Queens Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...

. While not a religious group, the band chose the name Cecilia from

Saint Cecilia Saint Cecilia ( la, Sancta Caecilia), also spelled Cecelia, was a Roman virgin martyr and is venerated in Catholic, Eastern Orthodox Church, Orthodox, Anglican Communion, Anglican, and some Lutheran churches, such as the Church of Sweden. She b ...

, patron saint of music and of the blind. The band released one album, as The Veltz Family.

History

The band was formed by the members of the Veltz family, then living in Vienna, Virginia in 1998 when the three Veltz youngsters, Allison, Drew and Laura, began performing songs written by their father, Kenneth Veltz, at local venues. The acoustic trio played local open mic gigs with Drew playing guitar for his sisters. When the family's financials were in a downturn, the band became the family business and Kenneth and mother Jeannie joined their children on drums and vocals, respectively. The group moved to New York in 2000. That same year they recorded '' Live at Zig's'' at two live performances in August, which was released in 2001. After a string of temporary bassists, Cecilia added Kevin Jacoby in late 2000. Cecilia was in negotiations to join Blackbird Records an affiliate of

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over its first 20 years of operation, Atlantic earned a reputation as one of the most i ...

just before the merger of

AOL AOL (stylized as Aol., formerly a company known as AOL Inc. and originally known as America Online) is an American web portal and online service provider based in New York City. It is a brand marketed by the current incarnation of Yahoo (2017� ...

and

Time Warner Warner Media, LLC ( traded as WarnerMedia) was an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate. It was headquartered at the 30 Hudson Yards complex in New York City, United States. It was originally established in 1972 by ...

, which ended Blackbird's affiliation with Atlantic. This led to Cecilia being signed by

in early 2001. In the aftermath of September 11 the group recorded an EP entitled ''September'' in tribute to the firefighters lost. They donated the proceeds from the album sales to firefighter charities and the group devoted much of their work in benefit of firefighters at that time. After disagreements with Atlantic, the group parted ways with the label in the fall of 2002 before recording an album. The EP ''Off The Record (album)'' contains demo cuts for that never-recorded album. That same fall the band played a series of acoustic shows in the window of the Manhattan Theatre Source and later released a live album from those performances. In 2004 the band recorded their first complete studio album, '' This'', through the help of fan funding. The band announced in late January 2006 that Kevin Jacoby would be leaving the band. In September, 2006, ''This'' was released, under the band name ''The Veltz Family'', rather than as ''Cecilia''. Cecilia has toured extensively on the eastern coast of the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, with regular performances in both New York and Washington, DC areas. Cecilia has shared the stage with other Virginia acts including

Virginia Coalition Virginia Coalition is an American rock band from Alexandria, Virginia, whose five founding members met in the early 1990s at T. C. Williams High School.Pat McGee Band The Pat McGee Band is a rock band from Richmond, Virginia. Formed by frontman Pat McGee, who attended Longwood College in Farmville, VA. On the heels of his solo release '' From the Wood'' in 1995, the Pat McGee Band signed with Warner Bros. ...

and

Tim Reynolds Tim Reynolds (born 15 December 1957) is an American guitarist and multi-instrumentalist known as both a solo artist and as a lead guitarist for the Dave Matthews Band. AllMusic critic MacKenzie Wilson has called Reynolds "an under-rated master". ...

, and performed at the

Wetlands Preserve Wetlands Preserve, commonly referred to as Wetlands, was a nightclub in New York City that opened in 1989 and closed in 2001. It was located at 161 Hudson Street in Manhattan's Tribeca neighborhood. Wetlands has been called "ground zero for po ...

before its closing in 2001.

Music

The band's pop music sound is focused around the three-part vocal harmonies provided by lead singers Laura and Allison along with backing vocals by their mother Jeannie, which are reminiscent of the

Indigo Girls Indigo Girls are an American folk rock music duo from Atlanta, Georgia, United States, consisting of Amy Ray and Emily Saliers. The two met in elementary school and began performing together as high school students in Decatur, Georgia, part o ...

and

Mariah Carey Mariah Carey (; born March 27, 1969) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and record producer. Referred to as the " Songbird Supreme", she is noted for her five-octave vocal range, melismatic singing style and signature use of the whi ...

. The vocals are supported by Drew's lead guitar riffs, often evoking Dave Matthews and

comparisons and Kevin Jacoby's melodic bass lines, often in the style of

Fleetwood Mac Fleetwood Mac are a British-American rock band, formed in London in 1967. Fleetwood Mac were founded by guitarist Peter Green, drummer Mick Fleetwood and guitarist Jeremy Spencer, before bassist John McVie joined the line-up for their epony ...

's John McVie. Patriarch Ken plays drums as well as adding vocals and guitar parts (often simultaneously). Ken is known for playing a bare-bones "street kit" that includes a

Djembe A djembe or jembe ( ; from Maninka language, Malinke ''jembe'' , N'Ko script, N'Ko: ) is a rope-tuned skin-covered goblet drum played with bare hands, originally from West Africa. According to the Bambara people in Mali, the name of the djembe ...

as an all-purpose drum. The band's final lineup consisted of: * Allison Veltz - lead vocal, percussion * Drew Veltz - lead guitar * Jeannie Veltz - vocals, percussion * Ken Veltz - songwriter, drums, guitar, vocals *

Laura Veltz Laura Veltz is a Grammy-nominated American songwriter and musician. She previously was the vocalist and multi-instrumentalist of family pop-rock group Cecilia. She was nominated for the first ever Grammy Award for Songwriter of the Year at the 65 ...

- songwriter, lead vocal, rhythm guitar, accordion, percussion * Kevin Jacoby - bass

Discography

* 1999 - ''It Just Doesn't Matter'' * 1999 - ''Kitchen Mix'' * 2001 - ''Live @ Zig's'' * 2002 - ''September'' * 2002 - ''Off The Record'' * 2003 - ''Live @ The Source'' * 2006 - ''This (as The Veltz Family)''

Follow-up

* As of 2012 Ken and Jeannie were also in Nashville, still performing as an acoustic duo in small, intimate clubs, house concerts, and listening rooms. In 2011, they sold their property and became traveling musicians. * Kevin Jacoby (KJ) stayed in New York City and married costume designer Cora Levin. He returned to life as a freelance bass player, appearing live and on recordings with artists including La Mecanica Popular, Ato Essandoh, Chris London, Owen Brown, and Rocky Bryant of Average White Band. In 2017, KJ formed The Oddysy with DJ Johnny Juice of Public Enemy.

References

External links