AMPERSAND | FEB/MAR 2014 21
JR
PHOTO BY: EMILY DARDAMAN
ANDREA DEMARCI US AND DAVID KIRSLIS OF CICADA RHYTHM
CT MUSIC
BY: KALYN WILSON
Athens based acoustic duo
Cicada Rhythm has an uncommon
story. With two, successful years under their
belts as musicians and partners in love, band members
Andrea DeMarcus and David Kirslis overcome well-known
“rules” of mixing work and pleasure, all while making strides in their
career.
“We just try to keep it raw,” DeMarcus says, highlighting their
goal to make honest and unique music, whether it is an old-fashioned
bluegrass hit or their rendition of a jazzy classic.
The band was born around the same time as they rekindled their
relationship after college. DeMarcus noticed Kirslis’s natural talent
for music and insisted that they create together. “Oh, bad things
always happen when you mix love and music,” says DeMarcus,
quoting Kirslis from the time they originally decided to keep their
relationship about the music.
“I was definitely skeptical,” Kirslis says, “but then we had a hard
time keeping it just professional.” Eventually, all the elements blended
together: Kirslis’s guitar, DeMarcus’s soulful vocals and her special
sweet potato pie pancakes result in a saccharine concoction.
Yet, “mixing things” does lead to a complicated situation.
“We want to say [the relationship and the band] are separate,”
DeMarcus says, “but they’re not! It’s really hard to have a conversation
without talking about [the band].”
Work may get in the way of their down-time, but there are some
perks. “I wouldn’t have time for a boyfriend,” DeMarcus jokes, when
thinking how much time the band takes up, which translates to how
much time they get to spend together. The couple says their close
relationship and each other’s presence on stage makes the hard work
easier for them.
WUOG general manager Akeeme Martin notes that they are very
organic. “It is very apparent that they enjoy each other’s company on
and off stage and through their music,” he says.
In his interview with Cicada Rhythm, Mark Ellers of the Athens
Banner-Herald states, “They looked like they were thinking of
nothing more than the joy of making music together.”
This dynamic is what helps them proceed as a small-town-based
band that has now grown to gain an impressive followership and
enough funds to complete their debut album this past September.
Cicada Rhythm is more than just a band. It is the creative
manifestation of the love between two musically inclined and daring
individuals. It is the “exception to the rule” and proof that mixing
music and monogamy don’t always have to lead to “bad things.”
