Garden Song
erforming 150-plus days a year might be more than enough to thwart most gardeners, but Christa DeCicco, vocalist and songwriter for Christabel and the Jons, still manages to find
ways to get her hands dirty.
Growing up in a musical family near the lush flora of the Smoky Mountains helped develop DeCicco’s dual passions. She received a received a bachelor’s degree in Ornamental Horticulture and Landscape Design from the University of Tennessee in 2003 and maintains her own freelance gardening business as time allows.
DeCicco’s voice is often characterized as “velvety,” and her original music is described as a diverse blend of folk, jazz, bossa nova, and other styles. Based in Knoxville, Tennessee, DeCicco has performed on national and international stages. Last spring took her on a tour of the Western United States, and in the summer Christabel and the Jons performed in seven states in the south and along the eastern seaboard. In Sep- tember they headed to the Mediterranean Festival of the Arts in Crete (Greece) and headed back home in October to host DeCicco’s own annual festival, The Hilltop Dinner & Dance, in Knoxville.
While DeCicco has been singing and playing music since childhood, Christabel and the Jons was formed in the spring of 2005. Joining DeCicco on vocals and guitar are Seth Hopper on violin, mandolin, trumpet, and accordion, and Jon Whitlock on drums. The band has released three full-length albums: “Love and Circumstances” (2006); “Custom Made For You” (2008); and “The Christmas Album” (2010). Its fourth studio release, “The Same Mistake,” is set for release later this year.
We caught up with DeCiccio between gigs and gardening in mid-September.
Greenwoman: You have said that music and gardening are the two greatest interests in your life and you’re lucky to be able to do both professionally. (DeCicco has been making a living through her music and landscaping businesses since 2004.) How do they complement one another?
DeCicco: The musician lifestyle and the farmer lifestyle are very different. Doing both helps keep me balanced. They each have busy and slow seasons. Sometimes it’s difficult to switch back and forth from a day schedule to a night schedule. And it’s a whole different wardrobe. Sometimes people don’t recog- nize me if they’re used to seeing me one way and then they see
36 Winter/Spring 2012
greenwomanmagazine.com
DeCicco: I started buying vintage in high school at flea markets and thrift stores, and I guess I never grew out of it. I like to imagine the story that the clothes would tell about their previous owners: the parties they attended, the drinks that were spilled on them, the weddings and graduation ceremonies they attended, that sort of thing. For stage wear my band likes to look pretty formal, so I go for a lot of 1950s party dresses with tight waists and full skirts. For fun I like 1960s for the crazy prints and bright colors. Crinolines are great, but difficult to drive a car in so I usually carry mine in a bag and put it on at the last minute.
Christa Decicco me dressed completely differently for my other job.
Greenwoman: Yes—gardening clothes are quite different from the pretty vintage dresses that you wear on stage. You seem to love vintage, you even play a 1950s Silvertone archtop guitar. Where did that interest come from?
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