<bt>After leaving McLean behind over two decades ago, musician Tink Lloyd is coming home — and she's bringing the circus with her. Joined by husband and lead vocalist Joziah Longo, drummer Tony Zuzulo and guitarist Sharkey McEwen, Gandalf Murphy and the Slambovian Circus of Dreams makes its Northern Virginia debut on Sunday, May 30, at Jammin' Java to celebrate its latest two-disc release, "Flapjacks from the Sky."
The return, Lloyd admitted, is long overdue. "I love Northern Virginia, and I really missed it," Lloyd said. "But I knew that if I returned, I wanted something of merit to show (my family and friends)."
In the early 1970s, Tink Lloyd graduated from McLean High School, eager to see the world. That eagerness took her to New York City, where she stayed and pursued her passion.
"I've always been into music," Lloyd says, crediting her Irish ancestral ties to her musical creativity. "In high school, I played flute in the band, and the piccolo."
After working on various musical projects and returning to school to learn more about the multimedia/production aspect of the music industry, Lloyd said that she and fellow bandmates have created something of which she can be proud.
"We wanted the music to serve a purpose," Lloyd says. "That's what keeps it healthy."
BASED OUT of Sleepy Hollow, N.Y., Gandalf Murphy heralds a punk/classical/hillbilly/Floyd/folk sound. Sharing the stage with the likes of Greg Brown, Ani DiFranco, Dar Williams, The Nields, The Kennedys and Fred Eaglesmith, Gandalf Murphy has made a name for itself since its inception in 1998.
Playing various listening rooms and outdoor festivals in the Northeast, the band’s sound blurs demographic lines, said Lloyd.
"Our audience is on the fringe," Lloyd said. "High-school kids like us because we have the best elements of traditional folk and rock. They come to our show, and they bring their parents. I think there's a lot of heart in (our music) that people enjoy, regardless of the style."
Dan Herman, radio personality with the online music station radiocrystalblue.com, features a variety of national and European independent musicians, including Gandalf Murphy. Once he discovered "Flapjacks," Herman said he knew he was in for "an interesting trip."
"Their sound puts them in a genre all of their own," Herman said. "There are wonderful ethereal qualities in their sound. It's like hearing a bit of what you may have heard on the radio in the ‘60s and marrying that with the modern sound."
And that sound is captured in the band's name. As a creative person, Lloyd explained, moments occur that transcend the mundane.
"The name is fun; people get a certain vibe from it," Lloyd said. "They come expecting something, and what they expect, we deliver on it."
Lloyd hopes for nothing less when Gandalf Murphy performs in her hometown for the first time.
"I feel like this will be very electric. Some of these people I haven't seen in 20 years," Lloyd said. "My family has never seen me play. It should be interesting to see who is going to show up. That'll be the real show."