photo: Emily Bowen
The Missing Parts are usually in the belly of the Fourth Avenue underpass every Friday night after 10 p.m. Their music floats upward and outward, towards the entrance and exit, pulling wayfarers in and accompanying them through the pedestrian walkways. They are an instrumental quartet and a sensory experience that expands outside of catchy melodies to a true understanding and study of music.
Comprised of Oliver Blaylock (violin), Douglas Francisco (lap steel guitar/dobro), Brian Hullfish (cello) and Paul Wright (guitar), they form an eclectic acoustic powerhouse that pulls from both their self-taught and classically trained backgrounds.
“We all started playing naturally and we sounded like that. People try calling it gypsy music but it is really not. It draws a little from eastern European music, flamenco tango, classical, and other genres. Some have described it as ‘folk music from an undiscovered country,’ which is actually what we called our first album,” said Wright.
They played in their living rooms until going on tour last summer. They didn’t ever really play a scheduled show in Tucson until early this year.
“On tour we did better playing on the streets than we did at any paid shows,” Wright said. “If you play in a bar, you are playing for the bar crowd; if you play in the farmers market you are playing for those types of people.' On the street you get everyone.”
The Missing Parts perform at Plush, 340 E. 6th St., May 6 & 2nd Saturdays, May 8 on Congress Street. Listen online at TheMissingParts.net.
