* En anglais uniquement
Originally formed in 1984 to perform singer/songwriter/guitarist
Jeff Davis' songs, the L.A.-based
Balancing Act was built around acoustic guitars, distinctive harmonies, intelligent, quirky songs, and an assorted array of instruments such as melodica, recorder, and even a shortwave radio. Even though the band forged its sound around acoustic-based songs, don't look for a typical folk-rock, singer/songwriter affair.
Davis, along with guitarist
Willie Aron, bassist
Steve Wagner, and percussionist
Robert Blackmon, employed touches of atonality and rhythmic twists, along with the songcraft that was at the heart of all their records. They also chose, in the studio and on-stage, to reach outside the realms of the acoustic world for material by the likes of
Captain Beefheart,
Funkadelic, and
Public Image Ltd.
The band, which by the time of the first record featured songs by
Wagner and
Aron as well as
Davis, released an EP (originally in 1986 on their own Type A label) and two full-length records between 1987 and 1988 for I.R.S. (the first two on its Primitive Man Recording Company subsidiary).
The Balancing Act, despite showing growth with each recording, failed to make any waves commercially and disbanded after their third album,
Curtains, which found the band at the top of its game. ~ Brett Hartenbach