Many of us "indie" fans often slam the major labels for not putting cutting edge, interesting stuff. We legitimately complain that the majors stick to the bubblegum pop formula and are afraid to take chances. Warner Brothers certainly shook off that stereotype when they signed the Ditty Bops.

The Ditty Bops are Amanda Barrett and Abby DeWald, a pair of California artists who have bewitched LA's music scene with their pure-voiced harmonies, magnetic personalities, and brilliant "strummin-n-fretting" (Abby on guitar and Amanda on mandolin and dulcimer).

The duo recorded its self-titled debut on Warner Brothers Records with producer Mitchell Froom (Suzanne Vega, Crowded House, Elvis Costello). Playing with a variety of musical accompaniment styles, from jugband to contemporary folk pop, to the indescribable and unprecedented, The Ditty Bops see their work as encompassing more than just music. Performance art, visual art, storytelling, and a plain old good time all meld together at a typical Ditty Bops show. The ladies cite such diverse musical and emotional influences as Dan Hicks and his Hotlicks, Merle Travis, Doc Watson, Joni Mitchell, Kate Bush, Malvina Reynolds, Andrew Bird, The Hot Club of Cowtown, western swing, ragtime, early jazz, and musical theater.

Abby and Amanda have both led varied artistic lives since childhood. Amanda, who comes from a family of performers and eccentrics (her father is a professional clown and her mother is a Pagan Celtic musician) learned to juggle, play dulcimer and sing professionally as a child. Likewise, Abby has been cultivating her spontaneous, crazy-pickin' guitar sound and creating obsessively intricate, whimsical drawings from her own personal mythology from a young age. She studied art in school and created all of the art for the album, and most of the art for the website.

When the girls bumped into each other at the Rocky Horror Picture Show in New York, while both were 20 years old, it was only a matter of time before their talents would merge together. Indeed, four years later Abby and Amanda began to explore the fruitful possibilities of making music together. Soon, they started playing around LA as a 4 piece acoustic band, and were discovered by Craig Aaronson (A&R of Warner Bros. Records) while playing at Molly Malones in Hollywood. Since then, The Ditty Bops have generated a prolific body of work and garnered a substantial following.

The ladies have been getting rave reviews and are currently touring the country:

06/17/05 Hideout - Chicago, IL

06/18/05 Prairie Home Companion - Chicago (Highland Park)

06/21/05 Great American Music Hall - San Francisco, CA
w/"Blanche"

06/22/05 Liquid Lounge - Reno, NV
w/"Blanche"

06/24/05 Doug Fir Lounge - Portland, OR
w/"Blanche" and "The Mosquitos."

06/25/05 Crocodile Cafe - Seattle, WA
w/"Blanche"

06/26/05 Richard's on Richards Cabaret - Vancouver, BC,
w/"Blanche"

06/28/05 Harlow's Night Club - Sacramento, CA
w/"Blanche"

06/30/05 Spaceland - Los Angeles, 1717 Silverlake Blvd.
w/"Blanche"

(The Ditty Bops are donating 50% of their money for this show to the non-profit "Bicycle Kitchen." There will be a bike ride to the show from the Bicycle Kitchen in Silverlake)

07/01/05 McCabe's Guitar Shop - Santa Monica, CA
w/"Blanche"

09/23/05 Austin City Limits Festival - Austin, TX