W.D. Neely W.D. Neely Ennis, Co Clare W.D. Neely grew up in western Pennsylvania, and came of musical age around the time the first wave of the British Invasion crashed on the banks of the Monongahela. Inspired by what he heard, he taught himself to play guitar – and was writing songs by the time he hit high school. Mistaking friends’ forbearance for approval, he cheerfully persevered till he got the hang of it. After migrating to New York City, Neely joined with Liz Emmert, Bill Bly, and Deborah Griffin Bly to form the acoustic music group Left Field. The band became known for its repertoire of obscure cover songs and original tunes on a bewildering array of topics, delivered with happy disregard for stylistic consistency. This signature mix – frequently ironic and/or satirical –appealed to a group of dedicated listeners who turned out to hear Left Field at venues across the metropolitan NYC area. The four also made frequent appearances on Princeton radio legend John Weingart’s weekly show, Music You Can’t Hear On The Radio (http://wprb.com/). Left Field produced two recordings – a live album, Left Field: Still A-Live! (1996), and Extra Innings, a studio recording of original songs (1998). Several of Neely’s tunes were recorded by Left Field for The Fast Folk Musical Magazine (FFMM), a monthly album of original songs produced by The Musicians’ Co-op (a/k/a the CooP) in Greenwich Village. The FFMM catalog was eventually acquired by Smithsonian Folkways Recordings (http://www.folkways.si.edu/search/the-fast-folk-musical-magazine), which cited its value as a primary source of urban folk music from the late 20th century. Early in the new century Neely contributed songs to a musical revue loosely based on Pilgrim’s Progress. Headlong Retreat: A Musical Meditation on the Pilgrimage, was presented by Touchstone Theatre in Bethlehem, PA in January 2009. More recently, Neely conspired with long-time musical partners at Mark Dann Recording to produce the CD "Ballads, Bromides and Broadsides: Songs by W.D. Neely with Liz Emmert and Bill Bly", 14 fresh takes on the vicissitudes of modern life.
