Birdtalker / Becca Mancari

Zack and Dani were married in 2012 and soon after their wedding tried writing a couple of songs together. They liked it, so they wrote a couple more. Andy, a friend from college and very talented drummer, was into the songs and started beating on stuff while Zack and Dani played them. It sounded good. While these three were playing the songs at Shakespeare in the Park one August afternoon, Brian became interested in adding his talent to the mix as well and began playing along with mandolin and guitar. It sounded even better. With these four members, Birdtalker wrote and practiced for about a year when yet another talented friend and Birdtalker's biggest fan, Jesse, expressed interest in lending his bass sounds to the band. It is the combination of each member's specific offerings that gives Birdtalker the life and sound that it now possesses.

Zack and Dani write songs as a way to share ideas they care about and sentiments they feel deeply. Playing music has proven to be a powerful avenue for connection and communion, within the band as well as with listeners. Birdtalker's hope is simply that the more music they write and share, the more true and vulnerable interactions may be born from it. 

Becca Mancari is a traveler. She's lived in a lot of different places, including Staten Island, New York, Florida, Virginia, Pennsylvania, and India. She's collected plenty of tales along the way, spinning the sounds and stories of the modern world into songs that mix the organic stomp of American roots music with the approach and attitude of raw rock 'n' roll.