Emerging in 1997, the Holy Childhood drew upon a shifting roster of players drawn from multiple corners of the East Coast indie community. Their lineup could shrink to the lean configuration of saxophone, bass, and drums or expand into an eight-piece ensemble featuring piano, female harmonies, three guitars, and an entire horn contingent; as a result the group’s sonic identity shifted with whoever happened to be onstage, yet remained inventively distinctive and impossible to categorize. The project originated under the guidance of Danny Leo, co-founder of Native Nod and the band’s principal songwriter and singer. At the outset the core consisted of Danny Leo handling guitar and vocals, Peter Kerlin on bass, and Nawi Avila covering baritone, tenor, and soprano saxophones. Additional musicians frequently augmented the trio, among them Danny’s brother Ted, Gibb Slife from the Laspe, and Jodi Buonnanno of the Secret Stars. In 1999 the band tracked its debut album, Up With What I’m Down With, with Nicholas Vernhes at Brooklyn’s Rare Book Room. Issued the same year on Gern Blandsten Records, the record highlighted Danny Leo’s inventive vocal melodies alongside Nawi Avila’s Motown-tinged instrumental charts. Blending classic-rock edge, singer-songwriter imagination, and avant-indie chic, the Holy Childhood occupied a singular niche with almost no contemporaries. Their expansive instrumentation, however, made sustained touring beyond the New Jersey area impractical. By early 2001 the group had pared down to a trio—Danny Leo now on drums and vocals, Peter Kerlin still on bass, and Nawi Avila on saxophones—for both live appearances and road work.
