'Petulia Masquerade' song/video making debut at Westmoreland Museum of American Art

Early morning television watching and a scribbled word helped to spark the “Petulia Masquerade” song project spearheaded by Steve Bodner.

The first part sprung from the 1968 movie “Petulia,” which featured George C. Scott and Julie Christie.

“It was a very strange movie. It’s like a late ‘60s thing. Janis Joplin was in it, and I was like, oh, I like the name Petulia,” Bodner said with a laugh. “So that was one. And two, I wrote that on a Post-it note. I’m sure you know this — never write anything down because then you actually have to do it. And I wrote down ‘barber-hop.’ I wanted to combine hip hop and barbershop in one song. That’s kind of how this thing started, and then it went from there. I thought, OK, if I can get barbershop and hip hop, then what else can I do that’s a little off-center?”

The multi-genre song features a wide range of musicians: Pittsburgh rapper Frzy; Season 11 “The Voice” contestant Tarra Layne; opera singer Sophia Mintas; international accordionist Vladymir Mollov; Dave Warren of The Metal Archives; country/gospel singer Kay Harris; the Forte barbershop quartet and members of Bodner’s Band, The Damaged Pies.

“I’ve had The Damaged Pies for way too long now. Frzy, I’ve known for several years. We’ve done several songs together, so he was obviously the rap portion. The barbershop guys, I also work as a paralegal because you can’t make any money in music. One of the guys I work with was in a barbershop quartet. I’m in the Recording Academy, and each year we do a call or we do an in-person to a state rep, and we talk about things that affect music makers in the community. I was on a conference call with Tarra Layne, who’s also in the Recording Academy, and Tarra made the mistake of saying to me, ‘So what’s going on?’” he said with a laugh. “I asked her if she would be a part. Some of the guys were from Damaged Pies, and just little happy accidents.

“This neighbor next door plays in a band, so I got his accordion player, and a few other people I just reached out.”

“Petulia Masquerade” will premiere on Friday at the Westmoreland Museum of American Art during its Arts on Tap: Rocktober Fest event.

The song itself features a mix of barbershop, hip hop, metal, pop and accordion-based music.

“Well, in my head, it worked perfectly,” Bodner said with a laugh. “There was a studio in Pittsburgh called Fire K. And Matt Firek was the guy who ran the studio, and Matt’s great. I could bring an idea to Matt and just say, hey, I have this crazy idea, what do you think? And then I would sit down with Matt, and we’d try to figure out a way to make it work. And not all of it worked. Now we tried some things that just were like, oh my God, this doesn’t happen.

“But I think the thing that keeps it together, it’s kind of weird, is I use the barbershop guys like a Greek chorus almost. They’re the conscience of the song. They’re the guys that glue it together. So it’s easy to do the transitions when they’re before every transition. And I think, too, because I’m playing guitar on it. If you’re ever looking for a guitar player, I’m not your guy, but if you’re looking for someone to do a Damaged Pies record, I’m your guy. Everything I do sounds like me. So I guess playing on each section, it also holds it together a little bit because I only know how to do one thing, so that’s it.”

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The story behind the song is loosely based on a homeless woman who used to be spotted on the 16th Street Bridge in Pittsburgh.

“When she started out, you could tell she was young — I’m not saying anything too light — but she came out, she had this enthusiasm, she looked young, it was a temporary thing. And a few years later, there she is, and she’s got her arms bandaged, she’s on a walker, she looks like she’s been basically to hell and back.

“So I wrote this song, especially the middle section, just about what it was probably like for her. How did she get here, how’d she end up on the street? The funny thing is, I actually talked to a woman who sells flowers on the bridge, and she told me that this girl made it home. She cleaned up and went home. So yeah, it was a good little thing.”

Bodner, who has participated in charity events like Bill Aid and worked as Musicians for Hunger Relief, said any proceeds from the song will be donated to WhyHunger.

Local filmmaker Sophia Beigi is also creating a film to accompany the song.

“What’s cool is she’s a choreographer. She’s a dancer. She’s a filmmaker,” Bodner said. “So the first time we talked, I gave her a rough outline of what I had in mind. But I said to her, you’re an artist so trust your judgment. I said, I trust you. So I know a lot of it is going to be modern dance, different settings, trying to go for emotion with this as opposed to a strict narrative, trying to get her to interpret the music and try to get something. It’s even why I wanted to do the premiere at an art museum. I want this to be a little more than just, here’s a song.”