Lou & Peter Berryman

Lou Berryman

Was born in Appleton, WI.
Is a fabric and fiber artist.
Is married to Mark Hodgson.
Plays piano-accordion and button accordion in the band. Also accomplished on piano, harpsichord, banjo, viola de gamba, saxophone, lute, and guitar.
Has a degree in art history.
Writes the melodies for the band.
Handles most of the band business, and fills the tank.

Peter Berryman

Was born in Philadelphia but spent formative years in Appleton, WI.
Used to be an illustrator.
Is married to Kristi Seifert.
Plays 12 string guitar in the band.
Has taken photographs with a camera suspended from a kite.
Writes the lyrics.
Handles mail order, graphics, and checks the oil.

Lou and Peter Berryman

Had our first band (a folky band) in high school in 1964.
Had our second band (a jug band) in college in 1966.
Had our brief third and fourth bands in 1969 and 1971.
Were married to each other in 1967.
Had a five year honeymoon in Canada.
Got a divorce in 1974.
Became a professional duo in 1975.
Started playing weekly at the Club de Wash in Madison in 1977.
Finished playing weekly at the Club de Wash in 1987.
Recorded our first of ten original albums in 1980.
Have been full time musicians since 1977.
Have the best fans in the biz.
Owe a great debt of thanks to many people, especially our spouses Kristi and Mark, plus the likes of Rodney Scheel and Michael Cooney.

"When it comes to being funny, I think I've spent the first thirty years trying to be as funny as Tom Lehrer and the last part will be trying to be as funny as the Berrymans. They don't come any funnier than that..." - Tom Paxton

Once in a while a song comes along that so successfully crystallizes familiar thoughts that you feel you could have written it yourself...A lot of people feel that way about [Lou & Peter's] "Why Am I Painting the Living Room". - The San Francisco Bay Chronicle

...Quirky, wry, ironic humor. Peter's highly literate lyrics and skewed perspective are unique. When enhanced by Lou's soundscapes, the duo makes magic. By the time the Berrymans encored with their wistful, fumbling love song "We Strolled On the Beach" I was in love too. I'm a fan of this clever duo now. - Victoria (BC) Times Colonist

Lou & Peter Berryman write very eccentric, very funny satirical songs...delightful Wisconsin performers... If Tom Lehrer had grown up in America's Dairyland, his songs might sound like theirs. - The Boston Globe

Lou and Peter Berryman! Long may they wave. Their F-Word song "A Chat With Your Mother" is one of the great American folksongs of the 20th Century. - Pete Seeger

It is very rare that I ever put on a recording for the 1st time and actually break out in audible laughter. I thought Lou & Peter's DOUBLE YODEL was fantastic. - Robert J. Lertsema, WGBH, Boston

Sharing a fascination with language and a unique perspective on the world, Lou & Peter Berryman offer refreshing observations on the human condition in a style blending folk music with musical comedy. They manage to translate it all into hilarious songs that have become instant classics. Songs that feel like they had you in mind when the words and music came together. - The Winnipeg Folk Festival:

Their songs and performances are unfailingly wacky, and just as dependably 100% right. No one writes songs like Peter and Lou, but everyone recognizes the truth and the clear vision behind each one. - 10# FIDDLE, Lansing, MI

This once-married duo from the upper Midwest is among the most entertaining acts we've ever had at the Freight. Their songs are crafted from often unpromising raw material (sports headlines, mother love, state pride) but invariably as the lyrics unroll the audience begins to roll on the floor... - The Freight & Salvage, Berkeley, CA

Peter & Lou Berryman... have obviously achieved a classic level of comedic songwriting in the ranks of Tom Lehrer or Flanders & Swann. Responsible for such gems as "A Chat with your Mother" (the "F"-word song), "The Speculator", "Why Am I Painting the Living Room?" and dozens more, they have identified the exact point where the English language meets the funny bone, with a special flair for songs in which two voices singing entirely different things somehow manage to mesh into one cacophonic, yet clear, message. - Mike Agranoff, THE FOLK PROJECT, Basking Ridge, NJ

It is given to few songwriters to make songs that become instant classics; the Berrymans have produced dozens--'taint fair. No one writes songs like the Berrymans, but everyone recognizes the truth and the clear vision behind each one. - Golden Link Folk Singing Society, Rochester NY

They're our very own post-nuclear Will Rogers and Dorothy Parker. - Isthmus, Madison, WI

Contact:

Lou & Peter Berryman Cornbelt Records Box 3452 Madison, WI 53704

web page: http://members.aol.com/berrymanp/

email: Peter
Lou

Some Kinda Funny