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Local musician devises haunting melody for business

Thursday, Oct. 27, 2005

Click here to enlarge this photo Graham Cullen⁄Special to the Gazette Musician Tomy Wright will perform at Beans in the Belfry Saturday.

Beans in the Belfry is Brunswick’s newest coffee shop and gathering place. Situated in a restored 100-year old church, it provides a gathering spot for breakfast or lunch or Sunday teas.

On weekend evenings, Beans becomes an entertainment destination. That’s how Wright came to know the establishment.

‘‘It’s fascinating how he can turn a story into a song,” said Beth Johnson, manager of Bean in the Belfry, ‘‘We love having Tomy here to play for our Sunday teas and he just saw this story and created a song.”

This Saturday, Wright will entertain listeners with his mix of mindful blues and folk. He will be introducing a special song inspired by a previous visit to the coffee house.

‘‘The Beans in the Belfry Ballad” comes from a story written by Count Vasily Braunsweig, a mysterious and unidentified resident of Brunswick who penned the love story on which the song was based.

The ‘‘Count” also wrote ghost stories for 15 other shops in downtown Brunswick. These stories will be read as part of Brunswick’s Halloween Block Party and Treat Walk on Saturday at Corner Park.

In the story we are introduced to a young couple named Tommy and Miranda, who have fallen in love and some day plan to be married in the church on Potomac Street (currently Beans in the Belfry). The pair is seen frequently in Brunswick, walking hand in hand along the towpath or having a picnic near the river. As in all good stories, perfect love is challenged and this one is no different.

Tomy Wright performs The Beans in the Belfry Ballad When: 7:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. Saturday Where: Beans in the Belfry, 122 West Potomac St., Brunswick For information: 301-834-7178. Visit www.tomywright.com or www.beansinthebelfry.com. For information on the City of Brunswick’s Halloween Block Party, call 301-834-7500, extension 3.

A former childhood friend of Tommy, Flora DeMar, arrives in town with her world-traveled dance troupe to per form on a stage near the tracks. Miranda soon grows jealous of Flora’s demands on Tommy’s time and catches them in an embrace, which breaks her heart.

The story’s end must be saved for the song’s performance Saturday night. But it has been overheard that the lyric ‘‘a scream can be heard from the belfry and the mournful ringing of a church bell” ends the song in dramatic fashion.

Wright is a regular performer around Frederick County and loves the Brunswick venue.

‘‘The crowd just seems to really relax and enjoy the Sunday teas and I am looking forward to spending some time [there] in the evenings. I am really excited to debut the Beans in the Belfry Ballad. I have been working on it for the last couple months and incorporating very interesting music to compliment the original text.”

‘‘Tomy is a gifted artist and has a talent for weaving historical events and people into his music,” said DiPasquale, Beans in the Belfry owner.

Could there be a ghost lurking in the shadows at Beans in the Belfry? The only way to be sure is to visit Saturday evening and hear the full story for yourself.