Flush With Success

Hillsborough’s Moaning Myrtles sing songs of witches and wizards.

By: Allison Musante

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The Moaning Myrtles will bring their wizard rock sounds to the Princeton Public Library.


   "If you die down there, you’re welcome to share my toilet," says the cheeky Moaning Myrtle to Harry in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.
   A bully had been teasing Myrtle about her glasses, so she ran into the girls’ bathroom to escape and cry. Suddenly, she heard something strange, poked her head out of the stall, and locked eyes with the dreaded yellow-eyed basilisk. She died instantly. Although her ghost lingered in the bathroom, appearing several times in the even-numbered Harry Potter books, few cared about Myrtle’s side of the story.
   However, 18-year-old Nina Jankowicz and 19-year-old Lauren Fairweather are singing to change that.
   In November of 2005, Nina and Lauren formed the rock duo the Moaning Myrtles. These two best friends from their days at Hillsborough High School write music and lyrics together inspired by events in the books and devoted to telling Myrtle’s perspective. The duo will perform at the Wizard Rock Concert with the Remus Lupins and the Whomping Willows at the Princeton Public Library Aug. 9. They will also perform in Harrisburg Aug. 11 for the "Harrysburg" event.
   "As a songwriter, you try to pick an event that expresses some sort of emotion to your listeners," Ms. Jankowicz says. "In Myrtle’s case, her emotions are often very extreme and, as a result, humorous, so when we write our songs, we come up with situations that best express Myrtle’s character."
   Ms. Jankowicz plays piano for the band and sings. She has taken piano lessons at Westminster Conservatory of Rider University, but has never had private voice lessons. She hopes to take voice lessons when she joins Bryn Mawr College as a freshman in the fall in addition to studying political science and Russian.
   Ms. Fairweather is a self-taught bassist who has been singing as long as she can remember. She is going into her sophomore year at Elizabethtown College in Pennsylvania where she studies psychology. The two combine their musical talents to write the songs in their Myrtle-clad notebook.
   "I usually hash out a chord progression and a melodic idea, and Lauren adds the lyrics," Ms. Jankowicz says. "After that, we figure out harmonies together. It’s a team effort and it’s really fun."
   The Moaning Myrtles first performed in July of 2005. Since then, they have made two CDs titled Port-A-Potty and Toilet Humor, which they produced with the help of friend Matt Maggiacomo of the Whomping Willows, another Harry Potter-themed band emerging from the recent musical movement Wizard Rock.
   WizRocklopedia, the official online encyclopedia for Wizard Rock, defines "WizRock" as music from the perspective of a Harry Potter character or just about being a witch or wizard in general. At its heart, however, WizRock celebrates and promotes literacy — a love of reading.
   Most WizRockers credit the band Harry and the Potters with WizRock’s growing appeal since 2004. There are currently more than 200 Harry Potter bands across the country.
   However, the Moaning Myrtles have been able to distinguish themselves and their music from the many other bands out there. They won four 2007 WizRocklopedia People’s Choice Awards and recently appeared on the CBS Evening News.
   "I like to think that our harmonies and the way we divide our vocals makes us stand out," Ms. Jankowicz says. "Most often, our fans tell us that our lyrics are hilarious."
   Ms. Fairweather added that they try to make each song different by experimenting with a variety of musical styles ranging from jazz to pop to indie acoustic rock. "We don’t try to fit into a specific genre," she says.
   Some of the duo’s favorite songs from their CDs include "Flushed" and "Don’t Throw That Book At Me." They made 200 copies of their newest CD, Toilet Humor, and are currently sold out.
   The Moaning Myrtles have performed with the Whomping Willows and the Remus Lupins before, as well as many other WizRock bands including Draco and the Malfoys and the Parselmouths. They also performed at the Enlightening 2007 show at the University of Pennsylvania.
   Among their favorite performances, the duo cited a recent gig at the Barnes & Noble in Bridgewater, celebrating the release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.
   "Even though Myrtle wasn’t explicitly in the book," Ms. Jankowicz says, "we’re already considering song ideas from it."
The Wizard Rock Concert featuring the Remus Lupins, Whomping Willows, and Moaning Myrtles will be held at Princeton Public Library, 65 Witherspoon St., Princeton, Albert E. Hinds Community Plaza, Aug. 9, 6 p.m. In the event of rain, the concert will be moved to the library’s Community Room. Free admission; (609) 924-9529; www.princetonlibrary.org. Moaning Myrtles on the Web: www.myspace.com/themoaningmyrtles or moaningmyrtles.wordpress.com