Four voices, one vision continued

Although Blame Sally was formed four years ago, most of the group had known each other before. Delgado and Jones had played in Pasqual's previous band, Planet Ranch, and had formed Blue Water Triplets together. Harcourt (previously of Sugar Danks and Ruby's Tattoo) first met Pasqual in the early '90s, when the two ended up as finalists in a songwriter's contest at the Napa Folk Festival.

Fast-forward to 2000, when Pasqual threw a CD-release party for a new Planet Ranch album. She asked her three friends to play with her on a tune called "With What Is Mine." It was the first time the quartet had sung together.

"It was clear the four of us had a great sound together -- great harmonies," Pasqual recalled.

They decided to form their own band and called it Blame Sally. The quirky moniker can be attributed to Pasqual's old roommate.

"Sally was hanging out with Jeri, who didn't show up on time. Since 'Blame Jeri' didn't sound as good, we went with 'Blame Sally,'" Pasqual explained.

The quartet's first album, "Live No. 1" (recorded at Expressions for New Media in Emeryville) caught the ear of KFOG DJ Rosalie Howarth, who started playing the track "Planet Ranch" on her "Acoustic Sunrise" show. The station also included it on its 10-year anniversary CD. "Water," a tune from Blame Sally's new self-titled CD, was recently included in a compilation of local artists released by KFOG.

After obsessing for the past year over the writing and recording of the sophomore album, Blame Sally is looking forward to touring. Unlike the first album, which primarily showcased Pasqual's songs, the new CD features original compositions written by all four members (there is one cover version of a traditional Mexican ballad, "La Llorona," sung by Delgado and Pasqual).

And though "Blame Sally" wasn't recorded live (the album was recorded at Harcourt's Mill Valley home using ProTools), the band still strove to infuse it with a live feel.

"We didn't make it wet and slick-sounding. We didn't put tons of reverb in it. We wanted to keep it sounding raw," Pasqual said. "We think it's a lot of what people respond to — the interplay of our instruments and vocals. But it's richer — we could play with it more and we could overdub more."

So how do these four women get along with one another when they're not performing?

"We love each other — we really do!" Pasqual said, adding that three of them live within a few miles of each other in San Francisco. "We hang out, and we're all friends first."

So who gets blamed when things aren't working out?

"It's a band — we've worked through stuff, too," said. "In some ways, it was an adjustment to go from having our bands to being a collaborative project. But it's been surprising, how much we've liked it. It doesn't feel competitive. It feels supportive. We all respect each other musically and we get a lot of joy out of listening to one another. It hasn't been an ego struggle. The occasional control struggle, yes, but ego no!

Who: Blame Sally, presented by the Twilight Concert Series

Where: Johnson Park, corner of Everett Avenue and Waverley Street in Palo Alto

When: Tuesday from 6:30 to 8 p.m.

Cost: Admission is free.

Info: Call (650) 463-4940 or visit www.PaloAltoOnline.com.