FISHER HOUSE - HELPING MILITARY FAMILIES

Share This Page

Typical teenage American girls may be concerned about the latest styles of skinny jeans, their Facebook page or the current hot makeup.

Raising money for worthy charities or social services would be way, way off their social radar, but not so for three Vacaville girls, Sarah McElwain, Karli Bosler and Natalie Angst.

Better known as their collective alter ego, The Honeybee Trio, they have in recent weeks and days turned their attention and considerable talent toward raising $10,000 for two nonprofits at Travis Air Force Base.

The girls, all students at Will C. Wood High School, will perform two concerts Saturday in Vacaville to benefit the sprawling base's USO and Travis Fisher House, organizations that help active-duty military members and their families.

The concerts, featuring the trio's close harmonies and tunes ranging from the vintage to modern, from Andrews Sisters-style 1940s songs to Madonna, will be at 1 and 6 p.m. in the Buck Mansion Carriage House on Buck Avenue in downtown Vacaville. With tickets at $45 each, the events also will include food catered by Pietro's No. 1 and wine by the glass. The girls also will be selling their 11-song debut recording, "Sweet As Honey," for $15. It includes their versions of "Rockin' Robin," "Boogie-Woogie Bugle Boy" and "Embraceable You," among others.

Besides those songs, which they are likely to sing during the 90-minute concerts, the girls have been rehearsing a new batch of tunes. They include "How Deep is the Ocean?" "Chattanooga Cho-Choo" and "You Made Me Love You," all part of the mid-20th-century soundtrack, plus a medley of official military service songs sure to be crowd-rousers and pleasers given the county's sizable active-duty and retired military communities: "The Army Goes Rolling Along," "Anchors Aweigh," "Into the Wild Blue Yonder" and "The Marines Hymn," the latter of which begins " From the Halls of Montezuma ..."

The Honeybee Trio is (from left) Natalie Angst, 16, Sarah McElwain, 14, and Karli Bosler, 16, all students at Will C. Wood High School. (Courtesy photo)

Since forming nearly three years ago, the girls have learned upward of 80 songs. Always sharp and disciplined in performance -- and, for their military-themed shows at least, always clad in World War II-era costumes -- their singing has evolved over time, said Sarah, 14.

"It's a lot easier for us to get down harmonies now," she said. "It's very easy for us to learn new songs. I think, musically, we've grown a lot."

Karli, 16, agreed, adding that their musical skills, sight reading and harmonizing, are vastly improved since their inaugural performance.

The trio's clothing has been updated, too, said Sarah, who boasts a 3.9 GPA. They will be sporting 1940s dresses, including sparkly blue ones, as they plan to change costumes three times during each show.

Amy McElwain, Sarah's mother, hatched the idea for the Travis fundraisers. Since then, she and the girls have sought out concert sponsors. To date, they include the Vacaville Rotary Club, the Wal-Mart Foundation, Jackson Medical Supply, yourvacaville.com and Pure Grain Bakery, to name some.

Since forming in October 2008, the trio has amassed a substantial resume, performing about 80 shows a year, noted Sarah. They have sung for 10,000 at Merriment on Main, at the Good Sam Club in Lodi and at the most recent Dixon May Fair, to name a few higher-profile concerts. Plans are to record a Christmas album and another disc featuring tunes from the 1940s.

But this weekend's concerts clearly are special to the girls.

"Since we sing a lot for the military, we thought it would be a great idea to benefit them and their families," said Karli, a junior who has maintained a 4.0 GPA. "I think it's important that we do it for them."

The Travis Fisher House gives military families a place to stay, without charge, and offers comfort and support when one of their members is hospitalized at David Grant Medical Center, the base hospital. The USO-Travis is a working center, providing a haven for families traveling with small children. It is wholly dependent on public funding to achieve its mission of serving military members and their families away from home.

Share This Page