David Lindquist

david.lindquist@indystar.com

The people behind the annual Tonic Ball fundraiser are looking for voices to fill out an Inauguration Day sing-along of "(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding."

The public is invited to the 6 p.m. Friday event at Fountain Square's Pioneer Plaza north of Pioneer restaurant, 1110 Shelby St.

Participants will sing "(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding" at least two times for video cameras. The Nick Lowe composition was first recorded by his band, Brinsley Schwarz, and later covered by Elvis Costello.

“People will sing and dance, and we’ll shoot it with a bunch of cameras and edit something together and put it out there into the world,” said Ken Honeywell, president of Well Done Marketing.

Co-organizer Matt Mays, filmmaker at Mays Entertainment, said the idea for the sing-along originated with a post-election conversation with Tom Coryell at Broad Ripple's Monon Coffee Co. Coryell, who works at Monon, is a long-running Tonic Ball volunteer.

"He planted the seed, and we kind of ran with it," Mays said. "It just sounded like the perfect thing to do. The song speaks for itself."

"Sweet Harmony," an event title based on the song's lyrics, isn't designed to be "contentious or politically pointed," Mays said. Whether someone identifies with the left or right, the sing-along aspires to be a statement of solidarity following the presidential inauguration of Donald Trump.

“I don’t think we’re really interested in making a political statement here," Honeywell said. "I think the statement we want to make is, ‘However we feel about what’s going on in the political realm, there’s a genuine desire to reach out and understand and express some kind of togetherness.’ "

Well Done director of technology Brian Deer and Indianapolis Art Center director of marketing and communications Ben Shine join Honeywell and Mays as organizers of "Sweet Harmony."

Deer and his band, the Achievers, recorded a version of the song that will be used for the event and video. This isn't, however, an exercise in lip-syncing. Voices from the impromptu choir will be heard in the video.

"From a technical aspect, we're kind of making a music video," Mays said. "(Deer's recording) will keep the tempo, and we'll record people singing along. We'll mix that in during the edit."

For more information, visit the "Sweet Harmony" Facebook event page.

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Call Star reporter David Lindquist at (317) 444-6404. Follow him on Twitter: @317Lindquist.