Jon Dee Graham and the Gourds
After missing two Kelly Willis shows thanks to apartment hunting, it was a treat to see Jon Dee Graham tonight, all the moreso since the Gourds backed him the last half of his set. We hung around for six or seven songs of the Gourds' own set, so I can't say much there, but Graham already had a decent head of steam built up when the band wandered onto the stage, and he just had some fierce presence on that stage. I didn't get to buy his CDs (Trace ran into friends and we ended up chatting between sets -- and where were the other locals?) but they're on the list. Bob
Re: Sorry, Bit I HAVE to do This
Jerry Curry writes: This is BIG, BIG news. So, I had to pass it on. Um, OK...the press release is a *little overhyped. Still big news though.right? g My apologies to those of you that will see this twice. Thanks for the original post to Auditiesand you know who you are. Oh, I don't mind. It was me. I found it on the Eric Carmen website on Friday and posted it to the Posies list and the Poprocks list. Those outside Boston might not have heard yet, but the original J. Geils Band is reuniting for a tour this summer, too. --Jon Johnson [EMAIL PROTECTED] Wollaston, Massachusetts
Joe Pernice/Mike Ireland upcoming shows
Artist itineraries confirmed as of 4/3/99 Joe Pernice (all shows listed are Joe solo) April 20 Mercury Lounge, New York, NY (w/Mike Ireland Dan Mesh, Bob Egan) 21 House of Blues, Cambridge, MA (w/Mike Ireland Dan Mesh) (coming soon: European dates in May and June for the Pernice Brothers and Joe Pernice) Mike Ireland Dan Mesh (all shows listed are with the duo) April 8 Mojos, Columbia, MO (w/David Olney) 10 Klammy Awards /Folly Theater Kansas City, MO 14 Elvis Room, St. Louis, MO 15 Hideaway, Chicago, IL 16 Macs Bar, E. Lansing, MI 17 Wilberts, Cleveland, OH (w/Al Kooper) 18 Rosebud, Pittsburgh, PA 19 Tramps, New York, NY (w/Merle Haggard, Fred Eaglesmith) 20 Mercury Lounge, New York, NY (w/ Joe Pernice, Bob Egan) 21 House of Blues, Cambridge, MA (in the round w/ Joe Pernice, Bob Egan) 24 Kenny Live (natl tv show), Dublin, IRE 27 Whelans, Dublin, IRE 30 Carlsberg Country Roots Fest, Kilkenny, IRE May 1 Carlsberg Country Roots Fest, Kilkenny, IRE 5 Borderline, London, UK (w/the Gourds) 7 Iron Horse, Northampton, MA 11 Iota, Arlington, VA (w/ Alejandro Escovedo) Joyce Linehan Artist Management 10A Burt Street Dorchester, MA 02124 617-282-2510
Trio, Louvins Country Harmony: Maynard in NYT
I never suspected THIS writer had ever even heard of country music! Ya never know. No inside reports from Salinger on how Franny sounded with Zooey though. From this morning's Sunday NY Times: April 4, 1999 The Lure of Same-Sex Harmony in Country By JOYCE MAYNARD From the days of the Carter Family and the Louvin Brothers, close melodic harmony singing has served as one of the defining elements of traditional country music. In the mining country of Appalachia or the hollers of Tennessee -- places where one might be lucky to own a washboard, a string bass or a Sears, Roebuck guitar -- the prettiest instrument a person had might well be her own voice, intermingled with one or two others, bringing forth gospel music or traditional ballads. The history of country is filled with stories of artists, raised in rural poverty, whose chief and perhaps only form of entertainment and joy growing up was church singing and gathering round the living room or the radio listening to the Grand Ole Opry and singing along. Sometimes, in country music, the combining of voices serves as a kind of musical dialogue between a man and a woman, low voice and high, as it does in the duets of George Jones and Tammy Wynnette or Porter Wagoner and Dolly Parton. Male-female harmony singing, in classics like Mr. Jones's and Ms. Wynette's "Golden Ring" or Mr. Porter's and Ms. Parton's "Oh, the Pain of Loving You," seems almost to use the contrast of two enormously different but compatible voices as a kind of metaphor for the continuing tension in relationships between men and women (sometimes playfully resolved, sometimes heartbreaking and irresolvable). But the purest examples of country harmonizing are probably still the ones practiced by singers of the same sex, in which the range of voices blended remains tantalizingly close. The Louvins are a prime example, but the lesser-known sound of Kieran Kane and Jamie O'Hara -- of the O'Kanes -- comes to mind as my own particular favorite of the male harmony-singing combinations. A reassuringly innocent, familial sense emerges when you listen to country harmony singers of the same sex -- not sexual tension but kinship. Because the hallmark of a great country harmony is the absence of a single, dominant voice, there tends to be a certain humility to the sound of country harmony: every voice raised in the service of the song. Though I've listened to Louvin Brothers music all my life, to this day I couldn't tell you which brother is which. The last 20 years have seen a proliferation of new and unexpected configurations of vocal talent, from the groundbreaking album "Will the Circle Be Unbroken" in the mid-70's to the brief and wonderful union that brought together the voices of Tom Petty, Bob Dylan, Jeff Lynne, George Harrison and Roy Orbison in the Traveling Wilburys. The common element present in the best of these recordings is the sense that the artists have invested themselves not so much in their individual performance but rather in the joy of collaboration. "We've lost the feeling of the living room," Emmylou Harris is heard to say between cuts on one such get-together recording. "Today we got the living room back." It would be hard to imagine a more perfect assemblage of voices than those of Dolly Parton, Emmylou Harris and Linda Ronstadt, brought together for the first time on "Trio" (1987), an album that remains for many one of the finest examples of traditional harmony singing produced in recent years. Now, more than a decade later, the much-anticipated sequel, "Trio 2" (Asylum, CD, 62275-2), has finally been released. Dolly Parton grew up singing traditional ballads and gospel songs with her 11 brothers and sisters. She brings to the mix not only one of the purest, cleanest sopranos in country music but also a talent for songwriting for which she has never been given her due. She can also put more authentic feeling into a single breath or a vibrato than some of the current crop of country hit makers deliver in a whole CD. She can sound suicidal one minute and amused the next, but what never fails to come across is her intelligence and heart. Emmylou Harris found country music somewhat later in life and began her own career harmonizing with Gram Parsons. After his death in 1973, she moved on to build a career in which she both continues to celebrate traditional music as well as to interpret the songs of artists as diverse as Paul Simon and Daniel Lanois. It's always difficult, listening to her deliver a heartbreak song, to separate the sound completely from the ethereal beauty of the woman producing it. Her voice conveys a rare combination of strength and fragility, and though she can belt out a lyric when called for, her greatest gift may be her willingness to pull back her solo vocal power to provide some of the prettiest backup tracks in country music. Linda Ronstadt came out of the Southwest, with a background in Mexican and Spanish music, and began her
RE: Trio, Louvins Country Harmony: Maynard in NYT
"After the Gold Rush," with its synthesizer, glass harmonica and string arrangement, is a showpiece for Ms. Ronstadt, in which the voices of Ms. Harris and Ms. Parton seem nearly superfluous... After confessing that she's unwilling or unable to distinguish one Louvin from the other after listening to them all her life, Ms. Maynard would have been well-advised to run a draft of her piece by someone with more of an inclination or ability to pay attention. That probably would have saved her from this embarrassing mistake; this "showpiece for Ms. Ronstadt" in fact features Dolly Parton's lead vocal, an aural ID confirmed by the visual evidence of their recent performance of this song on Letterman. Can someone with an ear that disinterested and/or incompetent be relied on to produce an insightful review of harmony singing, either with regard to the specific album or in general? BTW, as I said with respect to Ms Parton's gospel special, I prefer the trio of Parton-Krauss-Cox to the Parton-Harris-Ronstadt configuration - and fortunately, in the case of "After The Gold Rush," it's an available alternative, since that's the lineup on the version that appears on Ms. Parton's 1996 album, Treasures (it's interesting to see how many of the folks who write about the Trio II recording know of Ms. Ronstadt's prior, and how few know of Ms. Parton's). Jon Weisberger Kenton County, KY [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://home.fuse.net/jonweisberger/
RE: ASCAP vs BMI (long, and angry!)
Richard says of BMI: It was not formed because ASCAP was doing a bad job, or didn't like hillbilly music, or wouldn't give rural blues songwriters a home - BMI was formed because ASCAP's demands for license fees were considered too high by the broadcast industry, and BMI thus became the perfect example of putting the fox in charge of the hen hut. That is indeed how BMI was formed - during a dispute between broadcasters and ASCAP back in 1940. The dispute was settled not long afterward, reintroducing the writer hens to the broadcasting foxes, but, as Ronnie Pugh says in the BMI entry in the _Encyclopedia of Country Music_, "BMI continued to grow by leaps and bounds because of its open-door policy toward music that had not gotten much support from ASCAP: primarily country, blues, and rb," and Bill C. Malone says essentially the same thing in somewhat greater detail in his book, _Country Music, USA_. BMI is certainly here to stay, especially in country music, and to suggest that it is, or ought to be otherwise, is somewhat akin to suggesting at this late date that the IUE dissolve itself because of the tainted circumstances of its creation (as a red-baiting alternative to the UE, for those unfamiliar with US labor history); it ain't gonna happen. Jon Weisberger Kenton County, KY [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://home.fuse.net/jonweisberger/
Re: Howdy
Newly returned Greg Harness asks: 2. What's the official P2 take on the Freight Hoppers? Well there is nothing in the P2 FAQ g but I happen to LOVE the Freight Hoppers and I think that they are probably the most exciting and accessible Old Time String Band playing (and if you believe Mike Cutler of Elderly Instruments EVER). Few bands can hold up to the legecy of the turn of the century and early/mid 20th century string bands . . . but I think that the FH's do a contemporary spin while preserving the legecy of the Old Time Chops and with the energy that their lives depend on it (and from my experience their lives DO depend on it!). -jim
Hayride Reviews?
Hi all! If anyone sees a review of last night's Hayride Homecoming (Shreveport, LA) could you please post it, provide the URL or just let me know off-list. Thanks a bunch-O-tulips! Kate N.P. Sunday Morning Country - WZBC
CD Length?
Anyone happen to know the maximun amount of music that can fit on a single CD? Gracias. NW
Re: CD Length?
Rockin Neal writes: Anyone happen to know the maximum amount of music that can fit on a single CD? 72 0r 74 minutes, close enough? Mike Hays http://www.TwangCast.com TM RealCountry 24 X 7 Please Visit Then let us know what you think! Mike Hays www.MikeHays.RealCountry.net For the best country artist web hosting, www.RealCountry.net - Original Message - From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: passenger side [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Sunday, April 04, 1999 2:29 PM Subject: CD Length? Gracias. NW
RE: CD Length?
Anyone happen to know the maximun amount of music that can fit on a single CD? 74 minutes. Jon Weisberger Kenton County, KY [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://home.fuse.net/jonweisberger/
Re: CD Length?
Excerpts from internet.listserv.postcard2: 4-Apr-99 CD Length? by [EMAIL PROTECTED] Anyone happen to know the maximun amount of music that can fit on a single CD? Rykodisc crammed 80 minutes of music on their Mission of Burma compilation disc. I think the industry standard is 78 minutes, though. Carl Z.
Re: CD Length?
On Sun, 4 Apr 1999 [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Anyone happen to know the maximun amount of music that can fit on a single CD? 74 mins in standard audio format -george
RE: Trio, Louvins Country Harmony: Maynard in NYT
Right here on-list I'll say: Jon I figured you were going to have a little fun with this one! You did not let me down. I'd really encourage you to point out the errors here right to the grey ol Times themselves..since IMHO Ms. Maynard has been a creature they more or less invented as a "spokesman for her generayion: (it was when she was an uninteresting teenager, and despite much dubious work from her in the decades since, they have obviously turned to for this piece today because of the BoxOffice Byline. Yes, you'd think the Paper of Record would fact check somebody who's authority is an inability to tell Ira from Charlie--which ALSO could have been somewhat easily remedied if she'd, say, listening to a Charlie Louvin recording!. Suggest she buy one along with "Treasures"! But drop them a little note... Barry After confessing that she's unwilling or unable to distinguish one Louvin from the other after listening to them all her life, Ms. Maynard would have been well-advised to run a draft of her piece by someone with more of an inclination or ability to pay attention. That probably would have saved her from this embarrassing mistake; this "showpiece for Ms. Ronstadt" in fact features Dolly Parton's lead vocal Jon Weisberger
RE: Trio, Louvins Country Harmony: Maynard in NYT
Barry's suggestion is an excellent one. The Times should really get an idea of the level of knowledge they're referencing with some of these people. Not that they will care, probably, but it's good to make them aware of how poorly informed some of their folks really are. Back in the 80s, I remember they had a Paris correspondent who had a correspondingly low knowledge of France and would make blunders like this constantly. So it's not just with regard to twang that "the paper of record" has foggy ideas --junior
World Cafe
For those of you who tune into the World Cafe regularly, there's a good one coming up this week: The Willard Grant Conspiracy will split the show with Martin's Folly. Trust me - both bands are worth listening to. Thanks. Out of Philly, it airs on WXPN on Tuesday's - not sure about the other 100 or so stations it airs on. Let me know if you get it in your town. Jeff Copetas ~ Tar Hut Records PO Box 441940 ~ Somerville, MA 02144 www.tarhut.com ~ (617)776-5106
Re: CD Length?
Neal Weiss writes: Anyone happen to know the maximun amount of music that can fit on a single CD? It currently stands at 80 minutes, as far as I know, but very few pressing plants want to go higher than 78 minutes because of an increased risk of pressing problems. I remember a few (4 or so) years back the Kronos Quartet was trying to find a pressing plant that was willing to attempt an 81 minute pressing (a Gorecki or Crumb piece, I think) but couldn't find any takers. --Jon Johnson [EMAIL PROTECTED] Wollaston, Massachusetts
Berlin/ Amsterdam query
I'm headed to Berlin April 21-24, and to Amsterdam April 25-28. Anyone know of twang things going on in those towns? I'm interested in clubs and concerts, but I'd also love to hook up with some pickers and check out the scene in general. (That is, when I'm not swilling God's own beer, disremembering my college art history, and listening to free jazz.) Any pointers will be very much appreciated. Kelly
Re: Berlin/ Amsterdam query
Kelly Kessler wrote: I'm headed to Berlin April 21-24, and to Amsterdam April 25-28. I believe dem Gourds are over in Germany during those dates. You might check their site at www.thegourds.com
Old 97s -- arena rock?
Heard while watching the Red Wings visit the Stars on Fox's weekly NHL game: "Timebomb" over Reunion Arena's PA. Is this a new development? Carl Z.
Re: Old 97s -- arena rock?
Carl Abraham Zimring wrote: Heard while watching the Red Wings visit the Stars on Fox's weekly NHL game: "Timebomb" over Reunion Arena's PA. Is this a new development? Carl Z. Not sure about that but that show Felicity on the WB used the song "19" off the soon-to-be-released Fight Songs during shows in March.
No Repression (was Re: [twangfest] Twang-sports)
Junior explains it all for us adds a postscript: PS. I hope lurker TG Marcia is keeping score, as I assume all new acronyms need covering in the annual edition of No Repression (which *is* a Twangfest tradition). I just want to add to Junior's excellent suggestion that I sure hope that last year's hilarious, right-on-target "No Repression" will indeed see its second issue at TF III and that it was the start of a tradition. b.s. "Life begins on Opening Day" -Thomas Boswell
Re: Old 97s -- arena rock?
I actually went to the horrible Reunion Arena in Dallas the Sunday after SxSW (Stars vs. Hurricanes) and I heard both the Old 97's 'Time Bomb' and Bare Jr's "You Blew Me Off" on the PA. Too bad about those Dallas hockey fans. They don't realize what a good team they have down there. -Original Message- From: Carl Abraham Zimring [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: passenger side [EMAIL PROTECTED] Date: Sunday, April 04, 1999 4:50 PM Subject: Old 97s -- arena rock? Heard while watching the Red Wings visit the Stars on Fox's weekly NHL game: "Timebomb" over Reunion Arena's PA. Is this a new development? Carl Z.
Re: Old 97s -- arena rock?
Heard while watching the Red Wings visit the Stars on Fox's weekly NHL game: "Timebomb" over Reunion Arena's PA. Is this a new development? Carl Z. Actually, as coincidence would have it, in the Russian language "timebomb" loosely translates as Federov, a clever and sopisticated blow to the Wings star. He had to have felt that one the next day. Plus, with Brett Hull's hometown being Belleville (Ontario, however), clearly the Stars management is comprised of feverish alt.country/No Depression/grange-rock backers. Not since the Pittsburgh Pirates discovered they were a family back in '79 has a sports franchise blessed with such music-savvy partisans. Cowtown . . . be proud. Lance . . .
Re: Good covers (was: Kelly Willis calling the shots)
Dr. Ross writes: I love the whole record, even the not-as-good-as-the-first-version "Fading Fast," and I'm especially impressed with the Nick Drake and Replacements covers, which are reinterpretations rather than rehashes, just like all good covers should be. Tsk tsk. So Peggy Lee's "Fever", Bob Dylan's "Broke Down Engine", and Merle's "San Antonio Rose" (to name just three rehashes that immediately came to mind) are not good covers? I'd say there are lots of way to make good covers. An artist with a strong, distinctive voice -- and I'd put all of the above in that category -- can make a note-for-note remake of a song and still make a recording I find valuable on the strength of the subtle variations that that distinctive voice brings to the song. Stepping up for Jon W. who is probably tired of making this point (except he probably would not require even subtle variations if the cover was performed with good grace and skill), Well, referencing Peggy Lee's "Fever" isn't going to win any points with me, as I don't love either the song or her toneless version of it. If this loses me major kitsch-cred points, that's fine with me. But I used the word "rehash" advisedly. I think it's possible and even fairly common to do a note-for-note rendition of someone else's song and *still* bring something of oneself--usually having to do with the distinctive voice that Ross mentions--to it. A rehash, on the other hand, is nothing more than a carbon copy of a song, one that doesn't add any distinctiveness of voice or anything else. A talented artist can sing a note-for-note rendition of a song they didn't write and still make it their own, by virtue of having a) a distinctive voice and b) emotional honesty, and specifically the ability to give the listener a sense that the song resonates emotionally for the singer as it did for the writer or original performer. In fact, radical reinterpretations tend not to work as well for me (for the most part--though I do like some complete overhauls, including the aforementioned punk rock version of "Pink Moon" that Sebadoh did) as do subtle reinterpretations like Kelly Willis does with the songs by Nick Drake and the Replacements. The songs are still recognizable (though "Time Has Told Me" may not be immediately so, at least on casual listen), and they don't stray all that far from the originals, but they're twangified enough to fit Kelly's style; hearing her do an English-folkie-style "Time Has Told Me" or an indie-rock "They're Blind" would have been weird. Way more detail than I wanted to get into. --Amy "Ain't no use in hanging around/Emptiness swallows its own path/I watch my weakness go down easy/And I pray it won't last..." (The Damnations TX)
RE: Good covers (was: Kelly Willis calling the shots)
Amy says: A talented artist can sing a note-for-note rendition of a song they didn't write and still make it their own, by virtue of having a) a distinctive voice and b) emotional honesty, and specifically the ability to give the listener a sense that the song resonates emotionally for the singer as it did for the writer or original performer. Exactly, and what's spooky, at least to me, is that while sometimes the emotional resonance is responsible for the "note-for-note" rendition, sometimes it's the other way around - that is, by concentrating fiercely on doing just what the original did, you achieve the emotional identification; by playing it, you become, for a moment, the original performer. I read a comment very much along these lines not too long ago from some performer or other, and now I can't find it; when I do, I'm going to post it, just to show that even if I'm crazy in looking at it this way, I'm not the only nut. Jon Weisberger Kenton County, KY [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://home.fuse.net/jonweisberger/
RE: Good covers (was: Kelly Willis calling the shots)
Any, then, Jon says the following, on covers: Exactly, and what's spooky, at least to me, is that while sometimes the emotional resonance is responsible for the "note-for-note" rendition, sometimes it's the other way around - that is, by concentrating fiercely on doing just what the original did, you achieve the emotional identification; by playing it, you become, for a moment, the original performer. I read a comment very much along these lines not too long ago from some performer or other, and now I can't find it; when I do, I'm going to post it, just to show that even if I'm crazy in looking at it this way, I'm not the only nut. You're not alone in this view at all, Jon. Don't have time for a detailed discussion, but I've never notice any pattern or rule to distinguishing "good" from "bad" covers. I don't consider a cover "secondary" to the "original," in fact. One could cite numerous covers that outdo the "originial" in various ways, or that work *even though* they're note-for-note copies, or work as completely reinterpretations. As best I can tell, there's just no rule. It's like for any kind of performance: some work, some don't I've never yet found a general rule to distinguish the succesful from the unsuccessful ones. If I had, I'd do all good covers g. -junior
Re: Old 97s -- arena rock?
oops - that was private to Lance. I suck. -Original Message- From: lance davis [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: passenger side [EMAIL PROTECTED] Date: Sunday, April 04, 1999 5:48 PM Subject: Re: Old 97s -- arena rock? Heard while watching the Red Wings visit the Stars on Fox's weekly NHL game: "Timebomb" over Reunion Arena's PA. Is this a new development? Carl Z. Actually, as coincidence would have it, in the Russian language "timebomb" loosely translates as Federov, a clever and sopisticated blow to the Wings star. He had to have felt that one the next day. Plus, with Brett Hull's hometown being Belleville (Ontario, however), clearly the Stars management is comprised of feverish alt.country/No Depression/grange-rock backers. Not since the Pittsburgh Pirates discovered they were a family back in '79 has a sports franchise blessed with such music-savvy partisans. Cowtown . . . be proud. Lance . . .
Re: Old 97s -- arena rock?
Actually, as coincidence would have it, in the Russian language "timebomb" loosely translates as Federov, a clever and sopisticated blow to the Wings star. He had to have felt that one the next day. That didn't stop Federov's team from slapping the Stars with a 3-0 drubbing today...
Topsoil March Playlist
The March house concert with Greg Trooper was super. It's looking like this spring and summer are going to be chock full of good house concerts and small venue shows. Remember to sign up for my house concert mailing list to hear about these first. The Greg Trooper show sold out in two hours and it doesn't seem as if any of the future shows will be any different. Upcoming shows are listed on my website. Here's my playlist for March as reported to Crossroads magazine. Lots of new stuff! Cheers. Steve Gardner [EMAIL PROTECTED] www.topsoil.net === WXDU-Fm 88.7 Durham, NC Steve Gardner, "Topsoil" E: [EMAIL PROTECTED] March Roots Report 1. Dirk Powell, Tim O'Brien John Herrmann - Songs From the Mountain - Howdy Skies [This is the best CD of new fangled old-time music I've heard in a few years. Together, these three musicians have succeeded in putting a soundtrack to the book Cold Mountain, written by local author Charles Frazier. This CD is only sold as a companion to the paperback version of the book. Check major retailers such as Borders and Amazon.com if you have problems finding it. Both the book and the CD are well worth the search.] 2. Steve Earle and Del McCoury - The Mountain - E Squared [I wasn't so sure Steve Earle had the voice to pull off a good bluegrass album...well, boy was I wrong! This CD not only kicks butt, but it is one of the best bluegrass CDs I've heard in at least a year. This is a top-notch bunch of original songs with a crack band and it deserves to be heard by many.] 3. Terry Allen - Salivation - Sugar Hill [Nobody is more alternative country than Terry Allen. In fact, Terry is an alternative to just about anything! Contained in this CD is nearly an hour of the best songs that Terry has written and performed since 1979's "Lubbock on Everything."] 4. Kelly Willis - What I Deserve - Rykodisc [Kelly still hasn't made an album that really shows how incredible she really is. This one comes close, but I still think she has a better one in her. With that said, though, this is still one of the best CDs of the year. I expect to see this on many topten lists at the end of '99.] 5. Jimmy Murphy - Electricity - Sugar Hill [I can't imagine anything beating this album out for reissue of the year. I had no clue who Jimmy Murphy was, but upon hearing this I realised that I (and many others) have been missing one of the greatest country songwriters and singers. "I Get a Longing to Hear Hank Sing the Blues" should be the new national anthem.] 6. Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder - Ancient Tones - Skaggs Family [Another great CD of mostly traditional bluegrass. One of my favorite songs on the album is one that you probably won't hear on other stations much. It's an 8 minute version of "Little Bessie" that is a capella for the first half of the song. It's 8 minutes of bliss if you ask me. One song really stinks on this album, but the rest are tops.] 7. Various Artists - Kentucky Old-Time Banjo - Rounder [A great one CD compilation featuring various styles of oldtime banjo music from Kentucky.] 8. Rosie Flores - Dance Hall Dreams - Rounder [Another good CD from Rosie. It's not perfect, but I certainly enjoy listening to it and playing it on Topsoil. It's nice to hear a live album because I think that is where Rosie is at her best.] 9. Del McCoury - The Family - Ceili [Ceili Records debuts with the latest release from one of the hottest bluegrass bands in the country, the Del McCoury Band. If this is any sign of what the label has to come (and it is, sneaking a peak at the upcoming releases shows a recording by the amazing Gibson Brothers!) then we will be kneedeep in good bluegrass for a while.] 10. Biller and Wakefield - Hot Guitars of Biller and Wakefield - HMG [Steel and Electric guitar instrumentals. Three songs have vocal performances by either Big Sandy or Dave and Deke. Fans of Jimmy Bryant and Speedy West take note.] 11. Jeremy Wallace - My Lucky Day - Palmetto [Someone hold methis CD is so good it makes me dizzy. I've never heard of Jeremy but dangit if this isn't one of the best CDs of the 1998. It is one of those CDs that is impossible to describe without hyphens. If you like your music of the Louisiana-ragtime-blues-dixieland-country-screamin'-folky-twang on Tin Pan Alley type then this is for you.] 12. John Wesley Harding - Trad Arr Jones - Zero Hour [If only more folk music was like that of Nic Jones. Nic was severely injured in a car accident many years ago and it ended his performing career. He was an English folk artist who re-arranged English traditional folk songs. JWH pays tribute to Nic here with an album of "covers." Even if you like this CD you still need to hear Nic. His guitar arrangements were just as nice and not even JWH can attempt to capture those. Unfortunately most of Nic's music is out of print.] 13. Carbines - Jukejoint Girl 7" - Oil Rig [This 7 inch
Re: Old 97s -- arena rock?
Tar Hut Records wrote: That didn't stop Federov's team from slapping the Stars with a 3-0 drubbing today... Which gets them within 20 points. The Red Wings better be prepared for a whipping come playoff time if they can make it to the Conference finals.
RE: Topsoil March Playlist
5. Jimmy Murphy - Electricity - Sugar Hill I can't imagine anything beating this album out for reissue of the year. I can: Doyle Lawson Quicksilver, The Original Band (Sugar Hill). With Doyle Lawson Quicksilver's Once And For Always/The News Is Out (Sugar Hill) just a millimeter or two behind. At the moment, these tower above everything else. Jon Weisberger Kenton County, KY [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://home.fuse.net/jonweisberger/
Re: Good covers (was: Kelly Willis calling the shots)
You know, I'm glad this came up because as we speak I'm taping some of the Pine Valley Cosmonauts LP. What strikes me is that the songs which fail do so because they spotlight vocalists who are weak singers. Or, maybe it's that they are trying to adopt the Wills arrangements too strictly, which were able to feature a singer as fitted for those arrangements as Tommy Duncan was. Whatever the case, some of the vocalists on the PVC's album sure sound like they're used to singing rock 'n' roll songs, so they're unable to hide behind (or among) the band because the band is arranged around them. Their vocal "deficiencies" aren't as big a liability in most rock 'n' roll environments because they need only be tunefully enthusiastic, not sensitively collaborative. So, the PVCs band is shit-hot, but more than a few of the singers aren't up to the challenge. This is probably why Merle and Willie and George Strait can pull off Western Swing. It's not that their bands aren't all respectively brilliant, it's just that each of their voices is distinctively complementary. As Willie might say, they're aging with time like yesterday's wine. I hope some of these folks on the PVC do stick with the swing, maybe they'll have a great album before long. Or maybe someone should convince Dwight Yoakam to sing with the band. Lance, smoking T for Texas . . .
Re: Dale Watson Report?
I made the mistake of not showing up till 10:15 pm, about 20 mins before Watson took the stage. The Rodeo was as packed as I've ever seen it. I wormed my way as far forward as I could but.. So here's Dale Watson in NYC packing a joint and he gets zilch for radio airplay and still doesn't sell shit for records. Go figure. Signed, A whopping Dale Watson fan (a.k.a. Boudin Dan)
BMI insurance
Anyone had any experience getting - and, more important, using - the health insurance plan available to BMI affiliates? Offlist replies are okay. Thanks, Tom Smith
Re: Jon Dee Graham (and other new stuff)
While there's been little or no speak of it, must admit the new Jon Dee record is pretty darn worth your hard-earned dollars. Staying in a Southwest frame of mind, the recent Lydia Mendoza collection from Arhoolie as well as their "best of" Flaco disc are also worth seeking out. And while a tad generic, New Haven's Big Bad Johns' new one on Feralette Records is helpin' me get my yah yah's out. Boudin Dan
Re: BMI insurance
I wouldn't mind hearing the answer to this, too--I'm planning to break my corporate chains within a couple years. (Don't worry, folks, I probably won't become a full-time musician. g) --Jamie S. [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.wavetech.net/~swedberg http://www.usinternet.com/users/ndteegarden/bheaters -Original Message- From: Tom Smith [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: passenger side [EMAIL PROTECTED] Date: Sunday, April 04, 1999 8:37 PM Subject: BMI insurance Anyone had any experience getting - and, more important, using - the health insurance plan available to BMI affiliates? Offlist replies are okay. Thanks, Tom Smith
Note-for-note
I found the quote I mentioned earlier in the thread on covers, and it's every bit as good as I remember it. The speaker is Eddie Adcock, banjoist and flat-picking guitarist extraordinaire; he was interviewed by Barry Willis in 1990 (the interview appears in Willis's gigantic, messy book, _America's Music: Bluegrass_): "...there is a neat thing that takes place in the mind - just like some of the finer art in the world - when you hit upon that note exactly the way the guy intended to hit it the first time. Then you can get the idea and the feeling and the emotion that caused him to do it. They're not your emotions; you're working out of his brain even though he may be dead and gone. It does something for you that nothing can doAnd if you hang in there and try to duplicate it in every way, then you can experience what he experienced when he did even though it may have been fifty years ago. You can feel him go through that." Jon Weisberger Kenton County, KY [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://home.fuse.net/jonweisberger/
sxsw photos
Someone posted a URL on the list for SXSW photos and I wanted to check them out. But I of course deleted the message or something. Help? -jim
Re: Note-for-note
There'is a little classic of modern literature that takes on excatly this startling and provocative notion (and feeling)..of re-creating...with some provocative turns on i of its own--w the now famous story "Pierre Menard-Author of Don Quixote" by Jorge Luis BorgesIt tells (in the form of a literary essay, about a writer and work that, we might say don't exist..this "Menard" character ahd, we're told, done everything possible to recrate Cervantes exact situation, state of mind, etc. before writing Don Quixote--and then Menard proceeded to write the whole massive thing, all over again. I'm not gonna attempt to summarize all of the fun Borges has with this from that point--but I can tell you that it ain't all awe and excitement! The piece appears in several Borges collections, incluing "Labyrinths"... Barry Eddie Adcock, banjoist and flat-picking guitarist extraordinaire; in Willis's_America's Music: Bluegrass_: "...there is a neat thing that takes place in the mind - - when you hit upon that note exactly the way the guy intended to hit it the first time. Then you can get the idea and the feeling and the emotion that caused him to do it. They're not your emotions; you're working out of his brain even though he may be dead and gone. It does something for you that nothing can do... Jon Weisberger
Re: Note-for-note
Jon Weisberger quoted Eddie Adcock: "...there is a neat thing that takes place in the mind - just like some of the finer art in the world - when you hit upon that note exactly the way the guy intended to hit it the first time. Then you can get the idea and the feeling and the emotion that caused him to do it. They're not your emotions; you're working out of his brain even though he may be dead and gone. It does something for you that nothing can doAnd if you hang in there and try to duplicate it in every way, then you can experience what he experienced when he did even though it may have been fifty years ago. You can feel him go through that." This isn't unlike something I've heard classical musicians express--and it makes sense, too. Although we don't think of classical musicians, or groups of them, "covering" Schubert, say, one would think the experience of playing Schubert might not be all that dissimilar from what Adcock is expressing here (just substitute "150" or "250" years for his "50"). The only quote on this I can think of at the moment is a phony, since it comes not from a real musician but a fictional one...but in Robert Stone's HALL OF MIRRORS the clarinetist hero thinks very similar thoughts about Mozart's clarinet concerto... And speaking of covers, one that isn't note-for-note but is closer than I would expect and is, it seems to me, mighty true to the spirit of the original while being totally unique as well, is Cake's "Sad Songs and Waltzes". This has been out for a long time, but I've only just discovered it, and I dig it. Dallas http://home.pacbell.net/dallasc/
Re: CD Length?
Anyone happen to know the maximun amount of music that can fit on a single CD? If you're using the industry standard 16 bit 44 kHz audio format, 74 minutes is the maximum amount you can cram onto a CD. Mission of Burma has a CD out on Rykodisc that featured about 80 minutes, but some of those songs sound like they're recorded at a lower rate. Of course, using MP3 compression (or one of the many similar compression schemes out there) you can fit considerably more music onto a CD. In this case, though, the music is treated more like computer data; it has to go through an additional decompression stage before being translated into something your stereo and speakers will understand. The story I've heard is that the 74 minute length was chosen because it could comfortably fit Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, a particular favorite of the person at Sony who made the decision. De nada, Brad
