I ran into a great review of the new Sometymes Why CD, "Your Heart Is A Glorious Machine" Here is part of it: Although Aoife O’Donovan, Ruth Ungar Merenda and Kristin Andreassen’s music is firmly rooted in bluegrass, the music on their new album Your Heart Is A Glorious Machine, is distant from the sounds of O Brother, How Art Thou and instead incorporates orchestral elements to compliment the baritone ukulele, in songs such as the second track, “Slow Down,” and leans more to an alternative rock Americana hybrid with the group’s gut wrenching cover of Concrete Blonde’s, “Joey.” The song, “Slow Down,” is an original piece written by O’Donovan and features her hauntingly beautiful vocals, and before winding down with Celtic like overtones. (The REST) Or read this ONE. or ANOTHER One. Or EVEN this one from Fire Note which is now in my side bar.
Now for my cultural education. I did not ever hear this "Joey" song by Concrete Blonde, so I looked it up on YouTube. Since they don't allow embedding, you will have to click on this to listen to it. WATCH IT As I'm writing this, I'm listening to the Sometymes Why beautiful 3 part harmony to this song. I will have to think it is 100 times better than the original. For the rest of the CD, I'm dabbling on it. These three are really good.
Here is a promotional video of the group and the CD release:
Jonathan Byrd is an amazing songwriter and poet from North Carolina, and he also has some pretty kickin' blogs over on his MySpace (he does on occasion use some words in his blogs that aren't safe for work, but he's just telling it like it is.) I highly recommend checking him out if you want a slice of good ole Americana musical pie - made with Granny Smith apples for some tart and zing, and it's probably got a hearty whole wheat crust, none of that pale, pasty stuff. Or if you need a good pull of whiskey, straight from the flask. He's got both of those kinds of songs, and probably a few others besides.
This video is from a session Jonathan did at Radiolive in Pensacola, Florida. It's on the lighter side as far as his stories go - it's funny, clever, sweet and I love it - The Waitress:
Jonathan tours extensively around the country, if you ever get a chance to see one of his shows, GO, it's not to be missed! Check his calendar and then mark yours:
If he's not gonna be near you for a while, at least you can listen to and buy music on his websites. You could even set up a house concert to get him to come your way!
Yes... I have taken another step in making this a more interactive "Show"... I have figured out how to use my new used lap top's video capture for a YouTube video.... I just had to start off with my favorite song "Let's talk dirty in Hawaiian"... I use this song typically to sound check, and I love when Tim & Paula sing on the chorus. Of course I always ask the audience to sing along. HA.
I even read the book Fred Koller wrote about songwriting so I always tell people this song is written by John Prine AND Fred Koller.... Fred is a cool character.. look him up. Here is the book he wrote: How to Pitch and Promote your songs.
Here is my first ever posted music video... World aren't you nervous now? Now if I could actually write a song as good as this one or sing as good as John Prine.
You got to love the smooth sound that Ray can get out of that guitar. We saw him a few years back at the Great River Folk Fest. I highly recommend running into him.
May the road rise up to meet you. May the wind always be at your back. May the sun shine warm upon your face, and rains fall soft upon your fields. And until we meet again, May God hold you in the palm of His hand.
My love for this beautiful prayer and song has been made solid and part of my bones since Allison Sattinger posted this video.
Now that I have video's of my own, this video is the only one that graces my profile page at MySpace, why? Besides the fact I don't want to scare visitors off, I do believe that a blessing from Allison is worth the grace of love 100 times better than an old Zeman Video. Of course was I tickled when I went to get the words and found even THE Google knew how strong of a video it is.
Ok Missy Higgins might be the closest I'm going to get to a Pop star on The Zemmy Show, and I tell you she's welcome back anytime. I found her in a Paste Magazine DVD doing Scar; and the love affair was on. It could be because she reminds me so much of Maggie (Janine Turner) who I loved in Northern Exposure.
Seriously, this woman is good, and she has earned her national label and $10 CD's available at Target. If she does want a small intimate crowd in a House concert, I would promise to really invite people over so that I wouldn't have her to myself. HA.
I ran into this site called "Time has told me" today looking for some free sheet music to "A kiss in the early morning"... it's a wonderfully rich music site of rare (mostly UK) artist material. They took their name from a Nick Drake song. Lucky dogs, they also got a snipet in the Rolling Stone as a highlight. HEY Rollingstone... look at what's happening at The Zemmy Show. HA.
Frankly I'm not sure if I'll ever understand how rich of music this site is, so I put it in the right side Shout Out links. If you find a gem, let me know.
Seattle-based Sarah Sample is delightful in every way, from her voice to her songs to her personality! Plus she seems to be really going places lately. She won the Folks Songwriter Showcase for 2007 which earned her a spot on the Main Stage for the 2008 Rocky Mountain Folks Festival, she became a mom and she's still managing to record and tour all over!
Check out this sweet little video of her performing at the Mountain Stage NewSong Contest, and talking a little about songwriting and performance:
Diamonds on her Shoes... and this is not Paul Simon's song. This isn't even the version I put on my CD Gypsy Soul by Dave Zeman (found only on iTunes).... this is the original way I wrote the song. I had a pair of shoes that had a single silver diamond on it, and it turned into a prostitute story. Lot Lizards were part of a conversation the night or two before and I read this horrific blog about murder. It just sort of cried out for my best Tom Waits material. The cd song is more of a gypsy dance tune, I enjoy both.
Video of Choctaw bingo at the last exit in Tempe Arizona 7/19/08 by James McMurtry... my friend Lynn passed me this article... had to be shared, it's a wonderful song.
Sells his hardwood timber to the chipping mill Cooks that crystal meth because the shine don't sell He chooks that crystal meth b! ecause the shine don't sell You know he likes his money, he don't mind the smell.
"Likes his money, he don't mind the smell": Any difference here between Uncle Slayton and the white-shoe investment bankers who knew the stench of the toxic derivatives they were cooking up but were only too happy to keep the addled customers satisfied?
And Choctaw bingo itself is one of a number of Indian reservation enterprises, tax-free reservation-land smoke shops and the like, that inhabit the song. These phrases, the song's setting, call to mind a land that still bears evidence of its stolenness, the reservation culture and naming practices that still evoke the tragic history of the tribes. The song reminds me of Robert Lowell's "Children of Light," that insidiously malevolent poem about the Pilgrims' original theft from the "Redmen."
First, we hear from one of the pilgrims ! to the family reunion. (Yeah, there's a "Canterbury Tales" shadow stru cture going on here.) This is a guy named Roscoe who:
... stopped and bought a couple of cartons of cigarettes At that Indian Smoke Shop with the big neon smoke rings In the Cherokee Nation hit Muskogee late that night Somebody ran a stoplight at the Shawnee Bypass Roscoe tried to miss 'em but he didn't quite. ...
Whoa, careless slaughter on the Shawnee Bypass! The lyrics lope over it, but the blood and guts spilled on the concrete make this reunion a bloodstained occasion from the get-go. Great line: "Tried to miss 'em but he didn't quite": The vast carelessness of the roadkill in Gatsby almost finds an echo in the offhandedness of "didn't quite" here.
And then there's Choctaw bingo itself, which evil Uncle Sleyton "plays every Friday night." Here's an ad for Choctaw bingo that heads the Google search list, probably a sponsored link:
Experience the thrilling and rewarding fun of Indian bingo at Choctaw Casinos! Choctaw Bingo has been one of the premiere high stakes bingo halls since 1987. Choctaw Bingo features 750 seats, giant video projection screens, and a non-smoking section. Choctaw Bingo hosts monthly High Stakes Bingo Games for that bingo player who likes the Big Money. Our friendly staff is always willing to help any customer. So, whether you're a beginner or a seasoned veteran, Choctaw Bingo is the place where winners play.
Overnight packages available on weekends. For reservation information call 1-800-788-BINGO.
Sounds classy, right? No doubt "winners" play there all the time.
Now, I have a thing about Indian casinos. I'm totally in favor of them. I think they're a disguised form of reparations for the theft of Indian land. I'm glad the tribes are making billions taking the foolish white man's money. They deserve it. No tribe mo! re than the Choctaw because it was their removal from their homeland t hat gave birth to the phrase "trail of tears."
Yes, it was the Choctaws who signed a treaty in 1831, the Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek (no joke), which led to a forced march, a death march, really, in thousands of cases. From Mississippi (which, in their absence, became the meanest, most repulsively racist state in the nation) to the drylands of Oklahoma, where they scratched out a living until casinos were legalized.
Now, the Choctaws get their revenue from meth-and-moonshine-addled fools who play Choctaw bingo, which somehow, despite the 750-seat auditorium and "giant video projection screens," doesn't seem a sure route to financial stability. (But just as sure and stable, it turns out, as collateralized mortgage obligations.) The more you look at the history of the Choctaw nation and how the "trail of tears" led to Choctaw bingo, the more a kind of allegory the song becomes, an eloquent distillation of the tragic history of the American empire, which was base! d on the theft of land the nation was founded on, the murder and the enslavement of the tragic remnant of the original inhabitants, and their sly, delayed revenge (Choctaw bingo). The more you know about the Choctaw "trail of tears," the more you suspect it's no accident that McMurtry chose Choctaw bingo as his emblematic game.
Here's where this song is so amazingly prophetic. Looking at it now, through the lens of the crash, you can see how it envisions the American economy as nothing more than an elaborate Choctaw bingo enterprise, with lots of flashing lights to lure in the unwary and the unlucky, a system that, for all its fancy formulas and talk of risk assignment, is nothing more than a sucker's game. And later in the song, McMurtry explicitly names the scam at the heart of it: subprime mortgages.
'Cause here's Uncle Slayton running the subprime scam:
Uncle Slayton's got his Texan pride Back in the thickets with his Asian bride He! 's cut that corner pasture into acre lots He sells 'em owner finan ced Strictly to them that's got no kind of credit 'Cause he knows they're slackers When they miss that payment Then he takes it back.
It's the subprime mortgage crisis bubbling away as far back in 2002, because Uncle Slayton's bad-credit-no-credit mortgages are probably still "bundled" inside the inside of the inside of some bad bank's lowest tranche of toxic derivatives.
How'd he do it, McMurtry, paint that vision of hell with the money and methamphetamine, mixed in with highway mayhem and the mortgage crisis and the whole "family reunion" heading for a violent crash? No accident all the talk of guns in the song, either:
Bob and Mae come up from a little town Way down by Lake Texoma where he coaches football They were two-A champions now for two years running But he says they won't be this year, no they won't be this year And he stopped off in Tushka at that "Pop's Knife and Gun" place Bought a! SKS rifle and a couple a full cases of that steel core ammo With the berdan primers from some East bloc nation that no longer needs 'em And a Desert Eagle that's one great big ol' pistol I mean .50 caliber made by badass Hebrews And some surplus tracers for that old BAR of Slayton's Soon as it gets dark we're gonna have us a time We're gonna have us a time.
Note the football amidt the gun slang. But this is no Friday Night Lights. There's no tender Texas sophistication here. This is a meth-fueled arms-dealing collection of troublemakers heading for a shootout with a not-accidental evocation of Serbia and Palestine giving it world-historical weight.
It reminds you of what a blazing shootout our original national anthem was, with all tha! t rockets'-red-glare. Only we've got a new one now, my choice for a ne w national anthem, and McMurtry's is better than Francis Scott Key's tortured jingoism, if you ask me. No, I can't see people standing up at a ballpark, hands over hearts, hymning their joy at Uncle Slayton's subprime meth dealing. (This is a "modest proposal," people: Jonathan Swift wasn't really advocating the starving Irish eat their babies, OK?)
But when I first heard that song in my girlfriend's car, I thought to myself, "Wow! This guy has really caught America in the Thelma and Louise moment before it goes off the cliff." And it's even got the equivalent of "The Star-Spangled Banner's" emblematic flag.
There's a passage in the song about two hot chicks who arrive for the reunion:
Ruth Ann and Lynn come down from Baxter Springs That's one ! hell-raisin' town way up in Southeastern Kansas Got a biker bar next to the lingerie store That's got them Rolling Stones lips up there in bright pink neon And they're right down town where everyone can see 'em And they burn all night You know they burn all night You know they burn all night.
Yes, McMurtry's "Choctaw Bingo" is an anthem for the crash, because we may be going down in flames. But those bright pink neon lips burning all night are like the rockets' red glare: "proof through the night that our flag is still there." Those neon lips still wave o'er the land of the brave and the home of the biker bar (lingerie store attached).
Ron Rosenbaum is the author of The Shakespeare Wars and Explaining Hitler.
One day I had this wild idea to put in my top MySpace friends only friends with Rose in their name for Valentines Day. I had a blast discovering new music including this incredibly talented now 19 year old who was already out in iTunes. Ashlee Rose has a lot talent and spunk, and for a young voice... it has depth and age. Here's a video that she just posted of a non-mic'd cover of Aretha Franklin's, "Baby I Love You"
Ok this is not one of those blogs.... Here Lauren Zettler playing music in her bathroom in the hopes to get on the Ellen show... What's this with the Ellen show? The other day I read Jenna Fisher's mom couldn't stop talking about getting a hug from Ellen backstage. Hey I'm cool, any lesbian could hug me, and even I love a few deeply, but I'll be talking forever about a hug from Allison Sattinger or my God help... if I ever got a hug from Jenna Fisher. Ellen... I'll pass... but I will and you should wish Lauren luck. Shapes in the bathroom... no I won't go there but I thought that was pretty funny.
I found this site called VolleyBallJones because they were friends of the fabulous trio The Australian Beggars. This is some fun Hendrix cover in a video called the The Woodstock Gig
BOLD AS LOVE cover
The VolleyballJones Pickers with Special Guest Fred Wilson: Fender Stratocaster and vocals David Durham: upright bass John Lee: banjo David Evans: mandolin Steve Evans: acoustic guitar John McGinty: sound man
lyrics:
Anger he smiles, towering in shiny metallic purple armour Queen jealousy, envy waits behind him Her fiery green gown sneers at the grassy ground
Blue are the life-giving waters taken for granted, They quietly understand Once happy turquoise armies lay opposite ready, But wonder why the fight is on
But theyre all bold as love, yes, theyre all bold as love Yeah, theyre all bold as love Just ask the axis
My red is so confident that he flashes trophies of war and Ribbons of euphoria Orange is young, full of daring, But very unsteady for the first go round My yellow in this case is not so mellow In fact Im trying to say its frigthened like me And all these emotions of mine keep holding me from, eh, Giving my life to a rainbow like you But, Im eh , yeah, Im bold as love Yeah, yeah Well Im bold, bold as love (hear me talking, girl) Im bold as love Just ask the axis (he knows everything) Yeah, yeah, yeah
I'd like to introduce you to Alli Rogers. She is someone that I follow her blog, and know I need to get to know her music more. I need more time, there are so many good artists. One of her blogs touched me so that I needed to share it with you, but of course... I'm teasing you with just the beginning. She not only writes a list, she opens up her heart and tells why.
Songs that move me Once when I asked my friend Don Chaffer what record he recommend I download from itunes with a gift card he answered, "Ah, whenever I have an itunes gift card I just buy something that moves me." Sounds easy but it makes me think of Tom Hanks in You've Got Mail when he says something (sarcastically) about how easy it is to find "the one single person in the world who fills your heart with joy".
I suppose love finds us more than we find love. And I often feel that way about music. Here is a handful of songs that have found me at one time or another. I remember where I was the first time I heard all of them and songs like this become a part of who we are, I think. There are many more and hopefully will continue to be, but here are a few. Click here to read the list.
I met Serena Postel only on-line thru Sabrina Kufner but I was impressed with the intensity she brings to her music. I have most of her first cd, and I'm sure I'll sample the next ... at least to get this song...
Creatures (unreleased) ⓒ 2008 Serena Postel Perfromed at the Edge Gallery in Winnipeg, February 2009 Shot by Kitty Edited by DS Evans
I know I will someday host this wonderful Austrailian singer who now lives in Nashville. She has family about 1 1/2 away from me... so YES... I'll get to see Audrey Auld live someday. I guess I better have some Rye Whiskey available.
What a great video....Per Wil's video description:
Wil Maring and Robert Bowlin perform "Mississippi Lullaby", a song written by Wil Maring and Wolfgang Gohringer. There's a guest cameo appearance by Earl the Cat in this video. In this video, Robert Bowlin plays a guitar made by Terry Whipple. See http://www.whipplecreekguitars.com . Video filmed by Phil Bankester. Thank you Phil.
Wil Maring and virtuose guitarist and fiddler Robert Bowlin have been recently combining talents to create beautiful original acoustic music which straddles the fence between bluegrass, folk and country music. Wil's beautiful airy vocal style and heartfelt lyrics have raised the eyebrows of the acoustic music world in recent years with the release of her three solo cds and four band cds with her band Shady Mix. Robert, a two-time National Fingerpicking and Flatpicking Guitar contest winner, has been a band member with legendary artists like Bill Monroe, Maura O Connell, Kathy Mattea, the Osborne Brothers, and many more. Their music will leave audiences spellbound long after the show is over. For bigger venues, Wil sometimes appears with whole band, Shady Mix, which includes instrumental lineup of upright bass, fiddle, mandolin, and sometimes banjo.
Mixture of bluegrass, oldtime, folk, country, and even a little pop. Wide variety of influences, and live show includes a heavy emphasis on originals, but also bluegrass and country standards, fiddle tunes, and cowboy and western swing music. Current favorite artists and influences are wide and varied.... Joni Mitchell, Jimmy Martin, James Taylor, John Hartford, John Prine, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Flatt and Scruggs, Bob Wills, Asleep at the Wheel, Tony Rice, Hot Rize, Dougie MacLean, Kate Rusby, Lyle Lovett, Kim Richey, Patty Griffin, Lucy Kaplansky, Nanci Griffith and so many more... from my youth: Dan Fogelberg, John Denver, Jackson Browne, Eagles, and many bluegrass artists.
I told you I'm going to be dangerous now that I've figured out how do these video things. Friday night had no gigs, no practice, but it did have an occasional teenager walking in the doors behind me.... I made it three plus minutes to record without distraction and did the song we cover in Rose River ever since I shared a cover it by Jack Johnson on The Band cover collection called Endless Highway. That link says it's available free there.... go for it... I own the cd.
Tim, Paula, and Shelly make me sound a lot better live... we have a few private parties, so the next time we're at the Freight House is my birthday weekend Friday and Saturday around May 2nd.
Our regular Allison Sattinger and her musical brother Matt Coleman are again touring in May, but this video was put together before their trip through Arizona. Now if he doesn't harken you back to a young Kenny Rankin. Of course I'm also tickled that these two have saved a space for me, or even you if your are in the vicinity of LaCrosse WI. May 27th (yes it's a Wednesday) they will be playing a house concert at the Bluff View Concerts. Now the weird day is because it sandwiched in between the Twin Cities and Chicago.... Yes we're smaller markets, but let's out draw them ;-).
This is also the video where Allison tells the world Matt is in her Top Eight, but if you go over there... see what other special old fart adopted uncle is in her top eight... (ME) I think I found Allison nearly three years ago thru MySpace and not only have gotten her a few extra fans, I have fallen in love with her like she's one of the family. She has such passion and love in her life. I lived thru her job changes, her hurts, her losses, and her excitement of marriage and now a move from Los Angeles to Northern California. I can't wait to give her a big hug in May.
Ah it's been awhile since there was a commercial and the sponsors are getting restless. Today our pleasure is to bring out both a regular singer and sponsor, Allison Sattinger and her Sunny Rising Leather and Metal Shop. Look at this beautiful pendant she made gaspeite... this unique one of a kind is her trademark. She delights in making settings that accent the beauty of the stone.
Great music and here is how Kristin described it on her MySpace page.
This is a short "horror" movie and the soundtrack is all songs from Kiss Me Hello! Ha. It was made by some friends in 48 hours as a part of Boston's 48 Hour Film Project.
Friends like that... leave them for some nice boring ones in Wisconsin... HA
Norah is bridging the gap between her secret Irish/Scottish musical life and her loved ones and music fans in Vancouver! The Outside Track to Canada for an 18 day tour in British Columbia and Ontario this summer.
The Outside Track Canadian Tour, Summer 2009
July 24-26 Mission Folk Festival in Mission, BC
July 29 Rogue Folk Club, Vancouver, BC
August 2-7 Celtic Roots Festival in Goderich, ON
(more dates to be added soon)..... Hey how about the LaCrosse Folk Festival??????
Start spreading the news!
Keep up to date with information here, at www.myspace.com/theoutsidetrack or on The Outside Track's webpage (that Norah designed - now aren't you impressed...:) www.theoutsidetrack.com
I just wanted to give a set of kudos to Norah Rendell & Brian Miller. What a wonderful house concert they gave today. They are truly good people too. Happy travels.
Since I don't listen much to the radio or mainstream, I found Amos Lee a few years back thru Paste Magazine. I highly recommend him to anyone who likes good music.
I feel pretty lucky that Norah will be here and then poof in Europe for three weeks. Her flute playing is flawless, and her singing is what got her booked. We've have a good share of calls so I'm not worried that there will be a disappointed artist. Still room... Sunday March 8th 4-6 Pot Luck after.... hey Clay... I got the second posting right this time... HA
In honor of my dental appointment this morning, I hearken you back to 2003 when I developed my first abscessed molar, and after too many years of avoiding the dentist, got the news that I was dreading. I am happy to say that, although my choppers are not getting better, they are also not getting worse, as I have been true and faithful to them ever since...after having gotten the hell scared out of me.
This performance is from a concert at Folklore Village in Dodgeville, Wisconsin and appears on my 2004 album, Little Windows. This song was written less than 48 hours before the performance.
Listen to Potentially Abscessed Man:
Potentially Abscessed Man By Clay Riness
You don’t see it coming. It happens one day. You suddenly feel you’re not feeling okay. A low throbbing lingers down deep in your head. It’s a festering molar, and a day full of dread. Two or three days and you feel even worse. Who could cast such a spell and bring on such a curse? Every breath is a brand new adventure in pain, But you’re still in denial though dread still remains.
I’m long in the tooth, many years from my youth. So heed this advice if you can. I will sing from the heart to offer my part, A potentially abscessed man.
Finally you’re sure it’s the doctor you need. The pain is so crippling you can’t even eat. And then in dental crisis you pray for the chair. You’d pay twice the fee if he’d just put you there. “The x-rays are gloomy” he says as he squints, “but it’s got to come out.” You say “good” as you wince. Two pricks of the needle, your face is gone numb And extraction comes quickly and soon it is done.
I’m long in the tooth, many years from my youth. So heed this advice if you can. I will sing from the heart to offer my part, A potentially abscessed man.
When it’s over he comes to you bearing bad news. Periodontally speaking, your teeth are all loose. There are pockets and plaque and the bone loss is stout, And your gums have receded. Your teeth may fall out. So stock up on your toothbrushes and your toothpaste. And whenever you eat then go flossing post haste. And at pain’s slightest sign you should do what you can. ‘Cause you might be a potentially abscessed man.
I’m long in the tooth, many years from my youth. So heed this advice if you can.. Take good care of your gums or one day you’ll become A potentially abscessed man.
Ah... one week away from Norah Rendell and Brian Miller playing the Bluff View. So here's a tip of the hat to Cindy and Steve who helped me find out never to schedule another house concert on a High School Football Friday night in October again. It was a wonderful night though the turnout was small. They are truly gifted people with warm hearts. Here they are singing a Peter and Lou Berryman song.
I've loved The Australian Beggars for a few years. Great singers, a fantastic sense of humor, so I wish they travel to the State some day. It looks like they have a new act since Renee is fully back from her giving birth.
