Each year as schooldays fade into memory and the summer festival season grows close, my thoughts turn to Dave Carter . An up-and-coming singer-songwriter, already well respected by critics and peers, Carter was on the road with his partner Tracy Grammer in the summer of 2002 when he was stricken down with a heart attack during an early morning run in the New England heat. Their scheduled set at that day's Green River Festival was taken over by Signature Sounds labelmate Mark Erelli with little fanfare. [...]
This Saturday, January 9th, is gearing up to be the most frustrating night in recent local folk music history, thanks to a huge convergence of talent in the Boston area. I've got third row tickets to see Greg Brown at Sanders Theater - a great place to see a folkfan's favorite wry basso and sensitive songwriter, who once told me a hilarious anecdote about being asked to sign a woman's breast, "and I had to hold it down with my other hand, it was so jiggly" - so I'm not really disappointed [...]
It's always fascinated me how, as social animals who can both project future possibilities and mutate our environment to our benefit, we're nonetheless driven to make peace with our own foibles, accommodate small stumbling blocks, and work around difficulties otherwise solvable and surmountable. A case in point: the 9 key on my laptop keyboard has been broken since last winter, and - as removing the key cap to clean underneath it proved ineffective - I have been forced to conclude that there is something electronically awry here, somewhere in the circuitry. [...]
Our previous contests this week - one to win Grey Fox Bluegrass day passes and some sweet bluegrass and cajun CDs, the other to win the Before the Goldrush tribute CD - have been successful, but there's still plenty of chances left. The Grey Fox contest includes over $250 worth of prizes alone, and there's FOUR chances to win, so don't forget to enter before contests close on Monday at midnight! But wait! Today, Cover Lay Down CONTEST WEEK comes to a head with an amazing chance to win [...]
I have a strong memory of being halfway up the Falcon Ridge Folk Festival Hill, the sun setting, the stage small in the distance, trying to figure out what people see in Richard Thompson . The man was clearly a legend, and a draw indeed; the hill was as full as I've seen it. But that voice, and the signature solo electric guitar, echoed off the hills like a sour note in my ears. I wandered off to put the kids in their bunks, and tucked Thompson away in my mind for [...]
I had high hopes of being alone in my father's house tonight, mining memory and time, writing a poignant entry amidst the same record collection which first sparked my interest in music as something more than just background noise or singalong. I've even got a few handwritten notes at the bottom of my pocket, written this morning while I waited for my father to come ever-so-slowly down the stairs, now ready as fodder for when the moment is ripe. But the routine spinal fusion which has brought me into Boston started much [...]
Thanks, America. I really needed some hope , and I know I wasn't alone. Some relevant reposts: Ben Sollee: A Change is Gonna Come (orig. Sam Cooke) (web release via multiple blogs, 2008; more Ben here ) James Taylor: A Change Is Gonna Come (ibid.) (performed on The West Wing, 2004; subsequent internet release; more JT here ) Jim Henry and Brooks [...]
Thanks, America. I really needed some hope , and I know I wasn't alone. Some relevant reposts: Ben Sollee: A Change is Gonna Come (orig. Sam Cooke) (web release via multiple blogs, 2008; more Ben here ) James Taylor: A Change Is Gonna Come (ibid.) (performed on The West Wing, 2004; subsequent web release; more JT here ) Eva Cassidy: People Get [...]
If you're a younger folkfan like myself, and you know Jim Henry at all, it's probably for his work with others – whether it's as a session musician for the likes of The Weepies, Mark Erelli , or Cliff Eberhardt, a guitar and mando collaborator with fellow stringwizard Brooks Williams a la Grisman and Garcia, or, most recently, as a David Rawlings to Tracy Grammer, whose career performing the songs of her late partner Dave Carter is much enriched by Jim's direct, honest string work, harmonies, and production. [...]
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Music Singles Chart #95
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FREENESS: Robot Orchestra – Beat The Odds (Germany)
The Twilight Sad cover The Smiths
