2009.11.20
Out of here for Thanksgiving week
Headed for Tennessee. Have a good holiday, music lovers.
CD reviews that won't fit in Saturday's paper
KRIS KRISTOFFERSON
“Closer To The Bone” (New West)
One of American music’s most celebrated songwriters, Kris Kristofferson, continues his renewed commitment to music on “Closer To The Bone,” the follow-up to 2006’s “This Old Road,” his first album in a dozen years.
As with the previous album, Kristofferson works with veteran producer Don Was, who keeps arrangements stripped and focused on Kristofferson’s craggy voice and rudimentary yet expressive acoustic guitar.
Kristofferson states his purpose when he sings, “Nothing but the truth now,” in the title song. These are heart-laid-bare lyrics from a 73-year-old interested in mining his truths rather than entertaining. He’s still whittling on the same themes, too, with songs that continually explore freedom, love and justice for all.
He writes everything himself, with some help from longtime collaborator Stephen Bruton, who co-wrote “Let the Walls Come Down” and “From Here to Forever,” the latter about a parent’s unending love that Kristofferson directs toward his children. (The album is dedicated to Bruton, who died as the album was being finished.)
Most of the 11 tracks are new works, excepting “Good Morning John,” a tribute to his late friend Johnny Cash, and “Love Don’t Live Here Anymore,” written more than 30 years ago. Even those songs deal with the struggle for individual dignity — something Kristofferson writes about with poetry and precision throughout “Closer to the Bone.”
— Michael McCall, for the Associated Press
THE DEL MCCOURY BAND
“Family Circle” (McCoury Music)
“I got that sweet mountain soul down in my bones,” Del McCoury declares in his familiar pinched tenor on “Sweet Appalachia,” the opening number of his new album. That’s for sure. But at 70, the bluegrass master also continues to burn with a fire that shows no signs of abating.
2009.11.19
Podcast with country music hitmaker Eric Church
Eric Church | Courtesy photo
Eric Church plays a show at Jefferson Center tonight. Read story, get show details.
On this podcast, we talk about the recent Rolling Stone feature on Church and about how the title song from "Carolina" can help anyone fashion a little mental escape hatch to a favorite place.
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Area chili cook-off looking for bands to play the event
Here's some good advance notice for bands looking to play and eat some chili. Jenny Lee, at Greenvale School, sent me this e-mail to beef up entertainment for the 31st Annual VA State Championship Chili Cook-Off, on May 1. If you want to get on the gig, contact Jenny at 540-342-4716 or jlee@greenvale-school.org. She promises "free admission, bowls of chili, and cold drinks for all band members!"
>LOCAL TALENT NEEDED FOR THE CHILI COOK-OFF!
>The 31st Annual VA State Championship Chili Cook-Off is looking for local musicians who would be willing to donate a one-hour performance at the 2010 Chili Cook-Off on Saturday, May 1, 2010! In exchange for your generous donation of talent, your band will receive wonderful visibility at one of Roanoke’s largest and most well-loved events!
2009.11.17
Remembering a local musician, Wayne 'Tuck' Foutz
I received the following in an e-mail from Roanoke musician Doug Settles. He wrote to share his memories of Wayne "Tuck" Foutz, a beloved figure in the 1970s-1980s Roanoke music scene. I plan to write more soon.
Please share your memories, too ...
>Wayne Foutz, better known as "Tuck" to the Roanoke music community, passed away on November 3, 2009. He was an original member of the band Razzmatazz, which originated in 1973, and stayed a member of that band until 1976 when he started his own band called Dazzle, which stayed together until 1983. During that 10 year span, Tuck was an integral part of two of the most successful bands to come out of Roanoke during that era. Both bands enjoyed tremendous regional success and both opened shows for numerous national acts during their runs and both had several original songs that enjoyed regional airplay.
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Young Radford guitarist wins classical music competition
Robert Trent, director of guitar studies at Radford University, has a brilliant young charge these days.
One of his students, 16-year-old Max Hiner, of Radford, last weekend won high school category at The Music Academy of North Carolina's national guitar competition. He had finished third last year, competing with young players from across the nation.
Check out some video of the young master.
Podcast with singer/songwriter Chris Knight
Courtesy of Michael J. Media Group
Chris Knight performs on Wednesday night at Kirk Avenue Music Hall. Read story, get show details.
On this podcast, we talk with Knight about his career, his past life as a strip mine reclamation inspector and more about a long-ago honky-tonk fight. Also, we stream “Trailer II” versions of “It Ain’t Easy Being Me” and “Love and a 45.”
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2009.11.14
Old Crow Medicine Show at Salem Civic Center
Jeanna Duerscherl | The Roanoke Times
It was something seeing Old Crow come out for an encore with mostly electric instruments -- save for Gill Landry, who stuck with his dobro.
As I mentioned in the print review, it was rough going sound-wise with all those electric guitars, but after hearing how much better OCMS has gotten as a string band, I figure a rock 'n' roll act will be next for the band. There's no sense bringing Fender and Gibson guitars on the road for just two songs a night!
Overall, a tight show -- which it should be, considering the band plays most of these songs at every gig.
2009.11.13
Podcast with singer/keyboardist/accordionist Sarah Garrison
Photo courtesy of studio3z
When the Wading Girl broke up, Sarah Garrison had to figure out what to do next, and whether it would even be a musical thing. Quickly, she got an offer to join The Circus Band, aka Cirque Roanoke, aka The Circus Practice.
She's performing with that act on Sunday, and solo on Thursday as opening act for the latest Emerging Artists Series show at the Roanoke Main Library. On this podcast, we talk about the band's break-up and her latest projects. Plus, we stream her performance of "8th of November," an old Wading Girl tune that she'll perform on Thursday.
Look for a full story in Saturday's Extra section and at roanoke.com/entertainment.
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CD reviews that won't fit into Saturday's paper
But first, one I meant to get on the blog last week, before I got too dad-blamed busy ...
SEAN COSTELLO
“Sean’s Blues: A Memorial Retrospective”
(Landslide)
Sean Costello died in April 2008, one day before his 29th birthday. “Sean’s Blues” is not a complete retrospective — it ranges from 1996 to 2002 — but its mix of album selections and unreleased tracks, including some live cuts, does offer a broad sampling of Costello’s exceptional talents as a guitarist, singer, writer, and interpreter.
Costello could dig deep into the blues, but he also had a jazzman’s nimble touch with jump-blues and swing. Even when he reached back for old material, he always brought a fresh touch to it, and for all his six- string prowess, the onetime blues-rock prodigy and Susan Tedeschi sideman was less interested in flashy soloing than in crafting a taut, dynamic ensemble sound. As he matured and his voice took on a rougher edge, he also at times recalled the great Southern-soul singer and guitarist Eddie Hinton. What a loss.
— Nick Cristiano, The Philadelphia Inquirer
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