//  More info on the Newport tour, off days, Nanci's guitars, Hootie,
//  and more from the Fleadh.  - MF

From: jcq@ABPEDS.ORG                                              
Subject: Newport at Walnut Creek, Once More                          

Apologies to those of you not near enough to North Carolina to care, but
here's the definitive announcement from Walnut Creek re ticket sales. It
also shows a few more performers than previous announcements. (I
just hope they start this thing about 9 am so everyone gets a chance to
play more than a couple of songs!) Anyway, here it is:

Saturday, August 15 Newport
 Folk Festival
Featuring: Lyle Lovett, Nanci
 Griffith, Joan Baez, Bela Fleck and
 the Flecktones, John Hiatt, Wilco,
 Marc Cohn, Lucinda Williams,
 Beausoleil avec Michael Doucet,
 Dar Williams, Leo Kottke, Mark
 Eitzel, Jimmie Dale Gilmore
 Tickets go on sale Saturday June
 20th at 12 noon
 Ticket prices
 $40.00/$27.50/$15.00 plus convenience

I'll try to avoid this topic until early August, when I'll see if we can 
figure out a meeting place for NNetters.

Jeff Qualls
 
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From: "Weisfeldt . Steve" (SWeisfeldt@drc.com>                    
Subject: Nanci schedule                                              

I just noticed on the Nanci web site that the current schedule has been
updated.  Too dates are listed in early September, Boston and
Northampton, MA, as being "tentative".  Anyone with a clue as to what
this exactly means?  What is the deciding factor as to whether these
dates become "real" or not?

Thanks!

 - Steve
 
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From: DLMTX@aol.com                                               
Subject: Re: Telluride                                               

I have a 4 day ticket to Telluride that I won't be able to use due to a death
in the family.  If anyone can use it and knows a way to get it in time from
Fresno to you, let me know. 209 -435- 9530.
Deb Meyer
 
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From: Virginia Rose (ginrose@internetmci.com>                     
Subject: Off-Days                                                    

We all have them. I sure do, at least, and thank goodness I'm not a
performer. What if it's not just an off-day, but a warning of a more
serious condition?

I've been lurking, enjoying the debate about Nanci's, not off-day, but
off-tour! It's funny how what one fan heard and interpreted as
unacceptable, another at the same performance dismissed as a few
missed notes and went on to thoroughly enjoy the concert! A U.K.
friend sent me a tape of a BBC interview with Nanci and a couple of
radio broadcasts. Nanci was obviously not at her best, and was unable
to reach some of the high notes. Her voice even cracked on a couple of
songs! Egad! Still, my overall impression was - I liked it! It was
Nanci, and overall the performance was great! Luckily for Nanci, she
just had allergies. It could have been much worse.

I work at a hospital. Yesterday, on the way to lunch in the cafeteria
I passed by the chapel and saw a rack of *Guideposts* by the door. On
impulse I took one. To my surprise, inside was an article by Kathy
Mattea.

She told the story of what started as an off-night in 1991 not long
after winning her first Grammy Award. She tells of singing at a club
in London. When she reached for a note near the top of her vocal
range, she says, "What came out... didn't sound like me. I felt like a
rock climber grabbing a familiar handhold only to have it crumble
away." After the show her band gathered around her concerned, for they
could tell it was more than just a missed note. Her manager was very
worried too, but she reassured them that she was just tired.

Kathy continued, "All singers have ups and downs. No one is 100
percent every night. You just learn to sing around problems. My
schedule was booked tight, and I had obligations to promoters,
audiences, my musicians and crews. To stop would mean more pressure
than going on. I couldn't quit."

Sound familiar? Thank goodness what followed isn't what happened with
Nanci!

Kathy returned to Nashville after the London show and at the
Vanderbilt Voice Clinic, and an examination showed what looked like an
enormous blood blister on her vocal chords. The rest of the story
tells how she dealt with this potentially career-ending injury.

Fortunately, Nanci's problem didn't require surgery to her vocal
chords as did Kathy's! But, I'll bet she felt the same concern for her
fans, and she hated disappointing them for not being able to give them
her best.

Hugs,
Gin

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From: "Tamara O'Connor" (sastjo@unx.sas.com>                      
Subject: The influence of Nanci...                                   

Hi, all...

I've been "lurking" on the outskirts, enjoying all of the NanciNet
postings since October of last year.  Imagine my surprise yesterday when
I came across a Nanci tidbit that I just knew I had to tell my
fellow-NanciNetters about!

I belong to one of the mail-order CD clubs (yes, thank goodness, I have
FINALLY bought the last of the required disks!!)  I took a chance on my
last order and decided to get the "Sounds of Wood and Steel" recording
from Windham Hill (btw--turned out to be a really good choice!)  I'm one
of those liner-notes readers, so of course I had to pull the notes out
to check out what was written by/about this collection of artists.

On the first page I found this by Larry Hamby-Windham Hill:

"My first encounter with the Taylor Guitar came in 1993 when I traveled
to Berkeley, California with a couple of friends to see Nanci Griffith
perform in concert.  I don't have to tell you it was a great show (even
though I just did).  Being a musician myself and a devotee of acoustic
instruments, I was intrigued with the guitars Nanci played that night.
Not only were they beautiful to look at, they sounded fantastic.

After the show I had the opportunity to say hello to Nanci and ask her
about these fine guitars.  She was kind enough to put me in touch with
T.J. Baden at the Taylor Guitar company and thus was born a frendship
and musical partnership between he and I.  Our friendship has not only
resulted in this very album that you are now holding and staring at, but
also the purchase of no less than six Taylor guitars by yours truly,
most of which I have given away to friends and loved ones.  I *do* love
my friends and loved ones.

"Sounds of Wood and Steel" represents a dream come true for my friend
T.J. and myself.  I don't believe there has ever been an album quite
exactly like it.  We hope you enjoy it.  Thanks Nanci."

How cool that our Nanci had such an interesting part of the making of
this great CD!

I'm off to the outskirts again...will let you know when I found
something else of special interest!  :)


Tamara

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From: Beth Herron (bherron@asgnet.psc.sc.edu>                     
Subject: Fans of Nanci                                               

I read Ashley's comments about meeting Darius Rucker with interest.  As
a six-year resident of Columbia, SC, I saw Hootie and the Blowfish many
times before they made it big on the national scene.  They are big Nanci
fans, and in fact, one of their songs contains a direct reference about
Nanci.

It goes something like this, song title "Drowning":

"Nanci's singing It's a Hard Life Wherever you go. . about some fat man
living in Chicago. . . ."

Nanci also appeared with Hootie when they did their MTV unplugged
appearance at the University of South Carolina campus, singing a
beautiful duet of "Gravity of the Situation."

This may be old news to many Nanci subscribers, and I'm sure not
everyone is a big fan of the band (I remember some criticisms about
Darius' Gulf Coast Highway duet), but I thought I'd share my info about
them.  "Cracked Rearview" is a really good album, and they truly are
nice, down-to-earth guys who definitely have not let success go to their
heads.  Their drummer, Jim Sonifeld, lives right around the corner from
me in a nice but modest house which you definitely would not peg as the
home of a wealthy musician. (although he does have an incredibly nice
car)

Beth Herron

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From: IvoryK@aol.com                                              
Subject: lyrics web site?                                            

Hi.  Can anyone give me the address of a web site that has listings of Nanci's
lyrics?  Thanks...Karen Ivory
 
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From: "Deb Thornton" (dlt4@email.byu.edu>                         
Subject: new Austin folkie                                           

Hi, all,
On the eve of going to Telluride, i have a little announcement for the
folks in Austin and environs.

A great new folk-singer, Cherilyn Fielding, is playing Saturday June 27th
from 6-8pm at Waterloo Icehouse on 6th and Lamar. I would strongly
encourage you to go to this free show--and see a new artist in the early
stages of a very promising career.

I saw her at a house concert in Utah not long ago, and her agent has been
trying to get gigs for her around Austin, and the Waterloo cleared a
booked-till-August schedule to get her on his stage on a weekend for two
hours. Most of her music she played at the house concert was entirely her
own, though she did cover some Dar Williams and some Sarah
Mc-I-Can't-Spell-the-rest-of-her-name. Her own compositions are the best
ones, though. She has a great stage presence, and her between-song
storytelling is excellent.

I sat there thinking, "she is the real deal"--and as many of you know, i'm
picky about quality lyrics and things like that.

So, if you're around Austin on the 27th, at Sixth and Lamar, which may not
be far from Sixth and Congress, one of our Nanci's starting points, check
out the incredible Cherilyn Fielding.

deb "rabidly enthusiastic" thornton

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From: M Bunker (M.Bunker@m.cc.utah.edu>                           
Subject: Intro

Hi,

My name is Missi, and I am from Salt Lake City, UT. I have sent a couple
of messages on the net, but I haven't really introduced myself to everyone
yet, so I thought I would.

I have been a Nanci fan for only about 3 years now. A friend of mine
introduced me to her while I was living in Jerusalem 3 years ago for the
summer. Ever since then, she has been my all-time favorite! Of course I
like others, like David Wilcox, and Shawn Colvin, but Nanci's music is
full of memories for me.

I'd really never been to a concert until I went to see Nanci here in Salt
Lake. Then, last summer, I dragged a friend of mine to the Folks Festival
in Lyons, CO. That was a big sacrifice for me because I ended up camping
about 2 inches from a man in another tent, who snored all night long.
Didn't get much sleep that trip. Anyway, my friend who I dragged to the
Festival had never heard Nanci before, and loved her! How could she not?

I just graduated from the University of Utah in Human Development and
Family Studies. I am going to take a year off, and then hopefully I'll get
accepted to graduate school.

Well, that's pretty much me in a nut-shell. Not too exciting, but it keeps
me busy.

 
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From: Bob Ivers (bivers@sprintmail.com>                           
Subject: Some Nanci related writings                                 

Some Nanci related writings...

Part of a review by Stephen Williams of the 6/13 New York City stop of The
Guinness Fleadh tour that appeared in Newsday, the Long Island daily
newspaper, on Monday.

     "In Rock and Roll, as in most other aspects of life in the '90s, time
management is critical.  Especially in this season of summer festivals.
Take the Guinness Fleadh. (By now we all know that Fleadh rhymes with
flah.)  At most times during the 12 hours of the Fleadh on Saturday, four
acts were performing simultaneously.  This presents problems: Do you listen
to the Saw Doctors, John Fahey or Jeb Loy Nichols?  Chumbawumba, Tommy
Makem, Rubyhorse or Banshee Imelda O'Reilly?
     Decisions, decisions, made even more complicated because of travel
times. Normally it takes about three minutes to walk from the main stage to
the Village Voice stage, but because the ould sod of Randall's Island on
Saturday was so sodden, the mud invariably slowed down the crowds.  Not to
mention that enormous intakes of Guinness stout don't facilitate
negotiating mud.
     We were stumped at about 8:30 p.m., but not for long.  Would it be
Sin=E9ad O'Connor on the main stage or Nanci Griffith in the Voice tent?
O'Connor sashayed on in clothing that appeared to be Eisenhower-era Army
surplus, and began "The Emporor's New Clothes" and the exotic "You Made Me
the Thief of Your Heart," and by then we were bored.  Sinead is old news/n=
o news.  Next.
     The mud was even more slippery in the dark, but the trek to see the
ebullient Miss Griffith was worth ruining a pair of Reeboks.  She was in
wonderful voice Saturday, her Blue Moon Orchestra clicking like a Mercedes
12-cylinder, her material -- much of it borrowed from other composers, and
from her "Other Voices, Other Rooms" albums -- immaculate.  While her
recent Cds have been of questionable virtue, Griffith on stage has usually
transcended any weaknesses.  Her hootenanny Saturday evening was among the
best parts of the day."
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------
A review of a Carolyn Hester show at Folk City in New York City by Janie
Spencer that was included in a booklet included with a "Fast Folk" sampler
lp (yes, lp) a number of years ago.  This is the show Tom Paxton refers to
on the Other Voices, Other Rooms video.

     "Carolyn Hester seemed amazed to find herself, after an absence of
nearly ten years, performing once again on the stage of Folk City Friday
night.  These thoughts were echoed again and again throughout the evening
as she spoke of being a "displaced Texan" and of how New York had
overwhelmed her.  But all the while she seemed to glow with an inner
knowledge that this was exactly where she was supposed to be, and what she
was supposed to be doing.
      Having gone to school in Austin, and having lived in Dallas a good
portion of my life, I have heard Carolyn Hester's name often.  I have heard
it in connection with the Kerrville Folk Festival  (an annual event which
takes place not far from Austin), and I have also heard of her in
connection with the late novelist/folksinger Richard Farina, who had been
her husband and was a major figure in the folk revival of the early
sixties.  I have read of how she had come to New York to study acting,
became a folksinger instead, was discovered by John Hammond and signed to
Columbia, and of how a young Bob Dylan had accompanied her on her first
album.  She rose to national prominence with the folk movement at that
time; but then performed less in the seventies (except occasionally at the
Kerrville festival and at a small folk club she started in California).
     I had not heard Hester's voice until Friday night at Folk City.  It
was a strong, fresh, almost peculiar voice that soared like a tiny yellow
sun when singing her high, oddly beautiful rendition of Gershwin's
"Summertime," and when singing her songs of love and spirituality was
filled with an emotional freedom that comes with a perfect focus.  A lot of
her material was dated, some of it new and original, but what mattered most
and what silenced the room was the voice.
     Her opening act was Nanci Griffith, a young, strong-voiced
singer-songwriter from Austin who had dedicated her first album to Carson
McCullers, Victor Jara, and Marilyn Monroe, Lonely Hunters all."  She sang
songs of Southern longing: longing to leave Texas for the big city, longing
for the slow, long hours of her girlhood, disillusionment with what had
become of her Texas friends.  I felt, throughout the evening, as if I were
on the back porch of a home in Austin looking out on the fields in the
summertime.
     Toward the end of the evening Hester called Tom Paxton onto the stage
with her.  Again she spoke of how it amazed her to be on the stage,
performing with him, after all the years.  They looked at each other as if
confounded for a moment, then broke into a rendition of "Can't Help But
Wonder Where I'm Bound." 
 
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