NanciNet Digest 3-02-99
// An invitation to Merlefest, a couple of artist recommendations,
// and an interesting discussion about fanatic devotion...
// Enjoy...[BP]
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Subject: NN: Midnight Reservations - Merlefest 99
From: Shawn Kimbro (kimbro@planetc.com>
Hi folk friends,
Just a heads-up to those of you starting to think about Spring and
Summer music festivals:
First:
Be on the lookout for an old-time string band going by the name of "The
Midnight Mockingbirds." It's actually James Leva on fiddle backed by
Carol Elizabeth Jones, John Herrmann, and Meridith McIntosh.
Next:
I'm thinking of organizing a tent camping party/jam session at Merlefest
on the last weekend in April (Apr 29-30, May 1-2). It will most likely
be at the River's Edge campground. We'll bring our own gear but for
those who don't have camping equipment, there is a rental service
available, heck they even set up your site and everything!
If anyone thinks they might be remotely interested in this, please let
me know sometime soon so I can get an idea of how much space to reserve.
We'll talk more about it. Here are about half the folks scheduled to
attend:
Doc Watson, Sheila Adams, RG Absher, Richard Watson, Timmy Abell, Roy
Book Binder, Ralph Blizard, Blue Highway, Sam Bush Band, Laura Boosinger
Cephas & Wiggins, Cherish the Ladies, Cheasapeake, Guy Clark, Mike
Cross, Dixie Dawn, Donna the Buffalo, Dlen Duncan, Steve Earle, Bela
Flek, Frosty Morn, Gospel Gems, Orville Hicks, David Hold, Hootie and
the Blowfish, The Kruger Brothers, Jim Lauderdale, Lonesome River band,
Longview, The Del McCoury Band, Boone Mennonite Choir, Lynn Morris,
Nashille Bluegrass band,, Nickel Creek, Mollie O'Brien, Tim O'Brien,
Psychograss, The Rankin Family, Tony Rice, Rey Del, Peter Roway, The
Seldom Scene, Mark Schatz, Earl Scruggs w/family & friends, Randy
Scruggs and the Crown of Jewels band, Ricky Skaggs, Tut Taylor, Pete
Wernick, Lucinda Williams.
And if that don't get you here, I guarantee the surprise guests that
show will make you wished you made reservations. This is just a
heads-up, be thinking about it, see if you can work it into your
schedule, and we'll start making serious plans next weekend.
Check out the web site: http://www.merlefest.org
Whatdaya say we show up with about 150 folks there in North Wilkesboro.
Y'all up for a roadtrip? The TrailZZone music site will be the place
for guaranteed accoustic music and dancin, maybe even some homemade
wine. Check your maps, all roads lead to North Willkesboro and it ain't
too far from anyplace.
Warm Regards,
-Loopy Shawn
___ ,o888b`? _______________________________________________
| ,8 Sleep' `? J. Shawn Kimbro, R.PSG.T. |
| 8888888P' 8 Director of Sleep and Neurodiagnostic Svcs |
| 888P' 8 Baptist Health System of East Tennessee |
| `88 Wake , SKimbro@bhset.org ~ kimbro@planetc.com |
|____`?._ _.o8_______________________________________________|
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Subject: NN: OFSE question
From: RHG899@aol.com
("Thomas, Tasha" (TThomas@vilcom.com>
>When listening to my "One Fair Summer Evening" cassette, I have to turn the
>volume on my stereo up high (about two notches away from being as high as it
>goes) to hear the stories Nanci weaves between songs, then quickly turn the
>volume back down as the songs begin to play, so as not to be blasted into
>the next room.>
I have exactly the same problem with my video of the live concert. Must have
been the sound quality on the night.
Bob G.
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Subject: NN: RE: She did it again!
From: "Thomas, Tasha" (TThomas@vilcom.com>
> From: Shawn Kimbro
> I'm speaking of course about Gillian Welch performing in
> my hometown. She was just here a couple of months ago but her show with
> David Rawlings tonight was sublime.
I saw the duo a few months back, and boy are you right!! When the first
album came out, I was at an annual artists gathering (you know a big grassy
field with lots of painters, photographers, potters, etc. hocking their
wares) when suddenly, while the band was breaking, these incredible voices
came over the speakers. Then as I listened I realized the songs were pretty
incredible too! I've been hooked ever since. Damn, they're good.
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Subject: NN: Fanatical devotion? I don't think so
From: "The Gerhardt-Kretzman Family" (pktaw@ricochet.net>
I just had to delurk here for the first time in several years (although I'm
an avid reader of this list), and make a point about the alleged "fanatical
devotion" of the NanciNet.
It's really hard for me to understand how anyone who reads the list
regularly could seriously think that. Let's see--going back to Flyer, my
sense is that there has been on balance mostly intense CRITICISM here of
Nanci's last few efforts, at times extending to statements pretty close to
as negative as anything that Oyster Boy had to say. In fact, a lot of
regular contributors here have had remarkably few good things to say about
Nanci's recent efforts. So none of this, in my book, smacks of symptoms of
fanatical devotion--if anything, it's kind of oddly the reverse, as if a lot
of people expect Nanci just to keep reissuing TALBTW. And, this criticism
seems to have accelerated for the last two albums. If Nanci herself reads
this list, as surely she must from time to time, she must indeed wonder
about her fans.
Meanwhile, I just keep buying and enjoying the albums, a lot--OVII hardly
being an exception, and BRFTM perhaps most of all, while others slam away at
it here. I have favorites and non-favorites among the albums, of course,
but all of them have gems on them that to me make each individual album
irreplaceable. If that stance is considered fanatical devotion, well then
so be it.
Respectfully,
Peter Kretzman
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Subject: Re: NN: Fanatical devotion? I don't think so
From: Catelaw@aol.com
pktaw@ricochet.net writes:
> So none of this, in my book, smacks of symptoms of fanatical
> devotion--if anything, it's kind of oddly the reverse, as if a lot
> of people expect Nanci just to keep reissuing TALBTW. And, this criticism
> seems to have accelerated for the last two albums. If Nanci herself reads
> this list, as surely she must from time to time, she must indeed wonder
> about her fans.
I couldn't agree more.
It seems almost disrespectful to suggest that Nanci is no longer a girl but a
mature woman in her mid-40s whose most constant observable traits appear to be
her never-ceasing, wraith-like musical metamorphases and her willingness and
ability to share them with the world, adversity and criticism notwithstanding.
All other things aside, from everything I've read and heard about Ms. Nanci's
respect for her fans, it must be difficult for her to pour so much of herself
into project after project and never be able to satisfy the ones who have been
around the longest.
Further, everyone keeps talking about wanting a NANCI GRIFFITH cd -- what does
that mean? She wrote 10 of the 14 tracks on BRFTM and sang lead on all of
them...
So just for the record (haha), I am listening to OVII right now and enjoying
the daylights out of it. I have worn out two cassettes worth of BRFTM, and
given away two CD copies of it to friends (non-Griffons), both of whom have
since bought other NG music on their own. LNGH? Love it. Flyer? Ditto.
TALBTW? Awesome. LLA? My husband won my heart with it. Poet? Yes.
Believers? Yes. Secret compilation tapes I got from fellow NNer (I'll never
tell)? Took me to Texas and back again. They're all great. Any CD that says
"by Nanci Griffith" is mine, if i have to pick up aluminum cans to pay for it.
But--is hearing even the first note of "Wimoweh" on OVOR worse than acrylic
nails on a synthetic blackboard? Absolutely. Ditto for "Nobody's Angel" and
"St. Olav's Gate" if it's a bad day...
cate, YASENF in a flame-retardant jumpsuit, in atlanta
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Subject: Re: NN: Fanatical devotion? I don't think so
From: Reid Mitchell (o416@erols.com>
Dear Catelaw:
As we said in our youths, right on. I only wish that I wasn't so fond
of 2 of the 3 songs you single out as ones you don't like.
Reid
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Subject: Re: NN: Fanatical devotion? I don't think so
From: "Shawn Kimbro" (skimbro@bhset.org>
Hi,
I don't see it any way insulting to Nanci that many of her
fans prefer a more simple and folkier style. In fact, isn't
that quite a compliment? I mean, can you imagine some of
today's pop acts doing a bare-bones, all acoustic show?
Back when MTV was doing "Unplugged" regularly I always
thought it was funny how some bands would employ all sorts
of new musicians to round out their sound. Yet Nanci has no
trouble at all holding a rapt audience with just her voice
and guitar.
I refuse to feel chastised for being critical of her recent
work. If some fans like her plugged and orchestrated, well
that's good for them and for her. It's just not my style
and I'm not the type to follow blindly along without
protest. I think it speaks very well of this group, and of
her fan support as a whole, that people are not afraid to
speak out in criticism or compliment. I'd doubt seriously
Nanci reads anything here, but if she does, she knows how
giddy we've been in the past about the vast majority of her
projects. So I strongly disagree that she should be
disappointed with nearly anything said by anyone here. In
fact, we're probably a pretty objective sounding board
overall.
Warm Regards,
-Shawn
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Subject: Re: NN: Fanatical devotion? I don't think so
From: Catelaw@aol.com
Reid-- "Wimoweh?" Say it isn't so...
Shawn--How's this? I'll stop apologizing to myself for liking OVII and you
can continue to refused to feel chastised for not liking it...that's extremely
reasonable. I hesitated to even post my message because I surely didn't want
you to feel persecuted by it...
I can also see every flaw that has been repeatedly pointed out in OVII, but
they just don't strike the same dissonance in me as they do so pointedly in
you and others. But you travel on a much higher technical plane musically
than I've chosen, so perhaps context accounts for the divergence. I do
believe, though, that OVII will stand the test of time and a lot of people
will know about Odetta, Rosalie Sorrels, Dave Van Ronk, and even Stephen
Foster because of it who wouldn't have otherwise. If that is the case, I
guess the mission will have been accomplished.
And I guess I find Nanci's entire musical progression reassuring, being
somewhat of a changeling myself.
As far as whether or not she ever reads this, I likewise doubt it seriously.
But then I wouldn't have expected she'd have spent a lot of time reading the
Austin-American Statesman, either.
Hmmm....vocalized pause....did anyone see the PBS special on polio last night?
Fascinating stuff and incredible film footage...
Cate, "I'll Move Along" now, in Atlanta
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Subject: Re: NN: Fanatical devotion? I don't think so
From: Reid Mitchell (o416@erols.com>
Nope. I don't much Nanci's recording of "Wimweh" or the Weavers'. I
only like the original. But I do like Nobody's Angel, one of Nanci's
great "confesdsional" songs, and "St. Olav's Gate" because it captures
my beffudlement about women so well.
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Subject: Re: NN: Fanatical devotion? I don't think so
From: "Shawn Kimbro" (skimbro@bhset.org>
> Shawn--How's this? I'll stop apologizing to myself
> for liking OVII and you can continue to refuse to feel
> chastised for not liking it...that's extremely
> reasonable. I hesitated to even post my message because
> I surely didn't want you to feel persecuted by it...
I think that's reasonable too. :-) It not such a feeling
of persecution, I just think it's important that we tolerate
individual tastes and contrasting opinions on the list.
(That doesn't mean tolerating mean-mouthed Univ. of Florida
alumni!)
> But you travel on a much higher technical plane
> musically than I've chosen, so perhaps context
> accounts for the divergence.
Ha! Technical plane? C'mon Cate! No planes involved, just
personal tastes. I've told you how much I respect your
opinions! And the same goes for nearly everyone else here.
('Course I think everyone who agrees with me is smarter than
everyone who doesn't! (s.e. grin>)
Actually, Nanci has always tortured me. Maybe one of those
love hate things like Bobby and Bonita. That why I chose
the Chili Peppers' lyrics for my sig file. (Okay, so there
is a "plane" involved.) Perhaps sweet and sour, oh but what
a songbird.....
Warmly,
-Shawn
`______________Nanci Is My Aeroplane____________________
| __ ____ Shawn Kimbro |
| "Answer | \____o__/_/___| Morristown, TN |
| only with \(>-----_/_/____]> ~ |
| your eyes" `o | kimbro@planetc.com |
|________ http://www.geocities.com/~trailzzone _________|
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Subject: Re: NN: Fanatical devotion? I don't think so
From: Catelaw@aol.com
> Nope. I don't much Nanci's recording of "Wimweh" or the Weavers'. I
> only like the original. But I do like Nobody's Angel, one of Nanci's
> great "confesdsional" songs, and "St. Olav's Gate" because it captures
> my beffudlement about women so well.
>
Whew, that's a relief. "Nobody's Angel" just hits a little too close to home
on bad days (especially by the time it gets to the barking dogs) and I'm not
quite sure what it is about "St. Olav's Gate" unless it's that it seems to
express the general befuddlement of men about women when we're actually quite
simple to understand and get along with. HA!
Cate, "meet me at midnight" in Atlanta
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Subject: Re: NN: Fanatical devotion? I don't think so
From: Catelaw@aol.com
> I think that's reasonable too. :-) It not such a feeling
> of persecution, I just think it's important that we tolerate
> individual tastes and contrasting opinions on the list.
> (That doesn't mean tolerating mean-mouthed Univ. of Florida
> alumni!)
Amen, amen. I won't say that the last sentence MAY be SLIGHTLY redundant,
since that would only reveal my somewhat puerile attitude about college
athletics and the necessary sour grapes or at the very least, dog-in-the-
manger position I've had to take with respect to certain football teams over
the last few years, but it was the Oyster Boy review that sparked my original
email. And as I said previously, I won't disagree or take exception to the
criticism of the music (especially since it's so clearly off-base :), but I
take great exception to his using OVII as a club to bludgeon Ms. Nanci
personally and in such an untimely and mean-spirited fashion. The harshness
of the language and its ugly tone is baffling and although I'm sure it will
remain a mystery, it would be interesting to know what fired off those
particular synapses in the reviewer's brain to cause him to spew such anger...
BTW, I was through Tennessee last Saturday and took US 41 over Monteagle to
avoid those unhappy construction delays on I-24. Happened through after a big
storm and enjoyed the mountain scenery shrouded in lifting fog so much that I
just took 41 on through Chattanooga to Dalton.
Cate, just south off 41, in Atlanta
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Subject: Re: NN: Fanatical devotion? I don't think so
From: Shawn Kimbro (kimbro@planetc.com>
> it would be interesting to know what fired off those
> particular synapses in the reviewer's brain to cause
> him to spew such anger..
Spurrieristic sputum? ;-)
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Subject: Re: NN: Fanatical devotion? I don't think so
From: Catelaw@aol.com
> Spurrieristic sputum? ;-)
>
My, you certainly can turn a phrase...I'm keeping that for future pre-season
attempts at bravado or the odd closing argument, with your leave of course!
@-------------->-------
Cate, "I'm not drivin' these wheels tonight" in Atlanta (or anywhere else)
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Subject: NN: Re: Austin City Limits
From: Victori940@aol.com
For your information (all of you in the San Francisco Bay Area).....
Women In Song: The Best of Austin City Limits
PBS
Saturday, March 20 at 11:00 PM
Thanks for the website information that enabled me to search!
Vicki
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Subject: NN: Ebay, videos auction
From: GV (gvallest@online.no>
There is a Dutch auction on eBay, with 6 copies of
the very same 2 videotapes that were distributed as
a non-profit basis on this list a year or so ago.
Last month, the same seller also had an auction with
5 copies of the same videoetapes, so be aware.
Georg
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Subject: NN: TX Monthly - Kelly Willis
From: Catelaw@aol.com
Hi y'all--
The March TM (which was not lost in my messy house but arrived only
yesterday!) also has an article about Kelly Willis' new CD and her "comeback"
for anyone who is interested. Joe Nick Patoski, who wrote the January article
about Ms. Nanci, is considerably more enamored with KW, but this is nothing
new with him. Anyway, for what it's worth...
Cate
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Subject: NN: Another recommendation
From: "Todd Barrett" (astrocity@hotmail.com>
OK....working under the assumption that we all like different kinds of
music I will recommend someone that I really enjoy listening to:
Melissa Ferrick. I hate to describe somebodies music by naming other
artists....but if I had to I would compare her to an early Melissa
Etheridge. She plays acoustic and electric guitar....can play a really
great rock song, but also a nice soft one.
Her new record label has a web site for her at
http://www.war.com/ferrick
I also have two sound clips from earlier albums on my tribute page to
female singers (I have of course included Nanci!)
http://www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Balcony/9132/music.html
Todd Barrett
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Subject: NN: Fanatical Devotion and a Rambling Reminiscence
From: "David W. Gibson" (David_W_Gibson@msn.com>
Hello all,
I'd like to throw in my two cents (kerplunk-kerplunk) on the fanatical
devotion and OVII threads. I've really come to look forward to the many
different opinions shared here. I find (in a small moment of clarity) that
criticism, although uncomfortable, brings a deeper understanding and
appreciation of things. I may disagree with someone's criticism of Nanci's
music, but I sure do want to hear it! I've learned a lot lurking here ;-).
I am an unabashed YASENF, but there are a few of Nanci's songs I will
consistently skip. I'm no big fan of pre-packaged music and I didn't enjoy
BRFTM and OVII as much as some other Nanci albums, but I neither would I
want Nanci to become stale and just play the same ol' thing either. Same for
this list. Change and differences of opinion are good; maybe not as good as
you'd like or the way you'd like them to be, but good nonetheless.
I think this nancinet of ours is a wonderful sounding board. What an range
of honestly expressed opinion and insight! If Nanci does read even some of
what has been posted here, she may well scratch her head occasionally, but
I'd bet it makes more sense to her than a lot of stuff she's had to listen
to over the years from certain record company executives or music reviewers.
For myself, Nanci, if you're reading, what I appreciate most about your
music and this forum is how it has broadened my appreciation for music and
my outlook in general. By the time I first heard OFSE at a Tower Record
store (where the music taste normally ran to punk), I had stopped listening
to the radio, threw out my old stereo, and decided that cds were for the
overfinanced birds. Enchanted by your voice and music, I bought a cassette
of OFSE and spent the next year glued to that tape. Over the years, I
desperately searched for previously released music and eagerly awaited every
new release. Back then, my job took me to the dusty back roads of San Diego
and Riverside counties and to this day "Love at the Five and Dime" always
remind me of hot, hazy summer days, the pungent aroma of chaparral, and the
glimpse of dust billowing in my rear view mirror. Lots of lonely hours were
eased by that sweet music and kindred soul. Your music still goes with me
where ever I go. Thank yew Nanci!
Since I started lurking here, I've rediscovered Emmylou Harris and Kate Wolf
and been kindly introduced to the music of Lucinda Williams, Cory Sipper,
Sara Hickman, and Tish Hinojosa to name but a few. Change is indeed good.
My apologies for this rambling post. Thank yew one and all.
With Starry Eyes a Glimmer,
Dave "time to go for a drive and find a new place to hear the popcorn
machine go pop- pop- pop" Gibson
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Subject: NN: Wimoweh
From: Petop@aol.com
Reid Mitchell:
(( Nope. I don't much Nanci's recording of "Wimweh" or the Weavers'. I
only like the original. >>
Since most people credit Lee Hayes and Ronnie Gilbert of The Weavers as the
authors of this song, what, then, is "the original"?
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Subject: NN: [Fwd: Re: Wimoweh]
From: Reid Mitchell (o416@erols.com>
If you look at Nanci's OVORII book, you will find a somewhat misleading
discussion of this from both Nacni and from Pete Seegar. Seegar's story
however, makes it clear that he picked up this song from a recording,
presumably a 78, by a South African vocal group. What he does not make
clear, probably because he just forgot, is the name of the song as
originally recorded--"Mbube (The Lion)." The original composer
credits--whcih probably weren't even on the 78. The original
composers probably wasn't on the label but presumably it was written
by the group that recorded it. Solomon Linda's Orginal Evening Birds.
(available on ROunder, MBUBE ROOTS: Zulu Choral Music from South Africa,
1930s-1960s." The song is usually credited to "traditional" which seems
to me a misrepresentation of its authorship. But then again, there's
lots of songs copywritten to Woody Guthrie that other people wrote.
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