NanciNet Digest 10-11-00
// Much of this digest is devoted to new releases, including one
// from a NanciNetter.
// Enjoy...[BP]
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Subject: NN: Badges, etc
From: jalvo@mbay.net (John Alvord)
Date: Tue, 10 Oct 2000 05:09:37 GMT
I need someone to take over the NanciNet badges work. I do not feel
capable of continuing it.
I have a box of 100+ badges and will mail it to a reasonable
volunteer.
At the same time, I need to return any payments made to me for badges.
Please send me an email at jalvo@mbay.net with your name, address and
the amount originally sent. If I can find the letter, I will return
the cash or check. Otherwise I will just send you a check.
Thanks,
john alvord
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Subject: Re: NN: New Van Morrison
From: ELZROSE@aol.com
Date: Sat, 7 Oct 2000 21:28:02 EDT
I am looking forward to the CD. I have always been a big Van Morrison fan. He
continues to astound me with his good works. While many artist may seem stale
over time, his music continues to mature just as he has.
Always looking for some good "noise"
Elizabeth Rose
San Antonio, Texas
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Subject: NN: Re: New Van Morrison
From: "Bob McConnochie" (rsm@ppp.com.hk>
Date: Sun, 8 Oct 2000 11:54:53 +0800
Usually I have to sit and wait for new releases, or buy them from amazon.
But funnily enough, Van's new album is already here in Hong Kong. (So is
Willie Nelson's "Milk Cow Blues" and I have the unique pain of having to
wait for the latest shipment to arrive....)
I'm a HUGE Van fan. So the first advice is "buy anything by this guy". For
"YOU WIN AGAIN" it's time to get out your blue suede shoes and drainpipe
trousers....this is reminiscent of Lennon's "Rock and Roll"...an album of
covers (only one Van tune)....three from Hank Williams...'Boogie Chillen"
from big-Van-buddy John Lee Hooker...superb piano from Linda Gail Lewis
(Jerry Lee's sister I believe) but a slightly less than earth-shattering
vocal combination....who could handle Van's style? (Gram Parsons would have
been a joy to contemplate, and I still think Van and Nanci would be a great
experiment)....anyway Linda Gail Lewis gives it big licks but at the end of
the day this is Van rocking out with a terrific pianist, a great band, and a
co-vocalist than doesn't get in the way.
This is one of Van's "take it or leave it" albums, like the Mose Allison
tributes and various "niche" outings he has done recently. Newcomers should
pass for the time being and check out these all-time classics;
"Moondance"...."Astral Weeks"....."No Guru, No Method, No Teacher" (my
number one choice)...."Inarticulate Speech of the Heart" (a dream of an
album)....but for the already-converted get those drainpipes on and get down
to your local store!!!
Bob (also going crazy waiting for Red Dirt Girl but buying up old John Prine
albums to compensate) Mc.
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Subject: NN: Paul Simon (non Nanci)
From: Poetmuse@aol.com
Date: Mon, 9 Oct 2000 12:32:14 EDT
Where is everyone?
Anyway- has anyone else had a chance to buy and listen to the new Paul Simon
records- "You're the One" ??
I've had it on once or twice and I am really starting to like it. The two
standout tunes in my opinion are "Hurricane Eye" and "Quiet". Quiet
especially is a beautiful example of songwriting. It's nice to see Paul
return to a more introspective type of music.
Any other thoughts?
Wishing it Would Rain-
Christina "peaceful as a hurricane" Myers
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Subject: NN: ERIC TAYLOR
From: aequalis@wanadoo.fr
Date: Mon, 9 Oct 2000 21:27:06 +0200
Hello to you all,
As a new Nancinetter, I'll shortly introduce myself.
My name is Herve, I live in Paris
I don't have many records by Nanci, just the two volumes of Other Voices,
Flyer and Once in very blue Moon. My favroite album is Other Voices Too with
all those great guests and song selections.
I still have to get Nanci's early CDs with Eric Taylor's songs.
Some of you may have visited my page dedicated to Eric Taylor. You'll find
it at www.multimania.com/songwriters
This page is also home to Nashville-based songwriters David Olney and Tom
House.
My other page is dedicated to Long Island-born and Pris-based songwriter
Elliott Murphy (www.multimania.com/murphy)
If you live in the Netherlands or Germany, make sure you'll go see Eric
Taylor on stage later this month:
GERMANY
10/12, Country Corner (Radio show)
10/13, Reifstuhlhaus, Pfarrkirchen
10/14, Pfeghofsaal, Langenau
10/18, Jazzhaus, Heidelberg
10/19, Kulturwerk Nahost, Stuttgart
10/20, Red Saloon, Gesellschaft-Verein, Mettman, with Terry Clarke
10/21, Steinenhau, Solingen, with Terry Clarke
THE NETHERLANDS
10/22- Beauforthuis/Austerlitz
10/23-Theatre Herenlogement/Beusichem
10/24-Utrecht/venue tba
10/25-De Harmonie/Edam
10/26-tba
10/27, Happy Days, The Hague (NL)
10/28-tba
10/29-Cafe de Amer/Amen
Thanks for reading
Herve, Paris Pal
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Subject: NN: Re: ERIC TAYLOR
From: "Marius Molstad" (marius.molstad@c2i.net>
Date: Tue, 10 Oct 2000 15:31:33 +0200
Hi Herve,
Welcome to NanciNet, somehow we tend to end up on the same lists! This is a
great
list with lots of resourceful individuals.
Everybody who's interested should visit Herve's songwriters pages which are
great
sites for those three (four) underrated artists.
Marius
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Subject: NN: Peter Case
From: Janf1914@aol.com
Date: Mon, 9 Oct 2000 23:49:37 EDT
Now there's an artist I haven't seen mentioned on this list - not that I
couldn't have easily missed it or something! Anyway, spent last Sat. evening
at a nice intimate concert with Case and was pleasantly surprised by what a
fine evening it was. He was very personable and played some fine guitar too.
Had a guy with him who played fiddle, which nicely filled in the music.
They played off each other all night long. And this guy was GOOD! At one
point they both unplugged their instruments and came down into the audience
to do a couple of songs. Very nice! He finished out the evening with "Space
Monkey," a tune he wrote with John Prine. It was hilarious!
Anyway, I was just wondering if their are any Peter Case fans on this
list, and wanted to encourage everyone that if he's in your area, to make it
out to see him. You won't be dissappointed!
Be God's,
Janet
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Subject: Re: NN: Peter Case
From: Sarah Wrightson (sarahwrightson@vincebell.com>
Date: Tue, 10 Oct 2000 07:06:29 -0500
Here's one fan, Janet. Peter is terrific...Vince saying from the other
room, "the only guy I know who can play an entire night of blues in the
key of C." If you like rock you may remember his band the Plimsouls.
Most often he's without band, and his last Plimsouls comeback didn't,
from what I understand. But solo he is a far cry from the
all-sounds-the-same-in-the-same-tempo dreary singer/songwriter type.
First time I saw him he was solo with an electric 12-string.
Very fine songwriter.
Sarah
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Subject: NN: Tractors and Bluegrass and Mountain Soul
From: BMiller224@aol.com
Date: Tue, 10 Oct 2000 01:00:43 EDT
I just returned from a week in Tennessee and Mississippi. One of the
highlights of the trip was on Saturday, September 30, when I got to hear
Shawn and Amanda Kimbro's Mountain Soul Band live for the first time at the
Heritage Festival and Old Timers Day in Townsend, Tennessee.
The festival was held at a visitors center near the Great Smokey Mountains
National Park. There were a number of bluegrass musicians hanging around on
the porch and jamming together all day. One of the main attractions at the
event was the Antique Engine and Tractor Show. I don't think I've ever had a
close look at fully restored '37 and '38 John Deeres before. The oldest
specimen there was a 1926 model that I believe was a "Fordham" model (I'm
already showing my lack of 4-H training).
The main outdoor stage featured various bluegrass bands, with cloggers
occasionally getting enthusiastic enough to go dance in front of the stage.
Lots of people brought their own lawn chairs. But there were plenty of bales
of hay to sit for those of us who hadn't brought our own.
The band unfortunately got caught up in a California-style traffic jam on the
way to the site and so got there too late for their originally scheduled
time. So they went on after a pie-eating contest that was held right in
front of the stage. I've never seen a bunch of kids gorge themselves of pie
like that before. The aftermath looked like a serious food fight had just
taken place.
But they gave an attention-getting performance when they went on. As it
turned out, it was an all-Kimbro day for the band, with Shawn and Amanda
joined by two of their sons, Daniel and Cory (both regular band members).
The regular banjo player, DJ Morrison, never made it through the traffic
gridlock.
They opened with the fast-paced traditional number, "How Many Biscuits," as
the pie-eating contest was being cleaned up. Shawn adjusted the lyrics a bit
to include pies for the occasion. They followed it up with an original
number "Holston River Blues," about a flood disaster in East Tennessee in
1923. This is one that can easily start running through your head over and
over if you listen to it much.
Their show included two other original numbers, the nostalgic "Hot Springs"
and "Short Mountain Woman." They also did the Gillian Welch tune "Red Clay
Halo," which they dedicated to me and to Jesse Grimmer, an old friend of
Shawn and Amanda's who was in the area that week and came to the concert.
Amanda coaxed the cloggers to get up and dance during that one, and they
seemed to find it an exceptionally good song for clogging.
(Clogging is a traditional type of dancing that emphasized the motion of the
feet and the sound of the dancers' wooden shoes or "clogs." Tap dancing was
influenced by clogging.)
The Webcast that WDVX was supposed to do didn't happen because of some
legal/bureaucratic snags. I've tuned into WDVX on the Web several times and
listened to it on the radio that weekend. But I often have a hard time
getting a Web connection, at least in part because so many people are tuning
into it. I hope they get some expanded server capacity, because they have
play good selections of folk and bluegrass music.
Bruce Miller
Oakland CA
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Subject: Re: NN: Tractors and Bluegrass and Mountain Soul
From: ELZROSE@aol.com
Date: Tue, 10 Oct 2000 01:38:18 EDT
If you are up in the Mississippi/Tennessee area again and enjoy the blues,
Clarksdale, MS, has a fantastic blues museum. Clarksdale is about an hours
drive from Memphis, TN. It is worth the hour drive from Memphis and if you
are lucky enough to be in Clarksdale in March, you can partake in the Blues
Alley Festival. For some good Mississippi blues you can check out Junior
Kimbrough. Although I am an Albert Collins fan because of his unique style, I
still enjoy traditional Delta blues and Kimbrough fills that genre to a T.
Always Search For Some Good "Noise."
Elizabeth Rose
San Antonio, Texas
PS check out the contemporary folk station on the iwon.com radio player. It
is a real treat.
They also have a traditional folk selection.
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Subject: NN: Nanci Moment
From: Poetmuse@aol.com
Date: Tue, 10 Oct 2000 01:40:21 EDT
Since things are s-l-o-w...where is *everyone?* I thought I would mention
this-
Friday night I went out to a local bookstore that offers live music in their
cafe and as I was standing in line for my Pumpkin Spice cafe au lait what did
I hear from the front of the stage??? Late Night Grande Hotel!! The guy was
doin Nanci covers... it was quite a treat! Afterwards I just had to go up and
tell him how cool he was, of course.
:)
The spirit of Nanci was in Arizona, even if she couldn't be!
-Christina
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Subject: NN: Clinch River Valley Album
From: BMiller224@aol.com
Date: Tue, 10 Oct 2000 09:11:09 EDT
I thought I would follow up my previous post on the Mountain Soul live
performance I attended with one on their new CD itself. It's called "Clinch
River Valley." Shawn wrote six of the 11 songs, with Curt Seals (also a
Nancinet/Moonpie participant) scripting the music for "Holston River Blues."
Daniel Kimbro wrote the instrumental "Traveler." Also included are the
Gillian Welch/David Rawlings tune "Miner's Refrain," Michael Burton's "Night
Rider's Lament" (covered by Nanci Griffith on "Other Voices, Too") and two
traditional tunes.
Since I knew Shawn and Amanda Kimbro for a while before they put out this CD,
I can't pretend to give any kind of dispassionate review. The album is by
"Mountain Soul featuring The Kimbros." So I'll just throw out some of my
thoughts on the songs.
The opening cut, "Clinch River Valley," is a pretty, bittersweet tune sung
from the viewpoint of an elderly and ailing narrator with an impossible
"going home again" vision of a fondly remembered childhood. The Clinch River
runs down through East Tennessee, so it's a familiar sight in that area.
"Bethlehem Coal" takes its inspiration from the industry that has long
provided jobs and scarred the mountainsides in the Appalachians. This is a
lament along the lines of Steve Earle's "The Mountain," with Shawn providing
Woody Guthrie-esque lyrics like, "Cause someone before me/Has purchased my
soul/To spend all my days/Digging Bethlehem coal."
"Hot Springs" is my own favorite on the album. It's a sweetly nostalgic tune
(based in part on an actual Kimbro family story) about a romance between a
local girl and a World War I German prisoner in the North Carolina resort
town of Hot Springs.
"Holston River Blues" is the catchiest song on the album, based on a
disastrous flash flood in East Tennessee in 1923. (I believe that's the right
year!) A sad and weirdly ironic element of the tragedy reflected in the song
is that the local churches rang their bells in an effort to warn the local
inhabitants. But since it was Sunday morning, many people took it as an
early summons to church services and headed out for church rather than
preparing to flee. (Curt Seals provides sold banjo accompaniment on this
cut.)
"Traveler" is a short, lively tune by Daniel Kimbro inspired by a story about
Robert E. Lee's horse.
"Night Rider's Lament" is one I always called "the Austrian song" on Nanci
Griffith's album because of the yodeling. Amanda does a good interpretation
of the song's wry mood.
"How Many Biscuits" is a traditional number, and this version is fun and
fast-paced.
"Miner's Refrain" is a second coal-mining song, rendered faithfully to
Gillian Welch's somber tone: "down in a deep dark hole." I think it's a
pretty bold move for anyone to record a Gillian Welch song, but Mountain
Soul's version does it justice.
"Short Mountain Woman" recalls the sound and especially the lyrics of Jimmie
Rodgers. "Cause that Short Mountain woman/She made a varmint out of me." Is
that a half-Yankee spelling? I always thought it was "varmit." :)
The traditional "East Tennessee Blues" is another traditional song that gives
the band a good chance to show off their picking prowess.
The album closes with "Drifting Away," which provides a nice but sad bookend
to the opening cut: "Bright stars fill the sky o'r the river of Jordan/I'm
drifting away, I'm drifting away."
The band has made four cuts (Clinch River Valley, Bethlehem Coal, Hot
Springs, and Traveler) available to hear in MP3 format on their Website at:
http://www.geocities.com/~trailzzone/soul.html
and also at www.mp3.com
The first site has purchase information on the CD, as well.
Like I said, I can't pretend to be objective. But I think most folks who
like bluegrass-oriented music will enjoy this one. Shawn told me that the
folk crowd tends to call them bluegrass, and the bluegrass hardcores call
them folk.
Either way, it's good stuff.
Bruce Miller
Oakland CA
_________________________________________________________________
Subject: NN: Re: [moonpie] Clinch River Valley Album
From: "Justin Marquez" (marquezjj@hotmail.com>
Date: Tue, 10 Oct 2000 09:21:24 CDT
Bruce,
Certainly what I heard from them in Atlanta has prompted me to send in an
order!
We have some picker friends down here in Houston area who have the same
reactions from the folkie and bluegrass crowds as Shawn described to you.
They now refer to themselves as "folkgrass". And, we heard a fine band from
Springfield, MO named "Radio Flyer" who play a modern sounding brand of
bluegrass. They call themselves a "newgrass" band. Really, what these
groups play (including Mtn Soul) is traditional bluegrass plus a mix of
other genres as well. Frankly, I like the mix better than pure bluegrass.
Cheers,
Justin Marquez
Houston, TX
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Subject: NN: Old Hickory Miller
Date: Tue, 10 Oct 2000 14:45:33 -0400
From: Shawn Kimbro (skimbro@bhset.org>
Most list members know what a fan Bruce is of Andrew Jackson. This past
weekend
while we were playing a show, Amanda noticed a picture of Tennessee's
favorite son on
the wall. Since we were doing a low-key folkie kind of set, she started
talking
about how we'd received a post card from Bruce who seems to be making annual
pilgrimages
to Jackson's homeplace called The Hermitage in Nashville. She continued with
a
story of how the Washington aristocracy had become so upset when hillbillies
tramped up
the White House carpets, and spit tobacco juice in the planters, while buck
dancing
at Jackson's inauguration. I couldn't resist picking out "Battle of New
Orleans" in
the background. She then announced that Bruce, who had already returned to
California, was conducting a write-in campaign for Jackson in this year's
presidential
election. After asking for a show of hands of undecided voters, she finished
with the
admonition Bruce delivered in his post card, "Vote Old Hickory!"
-S
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Subject: NN: Beth Patterson (no Nanci)
Date: Wed, 11 Oct 2000 09:50:48 -0700 (PDT)
From: Reid Mitchell (reidmitchell@yahoo.com>
Folks,
I was wandering throughthe French Quarter last night,
even stopping in a bar or two--YES, I was--and at
O'Flaherty's I heard a very fine set by Beth
Patterson. Patterson, one of the founders of the New
Orleans' Celtic group POOR CLAIRES, sings and plays
the Irish bouzuki [spelling?], performing traditional
songs (for example has anybody heard the one about the
widow having sex with the devil?) as well as her own
fine compositions.
Well, fine, you say, for those few of us with liberty
to wander around the French Quarter. But I found her
listings on a web site today and see that she's
heading up East Coast way soon. If you'd like to her
a very fine performer, see if she's coming your way.
http://www.littlebluemen.com/appear.htm
Reid Mitchell
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Subject: NN: Shedaisy and "The Whole Shebang"
From: "Ron Hennessy" (rhennesy@coserv.net>
Date: Wed, 11 Oct 2000 17:39:00 -0500
I keep my car radio tuned to a Dallas country station (The Wolf), which has
been playing two songs by country trio Shedaisy (or SHeDAISY), "Little
Good-byes" and "I Will, But."
Their style is so original and unusual that I took me maybe a dozen
listenings to get used to. Then I found myself liking "I Will, But" so much
I decided to buy their album, "The Whole Shebang." It has been spinning in
my CD player over and over, with no signs of losing its freshness for me.
The musical style starts from a country base. Instruments include guitars,
steel guitars, fiddle, mandolin, bass, keyboards, accordion, and percussion.
But the structure built upon this base is all their own, with complex,
intense, exciting vocal and instrumental textures, featuring intricate
guitar and fiddle licks and dynamic part-singing.
The lyrics of "My Little Good-byes" reflects a story about a woman breaking
up with a man by leaving nasty, vindictive notes and symbolic residue (like
"lipstick tube on the bathroom floor") around their home. The lyrics seem
to ring true, despite the nastiness, and the musical harmonies are wonderful
to hear.
"I Will, But" is about a relationship which the woman hopes to improve by
laying down some ground rules about the way she expects to be treated: about
what she won't be to him, and then about what she will be. The dichotomies
are amusing and moving in a song of astonishing originality and musical
beauty. (I see that as of 10/14/00 the song was #8 on the Billboard country
singles play chart.)
Example:
I won't be your obligation
I won't be your Barbie doll
I won't be the portrait of perfection
To adorn your wall
But I will, I will, I will be your everything
If you make me fell like a woman should
I will, I will, I will be the whole shebang
Your know I will...but
Another song, "Still Holding Out for You," has caught my special attention.
It is a ballad with pure and beautiful vocal blending. But I like all the
songs.
The members of the trio are sisters: Kristyn Osborne, Kelsi Osborne and
Kassidy Osborne. All eleven songs on the album are cowritten by Kristyn.
A final note on derivations:
"Shedaisy," I read, is a Native American word meaning "my sisters."
I looked up "shebang" in "Webster's New Universal Unabridged Dictionary."
The word is of Irish derivation, and means "a rough dwelling or shanty; a
particular matter or concern, business, establishment, contrivance, thing."
"Shebang" is a variant of "shebeen," which is defined as "an unlicensed
establishment or house where liquor is sold illegally."
Best wishes to all,
Ron Hennessy
_________________________________________________________________
Subject: Re: NN: Shedaisy and "The Whole Shebang"
From: Ed Maier (evmaier@dhc.net>
Date: Wed, 11 Oct 2000 18:44:13 -0500
Ron Hennessy wrote:
>
> I keep my car radio tuned to a Dallas country station (The Wolf), which has
> been playing two songs by country trio Shedaisy (or SHeDAISY), "Little
> Good-byes" and "I Will, But."
>
> Their style is so original and unusual that I took me maybe a dozen
> listenings to get used to. Then I found myself liking "I Will, But" so
much
> I decided to buy their album, "The Whole Shebang." It has been spinning in
> my CD player over and over, with no signs of losing its freshness for me.
>
Sounds like a good albun, Ron. I have trouble picking up that station here
in Arlington. My home is below a ridge just east of me, and I get a lot of
static.
I had written off Shedaisy as being just another Dixie Chick spinoff group,
but I thing I'll buy *that* album.
Thanks for the report,
Ed Maier
N.P. http://www.khyi.com
_________________________________________________________________
Subject: Re: NN: Beth Patterson (no Nanci)/Joel Rafael
From: Tricia9999@aol.com
Date: Wed, 11 Oct 2000 21:23:53 EDT
reidmitchell@yahoo.com writes:
> Patterson, one of the founders of the New
> Orleans' Celtic group POOR CLAIRES, sings and plays
> the Irish bouzuki [spelling?], performing traditional
> songs (for example has anybody heard the one about the
> widow having sex with the devil?) as well as her own
> fine compositions.
Thanks Reid. I checked the website and could only listen to a brief bit. When
I saw Judith Edelman with husband Matt Flinner, they too played bouzoukis,
but with an air of apology almost. They implied that it was impossible to
keep tuned. It was a nice sound though.
My newest discovery this week-end in Sedona AZ (a magical place) was The Joel
Rafael Band. Daughter Jamaica Rafael plays a beautiful viola and violin, Carl
Johnson a very accomplished lead guitar and Jeff Berkeley plays great
percussion. Joel plays guitar and has a wonderful voice and is a moving
songwriter. Their latest release also has a nice version of Minor Key.
This was a festival with a very diverse group of musicians and it worked
well. And my admiration goes out to the very accomplished crew that kept it
moving fast between acts and with very good sound.
Tricia
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Subject: NN: Kasey Chambers
From: Dave Dwyer (dadwyer@revealed.net>
Date: Thu, 12 Oct 2000 09:30:38 -0500
Kasey Chambers "The Captain" went on sale at Borders on Tuesday..Simply
put, if you like Julie and Buddy Miller..run don't walk and buy this
album. BTW Buddy & Julie make guest appearances on this album...Lucinda
Williams personally requested Kasey to play in Nashville (Chambers is
from Australia)
Dave Dwyer
_________________________________________________________________
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