// A little Nanci content...we could use a lot more...
// Enjoy...[BP]

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Subject: NN: Nanci Griffith's Other Voices - Songwriters, etc.
   Date: Thu, 2 Mar 2000 15:47:57 EST
   From: Catelaw@aol.com

Hey Y'all Laid-Back, No-Opinion Netters,

And speaking of Ms. Nanci, I recently took the opportunity to dig out my copy 
of Other Voices the book version, and reread it.  I won't make any pitches 
whatsoever for the CD, noting its low ranking amongst us, but for those who 
don't have the book or haven't read it or haven't read it lately, man it's a 
fun read.  Great stories, interesting character sketches, and a fascinating 
backstage glimpse of how such a monumental undertaking came together.  Also 
includes a rundown on Other Voices, Other Rooms and the making of each song.  
Not to mention the pictures...

It will also be good when the Nanster starts touring again  -- March 9th, I 
believe?  But I take a look at her schedule and wonder when in the world 
she's going to make that new CD or write the songs for it -- unless it's 
happening now or it happens along the way.  Does anybody know anything new 
about this?

This is all relevant to Barbara's comment in response to someone else's 
comment about the ongoing discussion of influential musicians and the 
reference to Joni Mitchell as as the most influential female singer.  Have to 
say I agree with Barbara on that...is the quality of one's songwriting 
ability contingent on gender?  I'm not so sure.  Joni Mitchell is an obvious 
example, as is Carole King, as was Kate Wolf, as is Nanci.

Somebody, maybe Nicolas from paws n porsche in Austin (hey Nic, is it still 
raining?) posted that he read the list for the new artists he gleaned from it 
and that has been a happy serendipity for me as well.   Right now, I'm 
waiting, waiting, waiting by my mailbox for my very own copy of Blaze Foley's 
"Live from the Austin Outhouse."  I won't go into all the others, but it's 
the songwriter's craft that draws me, the perfection of phrase, the sense of 
place, the ability to express a complex emotion with a paucity of words.

Most recently, I have been fascinated by Guy Clark's "Cold Dog Soup."  There 
are so many jewels turned on that gem that I shiver even now, though I must 
have listened front to back at least a hundred times.  There's the 
description of TVZ as being "full of angst and hillbilly haiku" that I've 
bored you all with before.  There's the expendable but precious detail that 
"our hands [were] all full of watermelon" as Sis Draper's wagon clattered 
away into the night.  And for sense of place, there's the opening of "Red 
River" that describes with geographical correctness the route "from Palo Dura 
Canyon outside Amarillo, Texas, the Prairie Dog Town Fork of the Red River 
flows -- Headed 'cross the plains along the coast of Oklahoma to the 
Mississippi River and the Gulf of Mexico."  

As Vicki Stein (and Helen Reddy) would say, it's "wisdom born of pain" and 
time and age and experience.  It stands me still.

Nanci's music has stood me so completely still for so many years that I feel 
ungrateful to write that I sure would like to have a bowl of "Cold Dog Soup" 
from her.  
While 'tis true that she has a huge and wonderful body of work to her credit 
and could merely rest on her laurels to be hugely and duly acclaimed 
throughout posterity, I would love to see what would make it from her 
wonderfully talented mind into published sound at this particular, seemingly 
very happy stage in her life.  And I long to again be stood still by her 
words.

last up:  Indigo Girls - Rites of Passage
now playing:  Nanci - Other Voices, Other Rooms
next up:  the laundry

Cate, "I am tired of me, my darlin'," in Atlanta

P.S.  In case anyone is interested in "Nanci Griffith's Other Voices: A 
Personal History of Folk Music," if it is purchased through this link 
http://members.cruzio.com/~billpeet/MusicByCandlelight/Books/index.html,
Mary Margaret's transplant fund will receive a 15% donation.
There are also used CDs at great prices available there with proceeds going 
to the same fund.

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Subject: Re: NN: Beatles
   Date: Thu, 02 Mar 2000 05:18:05 GMT
   From: jalvo@mbay.net (John Alvord)

On Wed, 1 Mar 2000 15:19:26 EST, Petop@aol.com wrote:

>Trust me, I saw them in small clubs in London before they hit it big over 
>here. They were a mediocre live band. As I said in an earlier post, most of 
>the people I knew in music circles then were surprised and shocked that the 
>Beatles were the first English band to become popular in the U.S. when there 
>were so many superior bands in the London area.

I can't help but wonder whether the state of American music was so out
of touch, lacking intensity, that some lively new stuff sounded great.
At that time (1960-3) the real great pop music was almost all from the
black community. The white music was often beautiful (Beach Boys for
example) but it was ballads, lite rock in modern terms.

Along come four handsome sexy guys with some music that marries some
of the black experience with a British Music Hall experience and some
records that were really intense. The music didn't have strings, Paul
played a mean bass that other bass players still admire. I remember a
few years ago talking to James MacMilan (Plays with Kate Jacobs) about
a couple of songs where he seemed to be channeling Paul... the bass
sliding up and down, almost a vocal partner... and James said he
idolized the playing.

Nanci would have been 9 years old when the Beatles arrived big. I can
hear her love for them in "Things We Said Today" on the promo record
(and I heard it live at the Beacon Theatre in Nov 1994).

They found a niche that was going unsatisfied and great marketting
carried the day. America has always had pop artists that drove teens
wild. Think Frank Sinatra only as a senior crooner... Think of him
driving the teenage girls to a frenzy in the early 1940s. Think of
Elvis before money and the army settled him down. The Beatles arrived
at a quiet time for white Americans and rocked the joint for a couple
years. Until they fell apart from drugs, string music, and ran out of
ideas.

john alvord

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Subject: Re: NN: Beatles
   Date: Thu, 2 Mar 2000 02:52:26 -0500
   From: "Havanamoon" (Missing_Lynx@email.msn.com>

The Beatles were far more a social phenomenon than a musical one.  Arriving
in the wake of the shock of the Kennedy assassination, all of the British
Invasion bands initially offered pale renditions of songs originally
recorded by American rhythm & blues artists, but with a vibrant energy that
was missing in most American popular music.  The Beatles (along with the
lesser known, but technically superior Searchers) added Buddy Holly, Carl
Perkins, and the Everly Brothers to the mix...

The movie A Hard Days Night was the coup de gras.  With their sarcastic wit
and general irreverence, the Beatles touched the essence of a generation.
The fact that they weren't virtuoso players also gave rise to a "hey, i can
do that" mentality....  and I, along with many others, did...

I don't recall seeing Joni Mitchell listed (very likely an oversight on my
part as I am subscribed to umpteen lists) but I definitely feel she has been
the most influential woman songwriter ever.

Among the current generation, I see Ani DiFranco and the Indigo Girls as
having a far reaching influence among younger women who are developing as
songwriter/musicians....

Tim
web page - http://www.havanamoon.8m.com/

"Information is not knowledge; Knowledge is not wisdom;
Wisdom is not truth; Truth is not beauty;
Beauty is not love; Love is not music;
Music is the best..." (Frank Zappa)

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Subject: NN: Re: Beatles
   Date: Thu, 2 Mar 2000 00:48:35 -0700
   From: "Mark D. Gardner" (markdgardner@mindspring.com>

> What Beatles influences can we actually hear in
> Nanci's music?

The way her voice is recorded on LNGH sounds to much like the way John
Lennon's voice was recorded. Larger than life, in a way. Of course, it was
produced by Rod Argent, ex of the Zombies, a Brit invasion group of the
Beatles' day.

By the way, I listen to the lads a lot. I'm constantly hearing things I
never noticed before. This has been going on for about 30 years.

Mark Gardner
Louisville, CO

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Subject: NN: Rosalie Sorrels
   Date: Thu, 2 Mar 2000 11:08:09 EST
   From: Tricia9999@aol.com

I had the fortune of making a last minute decision to go see Rosalie Sorrels 
last night. She was backed up by Nina Gerber, Barbara Higbie, and Bruce 
?Cheever?. What a treat. She has been working on a new cd with all songs 
written by Malvina Reynolds, produced by Nina.

She sang songs by her, Utah Phillips, herself, Dory Previn, Janet Smith. 
There was as much story telling as singing and what a storyteller she is. 
Stories about her colorful father, Utah, Odetta, times when we were not 
afraid of each other. She talked of inviting strangers into her house and 
feeding them and putting them up for a week or two, always picked up 
hitchhikers. She sang a beautiful song written for her son who took his life 
in 1976 about the same time she started passing hitchhikers up and the 
sadness of both these events. "We were never afraid of our own children 
before. I always picked up hitchhikers with guitars until a friend told me 
Charlie Manson had a guitar."

She is 67 years old and laughs at the memory lapses and all the problems that 
come with age. She exudes a love for life and performing and spoke about the 
joy of working on this new album with Nina, Barbara, Laura Lewis and others. 
It felt like a beautiful night around the campfire with a wonderful 
storyteller with sing alongs and all.

Best,
Tricia

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Subject: NN: Rosalie Sorrels
   Date: Thu, 2 Mar 2000 13:37:14 EST
   From: Tricia9999@aol.com

Another funny story she told was about Sarah Elizabeth Campbell who uses 
Tuesday nights in Austin, where she can find venues, to have people come in 
and sing only sad  songs which she calls "bummer night".

Tricia

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Subject: NN: Re: Austin Music Scene
   Date: Fri, 3 Mar 2000 13:50:05 EST
   From: SayraLiz@aol.com

Thought this might be of intrest to some of you folks that live in Austin.

SEC
--------------------
Sayra and Friends of Bummer Night at ArtZ:

Sarah's special guest this coming Monday will be Cindy Kalmensen, a gifted
singer/songwriter from Nashville, who is on tour through Texas.  I hope you
can get to ArtZ to hear Sarah and the Banned and to catch a few tunes by
this talented artist.

On the Horizon??--Nothing less than South by South ArtZ--Beginning with
Sarah's show on Monday, March 13th, ArtZ (2330 South Lamar) will showcase
approximately 30 artists in 30-minute showcases throughout each evening
until March 20th. I hope you will agree that this line-up is outstanding:

Monday, March 13:
  6:00 - 6:30   Steve Taylor, Austin
  6:30 - 7:10   The Farm Couple, Oklahoma
  7:10 - 8:30   Sarah Elizabeth Campbell, Austin
  8:30 - 9:10   Mandy Mercier, Austin
  9:10 - 9:50   Sarah Elizabeth Campbell, Austin

Tuesday, March 14:
  6:00 - 6:30   Steve Hopkins, Austin
  6:30 - 7:10   Peter Keane, Austin
  7:10 - 7:50   Dirk Hamilton, Austin
  7:50 - 8:30   George Ensle, Austin
  8:30 - 9:10   Tim Henderson, Austin
  9:10 - 9:50   Mark Reeves (Manitoba)

Wednesday, March 15:
  6:00 - 6:30   Betty Elders, Austin
  6:30 - 7:10   Nicole Campbell, Oregon
  7:10 - 7:50   Deb Yager, Austin
  7:50 - 8:30   The Nonchalants, Austin
  8:30 - 9:10   Mary Gauthier, Louisiana
  9:10 - 9:50   Vickie Genfan, New Joisey

Thursday, March 16:
  6:00 - 6:30   Joe and Tree Brunelle, Austin
  6:30 - 7:10   Wayne Carrington, New York
  7:10 - 7:50   Ray Bonneville, Manitoba
  7:50 - 8:30   Erik Moll, Norway
  8:30 - 9:10   Craig Calvert, Austin
  9:10 - 9:50   Eleni Kelakos, California

Friday, March 17:
  6:00 - 6:30   Joe Blanda and Mike Austin, Austin
  6:30 - 7:10   Jon Emery and Bonny Holmes, Austin
  7:10 - 7:50   Karen Mall & Chris Irwin, Austin
  7:50 - 8:30   Thad Beckman, Austin
  8:30 - 9:10   The Studebakers, Austin
  9:10 - 9:50   Kimberli Ransom, Oregon

Saturday, March 18:
  6:00 - 6:30   Karen Abrahams, Austin
  6:30 - 7:10   Chris Gage, Austin
  7:10 - 7:50   Christine Albert, Austin
  7:50 - 8:30   Frank Meyer, Austin
  8:30 - 9:10   Danny Britt & Penn Harris, Austin
  9:10 - 9:50   Sarah Elizabeth Campbell, Austin

Sunday, March 19:
  6:00 - 9:30   The Blackland Prairie Boys

Monday, March 20:
  6:00 - 6:30   Nancy Scott, Austin
  6:30 - 7:10   Lisa Brown, Austin
  7:10 - 8:30   Sarah Elizabeth Campbell, Austin
  8:30 - 9:10   Debbie Rothchild, Austin
  9:10 - 9:50   Sarah Elizabeth Campbell, Austin

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Subject: Re: NN: Beatles (but not really)
   Date: Thu, 02 Mar 2000 17:20:33 GMT
   From: "barbara costas" (moogirl51@hotmail.com>

"Havanamoon" (Missing_Lynx@email.msn.com> wrote:

>I don't recall seeing Joni Mitchell listed 

I don't recall seeing Joni Mitchell listed, either, but when speaking of 
her, I don't think its fair to label her as "woman songwriter".  I am not 
trying to pick at the bones of what you are saying, but Joni is the creme de 
la creme (pardon my French, but you know what I mean), the top of the heap, 
all the other cliches, the everything songwriter.  I don't think that making 
the distinction of "woman" artist does her justice.  It doesn't get any 
better than Joni.  I have a wonderful photo from Vanity Fair magazine of her 
with a quote from Elvis Costello that gets to the heart of what I am trying 
to say.  But, on rereading what you wrote, Tim, maybe I am being too 
defensive-  yes, the most influential woman songwriter ever, but also very 
influential just as a songwriter.  I hope that I am not stepping on any toes 
with the comment.

And Ani DiFranco, Indigo Girls, yes yes yes.  Ani kicks some serious butt 
(pardon the French again).  Not just the young women, either, as Nanci has 
mentioned the IG's on several occaisons.  I wonder what she thinks of Ani?

Barbara

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Subject: Re: NN: Beatles (but not really)
   Date: Thu, 2 Mar 2000 22:37:51 -0500
   From: "Havanamoon" (Missing_Lynx@email.msn.com>

mea culpa, mea culpa!!!

I meant no disrespect to Joni whatsoever, but would there ever have been a
Lilith Fair if Joni hadn't blazed the trail?

Joni definitely deserves a place among the all-time greats, irrespective of
gender, but she also opened a lot of doors for future generations of women
in a male-dominated industry....

For which I am extremely thankful....

Tim

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Subject: NN: Most Influential Mumbo Jumbo
   Date: Thu, 2 Mar 2000 13:11:07 EST
   From: LeeMcAbee@aol.com

Dear Folks:
    I have been sort of out of pocket for the last few days, so I am sort of 
catching up on this most influential artist stuff.  Sorry if this is late, 
but I'm usually a day late and a dollar short.  While I have no problem with 
the many fine artists put forward in these lists, especially Elvis, Dylan 
etc. , I wanted to say a few words about one of my personal top picks, Mr. 
Bill Monroe.  While several people mentioned him in their lists, I feel that 
a few further points need to be made, especially after all the discussion on 
Elvis.     Although I was not around in the 40's when Monroe's popularity was 
at its peak, I have read that the intensity of and the excitement surrounding 
Monroe's band of the late 40's (which included Lester Flatt, Earl Scruggs and 
Chubby Wise- all legends now in their own right), was similar to that 
surrounding Elvis a decade later.  Of course, Mr Monroe never shook his 
pelvis on the stage of the Ryman Auditorium!!!
    Another interesting tidbit of  Monroe-Presley trivia, is the fact that 
Elvis recorded Monroe's standard, "Blue Moon of Kentucky" on the B-side of 
his first single.  He later apologized to Mr. Monroe for his adaptation of 
the song.  Year's later Monroe recorded the same version.  
    Monroe's influence on 20th century music is many fold.  He supercharged 
the traditional mountain stringband music of his native Kentucky into the 
hard driving sound of Bluegrass.  He took an instrument, the Mandolin, that 
had been pretty much a parlor instrument and made it into the "lead 
instrument" in his new "bluegrass" sound, getting an entirely new sound from 
the Mandolin.  And he definately had an influence on rockers such as Elvis.  
A case can also be made that the close harmony sound of the Monroe Brothers 
in the mid thirties, which was Bill and his brother Charlie, influenced many 
acts through the years including the Beatles.  If you saw Paul McCartney's 
unplugged performance a few years ago you remember that he also did a 
rendition of "Blue Moon of Kentucky."
    Anyway, that's my two cents worth.

Lee McAbee
Greer, South Carolina

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Subject: NN: Nanci on radio in UK
   Date: Thu, 2 Mar 2000 22:06:38 -0000
   From: "Paul" (paul@preeve.clara.co.uk>

Hi netters

Frantically running round trying to get everything done before my trip to
Tarrytown for the concert I caught Bob Harris country tonight on BBC R2
playing Trouble in the fields from DBS and he said Nanci would be on the
show on 27th April

I've seen some posts about Don Mclean & a show on TV: I don't suppose this
is likely to be on in NY over next weekend - that would be too much to ask
for.

Paul

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Subject: NN: Eliza Carthy
   Date: Fri, 03 Mar 2000 20:40:43 +0400
   From: Kevin and Diane Gray (houndogs@micoks.net>

Can anyone tell me about Eliza Carthy.  She's on a 28 show
tour with Joan Baez and stopping in Lawrence, Kansas, next
Tuesday.  Carthy's received quite a write-up in the Kansas
City Star.  She's described as a blend of Fairport Convention 
and 10,000 Maniacs.  Any insight?

Kevin


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