Administrator’s Note – Once again, we present the work of our correspondent Down Under, Sue Barrett.
Aussies on Tour – North America (Fall 2008)
 By Sue Barrett
Over the coming days, weeks and months, people in North America have the opportunity to see a range of Australian performers, including:
Penelope Swales
“Full of earthy sensuality, poetic musings” (Rhythms)
Fred Smith
“The crux of his craft is a wonderful sense of melody, wrapped in some of the most accomplished songwiting you will hear” (Revolver)
Martine Locke
“She can be tender, she can be refined – but she can also cut loose with an amazing wall of sound that will blow you away.” (Desert Weekly Post)
Wendy Rule
“Wendy Rule creates dark, sensual sonic theatre” (Rolling Stone)
So without regard to such pressing matters as still-damp clothes, overweight luggage, instrument insurance and misplaced passports, FolkBlog interrupted the pre-tour preparations to find out more…
PENELOPE SWALES
www.penelopeswales.com
http://profile.myspace.com/TotallyGourdgeous
“Full of earthy sensuality, poetic musings” (Rhythms)
Tell us about your music (including with the band, Totally Gourdgeous) and the types of people who attend your concerts.
As a soloist, I work as a singer/songwriter/storyteller playing mostly original songs that range from love through social commentary and into left-leaning politics. Key themes are social justice, environment, democracy and Aboriginal issues. I find the Aboriginal issues particularly resonate with North American audiences as we share a similar post-colonial legacy.
I also write a lot of songs about people I’ve met in my travels. I’m particularly inspired by the courage ordinary people show in the face of adversity. A lot of these songs are about women, just because I’ve found a lot of women inspiring, but there’s songs about men and children, too. There’s a whole subset of my material that deals with love and sexuality. Whether I bring that stuff out depends on the crowd, and what I think they’ll enjoy or feel comfortable with.
Instrumentation-wise, I’m a guitarist (currently travelling with a guitar I made myself) and a flute/whistle player, and I also use a loop recorder in some songs. Not too many, because looping can be a little overpowering, but I find that if used sparingly and tastefully, looping can add a whole extra dimension to a folk concert, and allows me to play wind or percussion, add backing vocals, put the guitar down and walk around with the microphone, and generally free up where a performance can go.
I find myself playing in front of a great cross-section of people, from traditional-minded folkies to anything-goes folkies, to computer geeks to queer audiences to young rebellious types. And I love ‘em all. Playing before people from different walks of life keeps you sharp.
Totally Gourdgeous is a completely different style of act. It’s a comedy band, in which all the instruments (guitar, bass, drum, fiddle, mandolin) are made of gourds. I’m the maker of the instruments. I was trained by Jack Spira, who has made guitars for artists such as Sting and Deborah Conway. We wear bright costumes and play up-beat, funny songs with witty lyrics. We play a lot of festivals, and have just completed a two-month tour of Europe. We’re good for kids because we’re bright and colorful, good for young people because we’re dancy and good for older people because the lyrics are entertaining.
In what ways, if any, has your music been influenced by North American music?
Well, the singer/songwriter genre pretty much came out of American folk and blues, so I’d say there’s a fundamental influence there. I listened to a lot of North American artists as I was growing up – Joan Baez, Paul Simon, Dan Fogelberg, Ellen McIlwaine, Joni Mitchell, etc. I’ve never been consciously aware of their influence, but it must be there. More recently, some of my guitar playing has been influenced by Chris Smither. I just love his finger style.
When and where does your 2008 North American tour begin?
BC (Canada) in September, then heading down the West Coast of the US from Seattle to San Diego in October.
What can people expect from your performances on the tour?
The BC tour will be focused on my general repertoire of love, courage, human rights, environment etc. with some storytelling and looping thrown in.
The West Coast US tour is something of an experiment. I recently released an album of songs celebrating love and sexuality, and am playing a series of gigs to the queer/polyamourous/sex-positive community organisations that flourish in that part of the world. I contacted a few groups to see if they’d be interested and the response has been overwhelming. I have no idea what it’s going to be like, but they seem pretty switched on and interesting people and I’m looking forward to seeing the West Coast. People have been telling me for years that my music would go down well there.
Are there phrases/concepts in your songs that you might need to translate?
Oh, yes. The big one is “spunk” – which in Australia means a highly attractive person…I have a song that refers to someone as a “spunk” and I had quite a few shocked faces before I learned to put in a disclaimer.
I also learnt the hard way that the word “busking” is ambiguous for some. In Australia, a busker is a street musician. But a couple of people have thought it means prostitution.
Can you tell us the story behind your song, ‘Safe Home’?
I flew out of the US on American Airlines on the morning of September 11 2001, about two hours before the World Trade Center attack. Of course, we weren’t told of it while we were in the air, but when we landed at Sydney, Australia, they wouldn’t let us off the plane. After a long wait in which people were starting to get grumpy, an announcement came over the PA that said they were preparing a briefing for us. The minute I heard those words, I thought “someone’s started a war”.
They explained events to us, but it was quite garbled and I don’t think anyone really understood. But when we came out into the main foyer of the airport there were big screens up, pumping that footage of the planes flying into the buildings again and again, and Qantas [Airways] staff with mobile phones saying – “does anyone need to ring their family?”. It was like we’d been in a time capsule. Everyone else had been dealing with it since the previous morning, but we had no idea. When we got on the plane, everything was normal – then we emerged into a totally different world. I wrote the song over the next two days.
For me, ‘Safe Home’ was about two things – a deep dismay at the horror and scale of the tragedy, and a deep cynicism about the media hype and festival of political opportunism that would (and did) inevitably follow. I felt, and still feel, that it was a craven thing to exploit those deaths and the wound to one of the most fascinating, progressive and vibrant cities in the world to further political agendas that were already long in place. I also knew, even then, that a lot more innocent people were going to die as a result, and I was pretty unhappy and angry about it.
At the time, some people found the song very confronting, and I felt the need to be sensitive about when and where to play it, because it is critical of America as a political entity, and people were so bewildered and hurt by what had happened. But as time has passed, a lot of people seem to have come to agree with it, or at least acknowledge the validity of the points it raises. That means a lot to me, because to step forward and write about such an event as a non-citizen is not something to be done lightly. I think many people in the US grappled bravely with the sort of soul-searching 9/11 provoked, and there’s something to be proud of in that.
What have you been doing since you last toured North America?
I had to go off the road for a few years because my mother’s health was poor and she needed my support. In that time, I have been studying Law, Anthropology and Politics at Monash University. I’m about halfway through a double degree in Arts/Laws. It’s been really hard work, but fascinating.
Are there things that you’re particularly looking forward to on the tour?
Just being out on the road, and meeting people who love folk music. Seeing the world, having adventures. I’m going to Peru for six week to work as a volunteer English teacher in the Andes before I go home – that’s going to be amazing, I think.
How is your instrument-making going?
I haven’t had much time for it recently. I’m hoping to find a bit of time for it next year, as I have a long list of people on my waiting list.
What are your other plans for the next year?
I’m hoping to be given a place in the Aurora Project, which provides interns to lawyers and anthropologists working with Aboriginal people on Native Title claims. More study, and Totally Gourdgeous has planned a major assault on the Australian folk scene, as we have a new live CD/DVD.
Continue reading Aussies on Tour – North America (Fall 2008)
Making Music: Virgo Rising — The Once and Future Woman (1973)
By Sue Barrett
It all began as an idea to put the movement into music, a record produced and engineered, written and sung by women. –(Virgo Rising, liner notes)
For many people, the world today includes fashion challenges, bad hair days, an energy crisis, multiple music formats and performers named Hammond, Wainwright and Guthrie. And for many people, the world of 35 years ago contained the very same things!
Back in 1973, new album releases included Leonard Cohen’s Live Songs; Fanny’s Mothers Pride; Ramatam’s In April Came the Dawning of the Red Suns; Buffy Sainte-Marie’s Quiet Places; Hoyt Axton’s Less Than the Song; and the Carpenters’ Now & Then.
And among the number one songs on Billboard were ‘You’re So Vain’ (Carly Simon); ‘Bad, Bad Leroy Brown’ (Jim Croce); ‘Touch Me in the Morning’ (Diana Ross); ‘The Most Beautiful Girl’ (Charlie Rich); ‘The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia’ (Vicki Lawrence); and ‘Half-Breed’ (Cher).
Also in 1973:
- MOLLIE GREGORY owned and operated an independent media company;
- JOAN LOWE was a record producer/engineer;
- JANET SMITH was a songwriter and guitarist;
- NANCY RAVEN was a professional singer;
- KIT MILLER was a high school student;
- CHARLEY’S AUNTS was three song-writing sisters (Kate Butler, Rebecca Mills, Helen Tucker); and
- MALVINA REYNOLDS was an established singer/songwriter.
By the end of 1973, they had created Virgo Rising — The Once and Future Woman — one of the first albums produced, engineered and performed solely by women.
Virgo Rising was, according to its liner notes, “about the whole woman who has humor and depression, fear and strength; who gets mad, who comforts, who cares; for women who live so comfortably they can concentrate on their oppression, and for those who live poverty, concentrating on the commodity dinner or the squints of the welfare worker; for women who work at the office, for those who work unceasingly at home.â€
Now Mollie Gregory, Joan Lowe, Janet Smith, Nancy Raven, Kit Miller, Kate Butler and Becky Mills look back on the making of Virgo Rising.
Joining them in telling the story are Nancy Schimmel (daughter of Malvina Reynolds); Karen Wilson (daughter of Helen Tucker); and Charley Adams (without whom Charley’s Aunts would have had a different name).
MOLLIE GREGORY (producer) : www.molliegregory.com
When and how did the idea for Virgo Rising come about?
I think the idea came up in conversation with Nancy Raven, Kate Butler, Kit Miller, and/or [Kit’s mother] Maya, who may have wished, one day, for “more music about womenâ€. We were all crazy about Malvina’s songs, and the themes — the politics of women, rich and poor, and of the widening concerns about environment in 1970s — Black Power, Vietnam, Watergate, and the local political issues of haves and have nots, school integration, absorbed us. Kit sang and played guitar well, as did Kate. I got to know Kate in the late 1960s, early 1970s around League of Women Voters meetings, and all the political issues far beyond the League’s more conservative (yet radical) views and programs. Anyway, our united impulse became this: to put the women’s movement into music, and behind that, produce a record made, recorded, written and sung by women, songs to diaper babies by, make laws or run for office.
What were you doing at the time?
I believe I was living temporarily in Reno. I was writing and producing short films there, in California and Oregon. I had this notion that I could start a film production company and make a living doing it!
How did you put together the Virgo Rising team?
“The team†came together because we all knew each other, and each of us knew other women who would “sing a song†for the album.
What was the process for recording the songs?
Joan Lowe lived in Oregon — a good sound recordist. I used her to record sound on a couple of my documentaries, perhaps after Virgo Rising, maybe before. The album was not recorded in a studio, but on location in the west, no sophisticated facilities, no overdubbing; the singers had to be women, the songs written by women. And they ranged from professional to amateur, ages 17 [Kit Miller] to 72 [Malvina Reynolds]. There are no unreleased songs that I recall.
How did the title (Virgo Rising), sub-title (The Once and Future Woman) and spine sub-title (Songs of Sisterhood) come to be?
I think Kenneth Anger’s film, Scorpio Rising, was making the underground rounds. The title sounded “male†to me, but as a title it seemed striking. “Virgo†(the woman with the pitcher — zodiac sign) sounded female, and “rising†seemed strong. At the time, the tidal wave of the Women’s Movement had just hit. We were finding our individuality as women, our diversity, our strengths, and our ambitions…The original cover notes stated that the songs reflected our growing awareness of what is, and what can be…so we named the album Virgo Rising. You know, women on the move!
I have no memory of how we arrived at the “once and future woman†or “songs of sisterhoodâ€. It sounds like something Catherine Finnegan, librarian at Foresta [Institute], and a good friend, would have contributed.
How much did it cost to produce Virgo Rising?
It was low budget. We certainly didn’t have major funding — but Maya [Miller], who may have come up with the idea, or expressed a wish for “more musicâ€, must have contributed some starting funds. None of us knew what it cost to produce and distribute a record! Certainly I did not. We were doing it for the joy of it! The problem, as I found out later, was distribution; without company backing, the usual outlets were closed to us. I recall being furious that I could not interest stores to sell even a few copies; I could not get even small distributors to consider it.
What other memories do you have of making Virgo Rising?
The exhilaration of making it! Of collecting the songs, finding the singers, and the recording sessions — jubilant! Watching Kate, Helen, and Rebecca as they sang out ‘Sister!’ Or Nancy’s beautiful voice in ‘Welfare Blues’, Kit’s calm strength…Charley’s Aunts were exuberant together; we laughed a lot. I had no experience to make musical suggestions to anyone but I recall making a few during a recording session; can’t imagine what I could have said. However, I would have known at that early stage that for any creative work (a film, a script or book) the result must be enthusiastic. If the creators — the singers, musicians, in this case — bring enthusiasm to their work, listeners pay attention and join in. Virgo Rising vibrated with enthusiasm. And, the collection had a message worth hearing.
How do you view Virgo Rising’s place in history?
For women, the songs truly represent a period in history that was vital and releasing, qualities the album, like a piece of amber, protects, preserves.
What have you been doing since Virgo Rising?
I wrote and produced documentaries and experimental films until around 1979 when I wrote a book about my experiences of survival as a filmmaker — Making Films Your Business. It was more fun, more satisfying writing a book compared to producing films, standing in snow banks or under a blazing sun trying to get a shot. Remember, in the 1970s there were no real outlets for short films except in schools. PBS might show a short or documentary once in a while, but cable, video and DVD did not exist. It was hard uphill work to get a documentary seen by audiences. I kept on writing books, first novels, then non-fiction, such as Women Who Run the Show. I am currently working on another non-fiction book, and I consult with other writers on their work.
Continue reading Virgo Rising
On occasion, FolkBlog is privileged to feature articles from our Australian correspondent, accomplished music journalist Sue Barrett. Â
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 By Sue Barrett
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Record stores are interesting places — including for the conversations that take place in them. A few weeks ago, for example, the topic under discussion was the large number of new releases.
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In 1976, when Ladyslipper Music (www.ladyslipper.org) released its first (four page!) resource guide, it was aiming to “create a comprehensive guide to all the recordings women had ever made†and expected the number to be in the hundreds. These days, Ladyslipper has more than 15,000 titles in its online catalog.
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In 1981, Terry Hounsome’s New Rock Record (www.recordresearcher.com) included 30,000 albums. The most recent edition of Rock Record (RockRom 10) has details of in excess of 700,000 albums and singles.
In 1992, the first edition of the All Music Guide covered 23,000 or so recordings. Now the allmusic website (www.allmusic.com) includes more than 1.4 million albums.
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Over the years, such things as perseverance, luck and a heap of international reply coupons have been key ingredients in collecting music — whether it be entire musical genres, sub-genres or sub-sub-genres.
In recent times, however, the sheer volume of available product (including re-releases on CD and DVD) has emerged as a new impediment for music collectors.
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According to conservative guesstimates, tens of thousands of music CDs are released around the world each year, with hundreds of millions of CDs sold. In addition, recorded music is available in a seemingly ever expanding range of formats and products, including digital downloads and ring tones.
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Given this situation, niche collecting may become increasingly attractive — perhaps orange vinyl (Ryan Adams) or red vinyl (Phranc); perhaps songs about AIDS (Toshi Reagon — ‘Foolish Attitudes’), baseball (Steve Goodman — ‘A Dying Cub Fan’s Last Request’), teachers (Fred Small — ‘Annie’) or the war in Iraq (Alex Legg — ‘Were You There?’); perhaps gatefold albums, flexi discs or mispressings.
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With a spot of niche collecting in mind, FolkBlog recently caught up with some singer/songwriters who have recorded more than one version of a song…
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CATIE CURTIS — www.catiecurtis.com
Catie Curtis, the youngest of three girls, grew up in a small coastal town in Maine, USA. While in high school, she began performing in local bars, restaurants and coffee shops. After graduating from college, Catie supported her music career by working as a house painter, as a waitress and for a social services agency, before becoming a full-time performer in 1992. Catie is the subject of the documentary film Tangled Stories and her songs have appeared in the television shows Grey’s Anatomy, Dawson’s Creek, Felicity and Alias and in the films 500 Miles to Graceland and A Slipping Down Life. Currently, Catie is finalising her new record, Sweet Life (scheduled for release on 26 August 2008). Catie Curtis included her song ‘Kiss that Counted’ on My Shirt Looks Good on You (2001), before re-recording it late in 2002 for Acoustic Valentine.
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“The first time I recorded ‘Kiss that Counted’ (for My Shirt Looks Good On You), I was determined to keep the same vibe that (electric) mandolinist Jimmy Ryan and I established at my shows. He played an intro hook on electric mandolin, and then a cool Jackson Five-ish part on the choruses. The track, recorded with bass, drums and electric mandolin, wound up sounding fun and quirky, and won Indie Song of the Year from the Boston Music Awards. But I always felt like the recording didn’t capture the warmth that it could, and so I re-recorded it for Acoustic Valentine with two acoustic guitars. Now when I play it at shows I loop one acoustic guitar part and play the second acoustic part, re-creating the Acoustic Valentine arrangement. When I perform with a band, we combine the two approaches, which sounds great, so perhaps I’ll have to capture that one day in a live recording!â€
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SHONA LAING — www.shonalaing.com
Shona Laing’s music career began in New Zealand as a teenager, before she moved to the UK, where she worked with Manfred Mann’s Earth Band. In 1988, ‘(Glad I’m) Not a Kennedy’ reached #14 on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart and ‘Soviet Snow’ reached #32 on the Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart. Shona has re-recorded ‘Kennedy’ and ‘Soviet Snow’ (as well as ‘Caught’) for her new acoustic album, Pass the Whisper (2007).
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“Being confined to voice and guitar when playing live, (earning a crust), meant I had to re-work ‘Soviet Snow’, ‘Kennedy’ and ‘Caught’, all songs that were originally on the South album (1987) and really did use all the big orchestral sounds of the eighties, all the new samples…four keyboards all midied in a stack and then a helicopter or a dead president’s voice thrown in for some atmos’. Necessity became again the mother of invention, evolution.
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“In more recent times I’ve had the opportunity to work with some fab people who were dedicated to the integrity of acoustic instruments. I guess I rediscovered my musical roots after journeying through so many ‘modern’ possibilities. I rediscovered the magic of playing music with people rather than machines.
“Playing solo, ‘Kennedy’ had been a lament for a while — very slow and melancholy — but with the addition of bass and bhodran I…started enjoying the song again. I’ve also been a bit gentle with myself as regards the keys of these renditions, lowering them all a full tone. As a ‘young’un’ I would probably not have admitted that as a matter of pride but I think it suits the aging voice and the different timbre of the world. All three songs (though ‘Caught’ may not be as known) have been refreshed by being revisited and I’m looking forward to applying similar treatments to other songs in the back catalogue the next time I’m in the studio which hopefully will be before too long.â€
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JOE DOLCE — www.joedolce.net
Joe Dolce (b. Ohio, USA) lived on a commune in California and in experimental communities in Hawaii, before moving to Australia in 1979. As well as working with Lin van Hek as the Difficult Women performance group (a literary-music show consisting of vignettes, songs and portraits of creative women writers and artists), Joe has maintained a solo career. Joe’s song ‘Shaddap You Face’ reached #1 on the Australian and UK music charts in 1981 and sold five million copies around the world. According to Joe Dolce, there are three instances where he has recorded two different studio versions of one of his songs.
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“‘Return’ is a poem of C P Cavafy, which I set to music in 1970. I recorded an acoustic fingerpicking version and a band arrangement — both of which were different tracks on my first Australian album, Shaddap You Face (1981). I wanted an intimate version, but also a version which would explore the musicality inherent in the song. I plan to record at least one more version of ‘Return’ as it is one of 15 poems in a Cavafy songcycle I set to music called ‘When the Lips and the Skin Remember’.
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“With ‘Jack of Diamonds’ (the words were written by playwright Phil Motherwell and the music by me), I recorded a guitar and vocal version for a cassette album, Steal Away Home in 1995. I came up with an arrangement idea for minor blues harp and string quartet, so I included this version on my album, Freelovedays (2002).
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“And ‘Dragon Lady’ (words by Phil Motherwell) also appeared on Steal Away Home. Over the years, Lin and I began singing this together so I decided to record it again with her and included it on my latest album, The Wind Cries Mary (2007).
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“I encourage singer/songwriters to re-record songs that they initially recorded prematurely. Wagner used to say that a well written piece of music is greater than any single performance of it and that also applies to recordings. Many songwriters are under pressure — or they have the resources — to record quite often — sometimes once a year. However, many songs need years to gestate — and many rewrites — to reach their true potential. There may be a more mature and stronger song down the track. I’ve been working on the Cavafy songcycle for 18 years and ‘Return’ for 38 years. A good song only gets better the longer you let it season.â€
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CONNIE KALDOR — www.conniekaldor.com
Connie Kaldor (b. Saskatchewan, Canada) began performing in the 1970s and released her first solo studio recording, One of These Days, in 1981. Since then, Connie has toured Canada, India, China, Europe and the USA; won three JUNO Awards; written a musical (Dust and Dreams), the sound track for several films (including Nature’s Heart) and the music for a play (The Destruction of Eve). Connie first recorded the songs ‘Spring on the Prairies’ and ‘Grandmother’s Song’ for the various artists album, Prairie Grass, Prairie Sky: Music from Saskatchewan (1975) and re-recorded them for her album, Wood River: Home Is Where the Heart Is… (1992).
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“I think that songs are bound to change over time. First of all you record them for the most part when they are new, untried on the road and before a crowd and often the miles of touring and shows work their magic on a song and there will be a performance where you discover something different. As the writer, perhaps you feel as if you are allowed to do that. Writing is a process for some songs. Face it some songs are worked up before you have found your own place in them. I don’t record many songs over, other than if a song is used for a different purpose like in a film. It’s ironic because I have been feeling lately that I would like to go back and re-record songs that didn’t get done right the first time. Recording has developed so much over the years and an artist can afford more time. The recording process is different from performing live and that was a learning curve for me. I have always worked to get a recording to have the same magic that a live performance can do. What I do find interesting is seeing my songs done by others and seeing them take these songs for their own. I just saw a children’s choir sing an arrangement of ‘Wood River’ and I was quite moved. I think that you hope that your songs have enough in them that they can be sung by anyone.â€
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PAT HUMPHRIES — www.pathumphries.com
Pat Humphries was born in Ohio, USA where she began performing in the children’s chorus of the Cleveland Orchestra at age 12. Singing in several other choruses in the Cleveland area took Pat on tours of the USA and Romania. In 1977, Pat began performing independently which she continued through college. Pat wrote her first song ‘Never Turning Back’ in 1984, at a song writing workshop with Si Kahn. At that same workshop she collaborated with Australian performer Judy Small and wrote the song ‘Walls and Windows’. From there, Pat performed at concerts, conferences and demonstrations in the eastern United States with periodic tours to California and performances in Cuba and Nicaragua. She worked primarily as a solo artist from 1984-2000. In 2001, Pat and her life partner, Sandy Opatow began writing and performing together as emma’s revolution. They released their first duo recording One x a million = change in 2004. Together Pat and Sandy tour extensively in the USA and beyond, having already travelled to 37 states and six countries. In addition to their own touring, they frequently travel with Holly Near as her band. Pat Humphries has recorded more than one version of her songs ‘Swimming to the Other Side’ and ‘Never Turning Back/Keep on Moving Forward’.
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“When I signed to Appleseed Recordings to do my second solo CD, Hands, I chose to re-record ‘Swimming to the Other Side’ from my first, self-released CD, Same Rain. Swimming got the most airplay on that first CD, so it made sense to re-record it to take advantage of Appleseed’s better distribution network. I also thought this would be an opportunity to record a different arrangement of the song. Partly as a result of the broader distribution, Swimming became the subject of a segment on National Public Radio’s All Things Considered in May 2002. The segment featured me and folk legend, Pete Seeger, who also sings the song. NPR had never gotten such a huge response to a music feature. They got emails and phone calls and Hands was number one in sales for three days on Amazon.com, outselling every pop and rock recording on the site. The story brought thousands more people to our website and to our concerts. Sandy and I subsequently re-recorded Swimming for our newest emma’s revolution release, Roots, Rock and Revolution (2007).
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“I was singing ‘Never Turning Back’ at the memorial for Congresswoman Bella Abzug in the General Assembly chambers of the UN. The song had been sung at the 4th UN World Conference on Women in Beijing and had become the unofficial theme of the conference. They showed a video of Bella in Beijing where she said, ‘It’s not enough to never turn back, we have to keep on moving forward’. After seeing the video, I re-named the song — ‘Keep on Moving Forward’. For Roots, Rock and Revolution, Sandy and I re-recorded ‘Keep on Moving Forward’ in LA with members of the band formerly known as Sabia. Their Afro-Cuban flavored version of the song was always one of my favorites.â€
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RICHARD J FRANKLAND — www.goldenseahorse.com.au
Richard J. Frankland (b. Victoria, Australia) is a Gunditjmara man, who has worked as a soldier, fisherman and field officer for the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody. Richard is also a singer/songwriter, author, playwright, actor and film maker. As a musician, Richard has performed solo and in bands, including Djaambi (which supported Prince on his 1991 Australian tour) and The Charcoal Club. Richard Frankland recorded his song ‘Who Made Me Who I Am?’ for the various artists album, Making Tracks (1999) and re-recorded it for The Charcoal Club’s album, Cry Freedom (2005).
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“Many songs for me, and perhaps for other singer/songwriters, evolve — that is, new elements come to the song as in content or it develops musically over the years. Additionally with the changing of line ups new arrangements come along, new feels and a new spirit or essence of the song comes along. These are some of the reasons that I re-record, for the new voice of the song, the new feel and not necessarily making it a better song, just a different interpretation.â€
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JODI MARTIN — www.jodimartin.com
Singer/songwriter Jodi Martin, with her roots-based music, captures strong images of urban and non-urban Australia. Jodi grew up in Ceduna, a small isolated coastal town in South Australia — surrounded by the sea and never ending flat land — before moving to Sydney. Jodi’s album Water and Wood (2001) includes two versions of her song ‘Sometimes I Wonder’, including a dub remix as a hidden track.
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“I recorded ‘Sometimes I Wonder’ with Nicky Bomba…the song has a folk-reggae approach, and I had always wanted to experiment with a dub remix. It felt like a little piece of Jamaica in Melbourne as we added delays and remixed the tracks — FUN! I like it because it feels like an echo or a refrain having the song reappear at the end of the album.
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“I did an even more extreme thing on my latest album, 15 Minutes Out to Sea, where ‘Screwed Up’ appears first as a pop-country track, and then at the end of the record again, dressed completely differently. It is darker and more alternative; richly layered with loping, dinky piano lines.
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“I have been on a songwriting pilgrimage for almost a year now, in Montreal Canada, working with co-writers and learning more about my songwriting craft. I am so happy with the new songs, and I cannot wait to take them on the road. I am coming home to Australia in May and June 2008 to tour with Arlo Guthrie and road test the new material!â€
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HOLLY NEAR — www.hollynear.com
Holly Near (b. California, USA) has a long history in film, television and theatre and as well as an activist for peace, justice and human rights. In 1971, Holly was part of the Free the Army Tour (with Jane Fonda and Donald Sutherland). And in 1972, she established Redwood Records. Holly’s autobiography, Fire In The Rain…Singer In The Storm, was published in 1990. Over the years, Holly has worked with many other performers, including Ronnie Gilbert, Pete Seeger and Arlo Guthrie. Holly Near’s fourth album, Imagine My Surprise! (1978), included ‘Mountain Song’, which Holly and Cris Williamson re-recorded for the album, Cris & Holly (2003).
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“‘Mountain Song’ has been a backpack song for me, meaning I can take it with me anywhere. I have sung it with a Reggae band from Tennessee, with a Palestinian ’ud player, with a women’s chorus and a rock band. I can easily teach it to groups. If they don’t know the words I can teach them sounds to make that go along with the lyric. I can sing it alone and I have sung it as a duet with Cris Williamson. I have recorded it a cappella and I have recorded it with many vocal parts. Adrienne Torf does a great piano version of the tune, although that is not recorded.
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“The song was inspired by an Appalachian woman who went up against the companies who strip mine in the eastern mountains of the US. She said, ‘If you are going to take my mountain, you will have to take me first!’ As the story goes, they did remove the woman and threw her in jail. But what I loved about the story, and what inspired the song, is that she did not step down. She knew where she stood and it became someone else’s job to remove her. Powerful thing to know exactly where one stands. Powerful thing.â€
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Sue Barrett is an Australian music writer, with a special interest in women in music. She spends a lot of time in record stores — discovering new recordings, filling in gaps from past years and buying yet another version of songs that she already has!
© 2008
Another great article from our Australian correspondent, Sue Barrett
Glass Half Full — A Music Photographer’s Vision of Hope
By Sue Barrett
OCTOBER IS BREAST CANCER AWARENESS MONTH.
Irene Young is a music photographer, whose clients have included Laura Nyro, George Thorogood, Suzanne Vega, New Kids on the Block and XTC. Irene is also a breast cancer survivor and producer of the Glass Half Full breast cancer awareness CD, which contains songs of comfort and hope from 23 women musicians, including Jennifer Berezan, Barbara Higbie, Anne Hills, Laurie Lewis and Deidre McCalla.
IRENE YOUNG — HOW IT BEGAN…
“On 5 July 2005, I discovered that I had breast cancer. I had gone to my general doctor because my knee hurt. She is a great doctor and because it had been a year since my last physical, she did a complete check-up. She felt a lump in my left breast and sent me to a wonderful surgeon at NYC. I will never forget it. I went to the first appointment expecting her to say it was nothing, and that she would get back to me later. However, she had a pathologist there the minute I arrived. They did two biopsies, and while I was there alone in her office, she told me I had two choices — a lumpectomy or a mastectomy. I looked at her and said, “This is the real deal?†She said, “yes, ‘the real deal’.†I called my best friend who immediately met me for a glass of wine and one of our inspiring chats about the mysteries of life. Feeling emotionally nourished, I then called my sister. Everything in my life stopped so I could keep on living. I had stage 2A breast cancer and I have never been so focused in my life. I opted for a lumpectomy. I ended up having two surgeries to make certain of clear margins. Twenty-seven lymph nodes were removed with only one having cancer. By the way, my knee never hurt again.
“I learned that step by step, we can accomplish something even if it feels monumental. When I became conscious after my first surgery, the first thing that literally flew into my mind was “Irene, you can do anything!†Even when I felt awful, I would pick just one little thing I could do that would get me closer to a goal. But getting a potentially life threatening diagnosis is the real stuff of life. It affects families, I think, most of all. The feelings can become too immense to feel. Love and the fear of loss look everyone right in the face. It is all a huge opportunity for everyone to grow emotionally and spiritually. I also learned the power of community and friendship.
“Music has helped me through various tough times in my life. A great piece of music has the ability to make me feel better at the end of a song than I did at the beginning. Music has the power to transform and transport — so we can see and feel from a different angle. Before I photographed musicians, I was a amateur musician myself. It was a natural progression to photograph the artists I admired. Coming from a musical background has been an asset in many ways. For example, I feel the ability to compose a photograph is closely related to the talent of composing a song. Both have a lot to do with rhythm and with being receptive.
“After I was diagnosed with breast cancer, many of the musicians I have photographed over the years called and asked what they could do to help. We came up with the idea of a compilation CD, so that not only they could help me, but their music could help other people.
“I had done photo work for the Breast Cancer Fund [BCF] and I know their focus on the chemical and environmental causes of breast cancer is bold and important. I also chose to benefit SHARE because they help women with breast or ovarian cancer — and the legendary Laura Nyro, who was a beloved client on this CD, died from ovarian cancer. So, one organization wants answers before a diagnosis, and the other is there for someone after a diagnosis.â€
NOW ON TO SOME GLASS HALF FULL CONTRIBUTORS…
Among the things that musicians Jennifer Berezan, Anne Hills, Barbara Higbie, Laurie Lewis and Deidre McCalla have in common are that they have been photographed by Irene Young. Now they share with us some thoughts about music, cancer and being photographed by Irene!
About the track contributed to Glass Half Full
JENNIFER BEREZAN — I was honored to contribute my song ‘Refuge’ to Glass Half Full. It’s a song about finding places of refuge in this increasingly technological and often alienated culture. It describes my own experience of the healing power of nature, silence, slowing down, music and connection with others.
BARBARA HIGBIE — ‘Line of Gold’, the song of mine that Irene chose for this compilation, is one that speaks to the truth that we are on this earth to love and only to love. All the achievements, worries, heartbreaks and battles are only to hopefully open us up to love. If we are getting less loving as we grow older, we’re doing something wrong! Irene is all about love and healing and she has made this beautiful piece of art to support that.
ANNE HILLS — While Irene was thinking and choosing songs for this incredible project, we spoke a few times on the phone and discussed the possibilities. She said she wanted the music to inspire, encourage, and reassure, as the music had done for her. Above and beyond that, she had to make the songs fit together in a beautiful way, a challenge of which she was well aware. Different songs were considered for both their inspiration quality and how they fitted in the overall composition. My song was written by friend and colleague David Roth, rather than one of my original songs, because it worked best within the whole. Of all the songs I perform, written by others, ‘May the Light of Love’ and ‘Woman of a Calm Heart’ (recorded on the compilation by Ilene Weiss, the writer) are the two most requested.
LAURIE LEWIS — I learned ‘How Can I Keep From Singing?’ from a Pete Seeger LP sometime in my teenage years. He credited it as being Quaker in origin, but it was, in fact, written by Baptist minister Robert Lowry in about 1860. The last verse was written by Doris Plenn. No matter, really. The song always stuck with me, and when I started playing in the band, The Good Ol’ Persons, in my mid-twenties, I remembered the song and we worked it up as an acappella trio, with Kathy Kallick and Barbara Mendelsohn. Some twenty years later, Kathy and I recorded it, along with Tom Rozum filling out the baritone line. The song has a powerful message that never seems to get any less pertinent. I knew as soon as Irene approached me about including something on her beautiful CD, that this was the song I’d like to contribute. It is an honor to be included among such a powerful group of women, singing for such a good cause.
DEIDRE MCCALLA — When Irene asked me to suggest a track of mine for the Glass Half Full project, this was a difficult task for me. I know how my songs impact my life but I am always surprised by the ripple effect my music has out in the universe. I had recently performed in Boston and one of my fans at the show was undergoing chemotherapy. Her partner and I had exchanged a few emails so it occurred to me to tell this couple about the project and ask them which song of mine did they think would be most helpful to others undergoing a similar challenge. ‘Playing For Keeps’ was one of their suggestions. They voiced the same reservations about that choice that Irene and I discussed as we mulled things over. An important aspect of the song is that life is finite; there was a concern that this message might come be taken as somewhat harsh. However, the overarching message of the song is to live life with passion and intent no matter how much time we have left. The healthiest person in the world can get run over by a bus in the blink of an eye. None of us really know how much time we have left. Let us live and love to the fullest; now is all we’re really promised.
On the impact of cancer on their life
JENNIFER BEREZAN — I have had a number of friends and family who have died from cancer and many who are survivors. I am especially concerned about the environmental connections to illness and feel very strongly about addressing those on a personal and more political level. Like any life threatening illness, I have learned so much from my loved ones who have struggled with this disease…the importance of living each moment as though it is all we have, seeking out joy and gratitude for daily gifts that this wondrous life brings us, the importance of community, friendship and self love.
ANNE HILLS — As a part of a rich and encompassing community of artists and musicians, I have seen too many gifted artists slowed down or stopped by cancer. What is unique about our community is how most artists use the adversity of cancer to create new art, art that challenges ineffective social structures, and/or reaches out to bring beauty and comfort to others. This project is a perfect example of that.
DEIDRE MCCALLA — As I get older the tally just keeps getting larger. Irene and I lost a good friend to cancer in our twenties. Both my parents had stomach cancer. When Irene was diagnosed my first thought was, “O god — I am not going to lose another person in my life to this!†And so far, in Irene’s case, I haven’t.
About the power of music to comfort, heal and inspire
JENNIFER BEREZAN — Music is one of the most healing forces in the world. Whether in the form of the sounds of the rain, wind, ocean waves or beautiful human compositions. Vibration as sound and music can effect our brains, our cells, our whole beings. Many cultures in the world know that music is “medicineâ€. It can be a healer, a great friend to us in difficult times and a dear companion on our life journey.
BARBARA HIGBIE — We were all devastated and worried sick when we learned that Irene had been diagnosed with breast cancer. Cancer affects all of us these days. Everyone knows someone close to them who has battled it. Music has the power to quickly remind us of our higher selves and the miraculous possibilities of love and connection.
ANNE HILLS — When a project is tailored to a specific audience, such as Glass Half Full, the power of the music to effect the world, and the individual, is magnified. Irene succeeds in helping others on so many levels (through the music itself, through the sales income benefiting cancer organizations, through connecting, as well as, informing others of resources and exposing them to new music). Her work putting this together is an inspiration itself.
DEIDRE MCCALLA — When I talk about Glass Half Full in my shows, I remind people that sometimes we want to extend comfort but there is really very little that can be said. Music stretches out beyond words to soothe, to mend, to shine a knowing light on a path.
On the pleasure (or otherwise!) of being photographed by Irene Young
JENNIFER BEREZAN — Irene has been taking my picture for over 20 years! I have been so fortunate to have her as my photographer. Being photographed by her is magic. Her talent is huge and she is a compassionate, intuitive, and brilliant artist.
BARBARA HIGBIE — Irene and I have been good friends since 1981 (26 years ago!) when she first photographed me in her NYC apartment when I was 22 and she was twenty-something also. She was already a fabulous photographer and had worked with many famous people at that time. As the years progressed, her work has grown along with her spirit.
ANNE HILLS — Irene has the distinct gift of putting people not only at ease but in a place of pleasure, enjoying the dance between the photographer and the subject of the photograph. She lightly tugs on the thread that connects us all, finds the time and space to seek out the light in the person before her, and a photo session is never “just†a photo session, it’s also a laugh fest and a philosophical discussion of the finest kind!
DEIDRE MCCALLA — Irene and I have known each other for a very long time. She has been friend, photographer, and Muse to me. A number of lines in my songs were sparked by Irene; ‘Home In My Heart’ was written for her. As friend and client I’ve watched and worked with Irene from a number of angles. We shared a duplex on Bleecker Street in New York where Irene kept her upstairs living space/studio and I saw her calm the most nervous of clients as her gentle manner allowed the best in each person to bloom. I am actually not all that comfortable being photographed and Irene and I laugh that we are still working on relaxing my smile. But I love my sessions with Irene; she just makes you feel so incredibly special. You get the test prints back and you see yourself in ways you always hoped you looked but deeply feared you didn’t. Irene’s eye finds the you in you and captures the intimacy of that discovery for all the world to see. I don’t think I know anyone with a more generous heart and it’s a spirit that radiates through every frame.
AND BACK TO IRENE…
“I am working on my health with great determination. October through December 2007, as every year, we will double our donations to BCF and to SHARE. We are planning a 2nd Annual Glass Half Full concert in NYC in the spring of 2008. I am also developing a website to centralize art and products that make us feel better called comfortpie.com.
“I hope Glass Half Full helps people feel better when times seem at their worst. I hope it does a small part to raise awareness about breast cancer. And I hope the music lets people hear that independent music is alive and powerful.â€
More Info:
Sue Barrett is an Australian music writer, with a special interest in women in music. Her record/CD collection includes many recordings with Irene Young photos and her library includes Irene’s book, For the Record.
© Sue Barrett 2007
Blogger’s Note – Sue Barrett is a music journalist and writer in Australia covering folk and acoustic music, with particular emphasis in women in music. From time to time, she will be contributing artist profiles and reviews to the folkblog.
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Cyndi Boste — A Constant Revelation…
By Sue Barrett
For Australian singer-songwriter Cyndi Boste (whose surname rhymes with “toastâ€), growing up in the foothills of Melbourne’s Dandenong Ranges provided idyllic moments (“bush, cows, paddocks, bikes and Tarzan swingsâ€) and challenging insights into human behaviour (“I learnt a lot about life in childhoodâ€).
From that time, Boste has had a love of music.
“I was always buying records — every Friday, mum and I would go down the street and buy four or five singles. It was a real passion. And I always had a trannie [transistor radio] under my pillow, listening to [radio station] 3XY!â€
It was during her primary schools days, that Cyndi Boste began playing an instrument — a piano accordion.
“An Irish sailor bought me a tiny little thing — three keys each side. But I moved on to the guitar when I was 12 or 13 — guitar was a lot cooler — you’re not going to pick up with an accordion!â€
At around 15 years of age, Boste started working professionally as a musician and, for a couple of years in her teens, was a regular guest on the Channel 0 television program, The Early Bird Show.
“They’d place me on mushrooms and haystacks, bring Marty the Monster in and Tim the Tiger, and I’d do a couple of songs each week.â€
During the early part of her career, Boste performed covers, including songs by Don McLean, Neil Young and John Denver, essentially being a “human jukeboxâ€.
“For a long time I got caught up in making a living. I was getting paid really well to do covers in pubs [bars] — it was a booming scene. The music was paying more than my day job, so it didn’t take much to convince me to give up the day job and just do the music. I had too much fun playing in the pubs in my 20s and I didn’t think too much about making my own music.â€
Gradually, however, Cyndi Boste (whose husky, soulful voice has been likened to that of Lucinda Williams, Bonnie Raitt and Gillian Welch) transformed into a singer-songwriter, with her roots-based music (folk, blues, Americana, soul, country) telling of travelling the highways and byways of life, complete with potholes, detours and dead ends.
“In about 1990, I did an acoustic tape of some songs that I’d written. I try to forget about the tape — it’s pretty bad! — although there are people out there who still really like it.
“When my brother Rory was in the band Steve Boyd and the Preachers, I’d go to see them perform all the time and so I started to understand that there was another way to do music. Then I joined the band — what a treat — I’d never played with other musicians before. I talked to Kerryn Tolhurst, who produced an album for Steve Boyd and the Preachers, about making my own record. And that’s been my life ever since.
“My songs come in different ways. Sometimes, although very rarely, a song comes in one big blurp and I can sit down and almost write it verbatim. Usually, however, they just come from living life and keeping moving — all of a sudden a line or an idea will come. From that first inspiration, the rest is the artistry or the work really. If I’m half-way through a song and it’s not doing anything for me, I won’t put it aside to come back to, I just dump it!
“I’m not a prolific song writer — although I think that I’d write a lot more if I didn’t have to run the business. One of my greatest frustrations is the hours that are lost to running a small business — it breaks my heart.
“If I seriously think about whether I should walk away from music, because it feels too hard or it’s costing too much money, then the pain in my gut is so strong that I can’t think about it any more and I have to keep going. If I were to retire from the road just to write songs, then that would be retirement bliss. The touring is a grind, it really is, and it’s getting harder and harder in this country to tour successfully.â€
Boste laughs at quote from a recent novel that describes artists as “a mysterious combination of deep passion, volatile sensitivities, and uncommon vision…persons of rare fragility and unsurpassed emotional complexityâ€.
“I know that person — can you put those words on my tombstone!â€
For Boste, writing and performing her own songs is very, very personal and extremely exposing.
“I don’t suffer very much from performing nerves, but always, no matter what I’m doing, when I wake up on the morning of a show, the anxiety is hideous. Then I’ll have a cup of tea and, from almost that moment onwards, the anxiety goes. Once a show is over, I like to have a few beers and sit down and relax. And, although I hardly sleep at all, I do sleep better after a show!â€
Select Discography
Home Truths (1999)
Push Comes to Shove (2002)
Scrambled Eggs (2004)
Foothill Dandy (2006)
Website
http://www.cyndiboste.com.au/
Sue Barrett is an Australian music writer, with a special interest in women in music. She has interviewed Cris Williamson, Cindy Bullens, Catie Curtis, Cathy Fink and Cheryl Wheeler (as well as many performers whose first name didn’t start with the letter ‘C’!). Sue also listened to 3XY on a trannie when she was growing up.
A small part of this article appeared under the title “Cyndi City†in the November 2006 issue of the Australian music magazine, Rhythms.
© Sue Barrett 2006/2007
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