woodsmeister’s note – Another great article from Sue Barrett, our Australian correspondent. This article is posted with permission from Sue Barrett, and all rights are reserved to her.
By Sue Barrett
Heavy traffic, too much traffic/
In your house and on the phone/
In my mind and on the road/
And there’s no time between/
(Kym Pitman, ‘Spaces Between’)
In pursuing sporting glory, athletes build physical fitness, develop technical skills and undertake endless mental rehearsal, in a landscape pitted with injuries, bad luck and the vagaries of form. And in pursuing artistic creativity, songwriters look to merge words and music into new songs that will withstand personal criticism and public scrutiny, in a life that can be full of “heavy traffic, too much traffic” and with “no time between”.
For some songwriters, their creations emerge year after year, using a “9 to 5” working day routine. Other songwriters fit song writing into a touring life, writing between gigs or in precious time off the road. A further group of songwriters has a creativity that co-exists with, and perhaps feeds upon having, another profession.
If you read The New York Times best seller lists, you may well find a novel by Jeffery Deaver – the same Jeffery Deaver who trained as a lawyer and who, as a singer-songwriter, “performed and taught music in clubs in the San Francisco Bay area and Chicago.”
If you attended a gig in Milton, New South Wales in April, you might have got to see Paul Greene – the same Paul Greene who represented Australia in track at the Atlanta Olympic Games.
And if you go to church at First Parish, Cambridge, Massachusetts, you could hear the preachings of Fred Small – the same Fred Small who worked as a lawyer for the Conservation Law Foundation, before becoming a full-time singer-songwriter, then a minister.
FolkBlog now explores the lives of five people for whom song writing is just one of the things they do, five people who are more than a songwriter…
- Emma Royle (Australia) – singer-songwriter/ carpenter
- Deborah Romeyn (Canada) – singer-songwriter/ massage therapist/ high school teacher
- Nedra Johnson (New York City, USA) – singer-songwriter/ multi-instrumentalist/ website designer
- Ana Christensen (Tennessee, USA) – singer-songwriter/ veterinary assistant/ photojournalist
- Vicki Bennett (Australia) – songwriter/ performer/ doctor
 Continue reading More Than a Songwriter
woodsmeister’s note – Sue Barrett is a music journalist from Australia who occasionally submits articles to FolkBlog. All rights for this article are hers alone and it is presented here by her permission.
By Sue Barrett
Walk into any record store and you’ll invariably find a jumble of flyers, stickers and free music magazines.
A browse of ‘the Classies’ (classified advertisements) in a recent issue of one such magazine found drums, guitars and keyboards for sale; tuition available for voice, guitar, bass, drums, piano/keyboards, sax and harmonica; musicians seeking groups (including people playing bass, double bass, drums, tenor saxophone); and bands and studios seeking drummers, guitarists, bass players, keyboard players, even people to play accordion and tabla.
This is a variation on the story – it tells of four musicians who add something special to rock, pop, folk and new music, with kick ass fiddle and beautiful and tender violin.
- Shari Ulrich was born in the USA, but lives on an island off the west coast of Canada. Her new solo album, Find Our Way, features her daughter on violin.
- Ruth Ungar Merenda grew up in the Hudson Valley of New York State and, with The Mammals in hibernation, provides the ‘Ruthy’ part of the folk music duo, Mike and Ruthy.
- Lyndell Montgomery is a Canadian multi-instrumentalist, who lives in a very old farmhouse in Ontario and is about to release her first solo album.
- Sophie Kinston is an English-born, Australian-based, violinist/ceramicist who plays electric violin with the Rosie Burgess Trio.
Now over to Shari, Ruth, Lyndell and Sophie…
Continue reading Variations on Corelli – Four Women with Kick Ass Fiddle and Beautiful and Tender Violin
Woodsmeister’s Note – FolkBlog is privileged to have Australian music journalist Sue Barrett as a regular contributor of artist profiles and interviews. The following article is provided courtesy of Sue Barrett and she holds all copyright.
By Sue Barrett
“I love words, and if you are to sing with conviction, you must understand what you are singing about. The great composers of song chose the most beautiful poetry to set to music.” (p. 204)
“Clear enunciation is of the greatest importance, as words are the artistic expression of any song. One must be able to make ugly sounds as well as beautiful ones, if the words suggest ugliness.” (p. 165)
“To be able to toy with rhythm without losing control of it is one of the attributes of great artistry…[Some performers] may never learn to read music, but they are born with an ability to handle rhythm which enables them to juggle with words and phrases in a way which makes a delightful whole.” (p. 121)
(Joan Hammond, A Voice, A Life, Victor Gollancz, 1970)
A recent issue of Sing Out! magazine featured songwriters Billy Edd Wheeler (cover story), Bruce Robison (two CD reviews) and Delaney Bramlett (whose obituary appeared as part of the “Last Chorus”).
It seems that many people compose music/write songs – with allmusic.com now containing works by 280,000 composers and Google yielding 13.2 million results for the term “singer/songwriter”.
Writing a song doesn’t, however, necessarily make someone a songwriter. According to Australian Steve Barnes, “Not being a singer imposes an editorial process on my songs – it means that a song has to be good enough that somebody else wants to sing it.” And for American Cris Williamson, “When somebody else does your stuff, then there’s a good chance that you might actually be a songwriter.”
Billy Edd Wheeler, Bruce Robison and Delaney Bramlett have pretty good song writing credentials – with ‘Coward of the County’ going to #3 on Billboard for Kenny Rogers; ‘Travelin’ Soldier’ being a #1 country hit for the Dixie Chicks; and ‘Superstar’ reaching #2 on Billboard for the Carpenters.
In her autobiography, A Voice, A Life, Australian opera singer Joan Hammond reflected on a career spent interpreting the musical works of other people, among them Beethoven, Mozart, Verdi, Wagner, Puccini and Johann Strauss.
Now Faith Petric, Jon Arterton, Judi Connelli and June Tabor share their experiences of being a singer for the songs…
Continue reading A Singer For The Songs
Editor’s Note – occasionally, Australian music journalist Sue Barrett contributes articles to FolkBlog.
By Sue Barrett
They read Les A. Murray from the hilltop
with a wide vision of Batman’s land
Dropped him without a word except ‘Amen’ –
So be it. ‘I don’t know why anyone studies
history,’ said one. ‘It’s so futile.
It always repeats itself. We have to learn
from our own mistakes, each generation
over and over.’
(Rae Sexton, from ‘The Historian’, On Looking at 30-Year-Old Slides, 2005)
A little while ago, between ANZAC Day and the Memorial Day weekend, a photograph of singer/songwriter Holly Throsby’s drummer appeared in the social notes of an Australian newspaper.
For Americans, the coming of Memorial Day brings memories of the men and women who have died while serving in the US armed forces – in current wars, in wars long past, in so-called “forgotten wars”. Memorial Day also brings memories of those who have died subsequent to serving. And it brings fears for those women and men still serving and for those who carry the scars of serving.
In Australia (and New Zealand), a key day of remembrance is ANZAC Day – 25 April. As Holly Throsby and her drummer subsequently toured north America, she may well have run into Canadian singer/songwriter, Heather Bishop. For Bishop, 25 April marks a different event – her birthday. A seemingly little known fact about Heather Bishop is that the artwork for her first three albums for children was done by Lynn Johnston, the creator of the comic strip, For Better or For Worse.
Over the years, For Better or For Worse has combined humor, drama, everyday life and social commentary. In November 2006, For Better or For Worse took readers to a Remembrance Day ceremony, where 15 year old April asks, “When will it end?”:
http://www.fborfw.com/strip_fix/archives/002136.php
The impact of war is a recurring theme for songwriters – songs of glory, anger, sadness, despair…
BRUCE ROBISON (www.brucerobison.com)
Bruce Robison is singer/songwriter from Texas, whose father bought him a Fender Precision bass in seventh grade. Bruce has performed as a duo with his brother Charlie, in groups (including Chaparral) and as a solo performer. Over the years, Bruce’s songs have been recorded by such people as Kelly Willis, Tim McGraw, Faith Hill, Lee Ann Womack and George Strait. Bruce’s song, ‘Travelin’ Soldier’, was a No. 1 country hit for the Dixie Chicks.
What are your earliest memories of war?
I have some memories of Vietnam television reports. I was young. My step grandfather was a World War II veteran. He spoke of his experiences some.
Tell us about ‘Travelin’ Soldier’ and how you came to write it
I wrote the song during the mobilization for the first gulf war, many casualties were predicted. A young co-worker of mine was called up to the National Guard. I decided to write a song about one person going off to war and not coming back.
What reactions have you had to ‘Travelin’ Soldier’, including after [Dixie Chicks] Natalie Maines’ comments about the Iraq War in 2003?
I have had hundreds of people tell me about their feeling for the song, including many veterans. Almost every day. It is a simple song of compassion, not political at all, so no one really has a problem with the song. Some reaction to the Chicks of course, over the years.
Have you written other songs about war?
No other war songs.
What other things do you write about?
Thinkin or drinkin songs.
So what is new/different for Bruce Robison in 2009?
Back to work after eight years of changin diapers.
Continue reading When Will It End? – Songs about the Impacts of War
Editor’s Note – Sue Barrett is an Australian music writer who occasionally contributes feature articles to FolkBlog. This article appears by the author’s permission.
By Sue Barrett
So if you need something when times get hard
You can probably find it in my dad’s yard
And if you need hope
If you’re coming apart
You can surely find it in my dad’s heart
(Catie Curtis — ‘Dad’s Yard’)
Catie Curtis was once a teenager, playing drums and basketball. Then she became a house painter and a social services agency worker. These days, she’s a professional musician, with a string of albums, a documentary on her life and songs dotted through television shows and films. And now the Massachusetts-based singer/songwriter has a new CD, Hello Stranger (as part of a string band side-project).
As a songwriter, what feeds/impedes your creativity?
My creativity is fed by time plus coffee plus a little nervous energy plus love of guitar plus good conversation and books. And my creativity is impeded by a lack of those things.
How has your career, and your life as a musician, been affected by technological developments, such as CDs, websites, email, cell phones?
I can reach more people through technology, but then at the same time, so can everyone else! So there’s a state of saturation that is different from the mid-90s, when I was launched by EMI/Guardian Records. As a frequent traveller, I feel a lot safer on the road with the cell phone and GPS — that’s been life-altering. It’s a lot easier for me to be in touch with fans now, which I love. I update my own website, and write newsletters. But the best part is putting all that down and returning to the process of writing songs, which is by nature a slow, solitary, pencil-paper-guitar process. And performing remains, as always, about being in the moment.
When interviewed ten years ago, you had a friend with a chronic illness who was really struggling and you said you couldn’t play Bruce Springsteen’s ‘Should I Fall Behind’ (which you were learning for a wedding) without crying. Have you continued to experience songs/circumstances where singing is really difficult?
Funny you should ask. My friend Mary Reeve, who lived with ALS for 12 years and who I spoke about in 1999, died recently. I played ‘Look at You Now’ at her funeral. I had to get into the right space to do that. There are times at shows I lose it because I’m thinking of how a certain song applies to someone who I know is in the audience.
You attended Brown University on a basketball scholarship and you’ve maintained an interest in women’s college basketball. Have you written any songs about basketball or about female athletes?
No and I haven’t written any songs about dogs (which I also love) either. What is WRONG with me??!!
How do you arrange your touring schedule/touring arrangements so as to maximise the positive things and minimise the negative things?
I take 6 AM flights home, I sleep on planes, I take short trips, many of them. I don’t take every gig I’m offered. But I also get a lot of quiet time driving in the car. I have to admit to loving that. And I try to kidnap friends and take them with me on the road whenever possible. I love playing music, still, after all these years!
When you’re on the road, do you continue to “call home, once a day, at least”?
I call home incessantly. It’s a problem. I try to wait until I have a lot to say but usually it’s like, “hi just checking in. again”.
Have you ever had the chance to observe the reaction of your children when they hear one of your songs on the radio or on television or in a film?
When Celia was four, my song ‘Sweet Life’ came on the radio, and I said, “Celia, I got a song on the radio!”. She said, “I got a big fork and a big spoon”! And when Lucy was six, she heard ‘100 Miles’ in a Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen movie and yelled to me “Ma, your song is in this movie”, sort of like “you left your shoe in my room”.
Over the years, you’ve made references to reading books. What have you been reading recently?
I read Anne LaMott and Rumi poems. ‘Fools’, from my last CD, Sweet Life, was written after reading a Rumi poem about living with courage. Lately I’ve been reading some parenting book about playfulness. There’s a lot to learn on this parenting journey.
You used to work for a social services agency and your songs include observations on vulnerable and disadvantaged people. Can you tell us about your New York City guitar initiative?
I was given a guitar when I was 15 years old. I have been wanting to pay it forward ever since then. So I started Aspire to Inspire, to raise funds to give guitars to young musicians. We gave away the first 15 guitars to kids hand-picked through the Fresh Air Camps by teachers from the ASCAP Foundation. There’s an online endowment at http://www.HopeEquity.org/catiecurtis if anyone wants to help give guitars to aspiring musicians!
How did you come to start recording in Nashville?
I’d always wanted to record in Nashville. The opportunity presented itself with Sweet Life because my label, Compass Records, is based in Nashville and they have a really great vintage studio in their building. Garry West owns Compass with his wife Alison Brown. Nashville is the perfect place to make a recording that sounds warm and friendly.
Catie Curtis’ new CD, Hello Stranger, is available through iTunes and Compass Records and includes a duet with Mary Gauthier of A. P. Carter’s song ,‘Hello Stranger’, and a re-recording of Catie’s song, ‘Dad’s Yard’.
More info:
http://www.catiecurtis.com
http://www.myspace.com/catiecurtis
Select Discography
- Dandelion
- From Years To Hours
- Truth From Lies
- Catie Curtis
- A Crash Course in Roses
- My Shirt Looks Good on You
- Acoustic Valentine
- Dreaming in Romance Languages
- Long Night Moon
- Sweet Life
- Hello Stranger
Documentary
Tangled Stories: A Year with Catie Curtis
Select List of TV Shows
- Grey’s Anatomy
- Dawson’s Creek
- Felicity
- Alias
- Desperate Housewives
- Chicago Hope
- North Shore
Select Filmography
- 500 Miles to Graceland
- A Slipping Down Life
- Three of Hearts: A Postmodern Family
- Hineini: Coming Out in a Jewish High School
- Our Lips Are Sealed
SUE BARRETT is an Australian music writer, with a special interest in women in music. Sue first interviewed Catie Curtis in 1999 for Rhythms magazine (Australia’s roots music monthly).
© 2009
Woodsmeister’s note – The following article is by FolkBlog Australian contributor Sue Barrett and published here by her permission.
By Sue Barrett
“Tuesday night I reorganize my record collection; I often do this at periods of emotional stress…When Laura was here I had the records arranged alphabetically; before that I had them filed in chronological order…Tonight, though, I fancy something different, so I try to remember the order I bought them in…”
(Nick Hornby – High Fidelity, 1995)
At breakfast, a few days ago, Ronnie Gilbert was singing ‘Mothers, Daughters, Wives’; June Taber performed ‘He Fades Away’; and Totally Gourdgeous sang ‘Strangers and Foreigners’ – on tape, that is, not in person.
Ronnie, June and Totally Gourdgeous present something of a problem for music collectors, however, given their mixture of solo and non-solo recordings.
If one looks to Rob (the record shop owning anti-hero of High Fidelity) for a solution, then one probably isn’t going to find it. Although Rob’s alphabetical phase was probably the most practical, alphabetical order doesn’t cope well with all circumstances – including Ronnie’s albums with The Weavers and Holly Near; June’s albums with Martin Simpson and Maddy Prior; and the solo albums of the various members of Totally Gourdgeous.
There could be a case for keeping all Christmas recordings together, rarities together and signed copies together. One might want to shelve Hunter Davis’ Torn with the Cris Williamson recordings (because of their duet performance of ‘Arm and a Leg’), to put Shelby Lynne’s Just a Little Lovin’ with the Dusty Springfield albums and to slip the Young Blood II compilation album (with its Kings of the World track, featuring Jen Anderson) amongst Weddings Parties Anything’s output. And coping with Gretchen Phillips, given her many collaborations and handmade covers, is definitely for another day!
Then there’s the issue of what to do when a performer does something that is totally different to their previous recordings – like a singer-songwriter releasing an album of covers.
Actually, singer-songwriters releasing a covers album is an issue in its own right, one about which singer-songwriters Kate Campbell, Richard Shindell and Cyndi Boste have first-hand experience…
KATE CAMPBELL (www.katecampbell.com)
Kate Campbell is an American singer-songwriter, whose compositions focus on “people and everyday living”. She was born in New Orleans (Louisiana), spent some time in Sledge (Mississippi), but has lived most of her life in Nashville, Tennessee. Kate’s CD, Twang on a Wire (2003), focuses on songs written by other people and released by female performers in the late 1960s and early 1970s, including Dolly Parton (‘Down from Dover’), Donna Fargo (‘Funny Face’) and Emmylou Harris (‘Boulder to Birmingham’). The album takes its name from the song ‘Twang on a Wire’, which Kate wrote with Mark Narmore.
When and how did you begin writing songs?
I wrote my first song when I was six or seven – so I’ve been writing since I was a very little girl. I wrote it on the ukulele. My father is a minister and I hung out with teenagers (who were playing guitar, doing Dylan, singing Peter Paul and Mary). I thought that everybody played guitar and wrote songs and sang – so I did! My parents gave me the ukulele, then I started taking piano when I was about seven. I played clarinet in the band – starting in the fourth grade or whenever you could. I really began to write by the fifth or sixth grade – like 12 years old.
Of your own songs that you’ve recorded, which are the oldest?
Well, you know, there are recordings which no one will ever hear that we have from before my first album that was officially released! But some of the older tunes that I’ve recorded since I’ve been making records are ‘Trains Don’t Run From Nashville’, ‘Jerusalem Inn’ and ‘Would You Be a Parson’.
When and how did you begin performing your own songs?
I think the very first time I ever sang was when my hands were bigger and I’d started moving from the ukulele to the regular guitar. Me and a friend sang ‘Silent Night’ in the third grade. Another of the very first songs I sang was a Dolly Parton song – ‘Daddy was an Old Time Preacher Man’ – and my sister and I sang that at church for an event they were having for my father. I mostly sang at church – it was a good place because people were encouraging – even if you were bad they wouldn’t tell you.
How do you go about learning/performing someone else’s song?
It’s harder. It’s harder, for me. When I was first learning – when I was playing the piano and picking up the guitar here in Nashville (I’ve mostly lived my life in Nashville – my father’s family has lived in Nashville for 200 years), the Sunday paper [The Tennessean] had this colored insert called the ‘Sunday Showcase’ and it used to have the TV listings and the chords and lyrics of a song. I would get the song out of the paper and sit down at the piano or guitar and try to play it. I would have heard the song on the radio, ’cause it was mostly pop songs (although every now and then there would be a country song). Most often it wasn’t in a key that I could sing it in, so I figured out how to transpose.
I like to sing songs from the radio, but from early on I would mostly sing what I wrote. Early in my career – I was through college and back in Nashville trying to get a publishing deal – I got hired a couple of nights to do cover tunes in a bar. I hated it and I’m sure I was awful. I had to use notes because I’m just not a cover tune person.
With my tunes, even those from the very first record, I’m asked to do them frequently enough for them to come back easily. There are probably only three or four of my tunes that I couldn’t do and that’s only usually tunes that I never, for whatever reason, did very much in the first place in concert.
I hardly ever do any of the Twang on a Wire songs in concert because I can’t remember the words. There are so many songs in my head now that I have make myself learn the words (the words more than anything) to perform somebody else’s song.
Why did you decide to record an album of songs mainly written by other people? And how did you come to select the songs on Twang on a Wire?
I’m truly a product of the American south and its music. I was born in New Orleans, lived in the Delta and I’ve spent most of my life in Nashville. I’ve done half of my records in Muscle Shoals [Alabama] and written for Fame Publishing. My mother’s from Kentucky and my grandfather in Kentucky loved bluegrass music – even though the least amount of influence that people will hear in my music is bluegrass. I like to tell people that I have a lot of blue but no grass in my music! There are three main strains that people hear in my music – Mississippi acoustic blues underneath, gospel music and the Nashville country sound.
The tunes on Twang on a Wire are tunes that I remember inspired me as a girl and that I think are great songs, great performances, great songwriters. Twang on a Wire is my tribute record to those women, those songs and those songwriters (some of whom were men). The songs come from a critical time in my life – it was when I was really beginning to sing and play the guitar. I was listening to the radio. I was in Nashville. And the women’s movement was also beginning to grow.
With some of these songs, it’s amazing that they were on the radio, on AM country radio, in Nashville – songs like ‘Honey on His Hands’ and ‘Mississippi Woman, Louisiana Man’, songs by Loretta Lynn and Tammy Wynette.
Then there was ‘Funny Face’, which was not necessarily a strong woman’s song, except that it was HUGE hit.
I could have put any number of Dolly Parton songs on – but I think ‘Down from Dover’ is an incredible song. I think it’s so pure, how Dolly Parton writes. I haven’t met Dolly, but my mother sat next to her on an airplane once!
Kris Kristofferson wrote ‘Help me Make it through the Night’, but what changed the song is that a woman sang it – it was a number one for Sammi Smith in the country music market in the early ’70s.
Those songs definitely influenced my life. I don’t necessarily agree with all the thing in the songs – but they definitely formed my musical heritage. And I wanted everybody else to enjoy them as well.
Did you write the song ‘Twang on a Wire’ particularly for the album?
I wrote the song close to doing the album – I wrote it with my friend Mark Narmore. I have no idea where the title came from – sometimes you feel like titles fall from the sky – and I just felt that I had it one day. I spent a year or so thinking about it, then Mark and I were talking about it and we ended up writing the song – truly about me playing the guitar. It’s kinda my story. The song came first, then I realised that it was a way to do my country women tribute record.
Did you listen/re-listen to other people singing the songs before recording them?
I listened to the versions that I remembered – I didn’t listen to any other people recording them. Then me and the guys got together and played them. We had a great time! There’s a different feel on some of them, but with some of them I felt the original feel was so lovely (like Rose Garden). I wasn’t trying to do a reinterpretation by any means, although there are a couple of songs that we did kinda re-invent (like ‘Would You Lay With Me in a Field of Stone’).
In recording Twang on a Wire, did part of you fear that it might result in people no longer wanting to hear you perform your own songs?
No – it didn’t enter my mind at all! I guess by the time I did Twang on a Wire, I felt that people would truly see this as a tribute record. And I think that’s how people have seen it. Lots of times people want me to sing ‘Boulder to Birmingham’ in concert – so I’ll do an encore of ‘Boulder to Birmingham’. Every now and then, people want me to do ‘Harper Valley PTA’, but it’s much better with a band. I just loved those performances and those women and those songs. And I hope that other people like it and remember those songs and remember country music and the impact that music can have on us all.
What’s been happening in your world in recent times?
I came out with a new CD last October, called Save the Day. And people seem to be enjoying that. From a recording stand point, it sounds super. John Prine is one of my favorites and he is absolutely spectacular on it. And, of course, Nanci Griffith came and sang along. Mac McAnally, who appears on a lot of my CDs, shows up on this one. I’m proud of it; I think it sounds well; and I hope I continue to grow as a songwriter.
What are some of your future plans?
This summer, I’m have some song writing camps – I’ve been doing 2 or 3 every year for about 5 or 6 years. Then I’m going back to the UK in October 2009. And it looks like in 2010 that I may do a little trip to Ireland, where I’m the host and we see the sites and listen to music every night in a pub.
We’re thinking about, maybe, doing a live album. I think there are very few great live albums – I can only name a couple, like the Allman Brothers Band and the Steve Miller Band. I just can’t envisage someone wanting to hear me sing and play guitar live over and over again – but we’re contemplating it. It’s something that I have to talk to Will Kimbrough [producer, songwriter, guitarist] about. So that may be next.
I’ve never done a holiday record (and I really don’t want to), but I kinda want to do a peace record. One of the songs that I’d want to record is Will’s song, ‘God Forgive our Warring Ways’.
In his novel High Fidelity, English writer Nick Hornby covers such vitally important things as organising music collections and making compilation tapes. Can you tell us about your music collection and how it is organised?
I’ve read Nick Hornby’s book and I have the accompanying CD!
I’m a very eclectic listener.
I love classical music and I have my classical music together. I really like requiems.
I like jazz – usually jazz blues, blue dark jazz (Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Thelonious Monk). So I have that together.
And then I’ll kinda do stuff in alphabetical order.
I love southern rock.
I also like electronic out-there stuff – like Air.
I love the great songwriters – I’m a huge Tom Waits fan and I have all of Springsteen’s. And people like Guy Clark are great – but they’re not heard on the radio that much.
I’m on a Rolling Stones binge right now – I’ve been listening to Beggars Banquet over and over again. To me, the interesting thing about Mick Jagger and The Rolling Stones was their ability to write their own music, but to also do tremendous blues covers and country music songs.
If I was to make a CD to listen to, then it would be The Allman Brothers, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Miles Davis, Elvis Presley (he did some really weird recordings and those are the ones I like the most), Bonnie “Prince” Billy (he’s really dark – and I like him a lot), Ray LaMontagne.
No one would ever probably know the songs I write by what I listen to!
Editor’s note – after the jump- Richard Shindell and Cyndi Boste
Continue reading Making Them My Own — Songwriters Singing Songs by Other Songwriters
Another article from the FolkBlog Australian correspondent, Sue Barrett.
Songs of Ice, Snow and Rain
By Sue Barrett
A few days ago, someone mentioned that a mutual friend is currently in New York, probably freezing!
And, on checking the weather reports, it does seem a bit cold in North America at the moment.
- San Francisco, California: Light Rain, 48.4 °F/9.1 °C
- Vancouver, British Columbia: Overcast, 39 °F/4 °C
- New York, New York: Clear, 28.5 °F/-1.9 °C
- Columbus, Ohio: Clear, 13.7 °F/-10.2 °C
- Montreal, Quebec: Partly cloudy, -2 °F/-19 °C
Many songs mention ice, snow and rain. There are songs about being damp and cold. Songs expressing grief, despair and desolation. Song full of love and hope. Songs documenting climate change and environmental destruction. Songs that are cleansing and refreshing. And songs about the coming of spring.
Here are just a few of them…
CYNDI BOSTE
www.cyndiboste.com.au
And if I seem a little shaky
That’s just the winter closing in
I’ll take it in my stride
And grow myself a thicker skin
‘I’m Alright’ (from Foothill Dandy, 2006)
Australian singer-songwriter Cyndi Boste is busy writing a set of new songs and launching her duo, Petty Cash (with Jodi Moore, ex Dirty Lucy). Cyndi will be performing at Melbourne’s Brunswick Music Festival in March 2009.
STEVE BOYD & THE PREACHERS
www.myspace.com/steveboydandthepreachers
It’s raining down upon me, ever since I don’t know when
It’s raining down upon me lord, it’s raining down again
Singing hey, ho, where do you go? Listen as the thunder roars
When a city doesn’t want you, and locks up all its doors
‘It’s Raining Down Upon Me’ (from Ribcage Xylophone, 1996)
The Australian roots rock band Steve Boyd & The Preachers has apparently re-formed, after splitting up in the late 1990s and there’s talk of a forthcoming new CD. Cyndi Boste sings backing vocals on Ribcage Xylophone.
BOBBI CARMITCHELL
www.bobbicarmitchellmusic.com
The winter’s been a long one
Never quite seen so much snow
So I walked out in the beauty to clear my misty soul
‘Reply’ (from Various Artists – Winter Moon, 1995)
Albums by Pennsylvania performer Bobbi Carmitchell (The Carmitchell Sisters, Wind and Wood) include A Little Christmas Music (1999), which she recorded at the request of her mother who wanted “something nice” to share with her bridge club. Winter Moon also includes performances by Cris Williamson, Michael Callen, Arnold McCuller and Holly Near.
Continue reading Songs of Ice, Snow and Rain
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€
Â
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
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