I got this e-mail from Darryl Purpose, who put together the Kevin Faherty compilation that I’ve been playing recently on Festival Radio and it was too good not to share:
Greg,
Thanks for adding “Singer-Songwriter Heaven – the songs of kevin faherty”. It was a labour of love for all of us, and we apprecaite the support!
I did a search and see that you are playing the Diana Jones track. Incredible story about that recording – She was one of the last to get her track in and the deadline was looming. She had scheduled some recording time for her own songs in London. When she was done she asked the engineer to roll tape, she wanted to try something. She had never played the song, only heard the rough MP3 that I’d sent her of Kevin singing it. She had her new tenor guitar, which she hadn’t really worked out chords on. She started singing and playing the song.
When she finished, she looked up and the engineer was in tears. Then she was in tears. That was the one and only time she played the song, that’s what you hear on the recording!
Paste Magazine is giving away access to free mp3s for those who contribute through this site. Money will be split between Doctors Without Borders, Red Cross and Wyclef Jean’s Yele Haiti Earthquake Fund.
Just found out about an interesting website that features a variety of folks, some famous, some not, speaking out about and advocating for a variety of humanitarian causes. Check out causecast.org.
Sometimes, I think that folkies think they have the market on social activism cornered, and then I hear about bands in other genres doing cool stuff to make a difference in the world. Beth Draeger, daughter of a longtime online friend, writes here about participating with members of the band Hanson in a charity walk for AIDS.
One of my favorite bands is Swan Dive (Bill DeMain and Molly Felder). They have been producing infectious retro pop for quite some time. It’s not folk music, but it’s really fine. Here is the new video from their just released CD, Mayfair. They are huge in Japan, but can’t get a cup of coffee here in the US. I’ve never been able to figure out why.
