music reviews, fascinating trivia, opinionated commentary
Jazz musicians occasionally highlight a melody by playing all the notes around it, leaving a hole where it should be. If you’re paying attention, you’ll “hear” it.
Some smart doughnut shop decided to stop rolling all the doughnut holes back together to make more doughnuts, and just started frying up doughnut holes to sell. Continue reading “Doughnut Holes and Roger Miller”
takes a lot of songwriting confidence to take on the challenge of writing an entire song for each line in Bob Dylan’s Hard Rain’s Gonna Fall. Takes a lotta songwriting chops to pull it off.
This year it looks like Ross Durand is going to finish this seriously ambitious and musically satisfying project. Continue reading “USSS: Ross Durand”
Newgrass: it’s what’s for dinner. Okay, maybe that’s not how it goes, but I’ll have Phil Norman‘s take on American bluegrass and folk any day. Continue reading “USSS: Phil Norman”
Simply the finest story-telling songwriter I know, Phil Henry will make you cry, guaranteed. Continue reading “USSS: Phil Henry”
Out of the dark woods of far northern Scandinavia comes one of the most authentic American folk songwriters I’ve heard. I’ll let Old Lost John tell you where his music comes from: Continue reading “USSS: Old Lost John”
Why isn’t oddbod famous? Proof positive that talent and fame are not connected. Tim “oddbod” Conway is one of the finest songwriters and performers I’ve ever heard. His new songs at FAWM turn into a mad rush to comment. A week in, his first song Instamatic has nearly a hundred comments from other songwriters who are supposed to be scrambling to write 14 songs of their own.
Gorgeous instrumentals. Tear-worthy love songs. Yes, but also a half-song called The Pig of Loveliness wherein oddbod shows he can shred hugely, and A Letter from Nigeria, a hysterical but musically brilliant tune taken almost entirely from spam emails he’s received. Listen to both, and more, at oddbod’s website. (His tune And the Starlight made it onto Handmade & Homespun. My definition of “Americana” is musical, not geographical.)
Not just a songwriter’s songwriter. Stop what you’re doing and go to oddbod’s FAWM profile to see what the good songwriters are wearing this year.
Hard to pin down, is Evin Wolverton.
Pprefer a bit of edge with your Americana? Des McKinney‘s got it covered.
Can you say “prolific” ? My buddy Billy Sea often writes 60 songs or more during FAWM.
And then writes hundreds (plural) more throughout the year.
The youngest smallest smartest kid in my High School classes was tough. In the middle of 1st grade, they moved me to 2nd grade in the little 2-room country school I attended.
Volga and Range both had 2-room school houses, with 1st through 3rd in one room, 4th through 6th in the other. About 10 kids in each grade; 60 total in the school. We moved in after the school year started so I had the last seat in the 1st graders. When I was promoted, I didn’t even have to move my desk, I was just the first seat in the 2nd graders.
Bullying was a big part of my life when I was younger. Continue reading “Just a Couple of Kids”