From: owner-ecto-digest@smoe.org (ecto-digest) To: ecto-digest@smoe.org Subject: ecto-digest V9 #44 Reply-To: ecto@smoe.org Sender: owner-ecto-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-ecto-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk ecto-digest Saturday, February 15 2003 Volume 09 : Number 044 Today's Subjects: ----------------- Today's your birthday, friend... [Mike Matthews ] Lisa Gerrard news from 4AD [Craig Gidney ] Ectophilic Recommendations from Folk Alliance [jjhanson@att.net] Folk Alliance impressions (very long) [Neal Copperman ] Re: Ectophilic Recommendations from Folk Alliance [Sherlyn Koo ] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 14 Feb 2003 03:00:04 -0500 (EST) From: Mike Matthews Subject: Today's your birthday, friend... i*i*i*i*i*i i*i*i*i*i*i *************** *****HAPPY********* **************BIRTHDAY********* *************************************************** *************************************************************************** ********************** Doug Burks (no Email address) ********************** *************************************************************************** -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- - -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Doug Burks Tue February 14 1956 Blank Jim Sturnfield Thu February 18 1954 Aquarius Juha Kannisto Wed February 18 1970 Aquarius Joel Siegfried February 19 Penguin Crossing Linda Saboe Tue February 20 1951 aimless Teresa Ross Wed February 23 1977 pisces Michael Curry Fri February 24 1967 Pisces Paula Shanks Mon February 25 1952 Pisces Brni Mojzes Fri February 26 1965 the vanishing boy Pamela Pociluk Fri February 28 1964 Pisces Peter Clark Thu March 04 1948 Pedestrian Tim Steele Fri March 08 1963 Pisces Matt Bittner Thu March 12 1964 Pisces kIrI Hargie Fri March 13 1970 Pisces Bob Dreano Thu March 13 1958 Pisces - -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 14 Feb 2003 08:00:33 -0800 (PST) From: Craig Gidney Subject: Lisa Gerrard news from 4AD LISA GERRARD - Two new albums in 2003 4AD is delighted to announce that 2003 will see the release of two new albums by Lisa Gerrard - her first releases since "Duality" came out in 1998. Lisa has been extremely busy in Hollywood since she last found time to make a record for 4AD - and extremely successful, too. Her music for "Gladiator", composed in collaboration with Hans Zimmer, was awarded a Golden Globe and nominated for an Oscar, and she has also worked on high profile films like Ali and The Insider. However, Autumn 2002 saw her making a bolt for her studio in Melbourne with fellow composer Patrick Cassidy, and three months of high intensity work brought forth "Immortal Memory". More information will be available soon. Later this month Lisa will perform a low-key show as part of the Morning Star Concert for West Papua on February 28th at the Melbourne Concert Hall - more info: www.morningstarconcert.com read more... 14 Feb 2 Yahoo! Shopping - Send Flowers for Valentine's Day http://shopping.yahoo.com ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 14 Feb 2003 16:18:16 +0000 From: jjhanson@att.net Subject: Ectophilic Recommendations from Folk Alliance Neal and I just returned from Nashville where Folk Alliance was held this year. Just beginning to go through the 60+ CDs I acquired while there, but already havea a few I think ectophiles would enjoy: Kristin Sweetland - Root, Heart & Crown An amazingly rich album from a very young Canadian. Shows great guitar playing, songwriting, and intelligence, plus some fantastic graphic design. A very solid debut album and an artist to watch out for. Find out more at www.kristinsweetland.com Merri-May Gill - An Australian singer-songwriter who writes jazz-tinged pop songs, and had one of the msot charming stage presences I've seen--very comedic, with an amazingly expressive face. Kerstin Blodig - Celtic/Scandinavian songs from an amazing vocalist. I didn't actually get to see her perform, but did pick up two albums from her--both are truly amazing--she bring elements of all different kinds of music and creates her own unique sound. Great vocalist, imagine Lene Willemark crossed with Loreena McKennitt crossed with Marta Sebestyen. The Road Dog Divas - We saw these girls last year, but they were just as good if not better this year. Composed of three independent singer-songwriters, Myshkin, Laura Freeman and Darlene, all of which are quite amazing artists in their own right, together these girls work magic. Check out all their work on CD Baby (Darlene's albums are listed under Darlene & Co.) The Wailin' Jennys - Another trio of independent female artists--this tiem from Canada who, while a bit less wild than the Road Dog Divas, still create exquisite harmonies and cover some wonderful material as well as write their own songs. Composed of Nicky Mehta, Ruth Moody and Cara Luft. Nathan - A band from Manitoba Canada composed of two young girls, one who plays guitar, and one who plays accordian, plus drums and bass (though they weren't there in the showcase I saw). They caught my attention with their cover of Eurythmics Sweet Dreams. Very high energy, very fun, and very friendly and enthusiastic. MOre indie-pop sounding than traditional folk. So far these are some of the highlights....probably will have more to come as I wade through the CDs I got. Jeff Hanson n.p. Kristin Blodig - Valivann n.r. Tad Williams - River of Blue Fire Marge Piercy - He, She, & It ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 14 Feb 2003 17:02:04 -0700 From: Neal Copperman Subject: Folk Alliance impressions (very long) Well, Jeff broke the ice on Folk Alliance. I was typing up my impressions for another list, so I figure I could post them here too. The review is very long. I'll put markers on the things that are more ecto-specific, but there is enough variety of tastes here that there is probably someone interested in each entry. (*'s indicate level of ecto friendliness.) BTW, this year's Folk Alliance was in Nashville, of which I saw almost nothing. I think the only other ecto representative besides Jeff was Jess Byers from Montana. Next year it'll be in San Diego. I wrote the other with our house concert series in mind. Not exactly the right approach for ecto, but I'm too lazy to re-write it all. Categories are somewhat arbitrary and people could move up or down depending on my feelings of the moment. neal **************************************************************************** People I would eagerly pursue (regardless of the likelihood that they would ever do a house concert in New Mexico): **************************************************************************** ***Laura Freeman - I was heading down the hall to see something else when I heard Laura's distinctive voice floating out of a hotel room and down the hall. I thought, wow, what's that! I went in and didn't immediatly recognize her, but in about a minute I remembered who she was. She's got a crazy powerful voice and a wild free spirit. I remember being struck by her last year, and also a little frightened by her! She seemed much more approachable and open. She did her set slouched in a chair with a foot casually flung over the arm, and could still belt it out like few others I saw. She did a few songs from her kids CD, which were excellent. (One was on how to make a compost heap.) I'm always collecting kid suitable songs for samplers I make for my niece, and rushed home to buy this one. I thought last year she seemed like a psychotic 50's house wife (Lucille Ball in a John Waters movie) whereas this year she seemed a bit like trailor trash. (I think she would take that as a comlpliment, but I'm not sure I'm going to try it.) *Cordelia's Dad: I was supposed to be seeing the Nields sisters, but I think they were FA no-shows. Instead, I was thrilled by a surprise appearance by the generally defunct Cordelia's Dad. They were highlights of years past for me. Their blend of old shape note singing, very traditional folk and punky attitude always work well for me. Plus a friend I hadn't seen since college sat in to play fiddle. ***Full Frontal Folk: They seem to be a love 'em or hate 'em group. I loved them. Punky, edgy women, all pierced and dyed, with great harmonies and spirit. There were 5 of them all told, including someone on dumbek, violin and guitars. Sorta like The Wailin' Jennies, but a bit wilder. **Christine Kane - I'd heard her name before, but had never seen her or heard an album. I thought she put on a captivating showcase. Funny, engaging, a bit girlish in her vocal style, good guitarist. I found her nicely understated with a bit of country and excellent songwriting. I look forward to hearing more of her work. *Albert & Gage - They were brought in as honorary Australians to close out the Australian showcase. I stuck around because I knew their three-song set would put a big smile on my face. It was stuff I'd seen them do before, but it always makes me happy. *Cosy Sheridan - Only stopped to see one song, but Cosy is a great performer and we have her booked for June. *The Duhks - Lively Canadian folk-pop band. Lot's of fun. *Rani Arbo & Brooks Williams - I love Rani all the time, but had never seen her with Brooks Williams. Another fine combo. I'm sorry I'm not going to be in town when she comes through with Joan Baez. ***Phonix - I'm a sucker for Nordic music, espcially when it's got a good female vocalist. Phonix is Swedish, and not only did they have the vocalist, but they had a cool mix of instruments, including probably the only bass clarinet at Folk Alliance. They stopped me cold when I dashed passed them in the convention center lobby and I caught a few songs later. ***Roots Quartet - A UK duo with lovely harmonies. Traditional songs, but not always traditional arrangements. We actually saw them in the hallway. They were locked out of their room where they were supposed to showcase and were feeling frustrated. We said, hey, just do some songs right here, and they did a couple for us that were lovely. One was in Gaelic. I don't think we'd have seen them otherwise. Le Vent Du Nord - Tons of fun Quebecois dance band. **Ruthie Foster and Cyd Cassone - Another cheat for me. We've hosted Ruthie twice and totally adore her. She's got such a great voice and good spirit. So I had to support them by attending their official showcase. It was great too, but no surprises there. *Ruth Wyand - I got a few CD's by her last year in the exhibit hall. They didn't look like they'd be much, but she turned out to be an interesting and versatile guitarist with a good voice to match. She played exciting slide guitar as well as lively fingerstyle. She sang a song in French and English that was more in the jazz/chanteuse mode before heading into Janis Joplin-stle blues, more traditional blues and bluesy folk. Pretty impressive live, but oddly apologetic about things. **Wailin' Jennies - Another repeat. Wanted to see if they'd grown much from last year. However, they did a pretty similar showcase to last years. Which is not a bad thing. Three women (Nicky Mehta, Ruth Moody and Cara Luft), each with a unique voice and talent. Great harmonies, keyboard, guitar and bodhran. They do wonderful covers of traditional and unexpected songs (like Bring 'Em All In by the Waterboys and Deeper Well by Emmylou Harris). Their own songs aren't quite as compelling, but I'm still interested to see how they develop as songwriters. ***Anna Wolfe - Ok, so I know Anna real well. Split bill on our first house concert and we've hosted her twice since then. But she only had one showcase and I was happy to support her. She was great too, growling and stomping her way through a couple of strong folk/pop numbers. ****Road Dog Divas - Second year running that the Divas were a highlight for me. A stunningly odd mish-mash, from the opening Indian chant (wildly powerful in a small room) to folk-infused by the different visions of the performers. Each is very unique, and the combination is a great smorgasborg. (Myshkin, Darlene and Laura Freeman - all sold on CDBaby, including the Divas.) ***Melissa Ferrick - Seen her tons of times too, but stumbled across her in a very late night jam. I don't think I'd seen her unplugged before. She's got a more powerful voice then I realized. **************************************************************************** People I would be willing to host if they contacted me: **************************************************************************** Frank Meyers - Frank sent us his CD, which I didn't expect to like at all. Surprisingly, it was good stuff. Not what I'm usually into, but good natured, funny and touching. He pulled it off pretty well live too. *Kate McDonnell - We had already booked Kate, so I was happy that I liked her. Her guitar playing is wild to watch. I'm still not sure I understand the whole upside down guitar thing, but she literally strums her guitar from the bottom up, and everything is inverted. She's got a good, classic folk singing voice a bit like Joan Baez. Good songwriting and a very relaxed, warm presence. ***GIT - Australian cowpunk trio that reminded me a bit of New Mexico's own Dolly Ranchers. Amusing matching costumes and brash attitudes. Big, bold and fun, and sporting a stand-up bass to boot. **Sophie Raymond - Well, we already had her booked as our first post-FA concert. Another lively Australian. I think she bubbles over with energy and talent, but that her songs don't always support it. But seeing her perform walking down the up escalator at 3 am, complete with waste-length blonde pigtails, big orange shoes and a belt of harmonicas, was a definite FA highlight. She was on the escalator for 3 or 4 minutes, playing guitar and singing, which included multi-octave scatting and growling. I'll be really interested to see her in a longer setting next week. Twang Band - 2-piece. One guy on old beat up slide guitar, the other on a pile of percussion equipment strewn across the floor. Unique, twisted perspective a la They Might Be Giants or Y'All (without the dresses). *Susan Gibson - Made a point of checking her out when we were asked if we'd consider her for July. Formerly of the band the Groobees and famous for writing the Dixie Chicks' smash "Wide Open Spaces". I found her singing a bit forced in an unamplified hotel showcase, but that it worked great in a bigger room with amplification. In either place, I was immediately struck by the songs themselves. I'm the kind of person that listens to the vibe, energy and emotion of a song, and only after about 50 listens do I actually recognize there are words. I was attentive to all of Susan's words, which told powerful stories with sharp images. **Jennifer Erb - Got a CD from her last year that I thought was cool. Traditional songs and originals with their own weird twist. Like She Moved Through the Fair on slide guitar. I thought it was compelling on record and was eager to see her live. I only saw two songs in a bad setting. I liked what I saw, but think she has more to offer then I got to experience. *Jean Synodinos - A cross between Eleni Kelakos and Joy Eden Harrison on one song, Eleni and Melissa Ferrick on another. Great, full-voiced belter with a touch of drama and a touch of jazz. Billy Jonas - I can't make up my mind what to think about him. He's got kind of a week voice, but he writes some of the cleverest songs I've heard, and does unique arrangements incorporating toys, garbage cans and other odd things. Last year, in a bigger show, I thought Romper Room for adults, which is kind of a good thing (if you are in the right mood). **Wishing Chair - Duo with a strong Indigo Girls feel. Good harmonies and songs. Guitar and accordian. Troy Campbell - Pretty unique voice from this Austin singer/songwriter. Excellent falsetto, interesting songs. *Terri Allard - Hmmm, can't recall specifically what she sounded like, but I was entertained while watching her. **************************************************************************** People I thought were interesting, but I'm not completely sold on: **************************************************************************** **Sine Bach Ruttel - Captivating Danish singer and banjo player. Sometimes jazzy, sometimes folky. I watched in total fascination, but I'm not really sure if it was enjoyment or not. She ended with a cover of Norwegian Wood. ***Merri-May Gill - The Australian showcase is always fun to hang out in. They rarely bore me and usually have their own distinctive energy and style. Merri-May was completely adorable and clearly very talented. I found her to be a bit unfocused, but definitely someone to watch out for. Her first song was very high energy, with fast strummed guitar. But her second song was the same and I lost a bit of interest. Her 3rd song was a cool jazzy thing which made me realize there was more to her then I'd previously thought. Definitely someone I'd look out for in the future. **Serena Ryder - She seems to have really struck a chord with Jeff. I saw her again this year, and think she is definitely improving. She has a good voice and a lot of talent, but something isn't really gelling for me yet. Someone to keep an eye on. (I would say the same about Devon Sproule and Kristin Sweetland too.) **Annabelle Chvostek - Canadian singer/songwriter who's album is all water themed. Sort of a jazz/world music flavor to her phrasing. Put me in mind of people like Sade and Basia, without actually sounding like either one. ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 15 Feb 2003 12:22:16 +1100 From: Sherlyn Koo Subject: Re: Ectophilic Recommendations from Folk Alliance Hey folks, Jeff said: >Merri-May Gill - > >An Australian singer-songwriter who writes jazz-tinged pop songs, >and had one of the msot charming stage presences I've seen--very >comedic, with an amazingly expressive face. She's a lot of fun, but I'm not as familiar with her as I should be. I saw her a few times last year at Woodford and picked up a couple of her CDs, which are around here in a box somewhere. She's a very nice person though, I can vouch for that. And she plays a wacky four-string guitar, which I'd never seen before.... Cheers, sherlyn - -- Sherlyn Koo | sherlyn@pixelopolis.com | Sydney, Australia ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 14 Feb 2003 23:17:30 -0600 From: "Amy" Subject: RE: Tina Malia I just wanted to second the recommendation for Tina Malia. She (or her people) sent me this CD quite a while ago and I did a review of it at the time on my website. I love this CD and still listen to it almost daily at work. It's very soothing. In fact, I "sing" it to myself (silently of course) when I'm trying to sleep. It's lovely. She's a very talented woman. It's a beautiful album all around and I highly recommend it. If you want to see my review you can check it out here: http://www.collectedsounds.com/cdreviews/shoresofavalon.html ~Amy Producer, Collected Sounds - a Guide to Women in Music www.collectedsounds.com - -----Original Message----- From: owner-ecto@smoe.org [mailto:owner-ecto@smoe.org]On Behalf Of neal copperman Sent: Thursday, February 13, 2003 5:06 PM To: ecto@smoe.org Subject: Tina Malia I wanted to call attention to a really nice album that a friend lent to me. It's called Shores of Avalon by Tina Malia. It's got a strong Loreena McKennitt influence all over it. At first I thought it was a bit derivative, because the connection is overwhelming. However, the CD is really nicely done, and I found myself very happy to listen to more lush, beautiful, and catchy Loreena-like music. It's a great, layered album. The more I listen to it, the more details I can hear. Tina herself plays guitar, hammer & mountain dulcimer, piano and keyboards, as well as singing. But there are also other singers, various drums and percussion, violin, cello, sitar, nickleharpa and on and on. She's of Korean descent and has a strong musical heritage (daughter of an opera singer, lots of musical training). You can find more info at http://www.tinamalia.com. It looks like she's San Francisco based and tours up and down the west coast a fair amount. neal np: shores of avalon - tina malia ------------------------------ End of ecto-digest V9 #44 *************************