From: owner-good-noise-digest@smoe.org (good-noise-digest) To: good-noise-digest@smoe.org Subject: good-noise-digest V1 #55 Reply-To: good-noise@smoe.org Sender: owner-good-noise-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-good-noise-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk good-noise-digest Saturday, December 12 1998 Volume 01 : Number 055 Today's Subjects: ----------------- [none] ["Kevin Rent" ] Re: Cleveland Plain Dealer Review of "After Yesterday" [SAbrams613@aol.co] Re: Cleveland Plain Dealer Review of "After Yesterday" [Mary Larson Subject: [none] ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 11 Dec 1998 12:28:51 EST From: SAbrams613@aol.com Subject: Re: Cleveland Plain Dealer Review of "After Yesterday" Thought everyone would be interested in the pre-concert review printed in today's paper: "Folksinger enjoying role as family man" by Michael Sangiacomo, Plain Dealer music reporter John Gorka said his life has been one giant concert tour, but that has all changed since the stork visited his house last October. So tonight's concert at the Highland Theater in Akron, with harpist-singer Dee Carstensen and her trio, is part of a much smaller tour than the usual 150 concerts a year regimen for folk singer Gorka. "I'm not a slave to the music industry anymore," said Gorka. "I have cut way back on the number of concerts I perform so I could spend more time at home. I think this is reflected in my work". Gorka called "After yesterday" the most joyful record he has ever made. "Some of my songs before were positive", he said. "But in these songs, the potential for hope has been realized and the joy is real". Songs like the title track deal with life as a father, and "Cypress Trees" is about the joys of pregnancy. He said now that he is a family man, the music industry will never be as all-consuming as it once was. That's fine, but to be honest, it's good that Gorka will be dipping freely into his older material at tonight's show because the new CD is inferior to his earlier work. Nothing on it comes close to "I'm From New Jersey", "I Saw A Stranger With Your Hair", "Heart Upon Demand" or "Love Is Our Cross To Bear" for wit or poignancy. In fact, many of the songs on the latest CD sound a little too much like "Cross To Bear" for comfort. Still, Gorka's past work is so good that it would be hard to imagine a concert that was not stellar. Gorka grew up in New Jersey and blossomed as a singer-songwriter while attending college in Bethlehem, PA in the late 70's. He spent time at the famous Godfrey Daniels Coffeehouse cutting his teeth on Stan Rogers, Eric Andersen and Claudia Schmidt. Soon, he was writing songs and performing on that very stage. At their best, Gorka's songs can bring a tear to the eye or a laugh from the belly. And there are not a lot of performers who can do that. PS. I caught an interview by Jim Blum of John Gorka on WKSU 89.7 FM this morning as I drove to work. Jim asked him why his songs are smooth and powerful, but in person he is "very shy, even awkward". John replied that he doesn't trust the place his conversation comes from, it feels too "off the top of my head". But he trusts the place his songs come from completely "because it is from a deeper place", so he is more comfortable communicating that way. It was interesting, and if anyone wants to hear it they usually run interviews again during the afternoon segment of "All Things Considered" between 4:30 and 6 PM. Barbara ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 11 Dec 1998 10:21:51 -0800 (PST) From: Mary Larson Subject: Re: Cleveland Plain Dealer Review of "After Yesterday" Gee- "Cross to Bear" is my alltime favorite Gorka song. I can't think of a better compliment... :) Mary On Fri, 11 Dec 1998 SAbrams613@aol.com wrote: > In fact, many of the songs on the latest CD sound a little too much > like "Cross To Bear" for comfort. > ------------------------------ End of good-noise-digest V1 #55 *******************************