From: owner-shindell-list-digest@smoe.org (shindell-list-digest) To: shindell-list-digest@smoe.org Subject: shindell-list-digest V12 #11 Reply-To: shindell-list@smoe.org Sender: owner-shindell-list-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-shindell-list-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk shindell-list-digest Tuesday, March 15 2011 Volume 12 : Number 011 Today's Subjects: ----------------- [RS] Re: shindell-list-digest V12 #10 ["E. Wolke" ] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 14 Mar 2011 07:50:53 -0400 From: "E. Wolke" Subject: [RS] Re: shindell-list-digest V12 #10 Hi, Doug! Don't sell cults short; Christianity spent some of its best days as a cult... But, Doug, in my answer to your question, I think that Richard is first of all a very spiritual and perceptive guy, and that comes through in his music. I know the first time I saw him I was riveted to the spot -- so much so that the artist who was with him (James Keelaghan, who wrote "Cold Missouri Waters", and is a great favorite of mine) NOTICED. He opened with "You Stay Here", which is as brilliant evocation of the feelings of folks with kids during urban warfare as I could imagine. At the time my twins were under 10, and I was almost in tears by the middle of the song - ("You stay here and I'll go look for bread/And if I can, some sugar for the kids")... He also has a unique way of channeling the inner feminine, and touches that way. I've also noticed that most of Richard's songs are in the NOW, and that makes them very immediate. Folks who listen to words beyond the sweet, expressive baritone (I'm a sucker for baritones... I play Dragon Age 2 to listen to the male lead speak) and tasteful guitar work are drawn in, participate in the moment. That's a powerful thing when done correctly. Even his more complex songs (like, say, "There Goes Mavis") gain gravitas in that manner. I mean, all parents wonder about how a child will grow up and fly off, and it was no mistake that her MOTHER had that cage. Richard's music isn't truly "folk" music; when I listen I hear a lot of jazz, rock, and classical influences, and the composition is tight and professional. When I hear him play, I'm not reminded of a folk musician so much as say, Paul Simon, James Taylor, or even someone like Al Pettaway (if you haven't heard him play guitar, you ought to). The soundscapes are subtle and even lacy at times. Folk music is far from subtle in general. In this I speak of the strict definition - traditional song, which is often lovely and sweet, but not usually terribly subtle. For many people it is a starting point, and they grow beyond it. Most of my favorites have done so, and have produced gems and gold that are not seen by the crowds. Richard's songs are far more complex than traditional folk, generally, and aren't readily categorized. I like that. Pigeon holes are for pigeons.Tastes differ. It's good that there's room for "indies" at all in this tough time. I think you can tell who Richard likes when you hear him choose anyone else's song to sing and make his own -- Keelaghan, Springsteen, Richard Thompson, even old blues tunes and the wonderful stuff he did with "OlaShindellAbell" (I hope someone has a recording of those sets; I wish they'd been released). What Richard does is unique to himself. "Folk" music doesn't cover it, nor does "Americana" (though that's where many singer/songwriters seem to be in these rather benighted days). After the homogeneous drivel that is popular music, it is downright refreshing to hear someone who puts poetry into song and dares to create his own niche, and not make music for the masses. Those are people I go to see, people I can congratulate after a concert and with whose fans I can speak in general. I like Bruce Springsteen too, but I cannot abide "Brucies" and doubt I'll ever see him in a place where I can bear the sound level, much less the crowds. Gah. This sounds like an essay. Prefix this with "In My Opinion" and trash if you like. But you asked. Hopefully, Richard will make a swing by the DC area, and I'll be able to see him soon. I missed him last time he was here, and I was mightily peeved. Cheers and back to lurkdom, Evelyn Wolke > > Date: Sat, 12 Mar 2011 16:56:01 -0500 (EST) > From: dbri732722@aol.com > Subject: [RS] St. Paul > > I was fortunate enough to see/hear Richard and Mark in St Paul, Mn. Last > evening. Why is it almost spiritual to hear his music, his gift? When he > plays > Wisteria, I am touched somewhere so deep, I am usually overcome. > > A subject of some discourse here has been the new song, so, knowing that, I > paid particular attention. The name of the song is "Your Guitar", written > in > memory of the late Steve Bruton. He was unaware to whom it belonged, and > was > "blown away" when he learned of it's past. He also performed a song for > the > first time that will be on his new....disc. Very lovely tune, not in my > opinion as lovely as the aforementioned. > > May I ask you fellow cultists who are more eloquent, more knowledgeable > than > myself.....How can Richard perform with such passion, such emotion, when he > has gone on record as saying he doesn't like folk music? Does he consider > his > own a different genre, or is he truly not passionate about his own music? > > > Doug B. ------------------------------ End of shindell-list-digest V12 #11 ***********************************