nine-volt-heart

Wes Corbett not content to just “Drift”; releases a star studded release!

Wes Corbett has some talented friends! He recorded this album, “Drift” with his Nashville friends and it’s an amazing group! Over the course of three years, he invited folks like Darol Anger, Bryan Sutton, Sierra Hull, Brittany Haas and Sam Bush (to name just a few) to help him on his second solo(?) release.

We start our conversation with Wes describing his Bainbridge Island ,Washington ,upbringing and his time refining his craft on banjo with stops in Boston at Berklee School of Music (as an instructor at 26) and finally Nashville. We talk about his first release, “Cascade” and the differences between the two recording approaches. We discuss his banjo influences documented on “Drift” with song nods to Alan Mundes and John Hartford along with the serious impact of Bela Fleck on Wes’ playing.

We start the segment off with “Salmon Run”, an energetic cut with Casey Campbell among others leading the charge. We include a song from Joy Kills Sorrow from Corbett’s Boston years followed by the previously mentioned tributes” Case of the Mundes” and “Hartford’s Bend on the Cumberland”. Wes’ tribute to his home environment on Bainbridge Island, “Eagle Harbor” includes the star trio of Todd Phillips, Darol Anger and Sam Bush (in their first studio appearance together since Tony Rice’s Manzanita!) Did I mention “star-studded” yet? We finish the songs with “The Tidal Pool Jigs” with Brittany Haas and Pawl Kowert after one rehearsal. The musicianship is astounding and the arrangements loose and improvisational.

Our conversation highlights the songs mentioned and much more. Song titles, studio experiences and banjo influences are discussed throughout. While Wes Corbett is modest, giving credit to his amazing collaborators, his vision for these tunes is ambitious. His musician friends help him exceed expectations in every tune. It’s a bounty of musical treasures proving sometimes it’s better to “Drift” than to drive. Meander along this album with Corbett and you’ll agree; it’s a very special release.

Mandolin help from Sam Bush, Sierra Hull and Casey Campbell. Guitars include Bryan Sutton and Chris Eldridge. Fiddles from Darol Anger, Bronwyn Keith-Hynes, Jason Carter and Brittany Haas. Dobro help from Justin Moses. Bass work by Paul Kowert, Todd Phillips, Mike Bub and Vickie Vaughn. Everyone a true original and award-winning player on their instruments.! Wow!

Details about this October 3 release at WesCorbett.com

No Ordinary Duo; Ordinary Elephant coming to the Parlor Room 9/20.

The duo of husband and wife Pete and Crystal Damore are “Ordinary Elephant”. They play gorgeous acoustic originals with superb vocal harmonies. Their third album,the self-titled “Ordinary Elephant” is filled with sometimes spare but haunting songs; usually avoiding “verse-chorus-verse” style and singalong hooks. But they are full of emotion and tension and don’t avoid big subject matter. Songs about death, despair, addictions and difficult family interactions are included. But the beauty of nature, love and hope keep the listener engaged. Crystal who pens much of the lyrics is accused as a ‘world class noticer” of circumstances, relationships and other fodder for songs and poems. She agrees with this assessment!

We talk about their decision to jettison their day jobs in Veterinary Cardiologist and Computer Programmer and buy an RV to take to the road. They honed their craft with countless open mics and observing an endless horizon of new places and experiences. After five years in this nomadic lifestyle (along with a pandemic) suggested finding a homeplace in Opelousas Louisiana (close to where Crystal grew up). The pair credit this feeling of “home” for this latest record which was recorded with Dirk Powell in his nearby Louisiana studio. Dirk is a multi-instrumentalist who’s toured and recorded with Joan Baez, Levon Helm and, more recently, Our Native Daughters. We open the segment with a cut from the new album, “Once Upon a Time”. The album has been nominated for Album of the Year by the International Folk Music Awards.

We talk about their song-writing process, recording vibe with Powell, their feature film of the experience and more. They will be performing a number of dates in the North East including September shows in Putney Vt (9/19) The Parlor Room (9/20) Cambridge Ma (9/21) Portland Me (9/25) and North Adams Ma (9/26).

We finish with a song introduced by Crystal as a letter to her future self called “I See You”. I finished with selections from other releases including “I Come From”, “Walk With You” and a cover of “If I Needed You”. If you need a break from the never-ending bad news cycle and frantic overload, do yourself a favor and dive into their powerful catalog of original songs. Of course, we hope you’ll catch this dynamic talented pair in person at a show in the next week.

Diary of A Fiddler Showcases Darol Anger’s Huge Influence!

Darol Anger is the pre-eminent fiddler of our time! From his early work in the ground-breaking David Grisman Quintet (fifty years ago!) to his current group, Mr. Sun, Darol has collaborated with acoustic music’s finest. Our conversation begins with a discussion of the origins of “Diary of a Fidler Vol.1” which features collaborations with his contemporaries. Fiddlers like Vassar Clements, Richard Greene, Stuart Duncan from the bluegrass world to Natalie MacMaster, Alasdair Fraser and Martin Hayes from the celtic side; every tune is stellar. Darol has reprised this project with “Diary of a Fiddler Vol.2” that brings together several generations of young fiddlers who were mentored by Darol, either at Berklee School of Music, the many camps he’s taught at, and his online Artist Works platform.

The list of young fiddlers is comprehensive as it is impressive. Brittany Haas, Jenna Moynihan, Kathleen Parks, Bronwyn Keith Hynes along with Alex Hargreaves, Avery Merritt and Mike Barnett; just to name a few! The project began during the 2020 pandemic to give these incredible musicians a creative outlet and the two disc set is jam-packed with Darol’s students playing his original material.

Our conversation covers over sixty years of performances and projects including the David Grisman Quintet, Turtle Island String Quartet, Republic of Strings, Montreux and Mr. Sun. Topics including Darol’s early decision to play fiddle during the Rock n Roll 70’s when guitar ruled the airwaves. Folks like David Lindley (on the Youngblood’s “Darkness, Darkness”) and Richard Greene’s work in Seatrain gave Darol the inspiration and role-models to follow the fiddle instead.

Darol has an opportunity to view his legacy over decades through the musicians he has mentored and whose early careers he has helped flourish. This self-described Valedictory address to the music world is a capstone to a musical legacy that few can match.

Darol Anger’s current project for the last dozen years is Mr. Sun who will be appearing at this year’s Freshgrass Festival, September 19-21 at North Adams’ Mass MOCA. Make sure to catch their set as well as Darol Anger’s collaborations with all the participants who will want to congratulate him on his lifetime of outsized contributions to the acoustic music world.

We include more the a half dozen of Darol Anger tunes in the segment. Give it a listen.

Chris Brashear and Jim Watson put on an old-time country music clinic. In studio on Nine Volt Heart.

Two legendary figures in old-time acoustic music joined me last night for a clinic in the history of traditional music. Jim Watson has been a key figure in old-time and country music since the late 1960’s with a stint in the Hollow Rock Stringband from Durham County, NC. Jim is the co-founder of the hugely influential Red Clay Ramblers where he spent 14 years and ten album releases. He was a member of NC based Green Level Entertainers as well as the Piedmont Melody Makers. His encyclopediac knowledge of this music is evident in his discussion of his influences and his long career.

Chris Brashear, multi-instrumentalist and local legend, plays in the Deep River Ramblers with Paul Kochanski and Jim Henry. They are the long-time house band for the Signature Sounds Songwriter series (going on 16 tributes to date). They feature the music of Bob Dylan and The Band’s “Basement Tapes” material at the Academy of Music on August 22. They play an opening set the next day at Arcadia Folk Festival, Easthampton on August 23. Chris has an amazing knowledge of the old-time and country catalog as well. Between Jim and Chris, I was overwhelmed with the stories and legacy that these talented musicians have contributed to. Both Chris and Jim were in Robin and Linda Williams’ Fine Group and the Piedmont Melody Makers (also featuring Cliff Hale and Alice Gerrard!)

We start the segment off with a Chris Brashear original “Oregon Country” followed by Jim’s request to play Sandy’s Fancy version of “Sally Anne Johnson”. The duo followed with their take on “Hard Road To Travel”. We checked out two Chris originals “April Promenade” with the Deep River Ramblers and “Lost Canyons” from his duo album with Peter McLaughlin. Jim and Chris play “This River Will Want to Run” and a spirited vesion of “West Virginia Rag”. We finish with Chris’ “21 On the Border” and Jim’s “Prairie Lullaby”. In between, we get a master class in storytelling through song. Their incredible back catalog together over six decades is deep and soulful. Give the segment from these master instrumentalists and singers.

Jon Pousette Dart returns to the Iron Horse 7/18.

The Pousette Dart Band have played the Iron Horse many times from the early to mid eighties onward. Jon Pousette Dart returns for a duo show on 7/18. Alice Howe and Freebo open this evening of acoustic music.

Our conversation begins with Jon’s childhood in Suffern NY just 30 miles north of Manhattan. Jon’s father and grandfather were well known artists. Both generations prior were visual artists with grandfather Nathaniel an artist, editor, art advertising businessman while Jon’s father Richard was an abstract expressionist artist, a photographer and sculptor. This creative environment was immersive for Jon and his older sister; encouraging and open to experimentation. Neighborhood bands were formed at an early age. Except these bands included Burgess Meredith’s son and Soupy Sales’ kids, enabling this fledgling teen garage band, Tony & the Tigers, television exposure!

We chat about Jon Pousette Dart’s visit to his grandparents Nantucket summer home and “being dicovered” by Rock n Roll promoter Don Law who brought him to Boston. We discuss the vibrant musical community in Boston/Cambridge at the time (early and mid 70’s) and being booked for national rock tours with a wide variety of British and American stars including James Taylor, Bonnie Raitt, Billy Joel, and J Geils. The two biggest rock tours of that era; “Peter Frampton Comes Alive” and “Yes Fragile Tour”, both had the Pousette Dart Band included!

Our conversation includes the ups and downs of the industry for the band including Jon heading to Nashville to write jingles. We chat about how the music ‘business’ has changed as well over time. Discussions of songwriting challenges and what the current tour entails finish out our chat. Of course, there’s music along the way! We begin with “Women In My Dreams”, “County Line”, “Fall On Me” and finish with “Amnesia”. Jon Pousette Dart is joined by long time accompanist Jim Chapdelaine on this show.

Details at Pousette-Dart.com as well as IronHorse.org

The amazing Alice Howe and Freebo open the 7/18 Iron Horse show.

Karla Bonoff, master songwriter, to perform at Shea Theater, 6/27.

Karla Bonoff’s career spans decades of an industry that has radically changed. Her music and talent has not. The songs from her ten albums showcase that a gorgeous melody and a lyric that rings true is timeless. Bonoff will bring that incredible catalog of songs to the Shea Theater on THIS FRIDAY 6/27.

Our conversation is wide-ranging; from her early training in Southern California to her open mic sets at LA’s Troubador, the center of a burgeoning singer songwriter scene. Karla tells stories of her friendships and collaborations with folks like Jackson Browme, James Taylor, Elton John and members of the soon-to-be Eagles. We talk about her collaboration in a band with Wendy Waldman, Kenny Edwards and Andrew Gold called Bryndle; a band ahead of their time. All these friendships led to folks like Linda Ronstadt and Bonnie Raitt recording her songs paving a way for her individual success.

Ou conversation touches on her popularity in Japan, her feelings about hearing her songs performed by others, her work in film and TV soundtracks. We also examine how much the “music industry” has changed and which era she prefers. We finish with a discussion of folks’ influence on her career and personal life such as JD Souther and Linda Ronstadt.

Our segment features THE SONGS! We open with “I Can’t Hold On” from her excellent live release. We include “Lose Again” a song that hooked Linda Ronstadt into a major collaboration over years with Karla. We include versions of Bonoff’s work by Bonnie Raitt and Wynona Judd as well as a JD Souther song in tribute to his passing. Karla’s “Goodbye My Friend” and Linda Ronstadt and Aaron Neville’s grammy award winning version of “All My Life”.

Karla Bonoff’s live shows feature her on guitar and piano while the amazing Nina Gerber accompanies her on electric guitar. Stunning virtuosity in an intimate setting of the Shea is an opportunity NOT TO BE MISSED! SheaTheater.com for ticket details.

The Lightfoot Band celebrates the songs of Gordon Lightfoot on NineVoltHeart. Iron Horse show on 4/24.

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Barry Keane is the long-time drummer from Gordon Lightfoot’s band. I mean 50 plus years long time! Barry joined Gordon as the only touring drummer ever in the band in 1972. Bassist Rick Haynes joined in 1968! Keyboard player Mike Heffernan was a latecomer in 1981 as was guitarist Carter Lancaster (recruited after the death of Terry Clements). This is the band who recorded and performed all those hits of Gordon Lightfoot, Canada’s revered singer-songwriter. They will be at the Iron Horse on 4/24 for their only New England appearance. Of course, Gordon passed on 5/1/2023 and the band convened to consider how to continue to showcase these amazing songs. They chose long-time friend of the band Andy Mauck to sing and play rythm guitars (Same guitars as Gord! Gibson B45 and Martin D-18)

The result is a triumphant return to these amazing songs like “If You Could Read My Mind”, “Early Morning Rain”, “Carefree Highway”, “Sundown” and “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald”. Many more hits and deep cuts will be in the setlist at the Iron Horse on Thursday 4/24. My chat with Barry Keane was a joy for a Lightfoot fan like myself and anyone curious about the legacy of these songs. I began with “Rainy Day People” and began a discussion about Keane’s carreer which includes over 400 sessions for albums, an Oscar for the film “Last of the Mohicans”, appearing in a Budweiser commercial!, as well as having a record label named after him! All this even before Gordon’s studio engineer asked him to sit in on “Old Dan’s Records” in 1972. Keane told some amazing stories about recording sessions and world-wide tours as well as some insights about the man himself. We finish this amazing segment in musical history with the story about the recording (almost not) of “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald”.

Details at LightfootBand.com and IronHorse.org for details.

JJ Slater gives listeners the “Silver Key”, a new song cycle album release.

JJ Slater spent ten weeks in Taos NM creating this new batch of songs. He took the opportunity of a Residency at the Helene Wurlitzer Foundation where the artists live in an adobe casita working on their craft. The foundation has welcomed visual artists, literary artists and musical composers to Taos since 1954. The results of this stay are a compelling argument for “getting away” from your comfort zone and your day to day routines.

JJ starts the segment off with an in-studio version of “One More Ride” which happens to be the first song composed for this collection. The album is a new approach by Slater to create a narrative song cycle rather than distinct songs. The songs are playful and catchy yet a soft and smoky vibe dominates throughout. That vibe is established in the first album cut which we hear in the segment called “In the Cool Salida Breeze”. The song chronicles the themes that the song cycle ties together. The fictional character leaves home and heads to a Colorado motel and undergoes a creative awakening. As the narrative progresses, the musical mood changes over the nine tracks. JJ Slater has chosen the “motel metaphor” partly because of his experience as a touring musician. The motel has different occupants with different story lines every night. His characters throughout use the hotel as a recurring vacation destination or a place of refuge or even a short term living space.

The resulting songs from the Taos retreat were recorded in part through a Mass Cultural Council grant in 2023. The album was recorded in Northampton at SideTrack Studios with JJ Slater on vocals and guitar. He is joined by Dan Bisson on bass and Kevin Mason on drums with additional contributions from Tobey Sol La Roche and Lexi Weege.

We finish the segment with “The Time is Finally Right” which coincidentally concludes ‘The Silver Key’.

JJ Slater is also a member of Signature Dish with his partner Lexi Weege. They tour widely throughout the US and are releasing new songs under that duo. JJ is currently writing a new song cycle album, some of which may be heard at live gigs. JJ Slater and Lexi Weege as Signature Dish will be playing on May 9 at Easthampton’s New City Brewery. The event will be a fundraiser for touring transportation!

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Dear Ella preview their upcoming IMA show on 3/29 with an In-Studio NineVoltHeart visit.

The harmony-driven trio, Dear Ella, joined me on NineVoltHeart to showcase their distinctive sound and to help promote their upcoming show at The Institute for Musical Arts on 3/29 in Goshen,MA. We begin our segment with Mary Witt’s song dedicated to Ella Fitzgerald (“Dear Ella”) that became the project’s namesake. Mary Witt and Annie Patterson have long and varied musical careers which we explored in the segment. Annie Patterson co-created the world renowned song book, “Rise Up Singing” and has led communal singing for decades. She sings with the swingband “Girls From Mars” and sits in with “Big Yellow Taxi” as well. Mary Witt is the longtime bass player, songwriter and singer for The O-Tones. Ann Percival, third member of Dear Ella, could not make the show but has been active in the dance community as a member of “Wild Asparagus”.

I was also fortunate to have Ann Hackler, co-creator of the Institute for Musical Arts along with June Millington, in studio as well. The duo version of Dear Ella sang “Lonesome Valley” followed up by “Swing, Brother, Swing” from Patterson’s ‘Girls From Mars’ project. The conversation covered a lot of topics including Ann Hackler’s story of the IMA’s beginning and their mission of training women and girls in the musical industry! We talk about the women visionaries that Dear Ella are inspired by and the social justice messaging in their repetoire. We hear “Song For Peace” a Witt original and a duet with Jim Henry from the O-Tones’ ‘Groove Duets’ called “The Walk”.

The idea of multi-generational influences in both music and social justice work is explored with Mary’s parents stressing the importance of giving to their community. We also discuss the role of other art forms such as visual art to all the musicians. The segment concludes with The O-Tones’ “No Soap No Hope Blues”, Ella Fitzgerald’s take on “Begin the Beguine”, Dear Ella’s version of “C C Rider”.

IMA.org for information on the 3/29 show in Goshen and the OTones.com for info on Dear Ella.

Heather Maloney releases “Exploding Star” and sells out three local shows! NineVoltHeart interview.

Heather Maloney joined me for an in-depth discussion of her carreer and her latest album, “Exploding Star”; the local writer’s ninth release. She has two sold out shows at the Iron Horse on Feb 7&8th to begin a full tour featuring her most personal album yet. We begin and end the interview with the capstones of her album; “Labyrinth in the Weeds” and “Leave It To Them”. In between, our conversation touches on many topics including making Western Massachusetts her home base, her song writing approach to this new material as well as her visual artistry (creating linocuts for each song). We chat about the incredibly difficult chapter of losing her Dad to Parkinsons in 2021. She went to her childhood home to find it vacant of residents but not of ghosts and nostalgia among many emotions. Two of her new songs ended up being recorded at the home; literally using the walls and floors percussively! We chatted about the intensity of this formative experience to the process. The results are astoundingly touching, emotionally complicated and starkly beautiful! Heather talks about lessons she learned about grief and loss among these songs which weren’t originally scheduled for an album release at all. They were simply a creative artist working through issues. We are collectively glad that she reconsidered that decision.

Check out more about the album, the tour and all things Heather at HeatherMaloney.com