Ties . . .

One of my favorite parts about visiting the Songwriters Showcase at Brewer's Alley in Frederick (MD) every month, apart from playing my Gonzo tunes and improvisation for the appreciative crowd and seeing (and now frequently accompanying) some wonderful people, is discovering a musical talent of immense proportion.  No, I don't mean overweight, I mean that special, musical artist that actually moves me.  And this week, I have found another . . . Korby Lenker. 


(from http://www.korbylenker.com/index.php/bio#bio)
An abbreviated list of Lenker's achievements so far includes: a significant amount of airplay on the legendary Seattle indie rock station KEXP; a BBC 2 interview with Bob Harris, which is only about the highest honor a rootsy singer-songwriter touring the U.K. can get; opening slots for acts ranging from Willie Nelson to Ray LaMontagne, Nickel Creek, Keith Urban, Susan Tedeschi and Tristan Prettyman; a successful run with one of the hottest young West Coast bluegrass bands of the aughts; and wins in the Merlefest folk songwriting contest as well as the Kerrville Folk Festival's elite New Folk songwriting competition. . .

"I like it simple," says Lenker. "I just do. As soon as there's a weird chord, I'm like, 'Why? That's all been done. Who cares?' What's really hard is to hit people in the heart and to reach them. That's what I'm trying to do: make music that's easily likeable, but with a kind of secret sophistication. I'm always trying to write a song that you can hum along with on the first listen. You're like, 'Yeah, I'd like to hear that again.' Then maybe you hear it 20 times and you're like, 'Damn, that's actually something I'm going to think about now.'". . .

"I like it tight," he offers about his experience fronting the 5 piece bluegrass outfit, which SPIN magazine called "The Young Riders of the bluegrass revolt". "I like the solos short and I like harmonies in tune...it was all song-driven for me.". . .

Deep down, Lenker is drawn both to the sort of unadorned expression the discerning folkie crowd treasures and to the sort of playful pop embellishment and electronic textures that may land one of his tracks in a primetime T.V. show or film any day now. . .

And there's nothing at all wrong with having it both ways musically when it comes this naturally. "I can't abandon either one of them," Lenker says, "because they're both so me. One of my favorite musicians in the world, bassist and composer Edgar Meyer once said in an interview 'The boundaries of music have been and always should be limitless.' I couldn't agree more."

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Folds. . .

. . . Ben Folds . . .


(from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ben_Folds)
". . . Ben Folds eventually got a music publishing deal with Nashville music executive Scott Siman who saw Folds open for musician Marc Silvey (as well as playing bass for Silvey's band Mass Confusion), and moved to Nashville, Tennessee, to pursue it in 1990. He played drums for a short stint in Jody's Power Bill, headed by Millard Powers, Will Owsley, and Jody Spence. Jody's Power Bill was later renamed The Semantics. Folds did not take a creative role in the band. He, again, attracted interest from major labels. He ended up playing drums there as a session musician.

"In Nashville, I was running eight miles a day, hanging out with my friends, walking around eating chocolate-chip cookies and playing a lot of drums, which I enjoyed. Life was easy. I was never frustrated – even though I wasn't fulfilling my contract obligations. If you are failing in Nashville, at least your standard of living is nice. Nashville is a nice way to fail."

Folds attended the University of Miami's Frost School of Music on a percussion scholarship, but dropped out with one credit to go before graduating. He devoted a lot of time to working on piano technique. "I spent maybe six months just running scales with a metronome like a freak," Folds said. "I suppose that did something."

Folds tells audiences about a jury recital when he was a student at the University of Miami’s music school. A jury recital consists of playing a prepared repertoire (and sometimes unprepared pieces from prior years of training) before faculty members who apply a grade for the entire semester. Folds, a drummer, showed up with a broken hand from defending his roommate from bullies the night before, but was required to play anyway. He ended up losing his scholarship and in desperation threw his drum kit into the campus' Lake Osceola.

After leaving Miami, Folds moved to Montclair, New Jersey and began to act in theater troupes in New York City. He enjoyed it in 1993 to the point where he didn't want to keep pursuing a musical career. He also played weekly gigs at Sin-é, famous for being the cafe which had helped start Jeff Buckley's career.

Soon after, Folds moved back to North Carolina. The trio of Folds, bassist Robert Sledge, and drummer Darren Jessee formed Ben Folds Five in 1994 in Chapel Hill. As Folds put it, “Jeff Buckley was being signed at that time by Columbia and I was talking to Steve, his A&R guy, and somehow we knew the same people or something."

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My latest release, Black & White Then Back,
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Jumping. . .

. . . flea. . .

Victoria Davitt (Victoria Vox) claims influence from The Cranberries, Madonna, Cyndi Lauper, Patty Griffin, Sting and Peter Gabriel and specializes in pop music accompanied by her ukulele playing.  A teenage year living in France, graduation from Berklee with honors, a stint in Nashville and a release in England brought her back home to Green Bay in 2003. In 2004 she recorded 'In Between', an acoustic EP that began to experiment with more pop sounds than her previous work. Following this release, the ukulele became her primary instrument and fans requested an album focusing on the uke. In 2006, she released her first album of ukulele music through Obus Records. The album was entitled Victoria Vox and Her Jumping Flea because "jumping flea" is the literal translation of the Hawaiian word "ukulele". While on tour in Hawaii in 2006, Vox was offered an endorsement with KoAloha Ukuleles of Honolulu, Hawaii. Though her professional, performance repertoire contains little traditional Hawaiian ukulele music, with the 2008 release of Chameleon, Vox gained renown for her use of the ukulele with pop music. She is currently also sponsored by Mya-Moe Ukuleles and Petros. Vox is featured in a short segment in the extras on the DVD release of Mighty Uke: The Amazing Comeback of a Musical Underdog, a 2010 documentary on the ukulele.  (source:  wikipedia.com)

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Tomorrow. . .

 From the pen (or computer) of Mr. Rod Deacey, Frederick area music impresario. . .

 ". . . Brewer’s Alley Songwriters’ Showcase on Monday, August 5, features one of our long-time favorites, all the way from Nashville! – DONNA FROST, who visits the DC area every summer and always comes to Frederick to give her powerful pipes a work-out on some of her country-tinged originals, with the occasional Skeeter Davis or Janis Joplin song thrown in for good measure!  This time Donna brings us the added bonus of rockabilly legend BILLY HANCOCK to share the evening and play along; Billy made his name playing bass and singing vocals with the late, great Danny Gatton in Danny and the Fat Boys and is in five Halls of Fame! It’s going to be a don't-miss show!

       The piano prelude this week during the Dog Days of summer will be from our favorite seasonal responder – JIMBOW – who will give us some summer music with his usual mix of familiar phrases from other songs embedded in entirely new pieces; just as you are going, “Wasn't that…”, the music has moved on and is somewhere else entirely! Only Jimbow knows where he is going, and even he doesn't know more than a few seconds in advance… But that’s what makes it great entertainment, folks – get your tickets here – but then we don't have tickets, do we?  Come early to get good seats for the evening and to catch the whole prelude! You can come upstairs at 7:15 pm (maybe 5 minutes or so earlier than that if we're ready; performers can come up when they arrive).

    For cameo appearances this Monday, we are delighted to welcome CRUMPLED HAT (Rick CRUMP and Les HATley, who have been playing together for more than 20 years; not all the time, of course), the fabulous McTELL BROTHERS, who have been wowing us since they were knee-high to a grasshopper (they are larger now, and still scarily talented!), plus JASON SCHAARSCHMIDT, who has a hard name to spell – hope I have it right! We are also looking forward to the return of TOMY WRIGHT! Poet John Holly will read a couple of poems, and also pass the hat for our featured performers. I may squeeze in a poem or two if time permits…
    
      This week, RON GOAD will hopefully be joined by WALT WAGNER with his cajón (not a needlework storage case!) for their weekly meeting of the beats – and maybe we'll see TOMY WRIGHT back behind the djembes and hi-hat – we live in hope! Last week, the rhythm section was completed by the addition of HOWARD RABACH on bass, who even made me sound good, so he passed the audition – you can come back any time, Howard! Songwriters are welcome to call on our mighty rhythmic resources any time to make their songs sound better, but be careful! When you unleash the beast it is sometimes difficult to get it back in the box…

      Mister Goad’s horoscope this week says, “You will be a bit distracted in a good way…” Well, Ron is always a bit distracted, mostly in a good way, so that shouldn't even be in the stars… The words of wisdom this week go on to say, “Your high level of interest in a subject fuels productivity.” Maybe we should get Ron to take a high level of interest in Congress, especially since the majority of us have given up; a 10 percent approval rating tells us that…

      Marjorie Thompson’s Guitar Class/Workshop was very much appreciated by attendees last Monday; we are working on getting Marjorie back early next year, as she is rethinking her two-year schedule… If you missed her class this time, you may have another opportunity to catch it relatively soon… Watch this space!

      Make a trip to Brewer’s Alley this Monday evening to hear DONNA FROST and BILLY HANCOCK, plus our line-up of talented cameo performers!  And remember, songwriters have a limited income, no health insurance and an uncertain future – and by ‘future’ I mean the rest of the week… Please come and watch them and listen to them and sympathize – it’s the only validation they need! Don't get too chummy, though, or they may follow you home, especially if they think you may have food and/or alcoholic beverages, so don't let your guard down for a second… If necessary, you can distract them by buying one of their CDs – they all have them, I'm afraid, often with photos or drawings of trees on them… Nobody knows why; don't bother asking! . . ."

What do you think?
Tell me at
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My latest release, Black & White Then Back,
can be downloaded digitally at:

(or you can copy-and-paste this URL directly to
your browser:  http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/rayjozwiak3)

Also, be sure to visit:
http://www.rayjozwiak.com

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