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Posts Tagged ‘Maine Folk Music’

Cassi Gray – Great pipes, Jazz with a folk tinge

Monday, June 29th, 2009

I met Cassi Gray on a Thursday evening several months ago; she performed in an open mic slot at the Maine Songwriters Association Showcase at the North Star Music Cafe.

I was immediately impressed with her performance skills, her songwriting,

Jazz performer and singer/songwriter Cassi Gray

and her voice. I’ve seen her at the MSA event a couple of times since that night. Most recently, in July, she performed in one of the 30-minute sets that are the main attraction at the MSA Showcase nights on Thursday evenings at the North Star.

Cassi is making her name in the local music scene as a jazz singer and performer, and appears with a jazz trio that she fronts. Her songwriting is more ecclectic; while constructed primarily of jazz harmonies and styles, it is tinged with a folk flavor.

Cassi is a recent graduate of the USM Music Program, with a double degree in jazz performance an music education. Her voice is beautiful; clear, pitch-perfect, supple, and emotive. It cuts through the mix and asserts itself as the main character in her performances.

The young Ms. Gray is doing a great job of promoting herself locally. She is active in The Maine Songwriters Association, and has been networking at recent Portland Music Association events, meeting people and learning about what they do in town. She was featured in Portland Magazine this past winter, and continues to gig in the area with both solo performances, and appearances with her jazz trio.

You can hear her very nice vocals and her original music on her MySpace page, and you can learn more about her, and find out about her gigs, at her website http://www.cassigray.com

If you get a chance to catch her performance, I highly recommend that you don’t let that chance slip by!

Tags: cassi Gray, Maine Folk Music, Maine Songwriters Association, North Star Music Cafe
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Jacob Johnson – Creativity and Energy!

Thursday, June 18th, 2009

I’m not sure how it’s taken me this long to get inside the Port City Music Hall, but I finally made it last night. Jacob Johnson was the reason I went.

I first saw Jacob perform at the North East Folk Alliance in New York last November. What impressed me most then was his guitar work: his fingers fade into a blur as he races across the fretboard, laying out a full sound all on his own, and hitting every note dead on.

Last night I saw another side of Jake that I hadn’t seen at NERFA. His very innovative in his approach to the guitar. Lot’s of right-hand work on the fretboard, harmonics, and flexing the neck for special effects. He used a looping box to lay down grooves, and then played amazing lead over them. That’s not so unique these days, but I don’t remember seeing anyone singing scat through his guitar’s sound hole, into the pickup microphone, to make that part of the loop. Pretty cool.

Jacob and I had a chance to talk at the Port City Music Hall lounge before he mounted the unique stage up behind the bar. The conversation ranged wildly between Willie Nelson’s hat, Harry Anderson’s talent, and David Copperfield’s magic. They were all influences on his performance style and approach to his art.

He hails from South Carolina, but in the last few years has traveled extensively as he has taken up the life of a touring musician. He seems to be having a pretty good time!

Johnson’s songs are about forgetting old girlfriends, growing up, and Jack Karouac. He has a unique lyrical style that crams lots of words in between the frantic lead work on the fretboard; it works very well. On stage, as he surrenders to the passion that drives his guitar playing, his energy and motion was that of a rocker from the old Muppet TV show. Very entertaining and inspiring.

Jacob comes back to Maine regularly – he has played The Dogfish Bar and Grille and The North Star Music Cafe in the past. Keep an eye out for this guy, he is not to be missed!

Incidentally, I enjoyed my first visit to the Port City Music Hall. I didn’t get a good look at the big room in the venue, but it’s a very classy place, with great service. I need to get back in there for a show. I’m sure I’m the last one in town to have that experience!

Tags: Jacob Johnson, Maine Folk Music, Port City Music Hall
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New Releases by Carll Wilkinson and Zeile August

Sunday, June 14th, 2009

Check out these great new Maine Folkie releases! I’ll be writing more about both of these new albums on MaineFolkMusic.com in the next week or so – look for the reviews!

Both of these artists seem to have discovered the joy of studio recording in their first effort, and come back for more, fired up for a more complete sound!

Carll Wilkinson – “The Working Poor Blues”

Carll Wilkinson’s debut 2005 release was “Pomagranate”, and it earned him a nomination for Best Singer-Songwriter by the Portland Phoenix. He has just released his new album, and this one’s called “The Working Poor Blues”.

Carll still plays with a percussive guitar style, and pumps out dramatic, sophisticated vocals; his are passionate, almost desperate songs about love and struggle. He sounds a little like an upbeat and not-so-breathless Ray Lamontagne. ”Pomagranate” was just Carll and his guitar.

The new record is much more full, with more instrumentation and production – and Carll wears it well. We are treated to Stefen Samuels on drums, Tom Snow on piano and organ, and Pete Morse on a variety of guitars and bass.

Pete Morse is the owner of Busted Barn Studios; he recorded, mixed, mastered, and co-produced the record. He has begun to rack up the credits for some great albums lately (Sorcha Cribben-Merrill, Putnam Smith.) He had a hand in “Pomagranate”, but this new record is all his, and it sounds great.

As for Carll’s songwriting, he tells me, ”

I think the album is about a lot of things, but thematically I think it is a lot about personal history and reinvention, and it asks if we can reinvent ourselves or not. The title track was written in 2007; I had read an article about a hedge fund manager, and was kind of wondering how that juxtaposed against the staple American dream of working your way from pauper to prince. Making a billion dollars a year seems like a mutant version of capitalism. …Its half earnest, half sarcastic, and not so sure that our collective aspirations for more are a good thing. And, it seems to have sort of predicted the current state of affairs.”

No word yet on a release party, but stay tuned for more information!

Zeile August – “Lucie’s Hobo Package”

Zeile August didn’t wait as long as Carll between albums: her debut was last year, and was entitled “Orion’s Belt”. The new one will be released on June 26, and is called Lucie’s Hobo Package” (Zeile tells me she is planning the studio time for a third one already!)

“Orion’s Belt” is a collection of 10 songs featuring Zeile’s spooky, “full-vowel” vocals, her guitar, and Fred Morin on the double bass, and not much more. ”Lucie’s Hobo Package”, like Wilkinson’s new CD, is much brighter and fuller, again, due to more instrumentation.

Zeile’s songwriting on her first album is sparse, down-beat, and if not dark, at least very, very deep. She retains that style in the new record, but the added texture give the songs a slightly brighter mood and help the listener engage more fully (the lead track, “Comin’ Up Roses”, is downright upbeat for Zeile!)

In addition to Fred Morin’s return on bass for this record, we get Eric Heintz with tangy electric parts on several cuts, Mark Cousins on percussion, and Karl Anderson on keyboard. Johanna Conian sings a duet with Zeile on one tune.

Both album were recorded, mixed, and co-produced by Jonathan Wyman at The Halo, and mastered by the mastering master, Adam Ayan at Gateway Mastering; this latest record sound wonderful.

Zeile is releasing the new disc at a show at the St. Lawrence Center for the arts (which is practically in her back yard) on June 26th, with some special guests, including Peter Alexander and Sorcha Cribben-Merrill. Sounds like a good time!

Maine continues to grow as a place where artists find the resources and audiences to support new releases and projects! These are two great examples, and we’ve seen many more recently! It’s going to be a great summer!

Tags: Busted Barn, Carll Wilinson, Jonathan Wyman, Maine Folk Music, new releases, Pete Morse, The Halo, Zeile August
Posted in CD Reviews, Folk Music News - Maine | No Comments »

Dar and Spooner in the Old Port

Monday, June 8th, 2009

The Old Port Crowd - Q97 Stage

First Sunday in June – in Portland that means the Old Port Festival!

Polly and I have been attending this event for five years now, and this was, by far, the most organized and well-run Old Port Festival we’ve seen. Great, friendly crowd, quality craft booths, interesting food choices, and great music! Congrats to the Portland Downtown District and all the music stage sponsors!

Everyone mentions the weather when they talk about the Old Port Festival, so I won’t!

Local folk and roots music figured prominently in the festival this year, thanks mainly to the nice folks at WCLZ!

Lara Seaver at the WCLZ Stage at the Old Port Festival

Kudos to the ‘CLZ staff for supporting local music as they do, and for putting together a great Old Port Stage. A special thanks to Lara Seaver, morning show host and producer and host of “Music from 207″.

We arrived at the ‘CLZ stage at Silver and Fore Streets in time to catch the last few chords from Pete Kilpatrick’s guitar (damn!). After Pete came a young woman from Toronto – Serena Ryder. She played a couple of very small acoustic guitars, maybe 0-0-0 size, but the sound that came outta these guys was very big! Huge energy and emotion, lyrics to match, great guitar chops. She’s with Atlantic

Serena Ryder on the WCLZ Old Port Festival Stage

Records – must be doin’ OK! I bought her new CD, “Is It O.K.”, great music. Folk? eh, maybe folk/rock… ok maybe rock/folk.. but great tunes!

Spooner was next – Jason Spooner has a new live album out, which is good, because live is the way to hear this guy and this band. ”The Flame You

Jason Spooner before his Old Port Festival set on the WCLZ stage

Follow” is his last studio album, and it’s great, but there’s so much to enjoy in a live set from these guys. Reed Chambers on drums, of course, and Adam Frederick on bass (I love to see him play the double bass, but today he had the electric strapped on.) The three of them play together as if they were networked, so tight and balanced. Frederick has a great set of harmony vocal pipes – who knew?

To sweeten the deal, they were joined on the last song (Dylan’s “Girl of the North Country) by Maine fiddle ace Ed Howe (who recently and reluctantly had to leave the Dave Rowe Trio for personal reasons.) Oh, yeah, they were also

Ed Howe and Adam Frederick dish it on the WCLZ Old Port Stage

had some help on that song from Dar Williams!

Bringing Dar to Portland for the Old Port Festival was a real coup for ‘CLZ. The crowds at the rock stages were huge, but us folkies gave those rockers a run for their money with Dar. Fore Street was wall to wall Dar fans as far as the eye could see.

Dar Williams on the WCLZ Old Port Festival Stage

She put on a great set, (The Babysitter, Are You Out There, etc) and the crowd loved her. Dar has a way of connecting with her live audiences that is different from other folkies who do that well. Other great performers project their power into the audience. Dar makes it seem as if she’s out here in the audience with us, watching the show, laughing at her mistakes and her intimate sense of humor right along with us. It’s as if we’re all at the same party and we’re all entertaining each other.

Let’s see, what else was cool?

I ran into Tin Foil Man (Robert Wilson), a street artist familiar to many Portlanders. He fashions sculptures out of foil, and he’s won the Phoenix Best of Portland street art title two years running. I actually just wrote a song about this guy, and I can’t wait to play it for him. Rumors were that he left town, but he’s here, and he had some nice pieces of his art with him.

After watching Dar Williams’ set, I walked down the hill to the Portland Coffee Roasters shop, and caught a few minutes of music from Truth About Daisies, one of my favorite local folkie bands. They are down to three

Truth About Daisies

members now, Ronda Dale, Sheila McKinley, and Doug Swift, but the new sound is clean, simple, and uncomplicated – I like it a lot! Sheila and Ronda’s harmonies are wonderful, and Doug is a talented multi-instrumentalist.

Guess that’s it – quite a day of music in the great city of Portland, Maine! One of the reasons I love living here!

Oh, and the weather was GREAT!