Any man under 30 who is not a liberal has no heart, and any man over 30 who is not a conservative has no brains. —Winston S. Churchill When Winston Churchill was identified with this frequent quote it was taken as the wisdom from an old guy being humorous. Little did anyone know the […]
John Prine was a gentleman songwriter whose love for life shot through his music like light beams. He was the middleman between hope and despair, an ambassador of song who brought comfort and companionship to his legions of fans through the warmth of his voice, a perfect vehicle for the portraits of desperate characters he […]
On January 18th singer-songwriter David Olney died. In the days that followed Olney received more publicity in one day than he did during his entire 50-year career. There was no mention of the variety of ways he brought songs to everyday people. No mention of the legacy of songs he left behind or the family […]
First there is the guitar, an electric, laying out a bass note/treble note ostinato. And there is the thump-pat-thump-pat of hard-soled shoes stamping on plywood. The harmonica fills out the sound, and Ray Bonneville leans down to the microphone with a song. The lyrics are not inscrutable, but there is a mystery there, something that […]
Dar Williams has long traveled the troubadour-activist path, which is well-known. A close look at the footprints she has followed reveals her fellow travelers, teachers, and mentors with names like Pete Seeger and Woody Guthrie, who lay mortal beneath the dust of time. Her travels will not allow them to be forgotten. But she has […]
Veteran singer-songwriters teaming for tours is not new. For Shawn Colvin and Mary Chapin Carpenter, appearing on stage together in the fashion of the old school Nashville guitar pull, allowing the song to take center stage, is a fresh but familiar concept for these two artists. They have toured this way before, in 2013. They […]
More often than not, the decision to make a life from music is a choice rooted in the heart rather than the head. The calling to do so pretty much demands that one forego the comforts of a predictable schedule, workplace, and income. The pressures of creating not just art, but also a demand for […]
A common and not entirely unjustified lament amongst music lovers is that nobody makes music like they used to. Modern digital technology gives artists and producers an infinitely more capable set of tools than was previously available, but it is this greater flexibility that often undermines the work ethic and sense of craftsmanship that gave […]
Grow old along with me! The best is yet to be, the last of life, for which the first was made. Our times are in his hand who saith, A whole I planned, youth shows but half; Trust God: See all, nor be afraid! ―Robert Browning A nagging question sometimes rolls around my head as […]
