Lookout! It's Sweet Erin Thomas

In the twilight of a beautiful, waning autumn's day, Dad and I drove up the interstate, around Moccasin Bend, up to the foot of LookoutMountain, and onto a luminary lit drive.  It was here, at a house concert inside a beautiful 1800s log cabin, we met "Sweet Erin"Thomas, and two members of her band Last Call, Roy Agee on guitar, and Oscar Utterstrom, playing keyboards, harmonica and percussion.

A native of South Carolina, Erin lives in Nashville's diverse music community, where for ten years she has played french horn professionally.  She has taken a detour from that career and is forging a new path, singing and songwriting, and carrying a guitar.

On her website, Erin describes the hidden talents of her band, drawn from the brass playing ranks of Nashville - Roy and Oscar also play trombone!  Last night, in that rustic setting, we were treated to the songstress in Erin.  Hearing her voice, it was clear, "hidden talent" describes Erin as well.

Erin and her band mates played many of her original tunes, some of my favorites being "Proud," and "Little Ones," both inspired by motherhood and Erin's own daughter.    

Erin's lyrics are provocative and compelling.  Introducing "That Kind of Love," she posed the question that, considering love is such a force in our lives, when it's gone, where does it go?  I suspect I will be pondering that question for some time to come.  

As a listener, I found myself both wrapped around her words, and singing and tapping along with them. I was not alone in joining in the song as Erin and Roy advised the audience, "Think about what you want!"

The band also delighted the audience with some of their favorite covers of Allison Krauss, The Dixie Chicks, and James Taylor.

At the end of a lovely evening of music, I could not help but think of Erin's song "Gone," in the context of people who settled the land at the foot of Lookout Mountain.  At some point in their lives, they also knew it was time to move to a new place, to start over.  Like Erin's lyric, they said, "my bags are packed, I'm ready to go."  This listener is glad "Sweet Erin"Thomas has packed her bags in a guitar case!

Read more about Erin Thomas and hear her music at www.sweeterin.com.

From Left: Inside the log cabin, Erin Thomas, Oscar Utterstrom and Roy Agee 

Alan Cayn - The Last Cast

On a recent kayaking trip on the beautiful Etowah River in north Georgia, I floated in the quiet, with just the sound of the water and the crickets somewhere on the banks, feeling what those who paddled that river must have felt for hundreds of years.  A strong wind blew across the water causing the glinting sun to sparkle like jewels, tiny leaves raining down like snow as I passed under the canopy.  If you've ever fished in solitude, or paddled in the crickety-quiet, you know what I mean when I say that I felt a kinship with the river.

Alan Cayn

Alan Cayn knows what I mean. His most recent album, The Last Cast, even features some crickets.  This is Cayn's final offering in his fishing folk music triology, Hey!A Fish.  Having engaged musicians  from as far away as Liverpool, collaborated with a poet all the way from British Columbia, and assembled a fine men's choir, The Last Cast  is Cayn's most eclectic collection yet.  This album goes beyond the river, into the forest, the hills, and even the sea.

There have been many favorites from Cayn's past work, but "Jack Pine Savage" stole that spot for me upon the first listen.  Alan Cayn is a superb storyteller and excellent vocalist.  Here he weaves a tale of a man who finds his way back to the woods, to nature, to living a simple life.   The musical presentation is impeccable in its simplicity - a man and his guitar.  Perfect.

Alan Cayn

"Mon Carpe" is a tune to leave you smiling, sung in French and complete with Cajun accordion.   David Hanna helps out on electric guitar, and Christine O'Niel on vocals, to bring home the only love song to a fish this writer has ever known.

Alan Cayn's live performances with his Appalachian dulcimer tug his audiences back in time and so on this album he does the same, with "Song of the Wandering Angus," his lovely rendition of the traditional folk tune and poem by William Butler Yeats. 

Another poet featured on The Last Cast is Mag MaWhinney, a cowboy poet and songwriter from British Columbia.   I had the pleasure of hearing Mag recite her poetry for the internet radio audience, and was instantly moved by her insight into life.  For "Crazy World," Cayn has arranged the musical accompaniment to make Mag's words, and the listener, dance.

Zanzibar, cowritten by Cayn and Gabrielle Monk, features the band Good Intentions from Liverpool, UK.  They are R. Peter Davies (guitar,) Francesco Roskell (guitar and banjo,) Grabrielle Monk (vocals, autoharp, percussion,) and Scott Poley (pedal steel, mandolin, and lap steel. )  Good Intentions sets the tone for this story of love left behind, and it is the mandolin floating through the lyrics of pirate ships, empty glasses, and a life run aground, that keeps the listener believing maybe all hope is not lost.

At this point, I must make my own confession (yes, this is a subtle reference to Cayn's second in the trilogy, Streamside Confession.)  Included on this album is ”Appalachian Trail," written and sung by my father, Tom Phipps, with guitar by Thomas J. Brown, both of Dalton, Georgia.   It is a nice complement to Cayn's songs, reflecting the love he and my father share of nature and spending time outdoors.

Hapless Wader Choir

No Alan Cayn album is complete without an a capella performance or a little humor.  Here we have both, in two songs.  The first, "She Looked Good in Waders," has Cayn singing with those crickets I mentioned earlier.   This and "Hapless Wader Revisited" are two of Cayn's classic fishing songs.  "Hapless Wader Revisited" is my favorite surprise on The Last Cast.   Cayn is joined by Mike Slomka, Dan Adair, Ed (Jesus) Urbaniak, Tom (Trout Lord) Jaissle, Glen (Joe Flatlander) Krueger, and Dave Hanna for a men's choir treatment of his story of the fish getting the best of the fisherman.

The Last Cast comes to a close with the title track of the nine, "Last Cast/Riparian View,"  and the lyric, "I don't want this to end / I wish this could go on forever / just me being all alone / standing here in this river."  Cayn sneaks in one more musical twist, amping his dulcimer with the VOX DA5, and the sound could be bouncing off water or river boulders, until it fades away. 

The next time you are in a canoe or kayak, or standing in the river in your waders, or just walking through the woods, remember, there's a man named Alan Cayn who knows  the kinship you feel with the river and the hills, and he doesn't want it to end for you either.

Check out Alan Cayn's YouTube page for this one and more!

This Really is Football - Part 2

I am officially in ranks with the world's worst bloggers. When I took the summer off from pursuing my business degree, I forgot how to write. I owe a couple of album reviews, a recap and some thanks for everyone who supported our Relay for Life fundraising efforts, and there is a host of other topics I have neglected. So what do I do now, in the middle of trying to pay the household bills? I decide to write about football.

Everyone who knows me personally knows I have jumped into the world of soccer - and I do mean the whole world - headfirst, never bothering to come up for air. This leap can be tracked back to my lovely friend Ian. But truth be told, it is Jeremy Clarkson's fault. When you meet new friends, laughing over Top Gear escapades, you never know what it may lead to. For me, it lead to Liverpool FC. My interest was piqued. Then there was the World Cup. I was hooked. Then came the realization that we had a team in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Chattanooga Tennessee? Really? Now I could see a real live game. And I did.

So here I am, a year later and totally invested in Liverpool and Chattanooga FC. What a year to become a football supporter. Liverpool lived through a roller coaster of a year. We survived. We're stronger. We have the best manager on the planet. We are chomping at the bit for the summer transfer hoopla to be over and the next season to start.

Saturday, July 9th, Finley Stadium sunset

Meanwhile, back in the states, it is soccer season. What makes 2200 people show up, with the temperature in the mid-90s, for a soccer game in Chattanooga? It must be love of the game. With sweat dripping off your nose and into your beer, what else could it be? It is Saturday and I was just at Finley stadium on Monday to see Chattanooga FC win a fourth of July international friendly with CF Monterrey U20. What a game that was! It was a fast paced and well-matched game until the 76th minute when we equalised, and then 86th minute when Tom Webster scored the winning goal.  It was a 3-2 victory.

Genimar with the world's smallest vuvuzela

So back to Saturday.  This game did not start well for Chattanooga.  Our guys were very much off their pace.  Georgia Revolution was up by two goals at the half.  Game resumes and they score again.  Now we are down by three goals.  My friend Genimar and I had joined the merry band of Chattahooligans and even our noisemakers (yes, I raided my Mardi Gras box) seemed a little flat in light of the scoreline. 




With second half substitutions, we picked up the attacks and the intensity and, in a thirty minute stretch, scored three goals.  The Chattahooligans were exhuberant!  Our team was back.  We could still win this thing!  But in the 84th minute, Georgia Revolution found the net again and closed the door.  The game ended 3-4.  Chattanooga had lost its first home game in two years. 

It can't be all bad! There was even a rainbow!

All things considered, the result was not the monumental let-down it could have been.  The second half was thrilling and exciting.  Moises Drummond's blast of a goal my favorite of the three - the other two provided by Luke Winter and Chris Ochieng.  We are proud of our team. We know we need to win this coming Saturday in Knoxville to clinch the NPSL Southeast Conference Championship.  We love this team and we love this game.  This is football! We can do this!


Still buzzing over the U.S. Women's National Team's World Cup quarter final victory over Brazil today, I am making a note to myself that up next is a long overdue review of The Walla Recovery's excellent album, With Trembling.  Just as soon as I have recovered from football!

Put Up Your Dukes!

In this, my fourth year participating with Team Phipps in the American Cancer Society Relay for Life, I wanted to encourage readers to join us in our mission (click on any link here.)  My dear friend, Terri, wrote these beautiful words I share with you now. 

   Need to be reminded you’re alive—and glad you are?

There’s nothing quite like a roomful of enthusiastic people coming together to plan an event celebrating life, remembering and honoring the lives of loved ones, and working hard to fight back against a common enemy (cancer) to do that for you…except the event itself, where you’re on a huge fairgrounds filled with hundreds and hundreds of people coming together to do the same thing.

    Relay for Life is a very big thing.  It’s a force and an event and a feeling…and more and more each day, I find it being a source of hope and renewal for me.  It’s something I want to share with others.  Yes, it’s true that Relay is a fundraising event, and every time I mention it, I’m sure most people tune it out for that reason.  But the money raised at Relay goes in very large part to LOCAL cancer needs—education, transportation of patients to and from therapy, etc.  And research—the very vital research that turns out new discoveries of causes, develops new and better treatments (the chemotherapy my mom took 21 years ago for her breast cancer made her horribly sick—today, there are drugs to combat that nausea), and furthers information for PREVENTION of cancer—Relay money does all that.

   But that money does a lot more that you can SEE immediately during Relay itself.  You can purchase luminaries in honor or memory of a loved one with cancer (or yourself!)—these are lit at dusk in a silent ceremony that there is no way to describe how incredibly moving it is.  Hundreds and hundreds of lights burning in defiance of a wretched disease, and in celebration of the lives it touches.  Knowing that MY name, and the name of my mother, and some of my friends were on some of those bags—well, it frankly just made me cry—but they were tears of love and relief and gratitude….and, yes, CELEBRATION of those lives represented.

   And that’s just one part of Relay.  There are Relay Team booths set up with neat things to buy and do-- food and fun and prizes and games and information—REAL information, with phone numbers and contacts of services available in our area.  There are bouncy-houses for kids to play in, face painting, music, entertainment.  And there is the “walk” itself, where the various teams take laps all night long (you don’t have to stay for all of THAT—but it’s okay if you do—we party all night long on May 20!), starting out with a “Survivor Lap” at 7:00 p.m….where EVERY cancer survivor in the area is encouraged to come join us (AND enjoy a free meal at 5:00 pm before the other festivities start!).

   I fought cancer—and thankfully won—six years after my mother died from it; in fact, I had my second surgery on the anniversary of her death.  That was 15 years ago now, but I didn’t learn until last year—my first year to actually participate in the Relay for Life all-night event—just how much pain and joy and hope and sorrow were still inside me from my experience with losing my mom…and then dealing with my own cancer.  Once you’ve had that “C-word” thrown at you, nothing is ever the same.  Nothing.

   But last year, I learned that that was okay.  I AM a different person for having had such close encounters with cancer, and I wouldn’t want to NOT be different.  I really do celebrate the daily lives of everyone I love.  I get angry, depressed, frustrated just like before, of course—and I’ve had more than my share of tragedies to deal with….but still…STILL…in the back of my mind and heart I know better now what truly matters.  And this second year of my involvement with Relay—and all the great people I’m meeting and sharing time with in a common cause—it’s helping me to again find that wellspring of refreshment and zest for life…that will help me do something positive with all I have learned from the pain and loss.

   Our “Team Phipps” slogan this year, “We’re putting up our dukes against cancer,” makes me smile.  A very brash, young-looking John Wayne is on the poster, poking his fists into the camera with the utter confidence of victory that he’s going to knock out his opponent.  I LIKE that; I like that a LOT.  It’s a good feeling to stand up and fight in a cause that affects so very many people.  I hope a lot of you will stand…walk…remember, help with the fight, and come join in the celebration….with me.

Terri Frazier Orr
April 13, 2011




Click here to donate to Relay for Life of Whitfield County

 

Desperados: Waitin' for a Country Songwriter Night

 



from left, Robby Hopkins, Channing Wilson and Martha Ann Brooks



Hot off two weeks of music from Detroit,  Dad and I found ourselves back at Charles & Myrtles Coffeehouse in Chattanooga, Tennessee for Country Songwriter Night.  The featured performers:  Martha Ann Brooks, Channing Wilson, and Robby Hopkins. 

 

Martha Ann Brooks

 

Martha Ann Brooks is a terrific songwriter and a great friend as well.  I remember the first time I saw her, in a similar singer-songwriter setting, in Dalton, Georgia.  Brooks is an infectious performer, always plucking the right heartstrings, or setting the perfect tone for dry humor in her lyrics, and also for pulling out the happy songs and her beautfiul smile. How many times have I listened to her sing her songs?  Countless times, and I still love the old ones, still get excited about the new ones.  Tonight she sang some of both while telling her audience stories of how she thinks of songs walking with her dog and digging in dirt, and how she came to love country music.  Those included one of my favorite of her melodies, "Dead or Alive," about dealing with addiction.  When she sang "Reintarnation," she told a story I do not believe I've heard before - that she stole the word from a contest for making up a new word.  The winner's word was defined as dying and coming back as a hillbilly.  In Brooks' song the word refers to the same old fight coming up again and again - and it was probably a doosey!   And for the second time this year I heard one of her newest songs, now titled "One More Time." 

Brooks suggested each songwriter do a cover of a country artist who influenced them and she produced a medley of Patsy Cline's "Crazy" and Hank Williams' "Your Cheatin' Heart."   Channing Wilson proclaimed that he just didn't think he "could be anything else" other than country.  He then gave us another Hank Williams tune, "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry" and Guy Clark's "Desperados Waiting for a Train."   



Channing Wilson

It is difficult to pick a favorite from the songs Channing Wilson played tonight.  There was the beautiful song about his Grandfather, who was the oldest living firechief in the country when he died.  The perfect tribute in a lyric with a perfect hook - "The way I was raised / I guess you could say / I was Grandfathered in."  Wilson's song lyrics really stick, "I'm an old country song," "Another morning / coming home" and from "Poor Man's Cocaine," "Black, white, rich, poor / there's only one class to ride on the devil's train." 

In the round, songwriters produce a lot of banter about such things as their shared experiences and Brooks' Bird of Paradise capo.  They also feed off each others' themes and so from Wilson's story of his Grandfather being a veteran, we moved to Brook's song about a man suffering post traumatic stress syndrome.  And not to be left out of songs that bring a tear or songs about Daddy, Robby Hopkins touched us all with his tribute to his father, "This is Gonna Hurt Me."


Robby Hopkins

Robby Hopkins has the real country formula, the voice to go with it, and importantly, the boots.  I don't mean pointy-toed fancy boots.  I mean real boots, like people actually wear to the barn or the stable.   With his lovely wife, he also has seven kids, which gives him a lot of songwriting material.  Hopkins sang some beautiful songs, and some fun ones, like "She's Countrier Than Me" and "She's a Little Redneck, Too!"  He did a great song about the birds and bees, singing "Birds do it / they fall in love / bees do it too / can't get enough."  For his country influence, we heard a perfect rendition of Vern Gosdin's "If You're Gonna Do Me Wrong, Do it Right."



There are moments when you just know you are in the right place, hearing the right song, nodding your head to the right words.  Channing Wilson sang, "I'dve never done what you did to me, to you."  Boy am I glad I was was there tonight to hear those words. 

For more on these singer-songwriters, visit their web sites:

http://www.marthaannbrooks.com/fr_home.cfm
http://www.channingwilson.com/fr_home.cfm
http://www.robbyhopkins.com/

The Assembly Line Concert Hours 260 & 351 - The Rudedog and Smokerman

The Assembly Line Concert, live from AJ's Music Cafe in Ferndale, Michigan has kicked off in its third run at the Guinness Book of World Records attempt for World's Longest Concert.   This is my second year following the concert via U-Stream.  This year's attempt is 360 hours of live, continuous music!  My blog is covering some of the fine musicians I met last year and who will also be appearing this year. 

What do you get when you take a self-proclaimed rude dog, and a harmonica player famous for his smoked turkeys, and throw them together on stage?  You might answer, "A smoking dog?"   To that I would say that the definition of a "smoking dog" is the indisputable evidence of a jam. 

Come hear the evidence as The Rudedog and Smokerman take to the Assembly Line Concert stage for two performances:  Wednesday, March 30 at 12:00 noon EDT and Sunday, April 3 at 7 a.m. EDT.



Smokerman and The Rudedog at last year's Assembly Line Concert

The Rudedog is as comfortable as part of a band as he is in a solo acoustic setting.   Armed with his guitar, The Rudedog is always ready to entertain with an endless supply of cover tunes, as well as fine original works - I suggest a listen to "Wasted".  It is his vocals listeners do not soon forget.  Try to describe The Rudedog's voice and you will realize it is as original as the dog himself.   His rendition of Govt Mule's "Soulshine" is the best I have ever heard - with apologies to Warren Haynes of course. 

Smokerman comes to the stage an experienced harmonica and mouth harp player,  in genres ranging from 1970s rock to historical folk music.   My favorite of his styles are jump blues tunes.  Showing Smokerman's broad musical ability, he will also be performing at 2 pm on Thursday March 31, as part of Dave and the Harmellos, a guitar, cello and harmonica trio.   View the archive of his April 1 performance with Blaise Glander here.  Always creative, Smokerman is also an accomplished artist and gourd carver. 

Don't miss these two on The Assembly Line - there will be indisputable evidence of a jam!

To find out more:

The Rudedog on MySpace

The Smokerman on Reverbnation

The Assembly Line Concert Hours 203, 204, 261 - Blaise Glander and Kelly Wishart's Acoustic Soul



The Assembly Line Concert, live from AJ's Music Cafe in Ferndale, Michigan has kicked off in its third run at the Guinness Book of World Records attempt for World's Longest Concert.   This is my second year following the concert via U-Stream.  This year's attempt is 360 hours of live, continuous music!  My blog is covering some of the fine musicians I met last year and who will also be appearing this year. 



Blaise Glander and Kelly Wishart



I met Blaise Glander and Kelly Wishart during The Assembly Line Concert last year.   Over the course of the concert, I saw Blaise perform at least four times and had the pleasure of hearing Kelly bring her bluesy sound to a collaboration of musicians who met during those two weeks in the web site's social stream.   Both are not only experienced musicians, but have engaging personalities which draw the audience immediately - instant friends you have listened to all your life.

Together Blaise and Kelly perform as Acoustic Soul.  They will be performing Monday, March 28 at 10 a.m.   Blaise has a run of solo performances scheduled - Monday, March 28 from 3-5 a.m. (Hours 203 and 204) and Wednesday , March 30 from 1-2 p.m. (Hour 261.)

My friends and followers in the U.K., being 5 hours ahead of the U.S., will be in a good time zone to catch most of Blaise's performances.   Listeners will be treated to a blend of all musical genres from rock, pop, jazz & country to Motown & folk and all styles in between.  Morning coffee and Blaise's smoky, soulful voice is a good way to start the day.  Catch him here in a 9 a.m. April 1st performance with the Smokerman.

Blaise is also a wonderful songwriter, with the ability to capture the parts of his own story which are familiar to all of us.   Be sure to check out his music below.   And tune into The Assembly Line Concert for a dose of live Acoustic Soul.