Assembly Line Concert Hour 30 - The Anthony/Wayne Project

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.



Music From the Mind of ... Z-MAN

 Usually one thinks of memorable performances as being those actually seen.  Not the case as Donald Anthony, a.k.a. Z-MAN, and friends took the Assembly Line Concert stage last year.  I was somewhere else.   Today, I cannot tell you where I was.  But I distinctly remember that when I returned to U-Stream I was greeted with the chorus, "Shay, where were you?  You missed it!  Z-MAN rocked the house!"

This year, Music from the Mind of ... Z-MAN returns to the stage in its acoustic form as THE ANTHONY/WAYNE PROJECT, featuring Donald Anthony, vocals & guitar; Billie Wayne, vocals & percussion; and introducing on vocals, Carolyn Cage. The date is Sunday, March 20 from 10:00 p.m.- 11:00 p.m.  EDT.  I will be there on U-stream, in the chat, not to miss a single note this year.

Z-MAN tells me there will soon be an official announcement of the re-recording, re-mastering, and broader distribution of the previous disc,  Music from the Mind of... Z-MAN.  Some of the current music will now feature Carolyn Cage's vocals and Z-MAN himself will be singing lead on some tracks.  This is exciting news for an artist whose music deserves to be heard. 

When I received my copy of Music from the Mind of...Z-MAN, I was expecting blues.  Blues is just the beginning.  This album really does rock the house starting with some cool blues grooves.  One of my favorites is "Shelley's Song."    Outstanding guitar, percussion, and keyboard are delivered on tunes such as "Leave Me in the Rain," "Hide & Seek," and "U Raised the Bar."  There is even some reggae influence in "Good Day."  And the very special surprise tune for me, one of the sweetest jazz numbers ever, "Blues 4 Tazim."



Donald Anthony, aka Z-MAN

The band on the original recording of Music from the Mind of ...Z-MAN features Donald Anthony - Guitar/Vocals, Dan Carter-Lead Vocals, Billie Wayne-Percussion, and J. Emmanuel-Keyboards and other fine musicians, including Tim Reeves and Scott Sumner on saxophones, adding so much to the sound, especially on "Lightning in a Bottle." 

Find out more about Music from the Mind of ... Z-MAN and join us online for a live performance of THE ANTHONY/WAYNE PROJECT!

The Assembly Line Concert http://ustre.am/vJ5n
Music from the Mind of Z-MAN on Reverb Nation:
 

Assembly Line Concert 3rd Shift Hour 24 - Alan Cayn, Fly Fishing Folk Fisherman

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 going to cover some of the fine musicians I met last year and who will also be appearing this year.

Cheryl and Alan Cayn at AJ's last May

First up is one of the best friends I met last year - Alan Cayn.  He will be performing during Hour 24 on Sunday, March 20 at 4 pm EDT.  

Cayn is the only fly fishing folk musician I have the pleasure of knowing.   Last May, on a visit to the Detroit area, I was in house for an almost command performance by the man himself at AJ's Music Cafe. 

Alan Cayn writes fishing songs.   One listen and it is apparent he writes fishing songs because he loves to fish and he loves the stream.  He also has a touch for taking the simple act of fishing, along with his love of nature, and crafting songs with a charming philosophy of life. The sweet tones of Cayn's mountain dulcimer add to that magic. The world needs more fun songs, more sing-a-longs, and more children's voices and his album Streamside Confession delivers all that.

Cayn has said that he wants to tell stories. The stories he tells are quite interesting. Check out "Streamside Confession," "Big Ugly Bug," and the haunting fisherman's tale "Demon Angler." The most poignant offering is "In Between the Stars," which any listener will certainly relate to someone they miss, yet feel close to under the night sky. Also close to my heart is the final track on Streamside Confession, "River of Sand," a beautiful melody with references to creation and the timelessness of the cycle of the river and of life.

Join us on The Assembly Line Concert for a live Alan Cayn performance with some fishing songs and other songs that will surprise you and make you smile. 

For more information or to join us online at the concert:

The Assembly Line Concert Third Shift  http://ustre.am/vJ5n

Visit Alan Cayn's website http://www.alancayn.net/

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MLS in Chattanooga - This Really is Football!

Even though this is primarily a music blog, it was inevitable that the Liverpool FC supporter in me would eventually have to pull out a football post!   Today I attended my first Major League Soccer game - a friendly hosted by Chattanooga FC.  With 4378 other football lovers, I sat in a bitter north wind and watched the New England Revolution win over the Columbus Crew, 2-1.



The Crew warming up in a stadium.

I mention the wind because it was miserably cold, even for early March.  The weatherman had promised a little sun and mid-upper 50s, but it was 42°F and that wind 12 mph at kickoff.  For my European readers, that puts the wind chill temperature right around 0°C.  Collegiate American football stadiums are not built to shelter anyone, after all no one plays in them past bowl season.  Chattanooga FC plays at Finlay Stadium,  home of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga football team.  Considered a jewel on the southside of the city, it was cold as ice today.  I felt this was appropriate for my first major league experience.   Why else would I need a scarf? 



Announcing the lineups.

 The game started impressively for the Crew.  They dominated possession of the ball for most of the first half, with several shots on goal failing to find the net.  With the MLS season starting soon, the players were giving their all to impress coaches and secure their positions on their teams.  I really thought that the Crew would connect for a goal at any moment.  Yet in spite of the Crew's control of the action, Revolution scored after winning a corner and they led at half time, 1-0.

For the second half, both teams replaced their entire rosters, allowing everyone time on the pitch.  The Revs came into the second half with better rhythm and picked up their game.  At 80 minutes they scored off a blocked shot following a corner making it 2-0.

At the 90 minute mark, the Crew's Heinemann finally broke away with the ball, stepped around the goalkeeper and found the goal making the final score 2-1, Revolution. In all it was fantastic soccer.  No! This was fantastic FOOTBALL! 

There were a few Arsenal fans in the crowd around me, including a twitter acquaintance, Matt, who came up and introduced himself and gave his congratulations on Liverpool's trouncing of Manchester United earlier today.  I am looking forward to the Chattanooga FC season and the home opener against Knoxville May 21st with all the local faithful and the chanting, drum banging, cowbell clanging, Chattahooligans.  So come on Liverpool supporters among you - please give me a wave and a shout! I want to find you!  YNWA!

For more pictures of today's friendly see the NE Revolution's photostream at http://www.flickr.com/photos/nerevolution/5504169106/in/set-72157626211132102/

The Happy Songs of Townes Van Zandt

It is said that upon being asked why he never wrote happy songs, Townes Van Zandt replied, "They're all happy songs.  Some folks just don't "get" it." 

 

Happiness is a matter of one's own perspective I suppose, but none can deny that Townes' music is lyrically beautiful and timelessly profound.  Dad and I were privileged to attend a celebration of his songs tonight at Charles and Myrtle's Coffeehouse in Chattanooga, where a group of regional musicians gathered in concert to benefit the venue.


You may know Townes Van Zandt's music well - who hasn't heard of "Pancho & Lefty?" Or you may not know it at all.  Either way, I hope you will enjoy these highlights from tonight's show, along with samples of his original music.  At the end is included a list of fantastic performers and tunes I was not able to capture with my camera.  Some were my favorites from the show, so be sure to look up those videos and lyrics for more "happy" songs!

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Bob Carty, "Two Girls" at Charles & Myrtle's Coffeehouse
Check out The Real Bob Carty http://t.co/bHjnf3G



Bob Carty played "Two Girls" on this instrument he found in a music store in Ringgold, Georgia. The body is made from a Red Star Cheddar Cheese box and lent an interesting sound to the images found in the lyrics of this pretty song.  Listen to the video below.

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Troy Underwood, "Fare Thee Well, Miss Carousel"

"Fare Thee Well, Miss Carousel" is one of many of Townes' songs about leaving.  Troy Underwood learned this one for the show and wowed the audience with his rendition.  

 

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Channing Wilson

Everyone has a favorite Townes Van Zandt song.  Channing Wilson's is "Loretta."  The comments left on the Youtube say it all, "Just one hell of a good song."

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Martha Ann Brooks, "Two Hands"


Martha Ann Brooks is not only a fine singer-songwriter, but I consider her a friend.  She organized this concert and was said to have sent hundreds of emails.  However she did it, it was a great success!  Her musical contribution was the gospel song "Two Hands."

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Andrew Kelsay, "She Came and She Touched Me"



Andrew Kelsay runs the coffeehouse, making coffee and most importantly, the best cookies - ANYWHERE!  Some thought it a myth that he actually plays and sings, as few of us had ever seen this happen!  Andrew performed my favorite of tonight's songs.  The imagery of this one left me in awe and wanting more!  Listen for: "Harlequin mandolins harmonize helplessly." 

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The group closed the show, performing "Harm's Swift Way," Townes Van Zandt's last song,
which was recently recorded by Robert Plant and The Band of Joy



Please also look up these artists and the music they performed tonight:

John Lathim, "Blaze's Blues"

Steve Mikell, "Tecumseh Valley"

Bill E. Payne, "White Freightliner Blues"

Chris Stevens, "Waiting Around to Die"

Pattee Wilbanks, "Don't You Take It Too Bad"

Jeff Talmadge, "Snow on Raton"

Nathan Bell, "If I Needed You"

Jerre Haskew, "To Live is To Fly"

Travis Kilgore, "Pancho & Lefty"

Butch Ross, "Flyin Shoes"

Vic Burgess, "You Are Not Needed Now"

Robby Hopkins, "Still Looking For You"

For more information about Townes Van Zandt please visit http://www.townesvanzandt.com/



Recipe for a House Concert - The Honey Dewdrops, Dalton GA

Find one living room.  Add two fabulous musicians. Toss in a passel of enthusiastic music lovers. That is the recipe that came together this week for a lovely house concert with The Honey Dewdrops.  The living room was mine.  I hope it is the first of many such gatherings. 

Coming from their home in Charlottesville, Virginia, husband and wife duo Laura Wortman and Kagey Parrish found themselves in Dalton, Georgia for the first time. With their impeccably tight harmonies and instrumentation, they took us through tunes from their two albums, If the Sun Will Shine and their latest, These Old Roots.  Having reviewed the first of their albums and caught their performance in Chattanooga last fall, there were three surprises in store for me.  The first surprise - Laura playing banjo on their opening tune, "Tell Me Darling," written by their friends Anne and Pete Sibley.  The Honey Dewdrops play beautiful Huss & Dalton instruments and the addition of banjo to their repertoire was a treat.

The first set was mostly comprised of songs from If the Sun Will Shine.  You can read my review of that album and those beautiful tunes below.  That brings me to my second surprise.  Kagey remembered "When Was the War" is one of my favorites and they had not played it in Chattanooga.  They put it in the set and I got to hear it live.  It's a poignant, haunting lyric about how survivors of war also suffer loss, "When was the war I know, I know/that's where my husband was called to go/Didn't need no priest, wasn't laid down below/but he didn't come home the boy I used to know."

For the second set The Honey Dewdrops dished up favorite tunes from These Old Roots.  One of those is "Amaranth," inspired by the flowering plant of the same name.  "Loves-Lies-Bleeding" is the common name, describing the long-lasting brilliant red flowers bending to the ground and makes an equally brilliant lyrical analogy to life and love.  "Test of Time" is another favorite and shows the duo's ability to blend their young voices and excellent picking into a very traditional, timeless, sound. 

My third surprise was a fantastic rendition of the Beatles classic "Across the Universe" featuring Kagey's mandolin.  Those attending the house concert were enthralled as they touched on the gospel feel of These Old Roots with "Sweet Heaven."  The Honey Dewdrops closed the evening with everyone singing along on the well-worn hymn, "Farther Along." 

Great recipe! I'll take a second helping please!

For more on The Honey Dewdrops see the review below and visit these links:
http://www.thehoneydewdrops.com/

http://www.facebook.com/thehoneydewdrops

The Honey Dewdrops, If the Sun Will Shine

Review by Cheryl Phipps, May 5, 2010

The Honey Dewdrops new album, If the Sun Will Shine is love at first strum.   Husband and wife duo Laura Wortman and Kagey Parrish have created a collection of beautiful music, with rich guitar and mandolin instrumentation,  and emotive lyrics, often reminiscent of the past, sometimes seeming to be from a lifetime ago. 

Opening with "Bluest Blue Eyes", If the Sun Will Shine immediately demonstrates Wortman's and Parrish's musical flair and harmonic vocal styles.   Here is a story of bad love lost, but which proves that one can say "so long trouble, so long." 

The opener importantly illustrates that this is not just an album of sad songs.   These  songs are about the rhythm of life.   "Don't Leave Me Here" offers the most poignant and descriptive picture of that rhythm in its chorus, "On the table a book of dreams,  the colors all faded / Country radio from the bedroom, cracklin' low/ On her hands the cracks and wrinkles are a map / To the places she knows and is bound to go."    

Laura Wortman's voice has the quintessential southern tone, bringing  the songs to life true to the character of the lyrics.   Southern listeners will recognize Wortman's voice, as easily as their neighbor's or cousin's, when hearing "Wandering Boy" and "Stomping Ground." 

In an album of exquisite music, "Stomping Ground" delivers some of the best.   Listening to it, one forgets it is only Wortman's guitar and Parrish's mandolin producing the fullness of the instruments' sound.    If the Sun Will Shine was performed live and mixed in a 1920's barn.  The acoustical space and warmth of the barn is evident in the finished recording. 

"1918" is a delightful interlude of picking, showcasing Kagey Parrish on the mandolin and recalling that bygone period after the turn of the century.    Two other tracks take the listener back to a past era. 
Though written with World War II in mind, "When  Was the War,"  is just as relative to the current war as the one in 1861, as The Honey Dewdrops blend their old soul sound with a message that stands the test of time.    The finger picking of "Fly Away Free" is a perfect throwback to old style mountain folk music.

In the lyrics of "Without Tears" the melancholy surfaces, but the music is so pretty that the song is not mournful.   This is the folk music of the mountains, telling the stories which connect us through shared experiences of love lost and loneliness.  The album's title lyric is here, "Ain't got nobody to wake me, to see if the sun will shine."  

Wortman's and Parrish's outstanding harmonies and enchanting music shine on "How We Used to Be" and "Nowhere to Stand."   "Petals" finishes out the 11 original tracks, with a lovely metaphor of days slipping away and letting go of the past.  

With their engaging musical style and captivating lyrics, it is no wonder that The Honey Dewdrops are already winning awards such as their first place on A Prairie Home Companion's "People in their Twenties Talent Show" in March 2008. 

When the rhythm of life has you in a sad place, or if you just want to listen to beautiful stories and music, give If the Sun Will Shine a spin and you will find yourself singing, "so long trouble, so long."

  

Assembly Line Concert, March 19 - April 3, 2011

Many have heard that I am involved in the world's longest concert, Assembly Line Concert at AJs Music Cafe, next month.  The entire 360 hours will be U-Streamed live and people all over the world will be watching.  Some of you may wonder what this concert is about and how it got started.  Last year's "2nd Shift," was for me, an opportunity to make new friends and explore new music from a fine collection of Michigan artists.  However, it was the dire economy that started A.J. on this path.  Read below the story of the Assembly Line Concerts. - Cheryl

Local Activist Renews his Challenge to Big 3 Auto to Support America's Workers.

Ferndale , Michigan; Feb. 22., 2011. In a show of support for union protests to strip collective bargaining rights (the process of voluntary negotiations between employers and trade unions,  aimed at reaching agreements which regulate working conditions,mechanisms and rights to participate in workplace or company affairs)  in Wisconsin and Ohio,  AJ O'Neil, owner of AJ's Cafe,a popular grass-roots coffee shop-music cafe in this suburban Detroit community,  has announced that he has once again reached out to corporate sponsorship of his upcoming Guinness world record attempt "Assembly Line Concert, 3rd Shift ," slated to begin March 19th and run for 360 hours consecutively until April 3, 2011.

The first Assembly Line Concert in 2009 made worldwide news and reached millions of on-line viewers who were encouraged to support the Detroit-born auto industry and its workers while earning a Guinness record for concert longevity.

O'Neil coincided the concert with his "IPledgeAmerica" campaign which asked people to make a vow; "on my honor, the next car I buy will be a domestically-built, Detroit-born automobile." He believes over 10,000 pledges were made online and in his cafe.

"The other part of the pledge was the corporate side, which was not widely publicised" O'Neil stated.  "That part of IPledgeAmerica was the  understanding that we should strive to live in a "cross-trickle" economy."

'The way I see it, the producer/worker and the consumer are one and the same, and the economy is best served when the relationship between the producer/consumer and the employer is whole. What sense does it make to have an employer obtain relative short-term cost savings by sending jobs out to foreign labor, when the end result is a lost consumer base as well as  lost domestic jobs."

“Doing business without consideration of cross-trickle economics hurts our employment, our economy and our country," O'Neil added. "I have reached out to Ford, General Motors and Chrysler. Their commitment to join the Assembly Line Concert is an endorsement of the continued effort to rebuild Detroit and Michigan through sound economic practise."

O'Neil explained that his past efforts to enlist the corporate viewpoint were not strongly sought because the paramount concern was to the viability of the domestic auto industry and the establishing of our domestic manufacturing industry as a backbone to our nation’s economy.

It's in everyones best interest to see this incredible rebound by Ford, GM and Chrysler. We applaud their initiatives and their determination to keep the American auto industry alive and thriving. We want the same for all Americans."

"The  concerts have always been about the need for strong relationships between  workers, who are the producers and  who really are the true engine of our national economy. By extension, this  includes customers of your barber shop, salon, department store, body shop...and of my cafe, " We are all in this together, we all have to be a part of the solution if we are to return our communities to viability’.

“Let's hope that the domestic auto industry and the foreign transplants understand that it is in their best interest to provide as many good paying middle class jobs in America as it is for them to build vehicle in countries to which they intent to market,” O’Neil reiterated.

'I hope that  domestic manufacturers see that cross-trickle economics is a vital part of what is in everyones  best interest, including the corporate side.  I'd love to be hanging up some  Big 3 banners at AJ's for the Assembly Line Concert, which will attempt to regain our Guinness world record for the longest concert, now held by a suburban Atlanta pizza pub," he added.

O’Neil expressed optimism that he still has the support of the community and the everyday folks who work so hard to make the concert possible. “This is a very difficult record to attempt. But, it also has a history of bringing a very important message of solidarity. I can only hope that we’ll have what we need to get this done,” O’Neil said.  

To become involved in the Assembly Line Concert, 3rd Shift, go to http://assemblylineconcerts.com/ or call AJ’s Cafe (248) 399.3946

MrBluz - The Smell of Poetry

One thing I like about being southern is the kinship I have with everyone else who is southern.  Take for instance, the smell of grits, full of butter, on your grandmother's table.  Being southern, the smell of hot grits is the smell of love. Tonight a poet called Bluz reminded me of that smell, as he slammed his poem, appropriately called "Smell," in the Student Center at Dalton State College. For three minutes, Bluz gave us the smell of museums, tax refund checks, Sunday family dinners, old ladies in church, and many others.

Bluz told us he records, in his book, the reactions he gets to his poems.  The ones which are especially well received are notated with a double rainbow.  Tonight, they were all double rainbows.   From paying homage to Harriet Tubman and those who ran to freedom, to celebrating a two year old's loyalty to her sister, Bluz was both engagingly funny and poignant to tears.  My breath still catches thinking of his poetic story of a woman finding cancer and wishing she could "wear bravery" like she might a dress.  And American Pie - I won't tell you that story, you need to hear it for yourself. 

Check out this artist called Bluz.  You'll like the smell of his words. 

You can find Bluz at  http://poetrybluz.com/

http://www.youtube.com/user/poetrybluz

http://twitter.com/#!/MrBluz