Hooterville Liner Notes PDF 9/24/20
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1 ON MY WAY TO HOOTERVILLE - CHRISTINE LAVIN TABLE OF CONTENTS Page 1 Table of Contents 2 Album art/who’s who 3-7 Liner notes by Ira Mayer 8 Track #1: “On My Way To Hooterville, Part 1” 20 Track #2: “Wut?” 25 Track #3: “My Sister Mary & My Mother” 31 Track #4: “Ode To Clint Eastwood” 40 Track #5: “On My Way To Hooterville, Part 2” 43 Track #6: “The Quiet Car” 50 Track #7: “Until That Day” 56 Track #8: “Ramblin’ Waltz” 63 Track #9: “Ray’s Copy Shop” 76 Track #10: “First Dance/Last Dance” (song for David Ippolito) 80 Track #11: “On My Way To Hooterville, Part 3” 86-88 Thank you/photo collage Caffe Lena/Dave Van Ronk: p.59-62 Don’t ever use this pickup line p.55 Mary E p.31-40 Kerry Harter & Doug Taylor: p.29-31 Jean Claude Larrivee/Grit Laskin p.63 Ira Mayer p. 3-7 Dr. Joe Montano (audiologist) p.22-25 Joe Namath p.55 Rolling Thunder Revue p.56-62 Hillary Rollins p.71 The Webster Apts p.35-37 Mason William p.61-62 Yaddo p.38, 84 2 L-R top: Christine Lavin, Brian, Ashley, and Madelyn Bauers, Daniel Glass & Jōji the Wonder Dog, Debi Smith, and Phil Klum middle: Jody Crawford Lavin & Mary Slothower Lavin, Amelia Krinke, and David Ippolito bottom: Steve Doyle, Robin Batteau, Mary E, Brandon O’Sullivan, and Dr. Joe Montano 3 And Now, Hooterville is Pleased to Present . Christiiiiiiine Lavin! by Ira Mayer If you are already familiar with Christine Lavin, you probably know the avenue by which you got to her music. You are likely to own more than one of her 24 solo albums created over the course of her 40- some year career. Maybe you discovered her at The Bottom Line, or Caffe Lena, or one of several clubs she sings about but doesn’t identify in the three “Hooterville” songs on this album. Maybe it was Fast Folk. Or a Bob Sherman “Woody’s Children” anniversary concert that she no doubt helped put together and that you heard on the radio or were lucky enough to attend. Perhaps it was via the Four Bitchin’ Babes. Or the On A Winter’s Night CDs or tours. Or one of the many online concerts she’s hosted and performed on, introducing her musical friends new and old. (Chris is one of the biggest boosters of other artists out there, and not just folkies.) 4 Maybe it was one of her stints guest hosting John Platt’s show on WFUV/Public Radio — shout out here on “First Dance/Last Dance,” which she recorded on that show one Sunday morning, not normally a time for a folksinger to be up, as Chris will be the first to tell you — but in this case a gift to all of us. Thanks, John, for taking a vacation! If you aren’t already familiar with Christine Lavin, this 25th solo album is as good an introduction as you will need to be inspired to dig back into the others, find live performances on Youtube, or go to Vimeo to view and listen to the poignant videos she’s been making to illustrate her songs, as for “First Dance Last Dance” and “Ode to Clint Eastwood.” (She also makes videos for other artists; that’s a story for another time.) The videos are a relatively late addition to Chris’s music-making; they point up a characteristic of her music that has always been there, and which is key to Chris’s unparalleled ability to draw people into her world: She writes visual songs. Precise little vignettes. Eloquent, sometimes wistful one act plays — three acts here, for the album’s title song. But here’s the thing: Chris’s songs don’t need the videos to be seen. Listen to “My Sister Mary and My Mother” and tell me you can’t picture that gorgeous 5 song in its entirety. Only then should you check out the delightful video and story to go with it (see Chris’s notes below). Or “Ramblin’ Waltz,” a 45-year-old number she wrote when she was an entourage driver for the first week of Bob Dylan’s “Rolling Thunder Revue” tour. If you have ever seen Ramblin’ Jack Elliott — and I hope you have — this song will dance itself to you. In Technicolor. If you haven’t seen Ramblin’ Jack, you’ll get the picture all the same. Or the jazzy “Ray’s Copy Shop,” mostly composed 20 years ago, only finished this year — it’s Dave Frishberg crossed with Tom Waits hangin’ on the Upper West Side. And “Until That Day,” a love song to her parents, complete with requisite subway scene. That’s a take. Chris’s spot-on comic instincts and timing are most in evidence in this set by “Wut?” and “The Quiet Car.” Her humor is not always, shall we say, subtle. But it works; even hearing some of her funny songs over and over (there’s a joke there for “Wut?” but you’ll need to listen first) the fun doesn’t wear out because it’s situational. Again, we are all embedded inside Christine Lavin’s songs. Go to an earlier CD or online and cue “Sensitive New Age Guys” and “Good Thing He Can’t Read My Mind” or its updated companion, 6 “Good Thing She Can’t Read My Mind,” for two of her most popular examples. There is one side of Chris’s songwriting that is missing on this album: There are no political songs. I haven’t asked her specifically why, and you can find plenty of ripped-from-the-headlines Christine Lavin songs online, but most of this album was produced during the Covid-19 lockdown and in the runup to the 2020 presidential election. Maybe it’s just too fraught a time, too angry a moment. Maybe Chris is unconsciously suggesting we focus on the good inside. I’m OK with that. VERY OK. Truth is, good as Chris’s recorded output is, nothing compares to a Christine Lavin concert. I’ve been to dozens over those 40 years, starting back when that was her night gig while by day she was a medical typist at Bellevue Hospital. (Back then I was reviewing for the New York Post.) Fast forward: In February 2020, just before the lockdowns, my family and I were privileged to host a house concert with Chris in our living room, which 50 relatives and friends attended. The intimacy of that night, at which she performed many of the songs in this set, was stunning. The actress Christine Lavin used every facial muscle to accent the songwriter Christine Lavin’s lyrics, her voice as steady and 7 strong as ever. That, and the video projector she brought with her to share some of her videos, transformed our living room into Chris’s own personal theater. Put this CD in your player (yes, most of us in the Christine Lavin fan club still have CD players), or start your stream. Close your eyes and listen to these songs. You can see them, can’t you? Ira Mayer is a forever Christine Lavin fan and former contributor to the Rockaway Wave, Village Voice, Rolling Stone, Record World, Sunday New York Times, Music Week, the New York Post, and more. For periodic current jottings about music and theater, visit www.nightmayer.net. 8 ON MY WAY TO HOOTERVILLE (Part 1) I don’t make things up I just make ‘em rhyme so no one will get hurt let’s start with “Once upon a time . “ I did a concert in a quaint little theater next to a charming AirBnB If I thanked them from the stage I could stay for free The people who had the room before me were a couple of cute newlyweds who loved each other madly and loved the king size bed Oooh king size bed . thank you . The owner said, “I’d bet good money you’ll have sweet dreams tonight” I did and the next afternoon I did what I thought was right I stripped the bed to make it easy to prepare for whoever stayed there next but what fell out of the blankets and sheets left me perplexed 9 A blindfold, blue BVDs size XXXL a skimpy baby doll nighty furry handcuffs as well (What did I sleep on?) I can’t ask for a refund ’cause I never paid what do I do with the remnants of this newlywed love parade I could pack ‘em into my suitcase give airport security a thrill when they go through my luggage on my way to Hooterville What did I sleep on? I left those goodies all tangled up in the blankets and sheets on the floor I left the “Maid Service Requested” sign danglin’ from the door I left that night in an Uber the driver said, “get in the front seat” did I mind if we stopped at a drive-thru he was hungry, he had to eat Then he leaned over looked me in the eye 10 and said “I can’t see in the dark” riding shotgun with him was like taking a spin in a dangerous amusement park He confided that he had no money and if I would I pay for the food he’d give me a ride to the airport free well that put me in a mood ‘Cause everybody knows the Uber charge is automatic but I had to let that on go at the airport I told him drive only in daylight he said “I know I know!” I waved goodbye he put the car in gear disappeared into a dusty cloud checkin’ me out in the rear view mirror crankin’ Rush Limbaugh up loud It’s a brave new world where anyone can be a taxi or a AirBnB gonna think twice next time I’m offered something free Life can be one long journey first up .