SWEET HARMONY ALSO Reviews of the Wailin’ Jenny’s “Firecracker” INSIDE and Ollabelle’s “Riverside Battle Songs” PAGE 5

WWW.MODERNACOUSTIC.COM odern Acoust c The music magazine for really cool people AUGUST 2006 - Volume 11

D LET’S GO – THE FEELIES SECON SARY NIVER AN ! M FEELIN’ ALRIGHT – JOE COCKER ISSUE i Got some tunes I’LL TAKE YOU THERE – STAPLE SINGERS you’d like others TEN FEET TALL – XTC to hear? CD clubs are I JUST CAN’T HELP IT – JACKIE WILSON a great way to share FEVER – SOUTHSIDE JOHNNY the music you love WHEN A WOMAN LOVES A MAN – BILLIE HOLIDAY WHEN A MAN LOVES A WOMAN – PERCY SLEDGE I’VE NEVER LOVED A MAN – ARETHA FRANKLIN EVER FALLEN IN LOVE? – BUZZCOCKS PERFECT WORLD – TONIO K. IRENE WILDE – IAN HUNTER MELT WITH YOU – MODERN ENGLISH NON-STOP – SKATALITES GIVE IT UP – FISHBONE FREE NELSON MANDELA – SPECIAL A.K.A. SING OUR OWN SONG – UB40 FAITH – VIOLENT FEMMES SOUND OF SINNERS – THE CLASH BULLSHIT – GRACE JONES TRUST YOURSELF – BOB DYLAN WHEN I TURN OUT THE LIVINGROOM LIGHT – THE KINKS WHADDYA WANT FROM LIFE? – THE TUBES MIXPEOPLE – NRBQ ItMADNESS Up! IS ALL IN THE MIND – MADNESS FROM THE EDITOR The songs listed on the cover of What’s great about the list is how this issue may or may not be diverse it is: Joe Cocker and the familiar to you. And if you are Kinks nestled among the Violent an avid reader of this magazine Femmes and XTC and Billie you realize the songs don’t Holiday and the Staples Singers. PHOTO BY ADAM KASSIRER appear to reflect the kind of I was opened up to a whole and share more of themselves. music that you’ve come to expect new part of Leo’s personality I It seems only appropriate that from Modern Acoustic. That is had not known about in our five as we celebrate Modern Acou- because these songs – mostly or so years of friendship. stic’s second anniversary, we do it from the ’80s and earlier – were In 2006, while cassette tapes by sharing music (which is why given to me on a mixtape made are all but gone, the mix craze we’re in business). So sit back, in 1988. My friend Leo, who I lives on CD. As you’ll read about and think: “If I were making my met at my first newspaper job in the cover story, there are own music mix, what would be on way back when, made me this “clubs” sprouting across the it?”Then go ahead and make that tape, titled “Leo Tapes His Faves country, allowing people to share CD. Give it to a friend, or mail it 1 (Vol. 3 /2).’’ their music with others they to someone you think would want It was my introduction to the don’t know at all. It is also bring- to hear it. You may get something idea of putting a bunch of songs ing people together as these club cool back in return. together for sharing. groups decide to meet in person Rich Kassirer, editor

ue? ModernModern iss d an AcousticAcoustic isse M Vols.Vols. 1-101-10

Visit www.modernacoustic.com/issues.htm and download past issues

2 MODERN ACOUSTIC LIVE SHOTS

PHOTOS BY RICH KASSIRER Top: Lori McKenna plays a tune for the crowd; and (above, from left): Jeffrey Foucault, Kris Delmhorst and Peter Mulvey harmonize as Mark Erelli sings at Energy Park in Greenfield, Mass.

MODERN ACOUSTIC 3 If you love turning people on to music you

listen to, CD clubs are s oy &1 d B & e l e ee a great way to give –π m H u igh l f H o o s ifs d V rk ne a ea and receive – , pa Jo e W D ic S e Th ul t ow Le l tef Mix s L ie til rmatcha ll Mix matche k S u ic n G ch new tunes o R do ain it c on R i M ch A L of on y el y x J la W as n o o e ldp n E r G B ot o llia e e e oy C Gi om d t M C w C o e h llo lle 't s r L lc Ye be on ke r M O e r na D Sy de p n W te n It n e er ei U t ia wn it A n fi ss aft hn d It it ill eo R he rif Je re c ke ve Ra G K sh W G l e b S oc Gi ie s c Jo ty ir t H o Sh n ta n M r at G e B e on on ri pe y P y we d ll B h E ni Bo , M S un he s ca o u a Oh e o ic ve Po -l e J h th R M ol ng k it nd & s W s lu a W ys a nd ak d g iam S 't W ve nn u re an un ill n Lo ith e Ro B p, o W Do n m ' J er ee il Y a l I e S lin ev h e nd el ton dy ai n' F , S n N ci F S in W ki gs mo n Lu ll h ss M e oc Pi Si oo e it emember when Jo e Th n l M nd tch m n n K au t i i t S ole to a P es e W i M ot your friend gave you that mix- J g e rv th on lli lin am ay Ha y J E r C cK s nv a ll A th s M ain E ni e tape of his or her favorite songs? ea hk e nt I or rw D Du lli u lif Fa e Ne o fs Ca d Listening to the wild mix of styles Th e M ai on vid th st W F a f or he n A D t o h T ow t and genres inspired you to hear more as lm e e ea If you’d like to hear R E De n cK F s O M tle from some of those bands. ri ay in it na K hw Er L en ne Gideon D’Arcangelo’s ig ! en cK do H es k M er Cassette tapes may be long gone, but m hic i V Ja C or es segment on the CD club ie L ul the idea of music mixes lives on and are the ix es J D fli nd Bobcats, go to: re ou Fi ar inspiration of CD mix clubs that have popped rn Tu http://weekendamerica up nationwide. .publicradio.org/ Generally the clubs are made up of 12 people who kind of programs/index_20050827 people. Each member is assigned a month in knew each other, or didn't .html (Scroll down to which he or she produces a mix CD and know each other at all, would mails it out to the other members. Not only “Pass the CD”) think about each other just by knowing their do you get to share the music you love, but musical taste,” says D’Arcangelo. you get 11 CDs worth of new tunes a year in like a sports team, that people can get Each group has a name – the Penguins, the return. behind. It means nothing at first, but a lot by Owls (see list on facing page), the Bobcats, “I am in two clubs simultaneously,” says the end of the year you've spent together,” MIXMOO, the Geckos, Gideon’s 13, etc. “I Gideon D’Arcangelo, who is an interactive he says. got the idea for naming the clubs from Dave media designer and who did a piece on CD Rules for the clubs are decided solely by Ratzlow, who organized the Bobcats, the CD clubs called “Pass the CD” for American the members: Try to fill the CD and get it club that I originally covered in the radio Public Media’s “Weekend America.” His mailed out on time seem to be the only piece,” he says. “Ratzlow was in several CD blog, What Are You Listening To?” major requirements. And there is a lot of clubs, which had names like the Cobras and (www.whatareyoulisteningto.net), details space for the creative and the personal. the Cougars. I thought it was funny. the CD clubs he is in and the seven others Mixing genres and styles, new and old, just D’Arcangelo says the names add personality that were created after his show aired. “I about anything goes. Want to get creative to the groups. “It's a kind of social identity, thought it would be interesting to see what with packaging? That’s fine too.

4 MODERN ACOUSTIC Other ways to join the mix

G Apple’s iTunes has a neat feature called iMix which allows you to create a mix of your D l til C S favorite songs and then post il ed ar r ok Ye p ro he t them on iTunes so it can be A C t es e ra of u g ’s lo nt l G od shared. Others can then buy F e tfu D lli th om ub 64 re r M o ’ wn E your mix for 99 cents per a e D ew ro rk ies h N B a B p T nd eg M song. Be aware though: If ee ow a Gr y ie W oll Br a he H e e) y W se m T e es liv nl o any of your songs are unavail- a s th rt ( O R s J es ly o e ish ar in B a C Th Ir t e able from the Apple Music p ld ur ld h S m ap hi a i us la H C L W P e F us Store, it won’t show up in your s a s he lu eo A ay d T B r t ej il hy k in te igh iMix. Check out my posted mix, lu Ch W ic h it R B h es Cr T h R e us m d os B na H eti an on J to n ow ole “Modern Acoustic, Vol. 1” (see m k st rie w Ke nb o’ o rc le a o c ai iw S ba gg M s H i M R w list, on the facing page). ol E et ge or e ka G ad we cs or L th a sh S ni B er am G Another cool way to post your Ru er ho ah Ov K ev op ar el or es S sra mixes is at Art of the Mix F R e I he Le in T el pa l r (www. artofthemix.org), a website ni S el te a of us ch it D g vo it h R in ru M os devoted to individuals’ creative K y F ais J ox n el M A he tastes in music. They offer a Mix ion W Or r’s of the Week and allow comments tte Po as well as downloads on some. A recent mix offered up Queen Ida & WANT TO Her Zydeco Band alongside Mary START A CD CLUB? Kay Place, Tiny Volcano, Klaus Contact me at Wusthoff, and Captain Beefheart. Jamie Barth, a friend of Yeah! mine, was inspired by [email protected]. D’Arcangelo’s piece and immediately joined If we can get 12 people one of the clubs. Her CD, which came out in interested, we’ll start April, is a wonderful mix of eclectic singer- our own group! songwriter types (see list above). But what makes her CD even more intriguing is she 6 sent along a four-page insert complete with 0 ps 0 as 2 W o liner-note-like information she composed e he rp n f t a u o ck H which makes the package that much more J a na co lim en on tch e S n – M ad Hi e ai personal. s l M n g B y Ch l u by in ne ry w Pa Ro K o a ine How much do the music mixes a e H M ph O nd ’m ik nd or e a I L s a M reflect the personality of the ry st su e h a Ju Je it ck T M e h Ro y his Th y W ug ip creator is hard to tell exactly. B T n ne Dr R to ng a o e n sh n hi dm H cl ma a D’Arcangelo agrees that it is possi- w ug o ira w D o o Go M e re D l C ! ( . N to ou d ) .C S ble that some gussy up their mix to S ste ix re s A or y wl e M pi wn qu isk bo nf n m ro Li h er I wi f E C n W g try to impress the rest of the group. ar o l al na ig Fin rs D se vi oy ha B l ee t ur De R uc ya B gh “That's an open question, for sure. I'd Co e ng B Ro of Ri t th zi oy g r is o ma R in He nt be curious to hear what other club members D A z K t ie es e lu r ea Sc oic Th B te es Tr a V y’s et rip m By think about this,” he says. “I think music o L St a d R th e ss I de ea hit ne ui tells us a lot about what makes people click, D W ak s G e re ey Th kf K ric ck s so it's a doorway to developing tolerance. h la t er T B gh ov e ai L That's why I try to listen as diversely as I Th tr rn S de I’m o can. That's me, but I think the connection e M Th between what you listen to and who you are is strong, and the mix you make sheds light on that connection.”

MODERN ACOUSTIC 5 THE WAILIN’ JENNYS’“FIRECRACKER” CRACKLES WITH ENERGY I have to say I’ve been waiting for a long Nicky Mehta, Annabelle time for the Jenny’s follow up album to “40 Chvostek and Ruth Moody Day,” one of my favorite albums. “Fire- cracker” no doubt satisfies my need for gor- geous three-part harmony. Since the last album alto Annabelle Chvostek has replaced Cara Luft, joining mezzo-soprano Nicky Mehta and soprano Ruth Moody, but it seems little has been lost in the transition. The Jennys still produce some of the most beautiful sounds in all of North America, their voices surrounded by acoustic guitars, accordion, banjo and man- dolin. Their sound is rounded out by a bevy of other musicians and instruments, including Dobro and National Steel guitars. The opening track, “The Devil’s Paintbrush,’’ written by Annabelle, begins with a strumming banjo and then kicks in with the three women combining on the cho- www.wailinjennys.com rus, building energy and color. “This Heart of Mine” shows off Ruth’s wonderfully album, where most of the songs straddle the Dixie Chicks if theChicks dropped the angelic high voice; and “Things That You folk/country line. schtick, but since they don’t, we’ll take our Know” comes the closest to a rocker on the The Jenny’s might be compared to the chicks wailin’ any day. harmonyharmony centralcentral knows that one of its leaders, Amy Helm, is the daughter of The Band drummer Levon Helm. On the new album’s “Reach for Love” sounds like it could have come right out of The Band’s “Cahoots” sessions. But what’s nice is that Ollabelle wonderful- ly makes the sound their own: The dueling women’s voices – of Helm and Fiona McBain – is something The Band never had; and Ollabelle eschews a Robbie Robertson- lead guitar for a fuller group sound featuring multiple layers of harmony and instruments, including mandolin, dobro, accordian as well as electric and acoustic guitars. “Riverside,” a stellar take on the tradi- tional song “Down By the Riverside,” really shows off Ollabelle’s vocal prowess. The har- Glenn Patscha, Amy Helm, monies soar and the message – a protest Tony Leone, Fiona McBain song of sorts – is loud and clear. Other and Byron Isaacs www.ollabelle.com standouts on the album are “Fall Back’’ and OLLABELLE DIGS INTO THEIR ROOTS WITH “RIVERSIDE BATTLE SONGS” “Troubles of the World.’’ On “Riverside Battle Songs,” Ollabelle reminiscent of The Band. It’s a sound that For those wishing The Band were still per- moves away from the gospel-tinged sound of suits them nicely and is not that unexpected. forming, Ollabelle is keeping the flame burn- their debut and toward a more rootsy sound Anyone who follows this five-member group ing brightly without sounding derivative.

6 MODERN ACOUSTIC THE LISTS Streamin’ my life away Local time Lately, we’ve spent (too?) much time watch- zon.com is a pioneering move from one of Two more local albums that ing the Internet. Yes, watching. Maybe the the country’s best political satarists. Fish- didn’t make the last issue coolest thing we’ve seen is a Josh Ritter bowl consists of Maher on a typical “Tonight because of space: concert broadcast as it was happening live Show”-type set where he interviews a variety “Hope & Other Casualties” in Amsterdam. There are a bunch of great of entertainment folks. As you’d expect, by Mark Erelli sites where you can Maher’s goofy personal- (www.markerelli.com) watch clips of bands ity melds well with his Mark has put together a won- (such as YouTube.com), guests in the loose for- derful collection of very topical but even better is mat.There is also tunes – singing out about home- watching and listening always a musical com- lessness (“Here & Now”), the to full sets from your ponent to the show. The loss of trees and natural spaces favorite musicians. If Dixie Chicks (bottom), (“Imaginary Wars”) and the this is the future of the T-Bone Burnett and tragedy of Sept. 11 (“The Only Internet, count me in! Ritter are among those Way”), among others. While any that have performed. comparison to Dylan is exhaust- Fabchannel The show is easy to ing and overdone, Mark’s guitar/ (www.fabchannel.com) navigate, allowing you harmonica combination and his Fabchannel delivers live to skip over the inter- social and political stances at concerts from the views if you want to least hint at Dylan’s early Paradiso and Melkweg watch just the perform- recordings. in Amsterdam.The Josh ances. Ritter show (top) aired “Deeper Waters” here in Boston around Blue Room by Laura Vecchione 3:30 p.m., so there I (www.blueroom. (www.lauravecchione.com) was at work, headset on, att.com) Laura’s first album is a nice mix watching the band per- The fact that the Blue of country, countrified rock and form.The concert was very professionally Room is run by a corporation doesn’t com- soul. “Jane” is a powerful album shot, the picture was spectacular with no pletely deter us from checking them out opener dealing with the strength dropouts or lagging in the connection.There because they have something we like – of self. And her covers are is an extensive archive as well where you can streams from concerts including the inspired: She turns the Beatles’ watch previous concerts, including Ani Bonnaroo festival, Austin City Limits and “Lady Madonna” into a fun, Difranco, Bright Eyes and others from a wide others. Among the performances recently horn-splashed soul song and Dr. array of genres. posted were Elvis Costello with Allen John’s “Qualified” dazzles. She Toussaint, Andrew Bird and Buddy Guy. One is backed throughout by a crack Amazon Fishbowl With Bill Maher downside is the size of the viewing screen, band assembled in Nashville (www.amazon.com, click on Fishbowl logo) which is not expandable.The site also offers where the album was recorded. Bill Maher’s weekly “talk show” on ama- a load of interview segments that you can Can’t wait to hear more.

MA5 – Albums Albums that helped us survive this issue. 1. “Live at Shubas” Kris Delmhorst. I love this live show, recorded in 2004. She’s funny, her songs are great and she’s backed by Mark Erelli on guitar and vocals. The story before the song “East of the Mountains” is priceless. 2. “Blue,” Joni Mitchell. “Carey” and “California” are amazing. What a vocal range she had. 3. “Bittertown,” Lori McKenna. Can’t get enough of “Pour” and “Mr. Sunshine.’’ 4. “Soul Journey,” Gillian Welch. Still waiting on the next album; still enjoying the last one. 5. “Shaken by a Low Sound,” Crooked Still. This album has really grown on me. It comes out on Aug. 22. Check it out.

MODERN ACOUSTIC 7