Ken Kesey, who died Nov. 10, may be best remembered for his acid-head hippie adventures: driving across the country in a fluorescent bus dubbed “Further,” turning on some, scaring the pants off others, and generally loosening up the tight-assed population of America. He may also be remembered for two brilliant books: Sometimes A Great Notion, […]
David Potorti
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Gary Myrick
Waltz of the Scarecrow King conjures up a remarkable series of moods: It’s occult and malevolent, eerie and disconcerting, exquisitely delicate and oddly beautiful, kind of a Blair Witch Project for the ears. But before you pull the covers over your head, this is a thoroughly listenable CD of solidly-crafted songs, too. Dallas singer-songwriter Gary […]
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Scrapper Blackwell
Blues guitarist Francis “Scrapper” Blackwell (1903-1962), nicknamed for his tendency to tussle with his brothers as a baby, never became a household word like Robert Johnson, or a ’60s revival figure like the Reverend Gary Davis. But he had a major influence on bluesmen from T-Bone Walker to Johnson himself. Blackwell was born in Syracuse, […]
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Fall-ternative: Western Films
If you’re wondering where country, alt-country and faux-country artists–Madonna con cowboy hat, anyone?–got their attitudes and imagery (the ties, the boots, the rugged individualism), you can to a large extent thank Hollywood. After all, it was Western movies and serials that introduced much of America to the romantic notion of riding the range, camping out […]
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Pure Soul
The Tar Heel State has produced some of the world’s greatest African-American musicians: Thelonius Monk, John Coltrane, Etta Baker, Max Roach and … Judy Clay? If the name of this North Carolina native doesn’t ring a bell, you’ve almost certainly heard her voice. That’s Judy Clay singing backup on Van Morrison’s “Moondance.” And on John […]
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Proud to be Americana
“Glad to see each one of you here, and hope you enjoy it.” Arthur Bouldin, with the big white cowboy hat and the stand-up bass, couldn’t be more sincere as he leads the house band in a rendition of “Wabash Cannonball.” It’s par for the course at Charlie’s Barn in Pittsboro, where a spirited musical […]
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Jonathan Byrd
Singer-songwriter Jonathan Byrd isn’t what you’d call an overwhelming physical presence: Skinny as a rail, he sometimes looks like he might be swallowed up whole by his cowboy hat. But his diminutive stature belies the vocal maturity and songwriting skills that won him grand prize in last year’s North Carolina Songwriter’s Co-op Song Contest, where […]
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John Lilly
If Hank Williams had a sunny disposition, he’d be John Lilly. But beyond the vocal resemblance and the honkytonk attitude, there’s a lot to recommend about Lilly’s solo debut, Broken Moon: some intriguing traditional and original tunes, wonderful harmony vocals from Virginia’s Ginny Hawker, and guitar and fiddle backup from West Virginia old-time musicians David […]
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Appalachia, Hollywood Style
“Havin’ a real backwoods experience, ain’t you?” Mountain man Tom Bledsoe (Aidan Quinn) is taunting scholar and “songcatcher” Lily Penleric (Janet McTeer), who’s just ridden a rickety horse-drawn wagon up the side of a mountain, recorded some nifty folk songs, found out her sister is getting it on with a woman, and delivered a baby. […]
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An American Original
“This is an album of memories. This is an album of growing up in a real happy time, with some great music and some great musicians.” The voice of John Hartford that opens Hamilton Iron Works, his last recording (due in September on Rounder Records), is noticeably weak. But the music that follows springs alive […]