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MUSIC REVIEWS
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RAR reviews LPs from Michael ONeill (Ain't Leavin' Your Love), Sarah Stanley (Tuesday Girl), Hilary York (In The Dark), Tom Corwin and Tim Hockenberry (Mostly Dylan), The Boxmasters (Modbilly), Mad Buffalo (Wilderness), and others. Also read reviews from RARWRITER contributors Doug Strobel and Diana Olson.

BOOK REVIEWS AND MORE (click here): This edition, RAR takes a long look at Philip K. Dick, Edgar Allan Poe, Samuel Clemens and The Iowa Writer's Workshop. Read earlier RAR reviews, including a look back at David Halberstam's The Reckoning, and Alan Greenspan's book "The Age of Turbulence."

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ARTIST INDEX:

Click here to go to the Index page to find the artists profiled on the Links at RARWRITER.

J. Vermeer -  "The Artist In His Studio"

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ARCHIVES: Selected features from past editions.

RARADIO: Click here to go to the RARadio page to hear innovative acts from across the spectrum of musical genres.

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points of view not necessarily endorsed by RARWRITER.com

ATLAS SHRUGS

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The Gibson guitar folks have a Lifestyle zine section on their website that is well worth checking. Click here.

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RARWRITER.com Annual "State of the Union" Report 2008-2009.

Click here for information about RARWRITER.com viewership and the further development of the RARWRITER enterprise.

RARWRITER
CONTRIBUTOR PROSPECTUS

RARWRITER.com is exploding with new readers, new artist profiles, and new business opportunities. Would you like to become involved as an editorial contributor? If you are a great writer or photographer with particular knowledge of your creative community, and you are looking for publishing credits, contact us at Rick@RARWRITER.com for a copy of the RARWRITER Contributor Prospectus to learn what involvement can mean for you.-RAR

CALEXICO

Sungha Jung - 12 Year Old Prodigy

Sungha Jung is a South Korean youngster and a gifted finger-style guitarist. His innate sense of rhythm is wonderful, as is his almost preternatural calm, all on full display in his video performances of tricky compositions such as the "Mission Impossible" theme. The links following lead to his MySpace site, YouTube videos, and his official Website.

http://www.myspace.com/jungsungha

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5IXa2pNGVj8

www.sunghajung.com/

Young Jung, who was brought to the attention of RARWRITER.com by a high school classmate of RAR's from 1968 - thank you Randy Makings - is endorsed by Lakewood guitars.

Atlanta, Georgia – Ruf Records announces an October 7 release date for Rich Man’s War: New Blues & Roots Songs of Peace and Protest, a 12-song CD compilation of performances from a dozen artists that brings the protest song art form into the 21^st century. Produced by Kenneth Bays, editor of the internationally celebrated magazine Blues Revue, the new CD includes performances from such established blues and roots artists as Bob Brozman, Guitar Shorty, Norman & Nancy Blake, Candye Kane, Eddy “The Chief” Clearwater, Michael Hill and Doug MacLeod, as well as a number of rising stars in the blues field.  

“The seeds for Rich Man's War came out of the oft-repeated argument that today’s blues music isn’t ‘about’ anything -- that modern blues songs are all either about partying, romantic entanglements, or about celebrating the blues itself,” says Kenneth Bays. “I’d heard several people say that, and I knew that it wasn’t true, that there was more to today’s blues music than just those time-worn topics. 

“In 2004, the progressive political organization MoveOn.org put out a CD called Future Soundtrack For America that consisted of indie rock artists performing songs that were politically themed -- some subtly so, others less subtly. Beyond its message, though, it was just a great, enjoyable collection of music that I found myself listening to over and over again. I’ve always been a fan of the protest song genre, and I thought, ‘Why hasn’t somebody done one of these in the blues world? Is it that there aren't enough great protest songs in blues?’” 

With that idea, Bays began a quest and discovered literally hundreds of recent protest songs from blues artists both established and unknown. He culled them down to those songs that were very clear in their focus, that had an intelligent point to make, that were performed with the greatest passion, and that were just plain good to listen to. Because of space limitations, he wasn’t able to include many of the others he uncovered. 

“It was when I started reaching out to the artists that I knew we had something really good,” remembers Bays. “All the artists I contacted were excited and enthusiastic about the CD, and many of them said they’d waited a long time for a disc like this to come about. New York bluesman Michael Hill called it ‘an important and much-needed project.’ Matthew Skoller said ‘the blues world is frightfully devoid of projects such as this, and I applaud you for doing it.’ The artists were unanimous in allowing us to use their songs. 

“It bothers me when people say that music and politics shouldn’t mix. If that were the case, we wouldn’t have Bob Dylan. We wouldn’t have had Woody Guthrie or Pete Seeger. And we wouldn’t have a lot of what we now consider to be classics of the blues genre, either. Blues music was born from a population voicing their frustration with the great injustices perpetrated against them. So it’s only natural that today’s blues artists would want to voice their feelings about the injustices they observe today. It’s part of the tradition. 

“My greatest hope is that blues artists will hear Rich Man’s War and say, ‘You know, maybe it IS okay for me to sing about the things I see going on in the world. Maybe it’s okay for me to write about issues I believe in. Maybe somebody will listen.’”

Complete Track Listing:

1)       Bob Brozman – “Follow the Money”

2)       Guitar Shorty – “We the People”

3)       Norman & Nancy Blake – “Don’t Be Afraid of the Neo-Cons”

4)       Matthew Skoller Band – “Handful of People”

5)       David Evans – “Bring the Boys Back Home”

6)       Candye Kane – “Jesus and Mohammed”

7)       Charlie Wood & the New Memphis Underground – “You Don’t Really Wanna Know”

8)       Pat Boyack Band – “Mr. Wesola’s Lucky Number Dream Book Part II”

9)       Roy Zimmerman – “Chickenhawk”

10)     Michael Hill – “Fear Itself”

11)     Eddy “The Chief” Clearwater – “A Time for Peace”

12)     Doug MacLeod – “Dubb’s Talkin’ Politician Blues”

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CD and Memoir:

Juliana Hatfield Does the Indie Walk

Boston, Massachusetts - Were RARWRITER.com to design a flag to symbolize dedication to "the indie ethos", a concept of suspect but immediate coinage, it would likely bear the image of Juliana Hatfield. That's her striding Bigfoot style across the cover of her new LP, the imaginatively titled How to Walk Away (on her label Ye Olde Records). Juliana has been an inspiration to independent types since bursting onto the scene 15 years ago with a string of "modern rock" hits ("My Sister," "Spin The Bottle," "Universal Heartbeat") and establishing herself as an authentic rebel voice. "She was a willowy beauty with charming shyness and a slightly tragic air," writes Boston writer Brett Milano, in his book The Sound Of Our Town: A History Of Boston Rock+Roll.

Juliana was and is every nerdish rocker's fantasy, a gravelly intellectual and a disarmingly sexual presence. Her mix of fearlessness and vulnerability, mated to her razor ways with word play, her confessional nature and girlish voice, her churlishness, and her iconic looks add up to an explosive package. RARWRITER.com can't look away.

How to Walk Away was recorded at Stratosphere Sound, the NYC studio co-owned by Adam Schlesinger (Fountains Of Wayne), James Iha (formerly of Smashing Pumpkins), and Andy Chase (of revered alt-rock/pop band Ivy), who produced the album. The LP features guest appearances by another of our favorite voices, Richard Butler of the Psychedelic Furs, as well as Nada Surf's Matthew Caws.  Other featured guest musicians were Fountains Of Wayne guitarist Jody Porter (some lead guitar); Jeff Hill, of Rufus Wainwright's band, on bass; and Ethan Eubanks of the Grey Race on drums. Tracy Bonham guested on violin, and Jason Hatfield, Juliana's brother, played piano on two songs, which he co-wrote ("Remember November" and "Such A Beautiful Girl").

Juliana has always made MP3s available for download from her site, based on something she calls "the Honor System", i.e.: "When a song is downloaded, you will have an option. You can decide that ownership of this song is your right and freely distribute the files to your friends and to the people who also think it's their right, without payment. Or, you can support the artist who wrote and recorded this song and click the PayPal button at the top of the page and send Juliana a contribution. The iTunes standard of $.99 per song may seem too high for you, in which case you can send $.50 - though there is virtually nothing else you can buy legally for $.50. Alternatively, you can think of the number of people with whom you might share these files and give a multiple of $.99 for each song you download." Go to http://www.julianahatfield.com/downloads.htm.

Juliana has also had her memoir, When I Grow Up, published last year (Wiley) and excerpts from the book can be found at http://www.julianahatfield.com/ch8.htm. True to her songwriting style, her book is smart and free of artifice and makes for interesting reading. In the photo below, she is reading a selection from her book at Book Passage in the San Francisco Ferry Terminal.

JULIANA HATFIELD

www.julianahatfield.com
Remember that line "you had me at hello?" I think it was dialogue from Jerry MacGuire that morphed into a Kenny Chesney country hit. Well, Juliana Hatfield had me at "My Sister," which I found to be a welcome palliative to the morose grunge of the rock of the early '90s. Then, upon further examination, I learned that the song about a sister she never had only touched the surface of what Juliana Hatfield is about.

The girl-voice could fool you - or convince you to love her - but there is a lot going on with Juliana. Now in her mid-30s, having survived the teen worship that attended her around the time her tune "Spin the Bottle" showed up in the movie Reality Bites, she is a powerful blend of intelligence and experience. By turns insightful, brittle, sarcastic and pained, she writes songs that are ripped from an inner experience. Candid, revealing, to me she is the very voice of girl alt-rock, but she is also far more than. She is a real musician who explores the instruments she plays (guitar, bass, keyboards) and uses unconventional means (odd tunings, innovative playing techniques) to get her layered sound, which is typically coming from a relatively small unit. And she is a skilled harmonist, which is obvious in most every one of her tunes. She beds her soft, sweet voice in clearly conceived harmonies that build to powerful swells.

Juliana came into national prominence along with a wave of girl acts, including Liz Phair and P.J. Harvey. She shows up here on the Links through the work she did at Mark Hallman's Congress House studio.

ABOVE: Exile in the Church of Juliana

Photo: Danny Clinch

Photo: Dylan Long

Photo: Tom Dubé

Juliana Hatfield MP3s:  

THE FLAMING LIPS

www.flaminglips.com

THE Flaming Lips formed in 1983, coming together rather quickly. Bandleader Wayne Coyne recalls the early efforts. After leaving his $60 a week fish-frying job at Long John Silver's, bandleader Wayne Coyne bought a Les Paul and formed a band. "I learned to play fairly well within a couple of weeks, and everyone thought I was going to be the next Hendrix or something. I never really got much better than I was after those first two weeks..." The Okies started gigging, inexplicably, in a black R&B bar and playing what they thought of as "death rock" before moving on to a transvestite club in Oklahoma City, called the Blue Note. They started veering more toward punk and opening for Husker Du, Black Flag and the Minutemen and began developing an entertaining and energetic stage show that involved a lot of jumping around, lying down to play, and generally knocking things over, then eventually morphed into a costumed act. They remain one of the most outlandish acts in rock.

Will Callery's Rider Comin' In

Leitchfield, Kentucky – Feats Records has released singe/songwriter Will Callery’s new CD, Rider Comin’ In, with national distribution by Burnside Distribution.

Born in Terra Haute, Indiana, and raised in Owensboro, Kentucky, Will Callery is a veteran performer and songwriter who in his early career toured with everyone from Ramblin’ Jack Elliott and Arlo Guthrie to David Lindley and Taj Mahal. His music has been recorded and performed by such artists as Willie Nelson, Jerry Jeff Walker and Norah Jones. Callery’s biggest break as a songwriter came in 1975 when Willie Nelson recorded one of Will’s songs, “Hands on the Wheel” on his ground-breaking, multi-platinum-selling album, The Red-Headed Stranger, which also went on to earn a Grammy® nomination. “Hands on the Wheel” was also chosen as the title song for the film, The Electric Horseman, which starred Robert Redford and Jane Fonda. Will Callery was later signed to Lone Star Records, Nelson’s Texas imprint for the Columbia label and made frequent appearances at Willie’s annual Fourth of July picnics. He can also be seen in the film, Heartworn Highways, with Townes Van Zandt, Guy Clark, Steve Earle and Rodney Crowell. In addition to his film work, Will has written songs for such television shows as “St. Elsewhere” and “Northern Exposure.”

Will Callery’s many days on the road took their toll, however, and substance abuse problems led him to withdraw from performing and writing in an effort to heal his heart and soul. After working as a lumberjack in the northwest for several years, he began to regain his desire to record and perform again, settling back home in Kentucky.

Rider Comin’ In reunites Will Callery with many of the musicians he’s worked with in the studio and on tour, including guitarist Joe Forlini, who has worked with Willie Nelson, Jerry Jeff Walker and Stevie Ray Vaughan. Other players featured on the new CD include T. Gozney Thornton on harmony vocals and harp, Greg Lowry on a multiple of stringed instruments, Ted Sweeney on bass and Eddy Cantu on drums. Long-time friend Jerry Jeff Walker makes a special guest appearance performing a duet with Callery on a reprise of “Hands on the Wheel,” the song that started it all for Will. Will Callery will tour in support Rider Comin’ In, with booking by Richard Sutton of The Sutton Agency (936-875-5696 – office; 936-414-4380 - cell / rwsutton35@aol.com). Radio promotion is being handled by Bill Wence Promotions (615-776-2060 / billwencepro@earthlink.net). Will Callery is managed by Brian Gavron (615-587-3323 / bgavron@comcast.net). For more information, visit www.willcallery.com.

CALEXICO

www.casadecalexico.com

Tucson, Arizona-based CALEXICO has been together since 1996. The band is influenced by sources as diverse as Portugese fado, 50's jazz, gypsy or romani music and its offshoots, 60's surf and twang from Link Wray to country's Duane Eddy, the spaghetti western epics of Ennio Morricone and dark indie rock singer songwriters like Smog, Richard Buckner, Will Oldham and Vic Chesnutt. I had to include Calexico because they have a fresh version out of one of my all-time favorite songs, Love's "Alone Again."

www.joelala.com
joe lala was a name I used to hear all the time from the Boulder guys I knew, because they all liked and admired him. He was always involved in something interesting, a music, television, movie or theater project. There was always a lot of energy swirling around him, and had been from early in the evolution of rock.

Joe helped put together Blues Image in his native Tampa, Florida before moving on out west where among his compatriots was Buddy Zoloth, who managed the band for a time. Blues Image had a big hit in 1970 with "Ride, Captain, Ride." Joe was the percussionist and lead singer on their song “Leaving My Troubles Behind.” 

Around 1972, when Stephen Stills brought Manassas into existence in the Boulder area, Joe Lala moved to Colorado for a time to be a part of that project. Following the two-album career of Manassas, Joe worked with a string of top bands, including The Eagles, The Bee Gees, Jackson Browne, Diana Ross, Dionne Warwick, Barbara Streisand, John Couger Mellenkamp, Eric Clapton, Dr John, and Herbie Hancock, among others.

"Joe accumulated 32 Gold records, and 28 Platinum records during his music career. He played on the movie soundtracks of “Saturday Night Fever”, “Staying Alive”, “D.C. Cab”, “Streets of Fire”. “All The Right Moves”, “Breathless”, “Defiance”, “The Lonely Guy”, and “Airplane”.

"A severe case of carpal tunnel syndrome ended Joe’s career as a percussionist, but it opened the door to another way of life, acting. I know you have seen him in may projects. His films include "Active Stealth", “Sugar Hill”, “On Deadly Ground”, “Deep Sleep”, “Havana” with Robert Redford, “Out For Justice”, “Marked For Death” “Eyewitness To Murder” and “Born In East L. A.” plus many more.

"Joe has made many appearances on TV shows like “Miami Vice”, “General Hospital”, “Melrose Place”, “Seinfeld”, ”Hunter”, “Who’s The Boss?”, and starred in a summer replacement show named “Knight & Daye”. He portrayed another famous Ybor Citizen Dr. Ferdie Pacheco in “Ali”, and co-starred with Andy Garcia in “For Love Or Country” The Arturo Sandoval Story.

"Joe can be seen and heard doing movies and commercials all over the country, and on cartoons where he voices many characters. He still keeps his barbers license active, “just in case”." - from his website

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Joe has recently completed recording of an album, which includes session work by Stephen Stills and Richie Furay, who were once together in the legendary band Buffalo Springfield.

MUSICIAN:
Recording with Crosby, Stills and Nash. 

ACTOR:

ABOVE:  In  Miami Vice (right).

FROM LEFT: City of Angels, Joe Lala and Gil Machin, 

on stage with Karen Fineman, Joe Lala

http://phillipraulsphotolog.blogspot.com/

Former Atlantic A&R guy Phillip Rauls has a trunk load of photographs from his days in the record business. The now-Washington State resident has launched a site where he reminisces about his experiences with some of the most well-known talent of the 20th Century and he makes use of his ample photo album. The site is well worth checking out.

FROM RAULS' COLLECTION: Chris Hillman, Joe Lala, Stephen Stills during the 1972 Manassas tour

www.davidmuse.com

Back when Firefall was in its glory in the 1970s, the band had two powerhouse players who gave the sound of the band a quality that set it apart from the crowded country-rock field: flash guitarist Jock Bartley, who remains the band’s leader to this day, and multi-instrumentalist David Muse. Georgia-native David was a high school-aged band mate of Rick Roberts, who a decade later would become the songwriting force behind Boulder-based Firefall. It was Roberts who brought David Muse into the band and David’s contributions of depth and texture elevated the unit to an elite musical level that put them on a par with Kenny Loggins and other of their more sophisticated contemporaries.

When the original Firefall disbanded in 1981, David left Colorado for California and became an early contributor to the New Age revolution as defined by such independent labels as Windham Hill, Hearts of Space, and Narada, which were then kitchen table operations. David recorded Tonal Alchemy - “space music” as David calls it. It was a logical extension of the musical therapy he had perceived in early influences of the competitive 19^th century modernist French composers Achille-Claude Debussy and Erik Satie. These two were fathers to the New Age sound, though for different reasons. Debussy was a structural designer, working in the Phrygian mode and using whole-tone scales to create lighter than air ambient backgrounds. Satie, who wasn’t even comfortable calling himself a musician, though he was a cabaret pianist, was initially a deconstructionist radical, inclined toward the documentation of “sounds,” though in his later works he became a structured contrapuntalist while remaining decidedly a-formal. All of this seemed to speak to the horizon-gazing David Muse, who saw in New Age

What David has over both of his New Age mentors is great ranging musicianship, and in 1983 he started touring heavily with the decidedly earthy Marshall Tucker Band (MTB), which he has continued to work with off and on ever since, even counting a brief return to Firefall around the turn of the millennium. He still speaks highly of Firefall and considers it his first home, MTB his second. As if not already busy enough, David runs his own unit, The David Muse Band, a five-piece Firefall tribute band that performs the Firefall songbook in clubs throughout the southeastern U.S. He is also headed into the studio in the next few months to record his first smooth jazz CD.

David Muse has performed with the Marshall Tucker Band since 1983

http://littlejoeblues.com/index.htm
This is a wonderful website. Rob McLerran was a prominent bassist on the Boulder scene, and all the musicians in Boulder knew his kids Joey and Jesse. Joey was a music, and particular a blues, prodigy and as kids he and Jesse were a popular Pearl Street Mall act. Jesse played the washboard, which he picked up from his brother's Godfather Washboard Chaz Leary. 

The McLerran family left Boulder for Tulsa, Oklahoma in 1998 and after that there transpired a series of events, mournful and tragic and victorious. I would encourage everyone to go to this website and read the beautifully written and touching biography there. This is a great family and Little Joe is the real deal as a roots blues player. His dad is the real deal, too. Always has been.

Writes Robbie Mack: "We are planning a brief tour of the Boulder area in late October.  We hope to see you then.  Speaking of the Audience Magazine, one of my favorite pieces of memorabilia is an Audience cover with Rob, Paula Rangell and Washboard Chaz walking up Spruce Street by the Boulderado. Those were the days.  There are a million stories to tell of those days.  I am still in touch with Chaz, Paula, Spencer Bohren, Rich Fifield and many others."

Little Joe has several CDs available and if you are a fan of Piedmont blues you should have these wonderful releases.

In January, Little Joe and Robby Mack played the 2006 International Blues Challenge in Memphis, Tennessee

From "Little Joe, Son Piedmont - The Hard Way,": Featuring Little Joe "Son Piedmont" McLerran, guitar and vocals; Ray Bonneville, harmonica; Lloyd Price, dobro and guitar; Robbie Mack, bass and background vocals; David McKnight, drums. Recorded 2005 at Cat House Studios, Fayetteville, Arkansas by David McKnight

No Matter How She Done It

Sailor Blues

From "Son Piedmont and the Blues Krewe": Featuring Little Joe "Son Piedmont" McLerran, guitar and vocals; Washboard Jesse McLerran, percussion and vocals; Robbie Mack, bass and background vocals; Dexter Payne, sax, clarinet & harmonica; Big Mike T. Travelletti, harmonica. Recorded 2003 at World Wind Studios Manfred, Oklahoma by Arron Poulson.

Eagle Ridin' Papa

Suburban Housewife

Terraplane Blues

Copyright © Little Joe Blues/Son Piedmont. All Rights Reserved.

Robbie Mack, Little Joe's bass-playing father, who was prominent on the Colorado music scene when I was around in the late '70s and early '80s, noted recently that he and I had been leading parallel lives, at least up to a point. Writes Robbie - "One is that my father was stationed at Scott AFB just about the time you were born." I was born on Scott Air Force Base, right outside of East St. Louis in Belleville, Illinois in 1952.  "I (Robbie) spent the 2nd grade in Belleville, IL just across the river from St. Louis. My dad was in the Air National Guard and was called up during the Korean War for stateside service and a Staff Sgt also." My dad was a Staff Sergeant in Air Force, stationed at Scott AFB, and was a radio instructor. "He (Rob's Dad) too was doing something with radio or radar. Two, I married a gal 26 years ago who was from Traer, Kansas about 5 miles from Atwood." I graduated from high school in Atwood, Kansas.  "She is the mother of my children including Little Joe." Little Joe and Robbie Mack were in Memphis earlier this month making a repeat appearance in the International Blues Challenge.  We won the regional competition held in Tulsa this year.  Last year we went to Memphis representing the Oklahoma Blues Society out of Oklahoma City." Voting for the Awards continues on through February, but I'll listen for and announce the results. I'm sure Son Piedmont did well. There is a great website for the Blues Foundation and that event at http://www.blues.org/ibc/. This festival hosts top headlining acts, as well as the competition that takes place among artists sponsored by Blues Foundation affiliates. San Francisco's Tommy Castro has been among the big time acts featured at the festival.

Little Joe Blues Wins in Memphis

Memphis, Tennessee - The ongoing story of "the Blues" is all over RARWRITER.com this issue, as usual, ranging from rumors of its demise to paeans to its inherent cultural value.

One of the nicer Blues stories of this year was the win "Little Joe McLerran" (aka "Little Joe Blues") took home to Oklahoma this February from the 25th Annual International Blues Challenge, held in Memphis. There he competed against 65 entrants in one of the nation's foremost blues events. He took 1st Place in the "Solo/Duo" category.

Little Joe is the son of bassist Rob McLerran, who was a popular fixture on the Boulder, Colorado music scene in the 1970s and '80s. Little Joe is a Boulder native, and the McLerran family story of heartbreak and family devotion is one of the most touching stories on this site.

Little Joe has performed at the Memphis event for a number of years and has always been a popular draw, finishing high in the vote counts. He is to that Blues manor born. Performing since he was a teen, Little Joe has an authentic Piedmont sound.

Learn more about Little Joe McLerran at http://littlejoeblues.com/index.htm .

Joey DeLauro (aka Joe Nelly)

www.smokingsectionband.com/about.html

Joey DeLauro is a great performer/drummer/singer whose band The Smoking Section is established in Tucson, Arizona. He has toured with Michael Martin Murphey ("Wildfire"), Jerry Jeff Walker ("Mr. Bojangles"), David Bromberg (renowned guitarist and session player for Bob Dylan), Chris Daniels and The Kings with Al Kooper (founder of Blood, Sweat & Tears), among others. 

CATSEYE: Joey DeLauro was among the original members of the Boulder, Colorado-based band Catseye. The Catseye story is common in a lot of respects - a band comes close to getting a record deal but gets disappointed - but is made different by the situation of the music community in which the band came together. It's an interesting story and you can read Joey's remarks at Catseye on the Archives page.

SON VOLT

www.sonvolt.net

After solo efforts and some experimentation with tape loops and odd time signatures, former Uncle Tupelo founder Jay Farrar has reformed his popular group Son Volt and returned to some electric guitar basics.

NPR is offering an MP3 download of a live performance of Son Volt, which is worth getting. Go to http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4961968

GUSTER

www.guster.com

These old Tufts University frat boys are Boston-based, but popular in the Bay Area where people appreciate their experimentations. They change the instrumentation on their songs from set to set, use odd tunings including standard six string guitars tuned down to approximate a bass, and the drummer plays even the cymbals with his hands. GUSTER is nutty as a fruitcake, often likened material-wise to Jack Black's Tenacious "D" and they are bright fun. They are politically engaged this election season, driving around this spring on their Campus Consciousness tour in bio-diesel fueled caravans. They are environmental advocates. 

Guster bandmember Adam Gardner has teamed with Dave Scneider of the Zambonis to form a decidedly Hebrew rock band called The LeeVees. They have a CD out titled Hanukkah Rocks.

sarah kelly

http://sarahkelly.com

Christian blues rocker sarah kelly was recently nominated for a Grammy in the Best Rock Or Rap Gospel Album category for her LP Where the Past Meets Today. She was also nominated for a Rocky in the recent Rock City News Awards in L.A. She is sort of undeniable as a pro songwriter, and she is a strong singer, something of a belter. (Christianity Today says she has a "Joplin-meets-Alanis Morissette growl," which strike me as revealing references. Aren't those guys going to get in trouble for listening to those girls?)

Sarah Kelly arrived on the Christian music scene with a Grammy nomination for her first LP Take Me Away, so she has gone right to the top of a niche market. Make no mistake, though, she's a rocker. As is often the case, her blend of faith and gravel has been achieved through some pretty grizzly experience, beyond even those typical of a traveling musician. Again from Christianity Today - "... behind her smile and 
platform of hope in Christ was an abusive past, including a rape, that she hadn't yet dealt with—until recently."

You can read  an interview with Sarah by going to http://www.christianitytoday.com/music/artists/sarahkelly.html. 

Sarah Kelly MP3s can be heard at her myspace site at http://myspace.com/sarahkelly

Vandaveer

www.vandaveer.net
VANDAVEER is the alter-ego of singer/songwriter Mark Charles Heidinger, who is a RARWRITER.com "Featured Artist" this edition.

For Vandaveer, who seems stylistically in debt to actor Jonathan Pryce's stylized persona of Mr. Dark in the 1983 movie adaptation of Ray Bradbury's Something Wicked This Way Comes, Mark puts aside his alt-rock in favor of a more acoustic-oriented folk sound. Vandaveer has some things in common with '70s-era minimalist Leon Redbone. Where Redbone, however, was all camp with character renditions of early 20th Century Americana, Vandaveer spins grim carnival tales of murdered women and random, suicidal violence, mixed with early Dylan sounding acoustic ruminations.

Vandaveer MP3s can be heard from his MySpace site at www.myspace.com/vandaveer  

Vandaveer's debut album Grace & Speed was released in March (2007) on Washington, DC’s new imprint, Gypsy Eyes Records.

©Rick Alan Rice (RAR), November, 2009