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A very impressive album, and a great way to finish off the month of July- my review of Oregon’s Rachel Harrington’s album from earlier this year is up over at the Lonesome Road Review: http://lonesomeroadreview.com/2011/07/31/celilo-falls-by-rachel-harrington/

Her album is available from iTunes and CD Baby. She is currently raising funds for the next recording.

Thanks for visiting Fervor Coulee. Donald

 

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Over at Country Standard Time, I’ve posted a ‘review’ I wrote in 2002 of Kenny Baker’s Spider Bit the Baby! album which includes excerpts from my conversation with the fiddling legend. Baker died today at age 85: http://www.countrystandardtime.com/blog/fervorcouleebluegrass/entry.asp?xid=774 Another legend has gone home.

My review of Blackie & the Rodeo Kings’ Kings & Queens album has also been posted at CST: http://www.countrystandardtime.com/d/cdreview.asp?xid=4720

Thanks for visiting Fervor Coulee. Donald

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With the summer break totally messing with my normal publication schedule in the Red Deer Advocate, my Roots Music column has fallen by the wayside. Not intentially, I’m sure- just the nature of summer holidays I suppose. I’m posting this week’s (actually last week’s revised) column here in the hopes of spreading the word about some local Red Deer gigs that roots fans will want to attend this weekend and in the days following. Also, you may recall the nice things I posted about Kayla Luky’s album a couple weeks back (http://fervorcoulee.wordpress.com/2011/06/15/kayla-luky-the-best-album-this-month-you-havent-heard/)- the review follows below. Best, thanks for your patience, and thanks for visiting Fervor Coulee- Donald

Alberta’s finest touring roots artists continue to make their way to The Hideout.

Appearing this weekend at the Gasoline Alley tavern and eatery are Canadian and international folk and roots performers. Tonight (July 8), The Heartbroken- featuring Damhnait Doyle- has a slicker sound than some, but their music remains very agreeable to those who listen with ears attuned to rootsy sounds. Tomorrow, Vancouver’s Graham Brown Band-featuring exceptionally strong vocals- pops in for a show.

In what has to be The Hideout’s most substantial coup thus far, Mary Gauthier appears with fiery fiddler Tania Elizabeth this coming Sunday evening (July 10).

For the second summer in a row, Fred Eaglesmith is spending a great deal of time in Alberta. July 14 finds Eaglesmith at the Grandview Stage near Rocky Mountain House while the next night he takes over The Vat.

Dan Bern also appears this month at The Vat; Bern brings his impressive songbook to The Vat July 20. Bern, who last appeared in town about a decade ago, is a top-notch entertainer as well as a terrific writer and singer.

Red Deer’s Central Music Festival features blues, roots, and rock from many popular performers: David Essig, Souljah Fyah, David Vest, the Jack Semple Trio, and Jonas and the Massive Attraction alongside local performers take over a wonderful rural site north of Red Deer August 12-14. Ticket information is available at www.CentralMusicFest.com.

Blues-rock legend Johnny Winter is slated for Red Deer’s Memorial Centre October 13.

This week’s disc review:

Kayla Luky The Time It Takes www.KaylaLuky.ca

Arriving unheralded this month was the third album from Grandview, Manitoba’s Kayla Luky.

A full-blown alternative country release, The Time It Takes doesn’t waste any time in establishing itself as a revitalizing shot of natural sounding, roots music. From the initial seconds of the album’s opening track “Cowboys are Coming”, one suspects that the album is going to be something special.

And it is.

Similar in sound and approach to recent and excellent recordings from Kim Beggs, Ruth Moody, and Kate Maki, The Time It Takes marks Kayla Luky as an artist for whom we should keep an ear open. Swinging into Neko Case territory on “You Won’t Find Me” and “Arizona”, Luky takes on the fair-haired child of the Americana scene and wins an uncontested victory.

Among the many things one appreciates about this recording is the quality of Luky’s annunciation. While several noted artists have in recent years started slurring their lyrics in an attempt at (one supposes) poetic mystery, Luky lays everything out clearly.

“Lonesome Ranger” wouldn’t sound out of place on an Uncle Earl disc, and closes the album with energy and attitude.

This music could have been made anywhere, I suppose. But knowing that it comes from a group of friends gathered in small town Manitoba this past winter, living on liquor and lottery tickets, makes it all the more appealing and authentic.

Kayla Luky has an ache in her heart, but through music transforms it into something joyful.

Donald Teplyske is a local freelance writer who contributes a twice-monthly column on roots music; visit fervorcoulee.wordpress.com for additional reviews. If you know a roots music event of which he should be aware, contact him at fervorcoulee@shaw.ca

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Alison Krauss & Union Station performed in Edmonton for the first time in four years last night, and outside a nearly sold out theatre with air circulation challenges it would be hard to imagine anyone leaving the Jubilee Auditorium unsatisfied.

I have seen AKUS live on a handful of occasions at festivals and at IBMA, but this was the first time catching a theatre show and it is an experience that I highly recommend. The performance delivered is focused and well-coordinated, but contains the personal and humorous spontaneity one expects from Krauss and her cohorts. No one could argue that they didn’t get their money’s worth as the concert stretched to about two hours and fifteen minutes.

Some of the guitar breaks Ron Block took were absolutely amazing, and while I wasn’t taking notes during the show I came away with an even greater appreciation for Alberta’s favourite son-in-law. One of the few disappointments was that Block was given only one lead vocal spot.

Dan Tyminski was given the opportunity to sing several songs including “Pastures of Plenty,” The Boy Who wouldn’t Hoe Corn,” “Rain, Please Go Away,” “Dust Bowl Children,” “Bonita and Bill Butler,” “Man of Constant Sorrow,” and (I think) “Wild Bill Jones.” Note to Alison- the George Clooney “butt double” routine can be retired any time now.

For Dobro players- and the only people who really appreciate the Dobro are other Dobro players- Jerry Douglas performed solo the Douglas Concert Suite (“A Tribute to Peador O’Donnell”, “Monkey Let the Hogs Out,” and a couple other interludes) so the others could take a well-deserved break, while the band ripped through a fiery rendition of “Who’s Your Uncle?”

The band, despite not having toured in a number of years, was spot-on and fresh, as expected. My show companions, not as familiar with Paper Airplane to the degree that some were but still significant fans, were very impressed and responded positively to the new material. An emotional performance of “Dimming of the Day” brought tears to several eyes and my wife admitted to getting goose bumps during a pair of songs.

Krauss was in terrific voice and among the songs performed- in no particular order and not without omission- were: “Paper Airplane,” “Sawing on the Strings,” “Restless,” “Let Me Touch You For Awhile,” “Daylight,” “Baby, Now That I’ve Found You,” “Everytime You Say Goodbye,” “O Atlanta,” “Lay My Burden Down” (an especially beautiful performance), and “Miles to Go.” “Ghost in the House,” a song I am not particularly enamoured with, was raised several notches in my estimation as a result of Krauss’s superior rendering, made all the more impressive by her admission that she needed to belch during the song’s entirety!

A handful of extremely pleasant song surprises were also in store: I never expected them to perform either the haunting “Jacob’s Dream” (a Julie Lee-John Pennell song found on the compilation A Hundred Miles or More) or “Any Old Time,” which the band recorded on a Jimmie Rodgers’ tribute album fifteen years ago. The other surprise of the evening, at least to me, was that Larry Atamanuik is no longer manning the drum kit and percussion for the group; I must have missed that announcement. Also present was a keyboard player who, while not detracting from the performance of AKUS seemed a bit superfluous.

For me, all the highlights of the two-hour set (by the way, would an intermission kill the flow of the show? Dang that theatre was hot!) were exceeded by the four-tune encore performed around the single mic. Krauss returned with Block and Tyminski for a reading of “When You Say Nothing At All”, followed by Bales joining to form a quartet for a gorgeous performance of “Down to the River to Pray.” This was followed by Douglas joining them for “Your Long Journey” and the closing “There Is A Reason.” A beautiful way to close a special evening of acoustiblue entertainment.

Well, mostly acoutiblue. Bales and Block had earlier broke out the electric bass and guitar for a pleasantly rambunctious “Away Down the River.”

The set list was balanced and well-chosen. Had I had the opportunity to contribute, I might have substituted in another Block song- maybe “Shield of Faith”- and “Steel Rails.” But, no complaints from me; the concert was near perfect.

A wonderful concert experience without doubt, well worth the late night drive home.

The band next performs in lovely Courtenay at the Music Fest on Thursday before heading to Washington, Bend, Oregon (yeah, Bend!), and Nevada for a short series of dates prior to taking a couple weeks off the road.

For a photo and the Edmonton Journal’s review, click on http://tinyurl.com/6crb82f

Thanks for visiting Fervor Coulee. Donald

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As a result of a publishing hiccup, my Roots Music column wasn’t published last Friday and therefore I missed mentioning that Leeroy Stagger pulled into The Hideout for a show recently. While I was unable to attend, I do hope that some roots music fans went out to the Gasoline Alley tavern and eatery over the holiday weekend.

Calgarian J. R. Shore visits Red Deer’s The Hideout this week on Thursday evening, July 7. Both Stagger and Shore are esteemed songwriters who are beginning to make their mark internationally and they really deserve an ear.

J. R. Shore is that rare artist that I’ll turn off WDVX for, as I did just this morning to prepare this post. He has an easy way with rhythm and rhyme, producing lyrically rich songs made all the more buoyant by a seemingly never-ending variety of sounds and melodies. In the space of a couple of songs he’ll journey from New Orleans horns and songs of Virginia memories to Alberta and ragtime. “The Undertaker’s Horse” is a song that wouldn’t be out-of-place on the finest roots mixtapes.

His http://www.myspace.com/jrshore will provide an overview of what he does- comparisons to Tom Waits and Dr. John seem silly, but that’s who he brings to mind.

Shore also performs in Sherwood Park, Twin Butte, and Calgary’s Ironwood Stage & Grill this week before heading to British Columbia for a series of appearances including a stand in the beautiful community of Kaslo.

Check him out if you get the chance; I think you’ll be impressed.   

Hopefully my column appears this coming Friday, with a review of Kayla Luky’s album.

Thanks for visiting Fervor Coulee. Donald

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The Niall Toner Band is one of my favourites. Despite having never seen the band live, their albums are as frequently played as any ‘catalogue’ bluegrass discs are in my home save James Reams & the Barnstormers. I’ve posted at Fervor Coulee Bluegrass a brief overview of the band’s three album output with an emphasis on tying things up with Friday’s digital release of “William Smith Monroe.”

http://www.countrystandardtime.com/blog/FervorCouleeBluegrass/entry.asp?xid=772 should get you there. Feel free to leave a comment here if you want to discuss bluegrass, the Niall Toner Band, or Mr. Monroe’s legacy.

Thanks for visiting Fervor Coulee. Donald

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A founder of the Waskasoo Bluegrass Music Society, Jack Paget never claimed to have been a member of the Blue Grass Boys, but during 1957 he did do some work with Monroe and filled in on bass when Bessie Lee was “having standing troubles.” Jack passed away late last summer at the age of 93. Up until a few years prior to his death, he was a frequent participant in Waskasoo jams, playing Dobro and fiddle mostly. Jack provided guidance to the club in its initial endeavors and was often front and centre to enjoy the artists we brought to Red Deer.

I mention all that because today at The Bluegrass Blog Jack gets a mention in their ongoing series recognizing Bill Monroe’s centennial. An ambitious project, TBB is documenting Monroe’s career day-by-day. http://www.thebluegrassblog.com/i%e2%80%99m-going-back-to-old-kentucky-276/ will get you to the posting.

There is something to learn daily at The Bluegrass Blog: the writers have put a great deal of effort to amass such a wealth of information about Monroe and his career, much of which is rather obscure.

Thanks for visiting Fervor Coulee. Donald

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With Canada officially 144 years and one day old, I thought I would share the following link. My Polaris cohorts over at Herohill have just posted a massive creation- 36 Gordon Lightfoot covers solicited from (mostly) Canadian independents. Man, can you imagine what would happen if I tried such a thing? Talk about dedication.

I’m only nine songs into my listening (going through alphabetically by artist) and while I’m not into every sound I’m hearing, I am largely very much enjoying these interpretations: favourites so far include Cam Penner’s reading of “Alberta Bound,” A.A. Wallace’s “Early Morning Rain,” and Chris Velan’s “Canadian Railway Trilogy.” Digits’ “Changes” isn’t terribly rootsy but sounds pretty groovy to my ears. Fervor Coulee ffaves including Woodland Telegraph, The Wheat Pool, and Mark Davis are also included on this set.

More about the project and download here:  http://www.herohill.com/2011/07/herohill-vs-gordon-lightfoot-turning-back-the-pages-of-my-sweet-shattered-dreams.htm

Happy listening- now, go back to the television and watch the Royals plant a tree.

Thanks for visiting Fervor Coulee. Donald

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To quote Stompin’ Tom Connors, it’s Canada Day up Canada
way, and in honour of our great Canadian celebration- marked traditionally by hailstorms, watching the NHL Free Agent Frenzy on TSN, and mega-sleep-ins to recover from a school year (6 PM last evening until 7:45 this morning, a personal best perhaps)- I thought I would offer up 10 Roots Songs for Canada Day.

Not a list of the 10 greatest Canadian songs, or my favourites even- just 10 songs to consider pulling off the shelf or downloading (legally, dagnabit) this DFKADD (day formerly known as Dominion Day).

1. “8:30 Newfoundland” Mike Plume Band- Okay, maybe
   this is the best roots song itemizing the charms and challenges of our fine
   country. As a proud Canadian- one who doesn’t usually agree with our governments’
   decisions- this song is 4:08 of joy. I haven’t been to all the places mentioned, but that doesn’t make it less appealing- we’re all tied together, especially those of us who watched lots of CBC in the 60s and 70s, by the fact that we know what ‘8:30 Newfoundland’ means. Originally released on 8:30 Newfoundland 2009
2. “Acadian Driftwood” The Band- Maybe the band’s finest moments this side of “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down.” A stylized account of the forced exodus of the Acadians from Nova Scotia and New Brunswick and their eventual settlement in Louisiana. I took my Canadian history courses in university, but I never really understood the expulsion of the Acadians until I started to understand the meaning behind and context of “Acadian Driftwood.” Unfortunately, that didn’t happen until I was well out of university. A great listen:  a solid groove, a story clearly told, and wonderful vocal performances from the triad of Levon Helm, Rick Danko, and Richard Manuel. Originally released on Northern Lights-Southern Cross 1975
3. “O Saskatchewan” Matt Masters- As a reluctant Saskatchewanian for a few years, I came to appreciate the province in ways that others- like me, once upon a time- simply can’t because of our stereotypes and our willingness to go for the easy joke. Saskatchewan has always been viewed by Albertans as the poor cousin to the east, but it really isn’t that different from us, save the mountains. Yes, you can see your dog run away for three days out on the prairie, but the same can be said for most of Alberta. The real Saskatchewan is pretty magnificent and I got to explore a bit of it living in
   the north country for a few years: you don’t know Saskatchewan until you’ve
   walked the Methye Portage three different times and been left breathless each
   time at the view of the Clearwater River as you break through the bush at that
   final ridge. Matt Masters doesn’t get much off the Trans-Canada in his view of
   the province, but we’ll forgive that as his appreciation for Saskatchewan
   appears genuine, and the album gets its release today. Originally released on All-Western Winners TODAY, July 1, 2011!
4. “Do You Know Slim Evans?” Maria Dunn- As we see labour and worker rights eroded weekly in our country- ask the postal workers and Air Canada workers about that- it is good to reflect on the sacrifices of those who came in previous generations and made the choices necessary to allow others- including those workers who today benefit greatly from their efforts while speaking negatively of unions- to lead more satisfying and fair lives. Maria Dunn’s We Were Good People is a wonderful collection of songs telling the stories of those who really founded our province. In short, Slim Evans was a labour organizer who was accused and convicted of misusing union money; he had diverted funds to feed the families of miners on strike during the winter of 1921-22. Every story tells a picture, and this album does more than that- it allows the seldom heard stories of Albertan pioneering labour organizers, political rabble-rousers, and ordinary people to be shared. Originally released on We Were Good People 2004
5. “Out on the Weekend” Doug Paisley- A list of Canadian roots songs without Neil Young would be akin to an issue of enRoute without Neil Young being represented on the in-flight audio program. I chose to go with this cover by Doug Paisley rather than Neil himself because, well frankly Neil isn’t too dang Canadian these days, is he. As part of Mojo magazine’s never-ending quest to recreate every single album released between 1965 and 1975, Harvest received the honour last fall and this track is one of the standout performances. Whether we head toward L.A. or not, what Canadian hasn’t had the urge to “pack it in and buy a pickup”?  Originally released on Harvest Revisited 2010
6. “Prairie Town” T. Buckley- From an Albertan I’m convinced will become a household name in roots circles, “Prairie Town” is songwriting perfection in under four and a half minutes. This one has the lonesome qualities of the finest songs, crafted with an eye for detailed images that resonate with anyone who was raised on or near the prairie, built upon decisions of love and home. Do you stay or do you follow? Originally released on Roll On 2010
7. “Love Shines” Ron Sexsmith- A power pop masterpiece. Everyone knows Ron Sexsmith doesn’t have the most commercially accessible voice, but it does have its appeal. The recent documentary about Sexsmith and his journey to find himself- not to mention album sales- shares a title with this number, and much like the movie this song has a slow build that sucks you right in until you’re hanging on every phrase and sound. Beautiful. Originally released on Long Player, Late Bloomer 2011.
8. “I Like Trains” Fred Eaglesmith- As a farm kid, I can still remember the thrill of waiting at the crossing at Duffield as the train passed through town. Sitting in the red Ford pickup, counting the cars, waving at the engineer and the crew in the caboose…those are memories as fresh today as they were when they happened forty years ago. All kids like trains. Only folks like Fred get to write about them. I love the phrase “shake the gravel loose”- it captures the trembling that you felt as a kid as the train
   roared by. Originally released on Drive-In Movie 1995.
9. “Sometimes I Think I Can Fly” Suzie Vinnick- Sparse blues. If I could play music, it wouldn’t sound anything like this. But I wish it would. Originally released on Me
   ‘N’ Mabel 2011.
10. “Pier 21” John Wort Hannam- This is where the journey started for many Canadians of previous generations. Like Maria Dunn and I suppose Robbie Robertson, John Wort Hannam gives life to Canadian history, and any one of a dozen of his songs could have had a place on this list. With the exception of its Native people, Canada is a country of immigrant stock and JWH captured that experience in this song from his debut:

“He said Go Laddie Go, Go Laddie Go, Find your dreams over on Pier 21, He said Go Laddie Go, Go Laddie Go, But don’t you ever forget where you’re from.” Originally released on Pocket Full of Holes 2003

And that sums up Canada Day for me- “Don’t forget where you’re from!” We or our ancestors might have come from Scotland, Germany, Ukraine, India, and anyone of twenty-four dozen other countries, but we’re Canadian. And let’s not forget it.

Now, go play some Trooper.

Thanks for visiting Fervor Coulee. Donald

BTW- I posted a similarly-themed but different posting of 10 Canadian Bluegrass songs over at Fervor Coulee Bluegrass: http://www.countrystandardtime.com/blog/FervorCouleeBluegrass/entry.asp?xid=770