krj
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response 1 of 228:
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Mar 2 06:40 UTC 1997 |
I'll start things off by mentioning that I discovered a new folk
radio show today, while driving to meet the Saturday Grex Walkers
for lunch. It's on WCBN, 88.3 FM in Ann Arbor, and it probably
starts at 10 or 11 am Saturday morning, running to noon or 1.
They played Steeleye Span, Adrian Legg, and some rather lovely
French accordion, bagpipe and hurdy-gurdy music which I never did
identify.
A week ago Friday, the band Cordelia's Dad played a fine show at
Ten Pound Fiddle in East Lansing. The band has now settled on
an all acoustic, all-traditional format. They've added a
fourth member, fiddler Laura Risk, who fills out the sound nicely.
Cordelia's Dad began around 1990 as a rock trio playing English and
American folk songs. I describe their first, self-titled CD as:
"The Ramones Play Folk Music." Two years later, the band had ditched
the British material, and they were starting to venture into
acoustic sounds. HOW CAN I SLEEP, the CD from that period, is
the best American electro-trad album I know of.
Then the band entered a period of turmoil.... (more to come)
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krj
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response 2 of 228:
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Mar 3 08:14 UTC 1997 |
... in which they tried to exist as a band which played acoustic
sets and electric rock sets. Tim Eriksen of the band told me that this
was not working well; it's quite exciting artistically, but the reality
of the music business is that there are acoustic venues and alternative
rock venues, and most of the audiences at these venues know pretty well
what they want.
When I saw the band around '95 at the Ark, the original guitarist had
left. Tim Eriksen had switched from bass to guitar and banjo, and
Cath Oss had joined. Cath just sang harmonies in the acoustic set,
and she played bass in the rock set. In '95 the acoustic set was
tremendously exciting, and the rock set seemed mostly confused.
Last fall Cordelia's Dad announced that they were going to be acoustic-only
in the future. They're repackaging their rock aspirations as a different
band called Io, and both Cordelia's Dad and Io are planning to have releases
out this summer. After hearing the Ten Pound Fiddle show, I'm eagerly
looking forward to the Cordelia's Dad album; I think it will be as good
as their best previous album. I don't know *what* I should be expecting
from the Io album.
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