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Archive for May, 2012

Acoustic Trio, Red June, will be release their new album “Beauty Will Come” next Tuesday, June 5th! To celebrate, they are offering fans a free download of the song “Soul’s Repair” off the new album!

RedJuneMusic.com

“Beauty Will Come by Red June just may be the most stunningly gorgeous country album in years. Everything about it: from the exquisite three-part harmonies and acoustic loveliness of the mandolin, fiddle, guitar and upright bass (no drums!) to the compositional prowess extolling home and hearth, family and true love ways. It’s natural, organic fresh air cool mountain stream music that strikes the right chord. It’s music meant to be played on the back porch at sundown while the coffee’s a ‘brewin’ and the soup is heatin’ up. This is the epitome of Americana and you probably won’t hear it on stupid ‘country’ radio” –Mike Greenblatt, Rant’n’Roll Aquarian Weekly

“Red June plays a hybrid of folk, country and bluegrass in many of its attendant forms. They can kick it with a reel, squeeze a country turnip until it bleeds, and tell a folk tale as well as most anybody, but where they really shine is their songwriting. All three have an innate feel for the music of the past and, without rehashing the formulas of the past, write in their own styles, fitting each song to their strengths. The main strength? Vocals. Vocals are not all they do, but they do them so well that you get lost in them at times. Three voices, blended yet individual, singing for harmonic joy or sadness or singing for the joy of singing itself.” –Frank Gutch, Jr., FAME Folk and Acoustic Music Exchange

“Will Straughan, John Cloyd Miller, and Natalya Weinstein possess a airtight harmony that will impress even the toughest critic. Listen to their vocal blend on “I’m Willing To Try,” and you may need to have your jaw surgically removed from the floor – they are that good!” –Chuck Dauphin, Music News Nashville

“I gotta say, this CD is INCREDIBLE!!! I loved it. It is full of wonderful songwriting, beautiful vocals and remarkable instrument work. John and Natalya and Will really have it going on with this recording. The tone of the recording itself is great. Not too much of this trick or that trick that folks sometimes think they need to use in the studio to make good music sound good.” –Riley Baugus

“With equal parts Celtic, old timey, trad country, and contemporary folk, Red June typifies what modern folk music is all about” –Steven Stone, AudiophileReview.com

“Perhaps the most admirable aspect of this album it the fact that with every track you listen to comes almost a totally different sub-genre or ‘form’ of Americana music. Ranging from folk, to bluegrass, to old-time, the sixth track of the album, ‘I’m Willing to Try’, is a brilliantly executed gospel number, done a capella, and strategically flows into a bluesy mid-tempo bluegrass tune, ‘Cloud of Dust’.  The album finishes out by continuing its theme of surprising the listener with each new track, (me anyway), and keeping things fresh. The final track that you will hear, ‘Red Sky Of Morn’,  is definitely their most folky on the album and seems to be an appropriate way to close it out. Awaiting the Flood

“The material on Beauty is almost all self-penned by the band, running the gamut of modern bluegrassy folk. From git-down instrumentals to lovely waltzes, even a set of Irish reels, every piece is played with confidence and soul. But on the singing is where they shine like the summer sun. With warm lilting three-part harmonies and instrumental prowess to match” Fiddle Freak

“There are shades of Tim O’Brien and Seldom Scene and Buck White & The Down Home Folks in the music, somehow. Not in the actual voices, but in the phrasing. It is a process, I think. They are processing well.” –Frank Gutch, Jr., FAME Folk and Acoustic Music Exchange

“undeniably charming” –JC, 3rd Coast Music

Red June looking out the the Cabin Stage window at Merlefest 2012. Photo by Tim Timberlake.

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Peter Rowan and The Mosier Brothers Present “Roots and Branches”
An Eclectic A-Z Musical Journey of Songs & Stories From the Life of Peter Rowan

Wednesday, June 13th   Riverbend Festival  Chattanooga, TN
Thursday, June 14th   Pisgah Brewing   Black Mountain, NC
Friday, June 15th  The Pour House  Charleston, SC
Saturday, June 16th  The Handlebar  Greenville, SC

*****
themosierbrothers.com/roots-branches
peter-rowan.com

We are thrilled to announce Peter Rowan will be joining The Mosier Brothers for a series of select shows! Peter Rowan has played in Bill Monroe’s Bluegrass Boys, with Jerry Garcia and David Grisman in the supergroup Old & In The Way, and with Tony Rice and a host of other acclaimed musicians throughout his storied career. Now, the Grammy winner joins The Mosier Brothers, the Atlanta band that evolved from the psychedelic hick-hop jamgrass band, Blueground Undergrass.

Rowan says, “I am always ready to collaborate with Jeff Mosier and his fine musicians, to explore the musical tree of Americana-bluegrass roots. We might even find some new branches on the old tree! We can harvest new fruit from old roots!”

Jeff Mosier and Peter Rowan met in 1985 on Mosier’s radio show in Atlanta. Since 1998 they have shared the stage together many times including Suwannee Springfest and Magnolia Festival in Live Oak, Florida. Rowan has always been a key figure in The Mosier Brothers career giving them what Mosier calls “the inspiration to fly between the extremes of traditional and progressive bluegrass music styles, even entering into psychedelic jamgrass and rock.”

The Mosier Brothers, originally from Bristol, Tennessee, have always maintained their “brother sound” amid their various configurations. The solid band sound that Rowan had heard from them over the years, along with their collective stage experience, eclectic musical taste, and genre bending tendencies, created the perfect creative soil in which to forge ahead with a project which both Mosier and Rowan had been thinking about for years. Johnny Mosier’s ability to switch-hit between playing bluegrass with flatpick style guitar, to rock, swing, and jazz on electric guitar, along with Jeff’s unique ability to compose “pick and jam” rock songs on the banjo, are the true ingredients of the “Mosier sound.”

Johnny and Jeff Mosier. Photo by Ian Rawn.

Veterans of the jamband and jamgrass scenes, The Mosier Brothers have been entertaining audiences for over 30 years (longer if you consider pickin’ on the front porch with their family), first with the bluegrass band Good Medicine for 23 years. In the late 1980’s, Jeff Mosier got his first experience playing Rock on the cutting edge of the newly developing jamband scene as a founding member of Col. Bruce Hampton’s Aquarium Rescue Unit, the band that gave him the stage name “Rev.” In 1994 he toured with Phish and tutored them in the ways of bluegrass. The Phish Companion writes “Perhaps no guest artist has had as great an influence on the band’s music as the Rev. Jeff Mosier…”. The brothers re-joined in 1998 in Jeff Mosier’s first nationally known brainchild, Blueground Undergrass, one of the earliest bands to merge bluegrass instruments and traditional tunes with the magnetic energy of Rock n Roll. Then, in 2010, they formed The Mosier Brothers which more finely blends the traditional bluegrass sound of Good Medicine and the jamming of Blueground Undergrass into a more song-driven Americana roots rock unit, all while remaining an eclectic endeavor.

For these “Roots and Branches” shows, Peter Rowan and The Mosier Brothers will be performing an A-Z retrospective of Rowan’s musical career.

Peter Rowan. Photo by Ronald Rietman.

The band will take the audience on a musical journey that builds throughout the evening, starting with the traditional bluegrass of Rowan’s days with Bill Monroe in the 1960’s, then leading into the progressive bluegrass years of Old and In The Way, Crucial Country, and The Free Mexican Air Force. The result: a night of life-affirming songs with rich melodies and harmonies, all led by the compelling stories of Peter Rowan that will serve as the backdrop for each musical number. Of that, Mosier says, “I think people really want and need to hear ‘songs’ now more than ever, and more importantly, the stories that inspired them.”

Mosier continues, “We can go anywhere Peter wants to go musically with this show, because his career helped mold our own musical taste. He’s been such a major influence on us. He’s like our Bill Monroe and Beatles all in one. The Monroe generation of players spawned the Rowan generation, and the Rowan generation spawned the Mosier generation, no doubt.”

Johnny Mosier adds, “After years of enjoying Rowan’s music from the audience, to actually perform with him on stage is a true joy and career high for me.”

Peter Rowan and The Mosier Brothers will be both acoustic and electric for each performance, as will their band of Kris Dale on bass, Edward Hunter on fiddle, and Will Groth on drums. The Rowan/Mosier recipe will give the songs a new spin while keeping the original flavor, in what promises to be one of the tastiest of musical collaborations.

themosierbrothers.com/roots-branches
peter-rowan.com

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ASHEVILLE RED CARPET EVENT ALERT:

5th Annual MUSIC VIDEO ASHEVILLE
Wednesday, May 9th at Cinebarre

Tickets on Sale Now!

Dress the part and get decked out in your Grammy finest attire* (of with your Asheville flare) and hit the Red Carpet at the 5th annual Music Video Asheville Viewing and Awards show THIS Wednesday, May 9th at Cinebarre, at The Biltmore Square Mall. Gather with your friends, pose for photos, and vote on the crowd favorite. Prizes for winners will include a free day of studio time at Echo Mountain Recording Studios and a $500 cash prize!

Classic cars with chauffeurs will be at the theater parking lot to drop you off for your Red Carpet moment; paparazzi, photo shoot and all! Come in style on the New Belgium VIP Party Bus: it will pick you up at the One Stop downtown and  bring you back after the awards for an After-Parti with DJ’s Molly Parti and Par.

There are 30+ videos in this year’s event shows a broad range of styles from hip-hop to indie rock to americana. Come early, at 6pm, to get in on the great photo opportunities, hang with your friends, and mingle with the filmmakers and musicians. Seating starts at 7:15 with the show promptly beginning at 7:30pm with a brief intermission. At 9:30 the audience ballots (your ticket stub) will be collected. While the votes are tallied, Guest Speaker Tom Taddeo will talk about his experience in working on music videos with Snoop Dog, Tupac, Dr Dre, Ice Cube and answer questions. An awards ceremony will follow.

Tickets are available at Harvest Records,  The Honeypot and Cinebarre. For more information visit http://www.musicvideoasheville.com.

*NOTE: Fancy dress is not required, just a lot of fun!

Who’s who of MVA:

Musicians

Kovacs and the Polar Bear, Agent 23, Stephaniesid, Underhill Rose, Chachillie, Jonathan Scales Fourchestra, Will Newman, Mad Tea: Krekel and Ami, Arizona, Mr. 1NE 5IVE feat. Chachillie, Cheeksters, The Critters, Ivan the Terribles, Caleb Johnson, The Night Lights, Chachillie, Kipper Schauer, The Campaign 1984, Sallie Ford, The Broadcast, Foul Mouth Jerk, Rock Eblen, Two People Playing Music, Rollie Thomas, Total War, Scott Duncan, Weekend Cult

Filmmakers:

Paul Chelmis Films, Hobey Ford and Shane Peters, Twin Gravity, Caitlin Krisko, Bob Peck, Edward Bakinowski and Andrew Anderson, Shane Peters, Jesse Romine, Chase Hudson, Troy Scott Burnett, Katie Damien, Jesse Hamm, Dane Smith, Daniel Judson, Paul Schattel, Bioflyer Productions, Scott Duncan, Ami Worthen, Trevor Traynor, Leopold Firesauce and David Clegg, Harvey Robinson and Carolyn deBerry

MVA has selected five music business professionals from various aspects of the music industry to select the MVA Judges Choice Award. They work within film, radio, music publications/media, promotion, and a music venue. Tom Taddeo is filmmaker who has worked on 100’s of music videos including working with Snoop Dog, Tupac, Dr Dre, Ice Cube and more; he is based in Charlotte, NC. Tom will also be a guest speaker at the event while we are counting ballots for the crowd vote. Sean O’Connell is President and Founder of Music Allies and Creative Allies; he is based in Asheville. Rex Thomson is a writer, photographer and videographer with Honest Tune Magazine as well as creator of festival-based reality TV series Rex-A-Vision; he is based in Louisville, KY. Sadie is a radio host on 98.1 the RIVER and Mountain Mornings with Carson & Sadie on 105.9 the Mountain in Asheville. Sam Katz is Partner/Talent Buyer for the Asheville Music Hall and the One Stop.

Special Thanks to the MVA 2012 Sponsors: Red Carpet Sponsor: 98.1 The River,  Grammy Sponsor: Echo Mountain Recording, VIP Party Bus Sponsor: The New Belgium Brewery, and After-Parti Sponsor: The One Stop. We’d also like to thank The ONcorps, and Lush Life Productions, Dreamspider Publicity, and Sound Mind Creative for their work to make MVA 2012 a success!

MUSIC VIDEO ASHEVILLE DETAILS AT A GLANCE:

MVA: A Showcase to Highlight Asheville Musicians & Filmmakers

Screening: Wednesday, May 9th, 2012
6:00pm Networking Party
7:15pm Seating
7:30pm sharp – Show Starts
9:30pm Speaker, Crowd Vote & Awards
$8 adv/ $10 dos general admission

*Cinebbare serves beer and food*

Tickets are now available at:
Harvest Records, The Honeypot and Cinebarre

VIP Tickets $30- includes transportation
(Limited availability online, The One Stop or Harvest Records)

VIP Ticket link: http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/241264

*NOTE: MVA has rating this viewing “R” because of adult content and themes.

Cinebarre, at Biltmore Square Mall
828.665.8661
800 Brevard Road
Asheville, NC
www.cinebarre.com

Find Us On Facebook
www.musicvideoasheville.com

Click to see last year’s winners!

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David Gans and Friends tour the SouthEast this week with shows in in Asheville, HotSprings & Tucker GA!

Joining David for a few shows is Asheville’s Bobby Miller on Mandolin (Virginia Daredevils.) Bassist Jay Sanders (Acoustic Syndicate, The Invisible III, The E. Normus Trio) will join in on the fun on Thursday, May 3rd’s show in Asheville at the One Stop Deli and Bar along with The Galen Kipar Project!

David Gans is fully hip to the fact that all roads lead to the river.  He wanders those many roads, guitar in tow, a modern renaissance troubadour, a hippie minstrel — make that a honky-tonk hippie minstrel — carving out intimate spaces along the way to stop a while and play his music for all who will listen, music that beckons the attention, engages the mind, excites the senses, enchants the heart, all of it calling you to join him in his journey to the great flowing water.  David Gans’ music is that river itself: lyrics that hug the earth with currents and cross currents, melodies that flow insistently onward, eddying loop-jams that provide a recursive subtext to every ripple in the stream.  Set a spell and lend your ears to a captivating storyteller.

“I’m the hero of my  movie just like you must be in yours,” sings Gans in his moving portrait “An American Family,” signaling the universality of his themes, particularly that of the heroic outsider.  The Gans pantheon is populated by a wide variety of character types, all of whom share in common a longing for some kind of honest connection to other human beings.  Whether steadfastly mainstream or out on the freakazoid fringes, the people who speak these songs know that there’s something unbearably artificial and unsatisfying about the life they (and most other folks) seem to be living and so devote themselves to authenticity (or at least to dreaming of it).

In a voice that communicates at once the bliss and the heartache of being alive in the world, David Gans croons like the warmest invitation, like a soulful bear hug, but with a sardonic edge at times and the unmistakably wry gleam of the trickster.  Swift with allusions and wordplay yet always heartfelt and real, David doesn’t need to hide behind irony.  He’s not afraid to say “I love you” and mean it.  ”Looking for a melody to sing a simple song… I find my inspiration where it’s been all along,” he sings as a kind of invocation of the muse, a dedication to straightforward communication and the revelation of the familiar.

A Gans performance promises the listener a brilliant constellation of beautiful melodies and well-crafted, truthful lyrics sung by a sublimely earthy voice to the accompaniment of a one-man jamband capable of trippy grooves and exquisite precision.  In addition to his own compositions, David also pays homage to other great songwriters, from Townes Van Zandt to Bruce Springsteen to Jerry Garcia and Robert Hunter, graciously and gratefully acknowledging the tradition that chose him to be part of its lineage.  If you’re sniffing around for this kind of wisdom, I suggest you seek out the next David Gans show immediately.  He’s easy to find.  All ya gotta do is “get out on the highway and follow that sound… “

–Barry Smolin, host/producer “The Music Never Stops” on KPFK 90.7 FM–LA

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Songsmith Gathering at the Porter Center in Brevard on Sat, May 19th
Features Sarah Siskind, Moses Atwood, Jill Andrews & Chris Rosser

Fundraiser for SAFE: a non-profit offering programs and services to victims of domestic violence and sexual assault in Transylvania County

Beer/Wine for sale
There will also be a Raffle and Silent Auction for SAFE!
Doors 6pm for a Happy Hour; Show 7:30pm
828-243-3496
One Brevard College Drive, Brevard, NC 28712
Purchase Tickets online

Mountain Song Productions in association with SAFE, Inc, announces the 3rd Annual Songsmith Gathering: An Evening of Song on May 19, 2012 at the Porter Center for Performing Arts on the campus of Brevard College. Doors open at 6pm for a Happy Hour and Raffle* and the show starts at 7:30pm.

2012’s Songsmith Gathering features dynamic and prolific songwriters Sarah Siskind, Moses Atwood, Jill Andrews and Chris Rosser and helps provide funding for SAFE, Inc, a non-profit offering programs and services to victims of domestic violence and sexual assault. SAFE has served Transylvania County’s victims of domestic and sexual violence for over 25 years, averaging over 350 clients a year with programs that provide support and education for victims and their families as well as a Domestic Violence Intervention Program.

Event host and producer, John Felty of Looking Glass Entertainment said, “Out of all the events that I produce, this is one of my favorites. Hosting the show and doing live interviews and dialog on stage with the artist adds spontaneity and allows the audience a more in depth appreciation for the artists, who they are as people and where the songs come from. It gives me the chance to introduce some great artists to the community in a venue that is superb for songwriters.” Felty is also the producer of Mountain Song Festival, 2013’s inaugural Mountain Song at Sea Bluegrass Cruise in February, The White Squirrel Festival and co-producer of Music on the Mountaintop.

Songsmith Gathering raffle tickets can be purchased in advance and you need not be present to win. More details about the raffle are below and tickets are available at SAFE’s Attic and Attic Interiors stores. Tickets for Songsmith Gathering are $20-$25 plus service fees and can be purchased online or at Rockin Robin Records in the college plaza. For more information call 828-243-3496 or visit theportercenter.org. Local sponsors include Comporium, Transylvania Regional Hospital, Everett Farms, UPS and Elements Spa.

About the Performers:

Sarah Siskind has been called “the best female singer/songwriter in America today” by Steve Binder, legendary TV director/producer and Nashville’s “Best New Voice” by Southern Living. She has toured with Bon Iver who also famously covered her “Lovin’s For Fools” and The Swell Season. She has written songs for Randy Travis and Alison Krauss including Grammy nominated “Simple Love.” Sarah has performed live on NPR’s Tiny Desk, World Cafe with David Dye and her music has been featured on NPR’s All Songs Considered and NPR’s Song Of The Day. Her previous album “Say It Louder,” was called “a masterpiece” by Bonnie Raitt. Americana Songwriter says, “Her music is an unlikely but riveting amalgam of folk-rock and jazz fusion; her spectacular voice reveals Appalachian, Celtic and gospel influences”

Siskind’s most recent album “Novel” was released in 2011 and features her powerful voice while utilizing traditional instruments, including her beloved Gibson, as well as salt canisters, dry rice, and oatmeal boxes as a percussion section. She made a snare out of a storage box with sheets of paper taped to the top. Swept away by the muse, Sarah would continue to record the rest of the songs this way, finishing it with just one microphone, several guitars (including her beloved Gibson, Larry), and “found sounds” from her home back in Nashville. Sarah engineered, tracked and produced “Novel” with no boundaries, no one else in the room, on her own.

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Moses Atwood set sail with sophomore album “One Bright Boat” on March 30, 2012. The album was produced at Waking Studio, the new digs of Bill Moriarty (Dr. Dog) in Philadelphia. Running like a current through the record is Atwood’s talent for telling a story in fleeting images and washes of sound. These aren’t ballads but modern song-sketches of places longed for and passed through, people met and parted with, time passing. His music has been compared to Van Morrison and Randy Newman.

Atwood’s sound is rootsy with a hint of blues, but with a melodic sense that is more contemporary. Atwood studied classical guitar at the San Francisco Conservatory and has been called gregarious and open with a powerful voice contrasted yet complimented by his instrument of choice, guitar, resonator guitar or piano. Rare is it that we find an artist who can deliver this type of emotionality. His writing and his persona seem to come from a soul that is old; making it so when you look at this talented young artist, it makes you wonder if he hasn’t experienced a previous life. Atwood is a Damariscotta, Maine native who migrated south to explore the music that inspired him. He now resides in Asheville, NC and finds the area supportive and inspirational for him as a songwriter.

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Jill Andrews has been singing her whole life: as a little girl in Johnson City, Tenn., as a camp counselor plucking out three chords on an acoustic guitar under swaying pine trees, as one-half of The Everybodyfields—and, since 2009, as an increasingly formidable singer/songwriter making her way on her own. A smart, subtle tunesmith and a gently wise songwriter, the now Nashville-based Andrews crafts beguiling, startlingly intimate songs that merge her voice with her effortless, classic-pop sensibility and keen eye for human drama.

It starts with the her voice. Before you notice the words, before you detect the gently curling melodies tugging them along, this is what hits you first: It’s warm and rich and touched with a soft Southern twang, as likely to swing down into its earthy lower register as arch upwards into a hopeful trill; it’s steady and sure but flecked with a certain weary sadness that stops you dead, draws you near. It’s beautiful. It knows something.

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Chris Rosser is a multi-instrumentalist, singer-songwriter, composer and producer. As a solo singer-songwriter and as a member of the world-jazz instrumental trio Free Planet Radio, he plays a variety of instruments, including the Indian dotar, Turkish cumbus oud, guitars, melodica and piano. As a producer, he has produced about forty recordings for various artists in his Asheville, NC based studio Hollow Reed Studio including Beth Wood’s “Marigolds” which he also performed on many of the tracks.

He has won songwriting contests at the Rocky Mountain Folks and Merle Watson festivals, been selected as a New Folk Finalist. With the help of a 1999 WNC Regional Artists grant, he continued his studies of Hindustani classical music and the sarod (a 25-string fretless Indian lute) with world famous Indian musician Ali Akbar Khan in San Rafael, CA. He was awarded a 2003 Songwriter/Composer fellowship from the NC Arts Council.

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*More about the TLC Raffle:

As part of Songsmith, SAFE will be hosting The TLC Raffle (Travel, Love and Comfort). Three themed packages, each valued at close to or over $1000, will be up for grabs! You do not have to be present to win and raffle tickets are available at SAFE’s Attic and Attic Interiors stores.

The Travel package includes a week vacation with Wyndham Resorts, with travel accessories from Highland Books, Moosetracks and Main Street Limited.  A camera donated by Transylvania Regional Hospital to help document the trip!

The Love package includes a couple’s massage from Elements Spa, dinner for two at Falls Landing, a night at The Inn on Main, flowers from Floressence and his and her gifts from Stones and Lowes. Top it off with wine from Toxaway Wine & Cheese in a picnic tote and movie tickets to the Co-Ed!

The Comforts of Home package is headlined by a $400 Kaelee Denise photo sitting for the family, catered dinner for 8 with Will Ecker of TRH, interior and exterior design consultation by Camarilla Design and Fry Nursery, a full house cleaning from Edna Hensley and more outdoor goodies from Whistlin’ Dixie.  Raffle tickets for these amazing packages will be available for sale during the Songsmith Gathering as well as prior to the event during the happy hour.

For more information about Songsmith Gathering call 828-243-3496 or visit theportercenter.org.

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