Quick Q and A with John McCutcheon
 by Kathy S-B  ·  5 February 2010

Multi-instrumentalist singer-songwriter, John McCutcheon has collected a legion of fans since he first started recording and performing in the mid-1970s. McCutcheon skillfully combines his great storytelling with poignant and evocative songs which continue to inspire young and old alike. More information about John can be found at his website. Here’s a video with the touching song called “The Room at the Top of the Stairs.”

Your biography states that you got intrigued with folk music by hearing Roscoe Holcomb and Clarence Ashley. Tell me a bit about these musicians. I have to plead ignorance. . . . I don’t know a thing about them so please tell us what intrigued you about them.

They were giants of Southern Appalachian music. Both were banjo players and singers. . . . Roscoe from east KY and Clarence from western NC. I spent lots of time w/Roscoe. He was one of the most soulful and haunting singer I’ve ever heard. . . . Eric Clapton cites him as his favorite singer. Another interesting bit of trivia is that Clarence is Doc Watson’s father-in-law. Their respective albums that truly “got” me were “Mountain Music of East KY” and “Old Time Music at Clarence Ashley’s,’ both on Folkways from back in the early 60’s.

From your bio, it sounds like you took off on a journey to learn about this music and had many adventures. What did you learn about experiencing music in the homes, the churches, and the picket lines? How did all of this influence your own personal politics?

I thought I was going South to learn the banjo. What I found was that it was impossible to separate the banjo (or any other piece of culture, for that matter) from the entire community scene . . . as is the habit in academia. (I was a college student) What I found was art getting its hands dirty, involved in the anti-strip mining (now called “mountaintop removal”) movement, reform efforts in the mine workers’ union, land rights issues, community health care, etc. It completely took politics out of the realm of pure ideology (remember, I was a college student!) and into the practical. I got used to wanting to get things done.

“Christmas in the Trenches” is perhaps one of your best known songs. What prompted you to write that song? How did you first learn about that poignant moment in world history?

I heard the story from a backstage janitor at an AL concert hall at the time I was putting the album “Winter Solstice” together back in ’84. I was so moved by the story (and realized it coincidentally fit into the upcoming album’s theme) that I immediately wrote the song. It just rolled out, nearly complete, during the intermission of a concert I was doing.

Tell us about your commitment to children’s music. What messages do you want to deliver to the next generation?

I really stumbled into it. I was a new father and decided to do an album for my oldest son’s first birthday. I did a lot of research into what else was out there at the time (this was in ’83) and found a dearth of what I considered good music for kids. I also wanted to create an album that was for the entire family, not just for the children. So I took an approach (novel at the time) to present much more musically sophisticated and thematically varied stuff. It seemed to work so I went on to chronicle my sons’ growing up with seven subsequent family albums. I actually haven’t done a family album for over ten years now. But my first grandchild is expected in early February so I suspect there’s another batch of music gestating. . . .

We’d love to know about your connection to baseball and how you began to write songs which resulted in “Sermon on the Mound.”

I’ve always loved baseball, played it all my life. It was really the first thing I ever did right, in the estimation of my peers. Music was the second. I’ve used baseball as a vehicle for songs many times over the years and realized I had a sizable start toward an entire album of such songs. In ’07 I started fleshing out the missing themes and figures and “Sermon on the Mound” was the result.

I was very touched by the photograph of you and your father in a convertible — on a trip through your old hometown. Can you describe what that little tour was like and what it meant to you and your dad? I, for one, would have loved to have been able to do that with my parents before they passed.

My father is in the early stages of Alzheimer’s and I’ve been spending a lot of time with him of late. My wife and I went up in July and spent a weekend with my Dad and my stepmother and that’s when I thought it’d be fun to travel around our mutual hometown together and just listen to him talk about the places he remembers and the things he did as a young man. It was great fun for both of us and it got us out of the women’s hair for a day or so.

Quick Q and A with Beaucoup Blue
 by Kathy S-B  ·  26 January 2010

Dave and Adrian Mowry are a rootsy father-son duo who call Philadelphia home. They’ve recorded some powerful songs that cover a broad spectrum of different styles ranging from the blues to soul to jazz. Their latest CD, Free to Fall, charted very high on many Americana and Roots radio charts.

Find out more about Beaucoup Blue on their website. Here’s a taste of what they sound like in concert.

You have been playing together for quite some time now, are you able to read each other’s musical minds while on stage or do you continue to surprise each other?

Dave: Both happen. Live performance, being in the moment, there are always surprises. However, the surprises become more subtle with time, although no less enjoyable.

Adrian: Yes the surprises still come. When you play a lot of the same material from night to night you have a choice of whether to go through the motions or reach deeper into the material. We try to spur each other on to reach deeper. Hopefully it comes across.

You earned your musical stripes while doing a three-year residency at a club in Philadelphia. Was that trial by fire? Did you double, triple, quadruple your set list during that time?

Dave: To some degree yes. More for Adrian than for me, I have been performing professionally since I was 17. I have passed through a few of my trials. However, as a duo, it was a way for me to help Adrian come in strong as a Singer/Songwriter. In that time our repertoire has easily doubled, tripled.

Adrian: Yes that was my boot camp. We had about five televisions to compete with & a revolving door of drunks in & out of the place, but that was where I learned to sing. If you could hold an audience there, you could do it anywhere. Kinda like busking indoors.

Your style of music is best described as Americana — which is a hybrid genre that combines folk, blues, jazz, soul, and whatever else you want to throw into the mix. Do you have any musical heroes from each of those genres?

Dave: More numerous than I can almost name. However, in the interest of this interview, I will mention a few. Richie Havens, Dylan, B.B. King, John Lee Hooker, Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughn, Johnny Cash, Sam Cooke, it goes on and on. . . . I have left out so many. It is hard to define, Roots Americana, by the very definition, is a non-confining category, and I have influence in all aspects of it.

Adrian: I got a chance to grow up with my father’s record collection & it ran the gamut of American roots artists plus I’ve always been a big rock n roll fan classic or contemporary as long as it’s unique.

Do you collaborate on the song writing? Or do you write songs individually and then share them with each other? Or both?

Dave: Generally, it is an individual effort and then we get together and tweak them.

Adrian: Yes usually the song is pretty well conceived by the time we bring it to each other & then we try and improve it if need be.

What’s the longest road trip you’ve been on thus far? Do you like the traveling part of your life or does the traveling sometimes get to be a drag? How do you amuse yourselves when you’re in a strange city waiting for your gig to begin?

Dave: The longest so far has been two weeks. For the most part, we like it. It is always enjoyable to meet new people and see new places you have never been. If you don’t have a sense of adventure about you, then this is an activity I don’t recommend. Sightseeing is always enjoyable, to find a good restaurant, or if we know people living there, we spend time with them.

Adrian: Traveling can be tough, but it gives you a good perspective of where you come from. You get to see a little more of the bigger picture —maybe more of an appreciation for peoples similarities & differences. Plus there’s nothing like playing to a new audience from one night to the next, it’s just a lot of fun.

What’s up next for Beaucoup Blue? New recording project in the works perhaps?

Dave: Yes, a new recording. We are getting ready to release an EP, which comprises work left over from our last CD.

Adrian: Yes then we get cracking on a full length album. We are writing some cool stuff & it’s a thrill to see where it goes. Of course we continue to tour as much as possible & there’s talk of maybe going over to the UK. We’ll see what happens.

Quick Q and A with David Francey
 by Kathy S-B  ·  15 January 2010

David Francey is one of Canada’s most revered folk poet-singers. His songs and stories resonate with audiences from all over the world. To find out more about David, go to his website. Here’s a video of “Come Rain or Come Shine,” which displays David’s easy way with his fans and the melodic songs he’s so famous for.

Your latest CD Seaway was inspired by a two-week voyage on a large carrier which went from Montreal to Thunder Bay along the St. Lawrence Seaway. How did that adventure come about?

I have always been fascinated with the Seaway from its construction to its role in the life of both our countries today. I have been lucky enough to have lived near the Seaway and I was always curious about the life on board a lakeboat and that other view of the familiar, from the water itself. My wife Beth Girdler and I came up with a concept for a Canada Council Grant that involved me taking passage through the system on an ore-carrier, chronicle the trip in song and present them to certain Ontario schools along the route at a later date.

We were supported by the Seaway Corp. and Algoma Central Marine and myself and fellow musician Mike Ford took passage on the MV Algoville, an Algoma bulk carrier. Our trip took us from Montreal on the St. Lawrence River to Defasco Steel Mill in Hamilton harbor, to off load of taconite ore, and on to Thunder Bay in ballast. The return trip took us back to Montreal with a cargo of wheat from the prairies. As suspected there were a wealth of stories to be found on board and on shore, from the sailors to lock workers to the relatively near past and living history we were sailing through.

The fact that you have received numerous awards in Canada makes you somewhat of a musical ambassador down here in the United States. Do you feel that the impression you give to those down here as opposed to at home in Canada is different? Do you have to alter your show a bit to explain the back stories of your songs more here than you do while playing in Canada?

Although there are certainly many differences between our countries, I have always found American audiences receptive and understanding. We share some common traits, kindness and openness among them, as well as a border. It is found in equal measure on either side of the borderline. As in most things, mutual tolerance and willingness to meet half way usually rules the day.

I love that your song “Skating Rink” is the official song of Hockey Day in Canada. Are you a hockey fan?

The song “Skating Rink” has been used to promote “Hockey Day in Canada” since the event was first presented. Beth called the producers and informed them of the CD “Skating Rink”, which had just won a Juno award, and they decided to use it. It is a tremendous thrill for me, being an avid hockey fan and until recently an avid player. Thanks to that song I have played goal with the NHL old-timers at the Juno Cup, and met many players I have admired and cheered on for years. Also a few that I have singularly not been a fan of. All were wonderful to meet, to a man, and they are an exceptionally happy and fit bunch of retirees. Their skills are barely diminished from their playing days, which makes warm-ups before the game a fairly sobering experience in the nets.

I understand that your songs are being taught to school children in Canada. What songs are they and what kind of reception to you get from these young fans?

Two songs in particular are taught in schools, both from the first CD. “Torn Screen Door” a 1:38 second long a cappella piece about farm foreclosure, and “Red Winged,” Blackbird,” a song with a simple and strong chorus about the coming of spring, a greatly anticipated event north of the 49th parallel. I think they are both very easy to sing, and both have strong images running throughout. It is a wonderful gift made manifest when kids from 4 to 14 come up and request them by name at shows. We always perform them when requested.

What is up next for you? Any new recordings or other projects in the works?

I hope to keep recording and producing CDs in the future, with a new release in the fall. I have also become a painter of sorts over the years and would like to continue to develop that field of creativity as well.

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