LISTEN: “Ghosts of Cabell County” by ‘85 Flood

Singer and guitarist Aaron Hawley of the West Virginia band ‘85 Flood talks about the song “Ghosts of Cabell County” from the group’s new CD “Toolshed Shangri-La,” to be released Friday, Feb. 22, in a show at 123 Pleasant St., Morgantown, on a bill that also features The Emergency.
—–
HAWLEY: “‘Ghosts of Cabell County’ is a song that was written late one night while I was staring out my back window at pine trees in the dark. (more…)

LISTEN: “Rock Candy” performed by Winston Walls and Brother Jack McDuff

Winston Walls, a longtime Charleston resident and one of the world’s premier Hammond organists, passed away at his home in Fort Meyers, Florida, on Feb 4. He was 65 years old. As Michael Lipton’s homage to Walls makes clear — from tussling with Cassius Clay to helping discover George Benson to fumbling record deals — Walls had the kind of up-and-down musical life from which tales and legends spring.

In today’s “Song of the Day,” you’ll hear Walls perform “Rock Candy,” in this song from the album “Boss of the B3,” which reunited Walls with longtime friend and fellow Hammond player Brother Jack McDuff. See Lipton’s article for more on this recording session.

Listen: “Letters”

SONG OF THE DAY: “Letters” by the Charleston, W.Va., duo with the longest name of any band in town: Captain Crash and the Beauty Queen From Mars (which we hereby abbreviate — for the sake of our fingers — CCBQFM). They are otherwise known as Jonathan Slack and Laura Summerhill.

HEAR THEM LIVE: CCBQFM, along with Joe Slack, perform 8 to 10 p.m., Friday, Feb. 8 at Capitol Roasters Cafe, 160 Summers St., in Charleston, W.Va.

WHO THEY ARE: (Cribbed from their Myspace page):
“Well, to start, I’m not even really sure what we are officially called. We’ve been called Aurora, Captain Crash & The Beauty Queen from Mars, or just our names. … Jonathan just turned 21, and Laura is 17. Both of us have been performing music of some sort… forever. (more…)

LISTEN: “Waiting for a Melody” by Alan Griffith

Boone County troubadour Alan Griffith, along with Jay Hill and Andy Lewis, have a new CD out that  resurrects the music of the long-time group Blue Million. Gazz music reviewer Michael Lipton weighed in with a review of that disc at the NewSounds gazzblog right here. (which also includes links to some Gatecrasher blog video of Griffith performing live in local clubs. For today’s “Song of the Day” we take a listen to the Griffith song “Waiting for a Melody” off the eponymous Blue Million CD. The band’s next performance is 9 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 16 at the 19thHole in Madison, W.Va., on the corner beside the Boone County Courthouse. For more on Griffith’s music, visit www.alansongs.com.

Mike Arcuri at Nashville’s legendary Bluebird Cafe. He returns there this Sunday.

SONG OF THE DAY: LISTEN: “The Ghosts of Hank & Hendrix” by Mike Arcuri

Today’s “Song of the Day” features Charleston singer-songwriter Mike Arcuri. He’ll perform this weekend at the Bluebird Cafe in Nashville, a storied venue for singer-songwriters and a tough nut to crack — but he’s cracking it. Below, he explains the origins of his delightful story-song “The Ghosts of Hank & Hendrix” and the mathematics of playing at the Bluebird. P.S. — You can also catch Arcuri in his duo incarnation with Keith Lahti (that’s Lahti’s electric guitar on “Hank and Hendrix”) as Holy Cow in area clubs and open mics.

STORY OF THE SONG: Mike Arcuri: One night while driving south on I-65 just outside of Nashville, I pulled into a truck stop to pick up some oil for my automobile, which had a bad leak. I’d been on the road for about six hours, having left Charleston earlier that day. I was traveling to Nashville to perform at the Bluebird Café songwriter’s night the next evening. (more…)

SONG OF THE DAY: “Is It Christmas Where You Are?”
ARTIST: Song written and performed by John Lilly

Charleston-based singer-songwriter John Lilly talks about the story behind this song:

This song was written in 1990, during the first Gulf War. I was living in Nashville, and the word went out that people in the music community there were putting together Christmas “CARE” packages for the service men and women overseas. Many people donated recordings and poems and baked goods — I wrote and recorded this song, visualizing the hot desert and inhospitable scene that would greet the soldiers in Iraq and Kuwait on Christmas morning. (Funny note, the original demo of this song, the one I sent overseas, featured a trio of me on guitar and vocal, a friend named Mike Garvey on piano, and the great David Ball on bass. Soon thereafter, David had a huge hit record called “Thinking Problem” and continues to be a popular traditional country singer. But he was doing demo work at the time and played on my session.) (more…)

Kay Graham and her Harold Hayslett cello. Photo by Douglas Imbrogno. Click to enlarge

SONG of the DAY: “Allegro Scherzando” by Felix Battanchon
PERFORMERS: Kim Graham (on Hayslett cello No. 47), with her student Dean Pauley (on Hayslett cello No. 54).
CD: From “The Hayslett Collection: A Musical Tribute.” The CD is for sale locally at Taylor Books, Frog Creek Books, Cornucopia, Gorby’s Music and Ferguson Tea Room in Hurricane and online at cdbaby.com/cd/hayslett

By Douglas Imbrogno
Got cello? Kimberly Graham does and it’s not just any old cello. (more…)

Colleen Anderson, Julie Adams and Karen Vuranch have teamed up on the new CD “Potluck,” featuring songs and stories celebrating wise women, community and home cooking. Hear them perform the CD in an hour-long, family-friendly show at 8 p.m., Friday, Dec. 14, at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation, 502 Kanawha Blvd. West, Charleston. The show is followed by — what else? — a dessert potluck. There’s no cover, but please bring non-perishable foods to donate to the Covenant House Food Pantry. If you feel like bringing a dessert to share afterwards, you’re encouraged, but it’s not required. The CD is available at Taylor Books in Charleston, at Tamarack and at  www.potluckshow.com

Take a listen to a story and song from the CD:
–”Miss Grace” (by Karen Vuranch: a true story about Grace Haught of Wetzel County, W.Va., as told to Vuranch by Grace’s grandson, Jeff)

–”Get Me to the Chocolate” (by Colleen Anderson)

LISTEN:
“March of the Magi,” traditional French melody. Recorded Dec. 14, 2006

IF YOU GO: This year’s “Joy to the World” is 8 p.m. Dec. 13 at the Cultural Center in the state state Capitol Complex. Tickets $20.50 plus service charge by calling (800) 594-TIXX or visit wvpubcast.tv/joy.html. They can also be purchased at Taylor Books. Tickets $25 at the door, although the show usually sells out in advance.

Fans of Bob Thompson’s annual “Joy to the World” music celebration can now get a CD compilation of past highlights from the holiday show. Bob Thompson Productions just released “More Joy to the World” on the Colortones.com label. A compilation of performances from past editions of the annual holiday show, the disc was released to coincide with this year’s event, which takes place 8 p.m. Dec. 13 at the Cultural Center Theater.

The recording features jazzy renditions of holiday songs by the Bob Thompson Unit from the years 2000 to 2006. It also features a performance by the Appalachian Children’s Chorus with guest vocalist Toni Lynn Washington. (more…)

LISTEN:
“Run Rudy Run by Kodac Harrison (4:34 min.)

Kodac Harrison is an Atlanta-based singer/songwriter and spoken-word artist with some prior roots in West Virginia. At one time, he lived here in a community with “Mountain Stage” Band members Ammed Solomon, Steve Hill and others and has recorded with them, Julie Adams, Steve Payne and other area performers. He has a new CD out, “Dreams and Nightmares,” from which we sample a song. In a piece titled “Poets, Writers and Madmen,” an Atlanta writer describes Harrison this way: “Local beatnik bluesman Kodac Harrison sure is a Renaissance kinda guy. Whether he’s performing spoken-word poetry, grooving with his band, or doing the singer-songwriter thing, he has a totally compelling style. Harrison is one of Atlanta’s most creative and inspiring musicians.”

For more on Harrison:
A) his website; B) his Myspace site