FOLK CRUNCH

Sunday, August 21, 2005

A GIRL WITH A GUITAR


Charlotte Thistle, Seattle's own Sweetheart of Folk, gives us a shiny treasure of a CD with her new release A Girl With A Guitar.

Charlotte's voice is sweet and pure -- her voice is exquisite on 'So Blue' -- but with just enough of a quirk to make your ears perk up and stand at attention. Beautiful vocals are backed by her delicate guitar playing and guest musicians are used very sparingly, which is a refreshing change from the usual noise clutter found on many singer songwriter efforts.

Along with 'So Blue', which is one of those songs I can listen to over and over and over again, 'Danny', 'Heroin', and 'Reluctant Bride' are all stand out tracks, and Folk Grrrls everywhere will find an anthem to love with 'Mommy, Why?'

A Girl With A Guitar is a true folk offering from a genuine folk artist. You'll have a chance to see the real deal in action when Charlotte plays the Busker Stage at Bumbershoot, September 2 - 5. She'll also be performing at the Pike Market Buskers Festival on Sunday, September 18 at Noon on the Post Alley Stage.

CHARLOTTE THISTLE www.agirlwithaguitar.com

PIKE MARKET BUSKERS FESTIVAL www.pikemarketbuskers.org

Monday, August 15, 2005

BLUES HARP

A salute to the smallest, cheapest, and most expressive of blues instruments -- The Harmonica! Guaranteed to brighten the darkest mood and get your toes a tappin', here are some Harmonica Classics I've been digging lately:

I GOT LOVE IF YOU WANT IT -- SLIM HARPO
Recorded Crowley, LA, 1957
Excello Single #2113, July 1957
**Cool drum work on this tune by Clarence 'Jockey' Etienne, this is the flip side to Slim's fist single 'I'm A King Bee'

I'LL BE AROUND -- HOWLIN' WOLF
Recorded Chicago, October, 1954
Chess Single #1584, October, 1954

ROCKET 88 -- JIMMY COTTON BLUES QUARTET
Recorded Chicago, December, 1965
Chicago Blues Today, Vol. 2, Vanguard #9217, 1966

WOLF CALL BOOGIE -- HOT SHOT LOVE
Recorded Memphis, January, 1954
Sun Single #196, January, 1954
**Currently one of my very favorite songs this is, sign painter-street person-harmonica wizard, Hot Shot Love's only single ever released. Full of nasty bar room jive!

SUGAR COATED LOVE -- LAZY LESTER
Recorded Crowley, LA, 1958
Excello Single #2143, August, 1958

JUKE -- LITTLE WALTER AND HIS NIGHT CATS
Recorded Chicago, May 12, 1952
Checker Single #758, August, 1952

ENDS & ODDS -- JIMMY REED
Recorded Chicago, September 5, 1957
Vee-Jay Single #304, December, 1958
** Jimmy's The Man!

Thursday, August 11, 2005

THE WOLF MAN


Greg Spence Wolf is a poet, journalist, political and animal rights activist, environmentalist, songwriter, muti-instrumentalist, and one of my all time favorite Seattle buskers.

You never know where & when you might be treated to Greg doing one of his original tunes or what instrument you might find him playing; Greg is an adept guitar, mandolin, trumpet and harmonica player, as well as being an accomplished trombonist. He can often be found busking at Seattle Center, the Pike Place Market, your favorite neighborhood coffeehouse, or even while you're waiting at the local bus stop!

Some of Greg's best and most poular tunes include: 'Tofu Serenade', 'I Ride My Bicycle', and 'I'm A Righteous Dumpster Diver Dude.' All of these songs and more can be found on Greg's 2000 CD release Emotions and word on the folk scene is that Greg is starting work on his next full length CD release which is tentatively titled Country Folk Music. It looks like this new release will include my current favorite Greg Spence Wolf song 'Down At The Farmers Market' - a song that folks often think is about the Seattle Pike Place Market but is actually about the Farmers Market in Ithaca, New York, where Greg is originally from.

Greg Spence Wolf is a real and true folkie, a rare breed in this day and age. He writes original songs but plays in a traditional style; he makes his living playing music but he's not in it for the money; he cares about the planet and all the life upon it and his actions always reflect his philosophy.

Catch Greg live this month at the Hop Vine Singer Songwriter Showcase on Monday, August 29 at 9pm - 507 15th Avenue East, phone 206-328-3120. He'll also be performing at the 4th annual Pike Market Busker festival on Sunday, September 18.

GREG SPENCE WOLF www.gregspencewolf.com

PIKE MARKET BUSKERS FESTIVAL www.pikemarketbuskers.org

Monday, August 08, 2005

BILLIE'S TOP TEN

Ten things I love right now:

the way my dogs dance for their supper

corn on the cob

my husband

the moon looking down from the sky like an old friend

ice cream

picking berries

the way the herbs have gone to flower and made tiny pink & white stars all over the garden

Indian food

riding the carousel

walking under the stars at Alki beach

Friday, August 05, 2005

ARTIST OF AUGUST: NANCY K DILLON


An Okie native with a restless heart, Nancy K Dillon now makes her home in Seattle, WA. Nancy is a founding member of the acclaimed cowgirl group Ranch Romance and has since taken her 'red dirt music' solo with her critically acclaimed 2004 release Just Let Me Dream. Just Let Me Dream is a CD full of rootsy gems; my personal favorites include 'Fire & Soul' and 'Ballad of Mabel Dodge.' When she's not writing or performing beautiful songs Nancy spends her time creating stunning collage art and dreaming of owning her own Ranchette. Catch Nancy K live on Augut 12 at the Boundry Bay Brewery -- 1107 Railroad Avenue -- Bellingham, WA @ 9pm and at the Roslyn Farmers Market on August 28 at 11:30 am.

QUESTIONNAIRE! with NANCY K DILLON . . .

WHAT IS YOUR PERFECT IDEA OF HAPPINESS?
Today is really hot, so perfect happiness would be a G&T plus a cigar with good friends over for Happy Hour on my patio!

WHAT IS YOUR GREATEST FEAR?
After I turned 50, I stopped wasting time on being afraid of anything except large earthquakes.

WHAT DO YOU CONSIDER THE MOST OVERRATED VIRTUE?
Virtue . . . :-)

ON WHAT OCCASION DO YOU LIE?
I try to be truthful all the time, but have known myself to lie on occasion when I think it might prevent someone I care about from being hurt.

WHO OR WHAT IS THE GREATEST LOVE OF YOUR LIFE?
Oh boy . . . let's say I have been lucky in love in this life . . . any & all love is the greatest, in my opinion, plus it makes for fertile songwriting ideas . . . having it, losing it, tending it, mending it.

IF YOU COULD CHOOSE WHAT TO COME BACK AS, WHAT WOULD IT BE?
A creature of the air like an eagle or raptor of some kind.

WHICH TALENT WOULD YOU MOST LIKE TO HAVE?
I would love to be able to tap-dance!

WHAT IS THE TRAIT YOU MOST DEPLORE IN OTHERS?
Fakeness & insincerity make me nuts. I can forgive most anything else . . . except hatefulness. Human beings are all so much more alike than we are different, it makes no sense to me at all that some people hate others.

WHAT IS YOUR GREATEST EXTRAVAGANCE?
Right now it is beads made from semi-precious stones.

WHAT IS YOUR GREATEST REGRET?
That I can't be in 3 or 4 places at once.

WHICH HISTORICAL FIGURE DO YOU MOST IDENTIFY WITH?
OK . . . that's a hard one. Of late I identify with Lady Frieda Harris, a British artist who was married to a liberal member of Parliment. Lady Frieda painted the gorgeous and mysteriously geometical Tarot cards for Aleister Crowley's Thoth deck. I think it's amazing that she was able to put up with him over the years it took to create the artwork for that deck. She must've had great strength of character, open-mindedness, compassion, balance and clarity . . . things I aspire to.

WHICH LIVING FIGURE DO YOU MOST ADMIRE?
My dad, Bob Dillon, has always been my biggest musical example and inspiration. Also, I greatly admire his integrity, awareness, appreciation of, and consideration for others. He continues to inspire me daily by finding ways to expand his world at the same time that it is shrinking.

WHAT IS YOUR MOST TREASURED POSSESSION?
My black 1990 Gibson J-200 guitar . . . she is a beaut!!

IF YOU COULD CHANGE ONE THING ABOUT YOURSELF, WHAT WOULD IT BE?
Oh, probably lose 15-20 lbs . . . how boring is that?!?

WHAT IS YOUR MOTTO?
"If it were easy, everybody'd do it." I lifted that from my good friend, Ginger!

Tuesday, August 02, 2005

DO A DONUT!

All I can say here is . . . yum, yum, yum!

Get yourself over to Mighty O Donuts and put a smile on your face.

Made with only certified organic ingredients and 100% vegan you can't go wrong here. Mighty O bakes fresh daily and varieties include Blueberry, Chocolate Raspberry, Lemon Poppy, and many more. My fave is the Cinnamon & Sugar and the Plain Cake Donut is perfect for dunking in your morning coffee. Mighty O features Cafe Fiore's organic coffee in their cafe which is located at 2110 N 55th Street, phone 206-547-0335.

Sometimes you just gotta do a donut . . . start your day with a Mighty O!



MIGHTY O DONUTS www.mightyo.com