“One man, one guitar, one foot in the grave”—that’s the sentiment on Charlie Parr’s website. And in a sense it describes this Duluth singer/songwriter. Except he plays more than a guitar, though usually that’s what fans see him with. And I’d hardly say he’s got one foot in the grave—no more than the rest of us. But it is this wry look at life that makes Charlie Parr the complex musician he is. 

Parr grew up in a family that appreciated music and turned to it for comfort and nourishment. “My dad was heavy into old folk music and blues and the old country music. We had a big giant Magnavox record player. It played all the time,” Parr says. “There was a little black and white TV that was in the kitchen. He would turn on the news while we were eating. He’d turn it off again, because he’d get all upset. I was a little kid during ’72, ’75 and Vietnam. I remember him just railing about that. Then, he’d go in and put on a record.”

Young Charlie saw that music could be a balm and a way to mark joy. Most of that music was ancient, even then. “The newest thing that I heard was Johnny Cash and Johnny Horton,” Parr recalls. “Music went all the way back to Woodie Guthrie and Leadbelly and Mancee Lipscomb, The Harry Smith Anthology and all those great Smithsonian Folkways LPs that they used to put out in big cardboard sleeves. I got to hear all of that stuff.”

They were old records, telling stories about people long dead in circumstance that Charlie Parr would never know.  Yet, he knew about small towns and hardworking people. He grew up in Austin MN, a small meatpacking town where Hormel was based. “My folks worked there. My dad came up from farming in Iowa and Kansas and Illinois. They were tenant farmers so they did land rentals. He was all over the place during the Depression. He took off and rode freight trains. He was trying to get down to Texas to get work and ended up on the road for a long time. He got into the Piedmont [Virginia and NC] a few times in his travels. I think that’s where he picked up listening to some of that stuff.” 

With all of that music saturating his house, it was no big leap for Parr to pick up guitar at a young age. He was eight and taught him self how to pick, through trial and error. “I was trying to learn to play the banjo and never quite got there,” he says. “I play banjo in the parlor style. It took me 20 years to figure out how to do that.”

With the guitar came learning a lot of old music, but soon Parr was writing a song or two of his own. He began performing in Minneapolis in 1988, doing the club and coffeehouse circuit. He learned a lot from Minnesota roots artists Dave Ray and Spider John Koerner, who brought black blues to a white audience. Parr’s own work had that old-timey feel as if Woodie or Uncle Dave Macon were still walking among us.  

Though his folks were union workers, Parr wasn’t attracted to political songs. “I’m really attracted to laments,” he says. “So all of the laboring songs I know are laments.  I love the songs that came out of the mining operations all over the country, the disaster songs….I love listening to Joe Hill, but I’ve never really consciously decided that I was going to play some of this stuff in my set….I’ve done labor picnics where the only upbeat song I sang was John Henry. Everything else was laments, songs about mining disasters and farm accidents.”

Though Parr still collects old tunes from vintage recordings to introduce into his sets, he still writes a lot. Much of it isn’t introspective angst. It’s often a quirky look at the world. “When you look outside of yourself, the songs are not only more relevant but they’re generally more meaningful,” he says. “I don’t like self indulgent songs about the girl that got away. It’s far more interesting when people sing about a specific event or point in time. There’s a human reaction to an event, rather than thinking about my personal reaction to a personal problem that no one else really has access to.”  

Take “Riding Mower Blues,” for example. This humorous song really chronicles an event that happened in Minnesota. “There’s a fellow in West Duluth who got so many DUIs that they permanently revoked his driver’s license. So, he set out for the bar on his lawnmower.  He got drunk at the bar, and then he drove home on his lawnmower,” Parr recalls. “He had the mower deck on. He was mowing the boulevard as he drove home. The police pulled him over. There’s not too much more that they can do to him any more. He had no license and had no access to a license. They put him in jail and took away his lawnmower. I don’t know what his yard looks like nowadays….I guess you get desperate.”

Parr released his first full-length CD, Criminals & Sinners, in 2001, though he had a appeared on a couple of compilation recordings around then. More albums followed:  1922 (2002), King Earl (2004), Rooster (2005), Backslider (2006), Julibee (2007), and Roustabout (2008).  

Members of Trampled By Turtles lent their chops to many of these recordings. Frontman Dave Simonette  add background vocals and guitar on Roustabout and Jubilee.  The whole band appeared on Backslider. Dave Carrol played on banjo in Rooster, and Ryan Young handled fiddle on Roustabout. 

All of these recordings were done low-budget in living rooms, garages, barroom basements, and empty storefronts. This often created an authentic roots feel. But Parr’s new album When the Devils Goes Blind is a departure from that formula. “This is my very first ever studio recording,” he says. “I had a ton of help with it. Bo Ramsey from Iowa produced it. Matt Zimmerman, the guy who runs studio, was there helping me out. It just turned out to be a really good experience. I was really nervous about wasting all that money, but it turned out to be a great time. I really enjoyed it. I think the sound quality is quite a bit higher than anything else I’ve done that has been recorded in garages and basements. People have been reacting to that.”

Taking it’s name from an old fiddle tune called “We’ll All Go to Heaven when the Devil Goes Blind,” the album is full of originals and vintage tunes. “Turpentine Farm,” for example, is not the heart-rending original “Turpentine” that JJ Grey wrote about the turpentine camps in Florida. “It’s not a real political piece as it was for him,” Parr says. “This is a traditional tune. The earliest recording of it is from the early 30s by a fellow that went by the name of Catjuice Charley…It’s been covered a lot, but it’s been covered in a real hillbilly kind of way. Doing songs that way with a funny accent is a bit cheesy. I love the song. I’ve been playing it live so I thought I’d take a stab at it on the record.”

 Still Parr’s rootsy sound comes through on the slicker studio recording. “I don’t want to get away from sounding like what I’m supposed to sound like. It’s got to be me. Otherwise, it’ll be fake,” he says.

Charlie Parr has toured all over the country, appeared on A Prairie Home Companion, and even had been overseas. “Once or twice a year, I end up in the UK or Ireland,” Parr says. “I’ve got two releases on an English record label and one on an Irish record label. A lot the music fans over there apparently seem to know more about America folk music than most American folks do.” Parr has also recorded a song for an American folk anthology on a French label.

While he was touring in Bristol, he met My Two Toms, a guitar and banjo duo, that he really connected with. “My Two Toms carries the traditions of the most memorable music; the complexity found deep within the drone of the Appalachian Mountains, the spiraling melodies of Northumberland pipe tunes, a simple song that stands well the test of time and is remembered not in a crazy-making way but as an old friend,” he says of Tom Stubbs and Tom Cops.

“In 2007, they came over here, and we did shows down through Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri, and back up through Iowa, Wisconsin, and Minnesota,” Parr says. “I’m looking forward to having them back again. I toured with them in England, too, but to a lesser extent, mostly around Bristol where they’re from. They’re really good guys and their music is just fascinating. It’s instrumental music, but it really engages you. …They’re really fun to see live, too. They’re personable guys with a quirky sense of humor.”

Parr played the Concert in the Garden series at the ND Museum of Art last year and loved it. “I had such a good time there. I thought it was a fantastic place,” he says. And that will be the launching pad for a US tour with My Two Toms. “I’m looking forward to having My Two Toms play there, too.”

 Charlie Parr is always a treat to hear live. Check out his set at the Concert in the Garden series at the ND Museum of Art Tuesday, August 3, at 6 pm.

DISCOGRAPHY 

When The Devil Goes Blind (2010)

Roustabout (2008)

Jubilee (2007)

Backslider (2006)

Rooster (2005)

King Earl (2004)

1922 (2002) Re-released by popular demand.

 Criminals & Sinners (2001) (sold out)

Misplaced Pets (sold out)

Keep Recordings (sold out)

Live Music Alert: TONIGHT Bang Tango, Mama Kin, Asphalt Valentine, Modern Superstar, and many more At The Nestor Tavern, Fargo, 7 pm till close, $10

Swinging through Fargo on their way to the Dakota Rock Fest in Sioux Falls SD, three bands will pause to rock the Nestor for one night only, Wednesday, July 21, 2010. Bang Tango, Mama Kin, Asphalt Valentine, and Modern Superstar will join Act of Defiance (formerly 7 th Seal) and Immune System for a mini-festival starting at 7 pm.  

Mama Kin, Asphalt Valentine, and Modern Superstar have been touring together in their Summer of Sin Tour. The Nestor is just one stop that includes the Dakota Rock Fest as these heavy hitters make a swath through the upper Midwest and then dip down through the southland.

Asphalt Valentine from Atlanta has a bad-boy image but their rock is melodic yet driving.

Modern Superstar from LA was formed Ryche Green (ex Bulletboys) and Jamie Fletcher (ex Britny Fox) and a couple of friends have been working on their debut release, 1 Part Saint, 2 Parts Sinner, which is due out later this summer. It’s all under wraps but you’ll be first to hear some of it at the Dakota Rock Fest Pre-party.

Mama Kin

Coming all of the way from Sweden, Mama Kin is more of a Goth glam rock band with some pop overtones than hardcore.

They are actually quite easy on the eyes compared to Modern Superstar who look like guys you wouldn’t want to meet in a dark parking lot—unless you’re into that sort of dangerous thrill.

Finally, the star of the evening is Bang Tango.

Bang Tango

These guys have been around for over two decades, having started in LA and producing several albums until 1995 when band members when their separate ways, only to reform and split up and reform again like an obsessive couple that can’t get along. The band has also changed members like a swingers block party. Currently, there are two Bang Tango bands touring. One is with founder Joe Leste’ and all new players and the other is composed of some of the original members but with a new singer. This is the same type of arrangement that has happened with the Wailers and the Original Wailers. The Wailers has one founding member and all new players and the Original Wailers has original members and a couple of new ones.

The one playing at the Nestor has Joe Lesté (vocals), Alex Grossi (guitar), Anthony Focx (guitar), Lance Eric (bass), and Trent Anderson (drums). They still retain that glam rock/metal scream that set audiences aflame.

Catch a full night of metal at the Nestor at the Dakota Rock Fest Pre-party TONIGHT

Live Music Alert: NDOMA Music in the Garden Series, Grand Forks, July 20, 6 pm
Alison Scott (backed by guitarist) Kevin Bowe with June Panic’s Wife, $7 at the door

Alison Scott has been called the strongest new voice to come out of the Minneapolis music scene in many years. Indeed she has a powerful voice paced with emotion that’s able to interpret songs with feeling. She has been touring with a full band, comprised of bassist Steve Price, drummer Peter Anderson, and platinum and Grammy-winning guitarist Kevin Bowe who has played with Paul Westerberg, Etta James, and Jonny Lang.

 Her sound has afforded her increased airplay in regional radio stations. She has three CDs: Alison Scott Live at the Dakota, Hiding Under the Covers, and Wish on the Moon. A new one, Chinese Whispers, will be out in September.

Though she will be playing the Bayfront Blues festival in Duluth Aug 15 (along with Dr. John, Haper, and JJ Grey and MOFRO, she isn’t a blues singer. She’s more accurately a pop singer who has the fire of blues within her pipes, Americana in her heart, and a foundation of old-school soul.

Her work with Kevin Bowe has been exception. A writer/producer whose songs have sold over 12 million copies, Bowe is a Minneapolis music scene veteran who has co-written material with Jonny Lang and was responsible for helping the young blues singer’s rise to stardom in the Twin Cities. Bowe went on to write with Leo Kottke, The Rembrandts, Peter Case, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Dan Wilson (Semisonic), Richie Sambora, Chuck Prophet, John Mayall, Three Dog Night, and Delbert McClinton. And his songs appeared on music hopeful Shannon Curfman’s Arista debut album “Loud Guitars, Big Suspicions” and  on music veteran Etta James’ RCA release “Let’s Roll” that won the Grammy for best blues album.

Bowe has other skills. His guitar prowess garnered him the lead guitar slot for Paul Westerberg & His Only Friends on their US tour. He produced albums for Shane Henry, Blind Pig artist Renee Austin, and Tommy Castro. His songs have appeared on The Sopranos, Where The Heart Is, Steal This Movie, The Tonight Show, Letterman, Boston Public, The Young & the Restless, Austin City Limits, ESPN, VH1, CMT and MTV.

Bowe also is a member of The Okemah Prophets that includes Andy Dee (steel, guitar, tic tac), Marv Gohman (fiddle, mandolin), Dik Shopteau (bass), and John “Bongo” Haga (drums).

Alison Scott and Kevin Bowe will appear Tuesday, July 20, at the ND Museum of Art’s Concert in the Garden series. It is a lovely outdoor venue with barbeque and drinks available. Bring a lawn chair or a blanket.  Season tickets: $25, Advance tickets: $5  At the door: $7 Free admission for children twelve and younger. To purchase season tickets call 701-777-4195.

One of the special acts that will play at Nestor’s Nestfest Saturday, July 10 is Elephant Revival, an acoustic five-piece band from Nederland, Colorado. These folks will also be playing the Sioux River Folk Festival in August near Canton, South Dakota and Boats and Bluegrass in Winona, MN in September. 

These folks offer plenty of originals with a mix of fire and sweet honey. They swap instruments around like dinner plates at a feast and serve us some of the richest vocals and tightest harmonies I’ve heard in a long time.

Though the band is making short forays into the Northern Plains this year, they will also do a brief sweep through the Pacific Northwest and California in September, but will be staying closer to home than they have in a long time. “We’ve worked really hard the last three summers just touring and playing everywhere really,nearly three-quarters of the country and a whole lot of the Midwest,” Bridget Law, the fiddle player said in a recent interview. “We seemed to have quite a bit of success this last year, especially in our home state, and so it’s allowed us to play at home quite a bit. We can take off for the weekend and go to the mountains. For the most part, we actually are doing a pretty good job locally.”

That is remarkable because many bands who land in Colorado often end up opening for all manner of prominent touring bands, but they don’t get the recognition or the bucks to back that. Part of the reason for that is the wealth of music found in the state, from home-grown bands with members who were born and raised in Colorado to bands who moved there for the skiing and the friendly atmosphere.

Elephant Revival has been able to make inroads in the local market, probably because they have played everywhere else, especially major festivals, and because of their unique sound. Finding that local market has been a blessing. “We can have a home and be rowdy musicians, too,” Bridget said. “We can have balance. It’s a nice step.” And Nederland is the ideal place for them. “It’s a great little mountain town just above Boulder. It’s quirky and fun. They outlawed franchises. It’s a really community-oriented place.”

But she will admit that when they do pack up the van and tour, it works. “We have a great rhythm when we travel really. Maybe that is because we have the masculine and the feminine in the band….We really travel as a family almost. We take care of the food, and we take of each other.”

Bridget insists that the reason they do so well together on the road and on stage is because of longer term friendships. For example, she and Bonnie Paine, who handles most of the lead singing and also plays washboard, djembe, and musical saw on stage, have been friends for seven years. “She’s my best friend. I’m so lucky,” Bridget says. “We’ve also known the men in the band for about as long. We’ve all been friends longer than we’ve been in this band. There are two couples in the band. There’s also a lot of camaraderie as well as partnership and companionship.”

Bonnie also plays cello on Elephant Revival records, but that instrument isn’t tucked in the tour van. “We haven’t implemented it into our set yet,” Bridget said. “She plays cello in her home, and she writes songs on it. She does a really beautiful job at that. On stage however, she plays a musical saw, which is really cool. She’s also such a good washboard player. You can’t believe she’s making all of those sounds out of the washboard. She plays djembe, and she does this stomp box. We mic a box. and she plays it with her feet to kind of create the kick drum effect. Sometimes, she’ll play the bass. She’s very versatile and sings on every song whether she sings lead or not.”

Bonnie’s voice soars over the music they all create. “She’s a beautiful singer,” Bridget said, “perhaps one of the most interesting and talented singers of our time that has yet to be discovered on a huge level.”

But Bonnie isn’t the only one who sings. “Everybody takes a turn singing lead,” Bridget said. “I sing probably the least amount of lead, but I still sing a lot of harmonies. Bonny and Daniel Rodriguez, though, have a beautiful way of singing together and collaborating.”

Daniel Rodriguez plays guitar, but also takes a turn with banjo. In fact, the banjo is one of the instruments that’s passed around among the men in Elephant Revival. “All of the boys play it so different,” Bridget said. “Dango Rose has sort of an old-time, claw hammer thing going. Dan [Rodriguez] probably approaches it a little more uniquely. He’ll take kind of an electric sounding solo on it maybe and then have a melodic sense to it. It’s sort of like he’s fingerpicking a guitar. But Sage Cook plays the banjo the most out of all of the instruments. He’s always varying it. Sometimes, it’s more like Jimmi Hendrix is jumping out of his banjo. But he also does a claw hammer style. He plays without picks. I think none of them use picks. It’s like a soft toned banjo. It’s not twangy. It’s more textual.”

Dango Rose also plays upright bass and mandolin. Saget T. cook plays electric banjo, electric guitar, and mandolin. He’ll also pick up the bass and sometimes will even play the viola. Bridget is the lone fiddle player.

“I’m very at home with the fiddle. It’s a tough enough instrument to stay focused on,” she said. “I can jam on the mandolin. But when we’re on stage, I’m so connected to my fiddle and I’m just expressing through it. Everybody else switches around quite a bit, but nobody else wants to play the fiddle so I just pretty much stay with it.”

She also is creating a new instrument that she’s working with. “I am putting together an octave fiddle to play on stage. It’s going to be a fiddle with an octave lower strings on it so it kind of fits between a viola and a cello.  It’s really, really pretty sounding, and I’m really excited about that.”

Every member of Elephant Revival writes songs, contributing lyrics and/or instrumental pieces. “We pass it around,” Bridget said. “I also contribute and am featured on a lot of the instrumental songs.”

When Elephant Revival pulls out all of those instruments on stage and starts swapping them around, you know you’re not listening to traditional bluegrass or old-time or even electrified jazzy newgrass. This band is charting even newer territory than the twists and turns that Railroad Earth has been doing for most of this decade. “We have a lot of influence from rock and roll and electrified styles,” Bridget said. “We just find it more comfortable and natural, though, to express our music through an acoustic means. We also like the idea of being able to throw our instruments on our backs and go out into the woods and have a campfire jam. You just can’t do that with Marshal stacks!”

An Elephant Revival show is part jazz, part rock, part rockygrass, party blues, and sometimes with a dash of Celtic thrown in. But always with sweet vocals and harmonies.

(NESTFEST MOVED INSIDE BUT THE SCHEDULE REMAINS THE SAME)

Since this is the year without a major jam music festival within a comfortable driving distance in the Red River Valley, Refrain Magazine has partnered with some regional venues to sponsor some events, bringing in some great musical talent.

The very first Refrain Presents event will be Nestfest at the  Nestor Tavern in Fargo on Saturday, July 10, 2010, starting at 5 pm and going until closing time.  Admission is $10, but since it’s a bar event, you must be 21+.  (Please note that changes in the artist lineup have occured. Pat Lenertz and Yam Cannon will not be playing Saturday.)

Both an indoor and outdoor concert, Nestfest will start outside at 5 pm with Classical Chill.

These local Fargo players offer up rock that experiments with techno and metal and even drifts into jam rock. It will get the party started. Classical Chill has been together for about a year, bringing the talents of Alec Koch (drums, vocals), Andrew Overby (bass, guitar, electric guitar, and vocals), Cullen Hoglund (electric guitar, tenor saxophone, and vocals), and Dallas Graten  (keyboards and synthesizers). You can see by their array of instruments that they have the tools to dabble across all sorts of genres.

Read more: http://www.myspace.com/classicalchill

Next up is Nick Taylor from Seattle who offers a tasy acoustic guitar with some thoughtful instrumental arrangements of some rock classics and originals. His band The Fillers will play a later set at 7:10 pm. The Fillers are Jeff Meyer (vocals, guitar, and mandolin), Joey Kuntz (vocals, guitar, and harmonica), Scott Guttormson (guitar), and Nick Taylor (on 8-string guitar, beatbox, and loops)….And you did read that right 8-string guitar. These guys dance all around the roots medium and sometimes offers something a little heavier diving into alt rock. But it’s all sweet stuff.

Read more: http://www.myspace.com/8stringbeatboxer

The Insideout Strings take the stage at 6:30. 

These Moorhead music industry and performance students will offer a taste of the headliner act that will follow at 8:30 pm. Nathan Pitcher (acoustic guitar and vocals), Steven Burket (mandolin and vocals), Ross Cameron (upright bass), and Alec Koch (drums and auxiliary percussion) produce a bluegrassy jazz blend that is sweet. The do a few originals but handle their own arrangements of Miles Davis and John Scofield tunes to Umphrey’s McGee, the Beatles, and the Wood Brothers. So when you see those bluegrass instruments trucked out on stage, you know they aren’t going to be playing “Rocky Top.”

Read more: http://www.myspace.com/3insideoutstrings

Elephant Revival from Nederland, Colorado will close out the outdoor stage with some jazzy, rocking, bluegrassy music with a little Celtic flavor thrown in.  (See separate story on Elephant Revival)

Read more: http://www.myspace.com/elephantrevival

Moving everything inside, Heavy Iz The Head will start immediately at 10 pm. They offer a reggae vibe to just about anything, even ripping Radiohead, I’m told. 

Those Moorhead jammers O’fosho will bring it on at 11:05.

 As Matt Johnson (vocals and guitar), Dan Olson (drums), and Brant Niemi (bass) say: Forget the genre. Here the music. Sit back and enjoy.

Fargo”s Sovereign Sect will close out the fest at 12:15 to 1:30 pm. Three years ago DJ Baktatr (Chris Patano) and drummer Seth Holden decided to create a touring Midwest electronic collective that would blend hip-hop, glitch, dubstep, trance dance, electronica, and live hand drums. The band has expanded to a four-piece and has played major festivals in the region including 10KLF, Bella Sol/Madre Music Festivals, FatFest, and the Big Wu Family Reunion X, gaining respect from electronic fusion acts like EOTO and Pnuma Trio.

http://www.myspace.com/sovereignsectmusic

Here’s the Schedule.

Outdoors

5:00 – 5:45 – Classical Chill

5:50 – 6:20 – Nick Taylor and Friends

6:30 – 7:15 – The Insideout Strings

7:10 – 7:55 – The Fillers

8:30 – 10:00 – Elephant Revival

Inside

10:00 – 10:50 – Heavy Iz The Head

11:05 – 12:00 – Ofosho

12:15 – 1:30 – Sovereign Sect

photo by Michael Dysard

 LIVE MUSIC ALERT: Tuesday TODAY, July 6. Hoots and Hellmouth with June Panic (Concerts in the Garden series), North Dakota Museum of Art sculpture garden, UND campus, Grand Forks, ND, 6 pm, $7 at the door. Kids 12 and under free.

I cannot stress this enough. Go see Hoots and Hellmouth wherever they are playing live. They are making a swing through Grand Forks before a two day appearance at the Winnipeg Folk Festival that starts Wednesday July 7. 

The a four-piece band now–comprised of Sean Hoots (acoustic guitar), Andrew “Hellmouth” Gray (acoustic guitar), Robert Berliner (mandolin), and John Branigan (upright bass)– bring an acoustic and vocal sound that is honest and rootsy, but with a mix of soul, rock, jugband, and gospel all wrapped up. Recently Refrain Magazine spoke with Sean Hoots in Philadelphia before the band made their trek across the Midwest to the Northern Plains. As many of you are aware, we at Refrain don’t normally post Q&A interviews because we think that is sometimes lazy for journalists. But this time, we just had to let you folks see how this interview flowed from Sean Hoots’ own mouth.

Before getting into that, though, if you want to find out more about their second CD, Holy Open Secret, read our review—the very first article we published here at Refrain in June 2009.

http://www.refrainmagazine.com/2009/06/cd-review-the-holy-open-secret-hoots-and-hellmouth/

Refrain:  I see Hoots & Hellmouth will be playing the Winnipeg Folk Festival right after this gig at the North Dakota Museum of Art on Tuesday.

Sean Hoots: It’s been a little over a year in the making, trying to make that happen…It’s not as easy for Canadian musicians to come down here and play as it is for us to go up there.

Refrain:  You’ll be up at the Winnipeg Folk Festival a couple of days I see.

Sean Hoots: They have us playing a few sets up there and doing some workshops and such. Workshops can be a more casual, relaxed sort of thing. A performance doesn’t allow you to interact with the crowd in any sort of way.  

Refrain:  I really love your album Holy Open Secret, especially “Root of the Industry.” That song speaks to what has happened in the music industry…But you’re on a label aren’t you?

Sean Hoots: We were. Our two records were released on that Mad Dragon label, but we’re no longer on a label. We’re waiting to see what the next step is.  

Refrain:  Sometimes it’s difficult to work with a label. They often think they have a lot to say about the making of an album or an artist.

Sean Hoots:  A lot of them do because it’s their money they’re putting into it. They want a certain product or to feel a certain way or sound a certain way. Luckily, our experience wasn’t like that at all. They were good about leaving the creative control up to us.

Refrain:  You aren’t on a label now so that’s why we haven’t seen a new record from you.

Sean Hoots:  We’ve got tons of new material. It’s a matter of having the time to put it together in a studio and make it sound like we want and find somebody to release it. We’re putting up some new songs on our website. http://www.hootsandhellmouth.com  There’s a little section on our website called The Window in the Woodshed. Because we’re not doing an official release this year, we wanted to keep all of the fans abreast of what we’re doing and what new material we’re working on. So, there are little YouTube clips of us performing new songs in different settings in different places. You’ll get the song, but you won’t get the final version of it or anything like that. We’re still working them out.

Refrain:  How long has the band been together?

Sean Hoots:  We just marked our fifth anniversary. 

Refrain:  And how did you find each other?

Sean Hoots:  Just living in the small town of West Chester Pennsylvania, just west of the city. We all live in Philly now, but we all met in the town of West Chester through music scene there. It’s pretty cozy as far as the number of people involved. You get to know everybody pretty quickly. We’ve known each other for years prior to actually starting a band together. It was just friends hanging out and picking some songs on the front porches. It just grew out of that pretty organically.

Refrain:  Did you have experience with this kind of music before—roots music, bluegrass, jugband and rock influences? Did you spend a lot of time listening to music like that?

Sean Hoots:  Yeah, I’ve got quite a bit of it in my collection. My dad’s side of the family is from the mountains of North Carolina and there is a little bit of connecting with my roots there. I’ve always been a big fan of gospel music. I grew up going to church and being part of the music in churches. It was ingrained in me from an early age. And R&B, too, and old soul music, and, of course, rock and roll. It’s sort of an amalgam of all of the different things that I’ve been listening to along the way and how they’re all filtering in and just trying to create some new expression with the various forms.

Refrain:  You have something to say. You aren’t trying to mimic anybody or create a certain sound. You’re using whatever vehicle you can to put what you want to say in that form. There’s a lot of Jim Kwestin in what you do. Even an old band in Cincinnati in the 70s called Testify. Some Railroad Earth definitely in some of your harmonies…..There are lot of people who try to incorporate gospel but they can’t because they don’t have the fire. Gospel is the other side of blues. It’s that fire that I hear in what you do. You don’t hold back. Do you think that was because of your experiences in churches that you feel free enough to just belt?

Sean Hoots:  I don’t know that I would necessary trace it back to my experiences in church as far as singing that unabashedly. I guess I’ve always sung with soul, but with this music I’m able to dig in a little bit deeper. In bands past, it’s been rock and roll bands with loud guitars and drums and things so the music is competing with vocals. With this music where there is a lot more acoustic instruments, the vocals can really soar over top of the music and I think that atmosphere has really allowed me to open up even more. I’ve always been a fan of soul singers, and I’ve always felt really connected to that style. But with this particular format, it’s given me even more free range to sort of dig into that sort of thing.

Refrain:  You aren’t shy about saying what you believe. That’s to your credit. Somebody would hold back because somebody might get upset. If you don’t make people uncomfortable sometimes, you aren’t doing your job.

Sean Hoots:  Exactly, I agree. I’ve never been one to consider that offending people. I’ve honestly never tried to outright offend anyone, but it’s never been a consideration when wondering should I express something I truly feel. If I feel it deeply enough, then there’s no reason not to say it. Art is that truth finding its expression. Sometimes, it can be overt and obvious with lyrics. Sometimes it can be abstract and obscure. As long as there’s an authenticity in the expression and where it’s coming from and what it’s relating, I’ve never second guessed that at all. I write all kinds of different ways. That last record, Holy Open Secret, was a collection of songs that were particularly a little more pointed, a little more socially focused. It had a lot to do with the books I was reading, the conversations I was having with a bunch of people, getting to know a lot of the farmers and those sorts of fellows in this area. It was interesting the problems that arise. Folk music in general has always been a great vehicle for voicing those sorts of sentiments or when things affect you on a social or community level.  Music is a great way of disseminating these ideas and sharing them and relating with other people through them. They can be very powerful gathering and uniting people. So, I felt this particular style really lent itself to some of that. I try not to do too much grandstanding or soapbox preaching because I don’t care for that in listening to other people’s work either. I would stop short of calling what we do political or anything like that. But certainly, on a song by song basis or level, if I’m feeling a particular way, then that ‘s just the way it is. That’s how it comes out.

Refrain:  I think that’s great, being a young band with young men it in, being willing to say whatever the art requires. We will see you in Grand Forks then at the North Dakota Museum of Art on Tuesday.

Oscar Brand

Winnipeg Folk Festival, Birds Hill Park (north of Winnipeg), Manitoba, Canada

The 2010 Winnipeg Folk Festival, which runs from July 7 to July 11, will include a slate of different bands that aren’t under your normal folk label. There will be bands like Arrested Development, Hot Tuna, and Sonny Landreth.  Folkies and folk icons and  are drawn to this festival. And this year is no exception.  Oscar Brand with Josh White Jr., Greg Brown, The Duhks, Emmylou Harris, Geoff Muldaur, John Hiatt & The Combo, The Levon Helm Band, and Sarah Lee Guthrie & Johnny Irion (Sarah Lee is Arlo Guthrie’s daughter).  There’s also a slew of world musicians and a lot of roots, bluegrass, and gospel.  A few bands you might want to check out are Hoots And Hellmouth, Rock Plaza Central, William Elliott Whitmore, and the The Wailin’ Jennys.

Here are more artists who will be playing during the festival:  Aaron Burnett, Alvin Youngblood Hart, Andrew Bird, Aterciopelados, The Avett Brothers, Bette et Wallet, Bo Ramsey, Breabach, The Cat Empire, Christa Couture, The Dardanelles, Debashish Bhattacharya, Del Barber, Del Rey, Devon Sproule, DJ Dolores, The Dodos, Etran Finatawa,  The Good Lovelies, Greg MacPherson, Gregory Alan Isakov, John K Samson, Jon & Roy, Justin Roberts and the Not Ready for Naptime Players, Konono N° 1, Ladies Of The Canyon, Leeroy Stagger & The Wildflowers,  Lulu and the TomCat, Luluc, Mauvais Sort, Mishka, The Moondoggies, Oka, The Peatbog Faeries, Peta Brown, The Pines, Pura Fé, Romi Mayes, The Rural Alberta Advantage, Sam Baker, Sarah Harmer,  The Sojourners, Steve Dawson’s Mississippi Sheiks Tribute Featuring The Sojourners, Del Rey and Alvin Youngblood Hart, The Swell Season, Tao Seeger, Ukrainia, The United Steel Workers of Montreal,  Wide Open Puppetry, The Wilders, Works Progress Administration.

For more information, visit www.winnipegfolkfestival.ca

Or check out artist bios here: http://www.winnipegfolkfestival.ca/wp/festival/performers/

 Please note that some of the genres they put these artists in are arbitrary. For example, William Elliott Whitmore is labeled alt country and he’s a roots performer.  Great songwriter and performer.

Keller Williams--photo by Kent Anderson

Now, the Great Aberdeen Music Festival, the former Pigout that once was held on the streets of Aberdeen SD has grown to a major music event held in Central Park in Downtown Aberdeen. Hosted by the Aberdeen Downtown Association and produced by Pepper Entertainment, this two-day music festival showcases local, regional, and national talent on two outdoor stages in historic Downtown Aberdeen on July 9-10. In its eighth year, the festival draws over 12,000 music fans to this family-friendly event. There’s lots of food, drinks, and Mac’s Carnival with rides for little ones and adults.

Music starts Friday, July 9 at 5 pm and runs to 1:30 am and all day Saturday July 10 on one stage. Saturday’s music runs from noon on two stages.

Because of the quality of the entertainment brought in, ticket prices have risen. But, hey, when a festival like this can bring artists like Keller Williams to your door, it’s really a very small fee. Single Day Passes are $10 and 2-Day Festival Passes are $15. All Ages Welcome

Here’s the line up:

FRIDAY NIGHT July 9, 2010

Gates @ 5pm

Keller Williams

That 1 Guy

Roster  McCabe

Lunar Funk Theory

Sleeping In Gethsemane

SATURDAY July 10, 2010

Gates @ 11am

Saliva

Shaman’s Harvest

Bernard Allison

Backyard Tire Fire

Heatbox

Jon Wayne & The Pain

Burlap Wolfking

Down Lo

CORE

Rubber Gloves

Junebug

String Syndicate

Pop’s Blues Rhythm Band

Andy Gibson Band

Funken Grassholes

Live Music Alert: July 9 at the Nestor, Fargo, starting at 9 pm.

The Lost Angel Crew–Deviate, Lobes, and WestKoast– are returning to Fargo, ND after their warm welcome with Paul Wall and Chamillionaire at The Venue last April. They are still bringing the vibe of their latest album, “Hello My Name Is…,” (courtesy of ILL-EGO Entertainment and Latin Thug Records) that re-launch in the spring.

These Latin hip-hop artists continue to bring a sane voice to the genre while doing some major shaking up.  I ran across some really interesting videos that each of the Lost Angel Crew members recorded on YouTube. They comment on the state of hip-hop through rhymes, but without beats or the roar of their fans. It’s quite eye-opening.

 Here are links to those videos done in June of last year.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VJdLq63_Hw0&feature=related

West Coast

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n_CRpYoDG5U&feature=related

Lobes

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QD3-Bz01BjM&feature=related

Deviate Minded

 And for those who missed them in Fargo in April, this video will whet our appetite for more rhymes.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yKsNQk1NiMc&feature=related

Lost Angel Crew live at The Venue w/Paul Wall and Chamillionaire

The Lost Angel Crew will be appearing live at the Nestor on Friday July 9 with a whole lot of other fine artists. The show starts at 9 pm and is 21+. They will be rhyming with Blitz, Izzy Dunfore, and The DRP. Former Kotton Mouth King, Saint Dogg, will be adding his artistry to DGAF and Mars.

 DGAF, founded by Chucky Chuck & Gillies in 1998, has ties deep into the hip-hop music industry. Gillies was linked with the South Bay Family in the early 90′s. DGAF went on to create alliances with the Subnoize Souljaz, SRH, KingSpade, Judge D, Big B, Dirt Ball, Morongo Band of Indians, Orange County Hardcore Families, Desert Syndicate, Fleshwound, and, of course, Saint Dogg and the Kotton Mouth Kings.

 Some of your hip-hop fans will remember the Lost Angel Crew playing many local Fargo venues for several years before they returned to California two years ago.

 Come on down and get a taste of something you won’t hear on the radio.

Everett Smithson Band

Kicking off hot summer blues in the Town Square in Grand Forks ND will be the Everett Smithson Band and Stage Door Johnny. The event starts at 6 pm and goes to 10 pm. The city brings in top blues talent and great barbecue. Admission is FREE, with food and beverage on site.

The Everett Smithson Band from Buffalo MN handles a variety of styles, not your typical blues. From their photo, you can tell they aren’t Hot Tuna or Bo Diddley and his band. Everett Smithson, however, is said to channelHowlin’ Wolf. These guys dip into Zydeco, delta blues, roots rock, bluegrass, and even some gospel. They do plenty of covers but they sneak in a few originals, too.

Their debut CD Copperheads and Featherbeds was released in June 2005 and their latest one Mad Dog came out two summers ago.

Next month on July 24 catch Davina & the Vagabonds with The Blue Wailers. And on August 28, Blues on the Red will bring in Big Walter Smith & the Groovetones and the Lisa Wenger Band