Another entry in  Friday’s Forgotten Books.

Based on an unsolved murder of a Vermont couple, 2001′s Cold Comfort introduces part-time town constable Hector Bellevance and the characters that inhabit the environs of the fictional town of Tipton, a tiny village bordering Quebec.

When Otto and Gaea Morgenthau are gunned down execution style at their chalet neighboring Hector’s property, Bellevance is more than happy let the State authorities handle the case.  But when Hector’s half-brother Spud emerges as the chief suspect, Hector, a former Boston cop starts his own investigation.  Treading lightly because his authority in the case is tenuous at best, Hector enlists the help of the new lady in his life, newspaper reporter Wilma Strong-Parkhurst.

Heck’s stubborn refusal to believe that Spud is guilty causes him to constantly butt heads with the investigators from the state, and Bredes deftly portrays Heck’s steadfast and plodding course through the obstacles that arise  both professionally and personally - not the least of which is the fact that Wilma is married.  Bredes breathes life into small town life in the Northeast Kingdom and the difficulties Hector has accumulating information in his insular community in his quest to prove Spud’s innocence.

Bredes’ prose is starkly crisp and brings to mind the writing of James Sallis and James Crumley.  Cold Comfort is a wonderful book and deserves to be read by anyone who likes a novel with an extraordinary sense of place and character.

The other day one of the guys I work with said that he almost donated his hair on St. Baldrick’s day except that fat guys don’t look good bald. I cleverly replied, ‘I take umbrage to that!  I am not only fat but I am gay.”  Of course what I meant to say was that I was bald, but my trusty brain failing to come up with that, dispensed the next most logical choice of adjective.

The whole room erupted in gales of laughter.  So much so that the only thing I could do was laugh also and say, “After all these years of carefully hiding it, I blurt it out just like that.”

So there you go honey, you don’t have to worry about what I’ll say about you today.  All you have to worry about is that I’m gay - not that there is anything wrong with that! (Obligatory Seinfeld reference of the day)

For her third solo studio release Carrie Rodriguez has chosen to do an album composed entirely of cover songs.  With the help of producer Lee Townsend and a crack band, Rodriguez has managed to put her personal stamp on all of these songs, some from the classic country songbook, others new versions of under-covered tunes.

Rodriguez lends understated vocals to country staples such as Merle Haggard’s I Started Loving You Again,  Townes Van Zandt’s Rex’s Blues and the oft recorded Hank Williams tune, I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry - as well as newer tunes like M. Ward’s Eyes On The Prize and When I Heard Gypsy Davy Sing written by her father David Rodriguez.

The band (comprised of Hans Holzen on guitars and mandolin, Kyle Kegerreis bass, Eric Platz drums and Rodriguez herself on guitar, mandolin and fiddle – supplemented with the ubiquitous Greg Leisz on lap steel and Aoife O’Donovan of  Crooked Still and Sometymes Why, on harmony vocals),  really get to stretch out on Julie and Buddy Miller’s Wide River to Cross (featuring Miller himself  appearing for the second time on a Rodriguez album), and on an uptempo version of  Little Village’s Big Love, which derives additional meaning being sung from a female perspective.

Where Rodriguez’s vocals really shine though are on the slower tempo offerings, including a winsome reading of Steal Your Love from Lucinda Williams’ underappreciated Essence album, Sandrine Daniels’ I’m Not For Love and a beautiful rendering of Richard Thompson’s Waltzing’s For Dreamers.

The star performance of both singer and band is on Dave Rawlings and Gillian Welch’s I Made a Lover’s Prayer.  The original, from Welch’s 2003 album Soul Journey, was a minimalist arrangement, but Rodriguez’ version clearly benefits from a full band approach.  The song starts with a ringing guitar figure reminiscent of Lyle Lovett’s Fiona and builds slowly, layering several tasteful guitar lines atop a martial drum beat, while Rodriguez plaintively calls the song title repeatedly – creating the album’s sonic centerpiece.

Like country/folk stalwarts Emmylou Harris and Nanci Griffith, Rodriguez has the apparent ability to take any song she chooses to sing and make it her own. With Love and Circumstance Carrie Rodriguez has certainly laid claim to being today’s preeminent Americana chanteuse.  Love and Circumstance will undoubtedly be on my list of the year’s best CD’s come December.

Wide River To Cross 

Waltzing’s For Dreamers

I Made a Lover’s Prayer

In 1990 the Rave-Ups after some early interest in their work following an appearance in the John Hughes film Pretty in Pink released the fine album Chance.  Despite good reviews an indifferent marketing campaign by their label doomed the album to mid list purgatory.

The Rave-Ups were an L.A. by way of Pittsburgh band that had gained some moderate success because they had caught the eye of then young film star Molly Ringwald.  Their album Chance was a showcase for the catchy riffs and quirky lyrics of songwriters Jimmer Podrasky and Terry Wilson.

Although songs like Tinker Tommy, (She Says) Come Around and For The Loser (Hallelujah!) have tuneful melodies that will keep you whistling all day, the standout of the album is Hamlet Meets John Doe – a reverie on how we all cope with the vicissitudes of life.

One criticism of Chance is the over-production of many of the songs.  Pedal steel, sitars and dobro all compete for space with the conventional instrumentation of a power pop foursome, leaving scarce room for a breath.  This quibble aside,Chance is definitely sharing my trip to the stars – even if only for Hamlet Meets John Doe.

Tinker Tommy

She Says (Come Around)

Hamlet Meets John Doe

Although Before She Dies is the 4th book in Steven F. Havill‘s long running Posadas County mysteries, I believe it is the first book in the series that really begins to benefit from the character groundwork that Havill has layed down in the previous 3 novels.

The Posadas (New Mexico) County novels are a character driven mystery series that have two major protagonists – Undersheriff Bill Gastner and Detective Estelle Reyes-Guzman.

The novel starts with the aging Gastner losing his firearm in a scuffle at a basketball game, during which Gastner bloodies the nose of the youth who grabbed his gun in the scrum.  To further complicate things the youth later dies from a convulsion while in a police holding cell.

Later that same evening a young policeman and the newspaper reporter who is riding along with him are gunned down, killing the policeman and seriously injuring the reporter, leaving few clues as to what tragedy had befallen them.  The remainder of book details the investigation into the shootings while the threat of a lawsuit resulting from the death of the young inmate hangs over the entire police department.

The description of how Gastner and Reyes-Guzman go about piecing together the meager clues is fascinating but the real strength of Before She Dies is the relationships of the characters.  Although Gastner likes to portray himself as a grumpy old curmudgeon, the reader is privy to his real feelings and the depths of his love for his little New Mexican community, the citizens of the town and in particular his protegé, Detective Reyes-Guzman and her family.

New readers to the Posadas County mysteries do not necessarily need to read the preceding books in this series, in Before She Dies though, Havill deftly starts weaving events that will affect the succeeding books in the series.  I heartily recommend this installment of a much under-appreciated set of novels.

Cover art by Jesus Merino

The hardest thing to write well in superhero comics is a team book.  Juggling all the relationships for numerous characters, giving everyone on the team equal screen time, and choreographing the fight scenes are amazingly difficult to get right. Oftentimes the results are a team that is played for laughs or constant bickering between the characters about who should lead the team.  In Justice Society of America # 36 writer Bill Willingham seems to have struck a good balance between action and team dynamics.

Part one of the Fatherland storyline, is told almost entirely in flashback from the perspective of JSA member Mr. Terrific,  who has presumably been a captive of a Nazi regime for 20 years.  The story begins with him dictating his memoirs to a Nazi representative in anticipation of his imminent execution.  Mr. Terrific recounts how the JSA was cleverly and systematically decimated in a surprise Nazi invasion resulting in the death of at the very least, Green Lantern Alan Scott, and the capture and internment of other members of the team at the hands of the Fourth Reich.

The artwork by Jesus Merino and Jesse Delperdang is crisp and clear, especially in the mass fight scenes which can typically become confusing due to the number of bodies flying about.  The story by Willingham is cleverly constructed and he has certainly whetted my appetite for more.  Count me along for the ride.

Phil Alvin having difficulty performing some bodily function.

John Bazz-Bass, Bill Bateman- Drums

Keith Wyatt-Guitar

URRGH! Hulk Smash!

All photos courtesy of Al! Kohler

Everyone does Desert Island Discs, I’m doing Deep Space Voyage Discs.  CD’s you would take with you on a long journey across the cosmos.

Umbrella was released in 1991 by the husband-wife team of Karen & Don Peris, who primarily comprised The Innocence Mission.  Full of jangly guitars and haunting piano melodies, Umbrella is a unique combination of Don Peris’ understated musical figures and the lyrical poeticism of Karen Peris.

Whether singing to the child she imagines having in the future (Someday Coming) or musing on the transformative power of love (Umbrella), Karen Peris’ lilting soprano rises and falls, gently intertwining with the sparse musical arrangements.

The stand-out tune on the disc is Every Hour Here, a beautiful ode to the transient nature of faith and how one can occasionally take one’s belief in a higher power for granted.

Every time I listen this disc I am overcome with a feeling of relaxation and peace – the perfect choice for a long celestial voyage , or a short one in your minivan.

And Hiding Away

Every Hour Here

Now In This Hush

Random thoughts after seeing the Blasters at Castaways in Ithaca:

I first saw the Blasters ca. 1982 in Rochester, NY in a now legendary (at least in Western and Central NY) show at a tiny bar in Brighton that no one who was there can remember the name of.  There was a noise ordinance in the neighborhood so the door had to remain closed and it was sweltering. The place was packed to the gills, with no room to move without rubbing up against your neighbor (not always a bad thing). But everyone left there feeling that they had been baptised in the sweat of a rock and roll revival.  Can I get an Amen, Brother!

The show Thursday night in Ithaca harkened back to that earlier time and place, and although the air in Castaways was somewhat cooler, the atmosphere most certainly was not.

Phil Alvin is the first musician I have ever seen who looks like he’s passing a kidney stone while he plays.

Quote of the evening by Phil Alvin, “Yodeling is fun!”

Guitarist Keith Wyatt is nothing short of amazing.

I find it mind-boggling that a four piece rockabilly band with a singer/guitarist who has just downed two shots of Scotch, can bring the house down by performing a jaw-dropping rendition of James Brown’s “Please, Please, Please”.

No set list – taking requests or just winging it. (Another quote from Phil after a shouted-out audience request – “Yeah, let’s play that. I can play what I want at home!)

We took our 8-year old daughter to the show, where she danced the night away with no apparent ill effects from the late hour (except her choice of dance partners perhaps). I know it was a school night.  And it was in a bar.  All I know is I wish someone had taken me to see the Blasters when I was 8 (well, way back then it would have been Enrico Caruso, but you get my meaning!). Besides, she’s already been to a Dave Alvin show, why shouldn’t she also see Brother Phil?

You just barely see Phil Alvin's head in the background.

Considering that nearly half of the near capacity crowd had traveled from Syracuse, please don’t tell me that Syracuse won’t support acts like this.

That being said, thanks to Dan Smalls for bringing the Blasters to central New York.  He is doing a great job of getting acts that have never stopped anywhere outside of Buffalo, and perhaps Albany, to stop off in the region.

Catch the Blasters when they are in your area – they are a true American treasure.

]]> http://crippler.wordpress.com/2010/03/13/the-blasters-ithacany-31110/feed/ 3 crippler 2008Blasters DSCN8206 Phil%20Alvin keithwyatt Dad and Ana Ana @ blasters http://crippler.wordpress.com/2010/03/12/whod-a-thunk-it/ http://crippler.wordpress.com/2010/03/12/whod-a-thunk-it/#comments Fri, 12 Mar 2010 13:27:17 +0000 crippler http://crippler.wordpress.com/?p=77 ]]> Wendy Bird

I received a very nice email from Colin Nairne of Beaumont Classic Records, the label that released Wendy Bird’s CD  Natural Wonder, which really is a wonder.  Here is an excerpt of what Colin wrote:

“A little more background on “Natural Wonder”…

We made several attempts at recording a CD for Wendy, and eventually our good friend Craig Northey came to the rescue and figured that she should record the songs of Jeff Hatcher. Songs she knows so well. Everyone involved in the record, (and as you know there are some pretty big names), each got paid only $100, (including Elvis and Mike Fraser, who had just finished mixing AC/DC’s Black Ice the day before he mixed Wendy’s record). They helped out because they all thought she should have a record. With that in mind, we decided early in the process to make this record ‘art for art’s sake’ and we would not go in search of fame or fortune, nor are we really in a position do so.

If we sell our entire run, we will still be in theoretical debt, but happily so, because we have had the sheer and utter enjoyment of being in a recording studio with our friends, all playing parts off charts, all at once and nailing a track in two takes, (sometimes three, but never more). The fact that you enjoy the record and have written a great review is fantastic and it’s nice for us to know that there are people out there (like you) that get it…..so again thanks.

We have had to let ‘Natural Wonder’ find it’s own audience and we are just getting around to having our record release party in April. It will be another way to say thanks to the people that helped make it. As far as gigs, Wendy does shows with Barney Bentall’s ‘Grand Cariboo Opry’, and they perform a couple of songs from the record. She does well with off stage sales at these kinds of things, and the whole experience has been a nice way to get her back out in front of people. No big plans, just plans that fit.

Your blog brought customers in from Ireland, England, the Netherlands, US and Japan. Very far reaching, and I hope they like the record as much as you.”

It really knocks me out that in this day and age of corporate greed, with most record companies being piggies at the troth playing it safe with their CD releases, that there are people like the folks at Beaumont who are willing to put their time and money on the line to produce a record for no other reason but the love of the music.  I sincerely hope that Wendy and Colin do sell out their run of Natural Wonder and are forced to print more so keep buying that CD people - I want to hear more from Wendy(click on the picture of Wendy to order).

By the way, I’ve been asked what the category “Canophilia” is.  I’m not sure if it is a word, but if not it was coined by me to describe my love for things Canadian.  I fell in love with the neighbors to the north many years ago when I used to listen to Peter Gzowski’s  “Morningside” and Arthur Black’s “Basic Black” on CBC radio.