Americana Gazette February/March 2011 Issue

MERICANA GAZETT E A February / March 2011

Feature Story: Aaron Williams The Sweethearts Kate Jacobs Marshall Chapman Lefty Frank James Abella Mel Tillis Matt Gary Mark Croft Good N Loud Allyson Reza

AMERICANA GAZETTE PUBLISHER Joyce Ziehli • jziehli@advisorymgt.com

Greetings: Well, it appears that we all survived the holidays! I was getting a little nervous around December 23rd as that is when the big chunk of ice fell on Andy’s head last year, which caused him to have several stitches and was unable to get my Christmas presents wrapped!

Anyway, December 23rd came around and all was well until I called Andy on my way home from work to see if he wanted to meet me at the store. His response was, “I’m still on the bus and am in the ditch”. He was not really in the chatting mood so I said see you at home. Well, here is what happened. Andy backed the school bus into the driveway for his last stop of the year, he was wishing the two young gentlemen a Merry Christmas when suddenly the road gave way and the bus tipped at a 45 degree angle. Andy helped shove the two boys out the door and told them to get as far away from the bus as possible. Then he called the school for a tow truck. The first tow truck driver took one look and said, “uh uh, I don’t have enough experience to try and get this out.” So while Andy waited for another tow truck from the East side of Madison, he sat quietly, turned the bus on every 10 minutes to stay warm, listened to the radio, and even took a quick nap. Andy didn’t dare release his seat belt and get up as he was afraid the bus would tip all the way over – he was undoubtedly playing the part of counterweight. When the tow arrived, they put on cables and pulled the bus out, only when they released the tension, the bus flung back into the ditch. It was like a ride at the fair!!!! Andy said there was a post there and he was praying he didn’t get impaled. A second attempt got them out and all was well. Andy’s first order of business when released from his seat was to “pee”. Indeed this was a priority. He finally arrived home around 7:00 P.M. so that we could now enjoy our Holiday!!! December 23, 2011 Andy will not be working! Says me and OSHA…………

The Holidays were great! Fudge Season was in full swing. We geared up for the two big games, the Badgers at the Rose Bowl and the Packers against the Bears.

I even sent my favorite little Nashville football fan some appropriate attire to cheer on his Wisconsin teams.

And when the Badgers and Packers weren’t playing, he could pretend he was Swiss and get decked out in his little Baby Swiss Cheese outfit. He’s probably the only little Nashville dude with a Baby Swiss Cheese outfit!

Baker Cooper, Badger fan, Packer fan and sometimes Swiss son of Peter & Charlotte Cooper.

Let’s all have a great 2011 and remember your Sweetheart on Valentine’s Day! Till next time, Joyce Ziehli Publisher

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SENIOR EDITOR Andy Ziehli • aziehli@advisorymgt.com STAFF WRITERS/PHOTOS Rob Kosmeder Litt Dubay Robert Hoffman Jim Smith Rosemary Ziehli Andrew Pulver Frye Gaillard FACEBOOK Rob Kosmeder CREATIVE DIRECTOR Ric Genthe • rgenthe@charter.net The Americana Gazette is printed by: The Print Center • Brodhead, Wi. 53520 AMERICANA GAZETTE % Andy & Joyce Ziehli P.O. BOX 208 • Belleville, WI. 53508 OFFICE: 608-424-6300 Andy Cell: 608-558-8131 Joyce Cell: 608-558-8132

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A Salesperson to sell advertising for the Americana Gazette. We are looking for someone to sell advertising for the Americana Gazette. The Americana Gazette is a bi-monthly arts and music publication that is featured in print and on-line. This would be a great part-time job for someone who is looking to make a little extra cash each month. This is a commission’s paid position. The commission’s rate is 15% of all sales you make. If you are interested please call 608-558-8131 or email aziehli@advisorymgt.com. w w w. a m e r i c a n a g a z e t t e . n e t

Welcome to

Americana Gazette TABLE OF CONTENTS FEATURE STORY 8 Aaron Williams

WHERE TO LOOK: 3

1/2 Notes

4

Litt DuBay’s Slant

5

Women In The Round The Sweethearts

6

Kate Jacobs

8

Aaron Williams

10 CD Reviews 11 Ole Lefty Frank James 12 A Pet Note 13 They Came to Nashville 14 Mel Tillis 16 Matt Gary 18 3 for 1 19 We Did It Before...

20 Good N Loud Music 22 Red Underwear...

23 Four Of A Kind, Part 1

about it being a great gift. We still have the one Margaret and Henry gave us 32 years ago and we use it often!

1/2 Notes

Huffing Glues is going in to the studio on Saturday February 12th to cut some tracks for a new CD. They will be recording at Sugar River Studios in Belleville.

Matt Belknap will be releasing his solo CD the first of March. The CD was recorded and mixed at Sugar River Studios by Andrew Pulver.

Hats off to Steph Elkins and her new gig as host of Simply Folk on Wisconsin Public Radio. On the air since 1979, Simply Folk brings you concerts recorded in Wisconsin ...songs for the season... the music and dance of people the world over. It's broadcast on 39 stations and online every Sunday evening from 5pm until 8pm. For those of you who don’t know Steph, she is an amateur singer and guitar player with a love of renaissance, baroque and folk music, and she has hosted classical music on Wisconsin Public Radio since March 2007. She is also one of the founders of Broadjam with her husband Roy Elkins. Look for a story on Steph in the April/May edition of the Americana Gazette and make sure you give a listen to her on WPR. Gary Gruenenfelder, brother of Mark,Al, and Paul Gruenenfelder of the Greenfield Brothers is recovering from a brain aneurism which he suffered in November 2010.

Gary was in a comma for 41 days. He is making great progress and is currently looking to leave the rehab center and go to a long term care center to complete his recovery and then back home. We wish Gary and his family the best and a speedy recovery. The Americana Gazette would also like to offer our condolences to the Gruenenfelder family on the loss of their Mother, Margaret in January. Margaret was a wonderful lady full of wit who loved music and watching her “boys” play.

Joyce and I knew Margaret for over 40 years and we always enjoyed our conversations and time spent with her.

When we got married Margaret gave us a small blue roasting pan and told us that this was the one gift when she got married she appreciated the most. She used it every week to cook something in. When I had my hardware store in Blanchardville I always kept a supply on hand for Margaret to give as gifts. Margaret was right

Belleville held their first music crawl in January and it was a huge success. Five clubs hosted live music with a $5.00 cover getting you into all the shows. The variety of music included Classic Roc, Gypsy, Bluegrass, Country, and Honky Tonk country music. Hats off to the performers for playing for this event.

Don Ward is cutting some tracks using local musicians and musicians from California. This cross country musical trip is slated to be finished this spring.

Electric Blue2 has added two new members. Tim Haak on lead guitar and Bob Winkleman on drums. The new band played out at the Music Crawl to a standing room only totally grid-locked crowd at the Damm Bar. This show rocked!!! I was blown away by the sound these guys put out. Haak and Winkleman joinTony DiPofi,Dale Freidig, and Scott Hare. Marc Barnaby also played that day with the band. It was one of the best shows I have seen live in a long time. Hats off to you guys!!!! Look for a story on Electric Blue2 in the April/May edition of the Americana Gazette.

Phil Lee has been writing songs for a new CD.Word is that he is rehearsing with members of Crazy Horse.

Knowing Phil this will be quite an adventure!

Sugar River Studios and the Americana Gazette are set to start putting together the tracks for the Green County Songwriters CD. It will be a collection of songs donated

by Green County Songwriters to raise money for Special Olympics in Green County. Artists who have signed on so far include,Jimmy Voegeli,Mauro Magellan,Marc Barnaby, Beth Kille, Rita Witter, Billy Schmidt, Rob Kosmeder, Matt Belknap, Gerry Grouthous,Tony DiPofi, John Miller, Patrick Bodell, and Andy Ziehli. If there are any other Green County Songwriters interested in joining this CD please give any a call at 608-558-8131 or email him at aziehli@advisorymgt.com. The CD will be released in May 2011.

24 That Sacred Space 25 Robert’s Ramblings 26 Mark Croft 29 Enjoy Music

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Date:______________________________________ 3

Litt DuBay’s

Rant!

again” I love oxymoron’s.

We got a new Governor here in Wisconsin. Says he’s gonna bring 250,000 new jobs to the State. First thing he’s gonna do is put a large number of State workers out of work. Wonder if they are counted in the 250,000 jobs he’s gonna bring.

by Litt DuBay The Republicans are mad as hell and they are going to Ole Litt Dubay here folks all rested up after a stupendous Fudge Season

wipeout everything the President has accomplished in the last two years. This will make America better according to them. Let’s see, no money for health care, reduced money for education, cut food subsidies, yea that will make America a better place to live.Wrong!!!

with The Big Guy (Andy) as he is known around these parts. December 23rd is not his day.

Last

year

22#

a

chunk of ice fell off the roof and caved his head in and he had to get 25 stitches by ole Doc Roberts. This year he was backing a

Shame Shame Shame on all you musicians in Madison that helped bring to a close the last real music store in town, Good N Loud. It is a down right crime that with all the musicians in Southern Wisconsin you could not tear yourself away from Guitar Center and buy your gear from Good N Loud. Even if you did half your yearly purchases from Good N Loud they would still be able to keep the door open. Good N Loud would match the online store prices so there was no excuse for not buying from them. Guitar Center is a cancer that grows slowly on the musical landscape. Beware, when everyone else is gone and they are the only one left in brick and mortar retail we will all pay the price!!!

We are a regional advocacy, technical assistance and networking program for all types of creative entrepreneurs – including visual artists, composers, musicians, writers, actors, dancers, and choreographers. We connect artists and arts leaders throughout southwest Wisconsin. :H DGYRFDWH IRU WKH DUWV :H GHOLYHU ZRUNVKRSV DQG HGXFDWLRQDO offerings on entrepreneurial skill topics :H IRVWHU FRPPXQLFDWLRQ DPRQJ artists and arts groups via email updates containing information about grants, workshops, and opportunities.

2XU RQ OLQH GLUHFWRU\ RI DUWLVWV KHOSV creative entrepreneurs increase their visibility. $UWV%XLOG LV FRPSOHWHO\ IUHH WR MRLQ

Carol Spelic 608.342.1314 spelicc@uwplatt.edu

school bus in a drive way on the 23rd when the road gave way and the bus tipped sideways and left the Big Guy trapped for three hours until two wreckers could

Well while I’m still in a festive mood I will sign off and say “Have a great year and take some time for yourself”.

right the bus. The last two kids got out okay and were safe at home before the wreckers got there. The Big Guy

Litt Dubay

had to pee so bad when he got out that he just whipped it out and went. Joyce asked him if he had the decency to at least go around the side of the bus and he said he did not have time to. Next year Joyce said he can’t leave the house on the 23rd.

Musically I hope 2011 is a good year for everyone. I know it sounds like Ole Litt is getting soft but I truly mean it. We need to straighten out a few things business wise in 2011 and get wider playlists on radio stations so more people can have a piece of the pie. We also have to put the try back in Country and get a little more twang and a lost less classic rock sound in the music. It’s about time to have a “New Traditionalist Movement

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THE SWEETHEARTS

...OF NEW GLARUS, WISCONSIN On a cold Sunday morning, while sitting at the Fat Cat Coffee Works,sipping on a hot chocolate,I was joined by the “The Sweethearts” to talk about their beginning, the band, songwriting and their future goals!!!

Sweethearts indeed! The group consists of Julia Barnaby, Evonne Strahm and Grace Moen. What a bunch of talented young women. I really enjoyed visiting with them and listening to their stories.Wow! As the three of them enjoyed their Strawberry Smoothies, the conversation went a little like this: Joyce: Well ladies, let’s start out by you telling me a little bit about yourselves and how you became interested in music?

Julia: I’m 10 years old and in the 5th grade at New Glarus School. My Dad started a band and did the guitar and sang when he was probably about 12 years old. I want to do this too. That’s probably how I got interested in music. (Julia’s dad is the infamous guitar player, Marc Barnaby of the Rain Dogs). I like to listen to pop and country music.

Joyce: Wow, you gals are quite talented! How did you ladies decide to put this band together?

really, really lazy, so lets get up and get crazy with everybody.

Group Answer: We decided to do this band because we were all at a sleep over. We got so bored, we were jumping around and someone said,“why don’t we just start a band?” So we did it. We wrote our first song, “Sweethearts in Wisconsin” at 3:15 A.M.

Evonne: “Cause we’re the Sweethearts in Wisconsin, that’s what we were made to do. We’re just 3 girls living the life, Just wanna dream it through, Just wanna be it to.

Joyce: Do you guys write your songs as a group, or does one of you do most of the writing?

Grace: We have 21 songs that we wrote. We were coming home from a softball game and talked about having a sleep over because we had another game the next day.

It was 3:15 A.M. when we wrote our first song. We usually try to come up with a melody, then we write words to go along with it. We have written about 6 or 7 together. Usually there are random melodies that come in my head. Then I write them down.

Joyce: Do you have a favorite song?

Julia:“Sweethearts in Wisconsin”

Grace: I’m in 6th grade and I’m 11 years old. I’ve always been interested in music since I was real little.

Joyce:What instruments do you young ladies play?

Grace: I play a little bit of guitar, piano, percussion and I think that’s all. I’ve had piano and guitar lessons. I play percussion in the school band.

Evonne: I play the guitar and I’m starting lessons. I take piano lessons and I know the drums.

Julia: My dad’s giving me guitar lessons and I play piano.

I read some music, I play by ear and I have some lessons.

I do clarinet in the school band. w w w. a m e r i c a n a g a z e t t e . n e t

Evonne: “Cause we’re the Sweethearts in Wisconsin, that’s what we were made to do. We’re just 3 girls living the life, Just wanna dream it through, Just wanna be it to.

Joyce: This is what started it all!! Grace,how about you?

A favorite song?

Grace: “Missing You”. I wrote this when my Grandma died. It goes like this:

Joyce:Then you add the music?

Group: Yup.

Evonne: I’m in 6th grade and I’m 12 years old. I think I became interested in music because my Grandpa plays guitar.

Julia: One girl has the music, one girl has the beat, one girl has the melody and we have the heat.

Joyce: Can you share a verse or two with me?

Julia: I’m sitting on the floor at 3:15 A.M., we’re watching the moonlight passing through the sky; The music in my head is so shy, and we’re not gonna say good-bye, to our small home state Wisconsin.

Evonne: “Cause we’re the Sweethearts in Wisconsin, that’s what we were made to do. We’re just 3 girls living the life, Just wanna dream it through, Just wanna be it to.

Julia: The sky is dark and the stars are still shining bright and I don’t believe what’s happening now. I’m feeling

I’m standing there,thinking about you,waiting for you to be here. You might not know when I’m around, but I’ll wait just in case. And I really care, I just look like I don’t, but sometimes I need you back, because I miss you. It’s not fair, I know it had to happen somehow, but why now? I’m angry that I didn’t get to spend more time with you. And I know you miss me too. What will I do?

What will I do when I’m missing you? And you miss me too, I’m missing you. Now your gone and I’m wishing you were here. And I was so young,and I’m so sad,I love you so much. I’m glad that I got to really care. I just look like I don’t, but now I can’t live without you here because I miss you,And I know you miss me too. What will I do? What will I do when I’m missing you? And you miss me too, I’m missing you.

Joyce: Very nice. When you guys play out, who plays what instrument?

Group: We just do vocals now. We are starting to work continued on page 7

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with new album “HOME GAME”, KATE JACOBS emerges from seven years in the domestic trenches…

released January 25, 2011

Kate moved to Hoboken, New Jersey in 1981. Inspired by a Loretta Lynn greatest hits tape, she wrote songs in her head while slogging back and forth to dance rehearsals in SoHo (which was full of big cheap rehearsal space). She tacked a sign up on the bulletin board inside the front door of Maxwell’s:“Got Country Songs. Need Guitar Player.” She got a call from Tim Carroll, a punk rocker who was deeply into Jimmie Rodgers, Johnny Horton and Hank Williams. He taught her three chords — and she proceeded to write a hundred country songs. People compared her to Iris Dement, Nanci Griffith, Lucinda Williams,Townes Van Zant, John Prine and Jiminy Cricket.

Kate spent years writing and recording and touring. She learned more chords and wrote pop songs and punk rock songs and jazz ballads and more country songs. She loved her band, and her band life.After many busy and productive years recording and touring — she put out four albums on the indie Bar/None label— a husband and two little boys came along and enchanted her with their magical powers and she opted to spend more time at home. But she didn’t stop writing.

Kate found herself antsy to get out and play and write and sing and hang with her musician pals again. Earlier this year she launched Radio Free Song Club, a live monthly podcast with old friends like Freedy Johnston, Peter Holsapple,Amy Rigby and Victoria Williams, recruiting Nicholas Hill (WFMU, WFUV, Sirius) to host (http://radiofreesongclub.com). Now she’s releasing her fifth album, Home Game.

Home Game was made over a period of years busy with domestic events.“No sooner would we book the studio than someone would have a baby, or leave to go take care of their parents, or tend their marriage, or become a teacher,” she recalls.

Jacobs recorded the album with her “wonderful, familiar”band; long-time collaborator Dave Schramm (Yo La Tengo, the Replacements, Freedy Johnston) producing.They’ve developed their sound over the years, adding to ringing guitars, sticky melodies and twangy country some cool bossa nova (a childhood addiction to Stan Getz’s Jazz Samba is responsible for that one), some Songbookish swing tunes (ditto Cole Porter) and a little Motown too.“All in under 36 minutes!” Kate says happily.

These songs are dispatches from the home front. Only the first one, the sweet, moody rocker “Rey Ordonez,” is about being a musician — and it’s about missing being a musician. Kate says,“I love touring, but I left the road to have a family. So the first song is my record of band life, and the rest are what comes after.Writing the domestic life is an honorable tradition, and you have to live it to write it.”

6

Home Game is a time capsule.The title song, an unclassifiable pop gem written with music by Schramm, expresses the relief of having a baby after a very long wait. Jacobs wrote the classy swing tune “All the Time in the World” for her newborn son who is now in fifth grade.“$55 Hotel,” shredded by the band, is a bitter, wickedly funny story she heard in the park from another mom.“Jesus Has Been Drinking” is a back-porch waltz about a man she’s seen every day for 20 years on Hoboken’s main drag.The plaintive, soul-tinged“Make Him Smile”and sleepy dobro-drenched“Time for Bed”are about being married — the war and the peace of it. Chamber pop song “Love Comes and Goes” and the romping country duet “Good Enough” are about being unmarried, and a little weary of the pursuit.The bossa nova tune “On My Monitor” is about a doomed girl who popped up unbidden on an AOL news byte.

The above information was supplied to me by my dear friend, Cary Baker of Conqueroo and he was kind enough to set up a telephone interview for me. Settled into my comfy chair, with a nice cup of hot chocolate, I chatted with Kate Jacobs about her family life and her music career. This is how that conversation went on this cold Winter Wisconsin day: Joyce: I love the cover on your new CD. Who did this for you?

Kate: Thank you! I drew it myself!

Joyce: Wow. Well, let’s get started. Tell me a little bit about Kate Jacobs, the child.

Kate: I was a lucky child. My parents both love to sing; there was always a lot of singing going on in the household. My dad must know a million folk songs and old Tin Pan Alley tunes and opera. My mother is Russian and she has a great repertoire, beautiful Russian ballads and folk songs and the moodier standards, like Old Black Magic. I have two sisters who love to sing as well so we sang all the time.

Joyce: What types of music did you listen to, what inspired you?

Kate: We weren’t audiophiles—we had an old cupboard full of LP’s. It was just a mish mash of jazz, folk, opera, ballet scores, musicals.When my brother got older he started buying albums and then we had 60s rock records too. As I get older, I hear the influence of that cupboard full of records more and more in my own songs.

Joyce: Kate, do you play any instruments? w w w. a m e r i c a n a g a z e t t e . n e t

Kate:When I started writing songs, I picked up the guitar. I learned 3 chords and wrote country songs. For many years I just had my 3 chords, then I started learning more. I can’t really play piano, but I can write melodies on the piano. I hope to learn more about the keyboard and harmonics as my songs get more complicated.

Joyce: Where have you played at? And where do you want to play at?

Joyce: Where do you get your ideas for your songs?

Julia: We play when my Dad has jobs during his breaks.

Kate: They come from observing life. I write stories. I’m not an inward looking writer. This album is quite personal, being about family life. Many of the songs are about other parents, other situations, other people’s marriages – (we both laugh).

Evonne: We might do the talent show this year. It’s sometime in March at the New Glarus School.

Joyce: You have two kids, right? How do you jumble your life around to do your music and raise a family?

Kate: I really don’t have to jumble it around too much. I had my children very late and was just so delighted to have them, I let everything else drop—well, not everything, I kept writing. It is easier now that they are getting older.

on adding the instruments. Evonne will do drums, Julia will play guitar and Grace will be the lead singer. We are just doing acapella now.

Grace: We have played at Flannery’s and we played at Oktoberfest in New Glarus. I would like to play at Puempel’s when other bands play there. We could maybe play when they have a break.

Joyce: Have you ladies thought about doing a CD? Group: We have one. We all three have one. We want to do one up to sell to our friends and relatives. Lots of people keep asking for them.

Joyce:You grew up in Virginia. Where are you living now?

Kate: I’ve been in Hoboken for years – hometown of Frank Sinatra.

Joyce: All three of you have on your cool pink “The Sweethearts”T-shirts. Who designed this? Where can you purchase this?

Joyce: How are you planning on promoting your new CD, concerts, touring?

Evonne: We all did.

Kate: I used to tour a lot. I loved that aspect of the music life — being in a band and on the road. Nothing is more fun than that. I miss it, but I don’t want to do it right now. I’d miss out on too much family life. I’m just across the river from New York City, so there are lots of places to play around here. The internet, weird as it is, makes it easier to promote music from home.

Grace: They have the design at the Graphics Store here in town and you can get a tshirt there. He will make them up.

Joyce: Let’s talk a little about your new CD,“Home Game”. Do you have a favorite song on the album?

Joyce: Ladies, if you had the chance to perform with anyone, maybe do a duet, whom would you like to perform with?

Evonne: I have two. Justin Bieber and Taylor Swift.

Julia: Taylor Swift because she is unique and she’s my favorite.

Kate: I’m fond of the first one,“Rey Ordonez.” It’s a nostalgic song about driving in the van and listening to baseball games on the radio.

Grace: Also Taylor Swift and Justin Bieber. They are my idols.

Joyce: Any other stories about any of the songs you’d like to share?

Joyce: Do you think Justin Bieber is cute?

Kate: “$55 Hotel” is a bitter, funny story I heard in the park from another mom. I like the way it turned out. It allowed me to channel my anger towards her rotten husband. (we laugh)

Group all together:

“Time for Bed” is one all parents can relate too. The kids are in bed, you’re tired at the end of a long day and looking for a beer and a chat.

Joyce: What will we be hearing about Kate Jacobs in the future?

Kate: Well, I launched Radio Free Song Club, a live monthly podcast with some friends and colleagues like Victoria Williams, Laura Cantrell, Freedy Johnston, Peter Holsapple,Amy Rigby, a few others.We each write a new song every month and put them together into a rambling live show.We have special guests too, like Susan Cowsill,Todd Snider, Beth Orton, like that. (Check this out at http://radiofreesongclub.com )

Yeah!!!!!!! (giggles)

Joyce: Let’s talk about future goals?

Group: We want to get the instruments added in within the next couple of months.

We want to make our band more public, want more people to know about it so we could play more places. We would like to get our own website and get on face book.

When we played at Puempel’s we were recorded and would like to get this on our website soon. And do a CD! Joyce: That’s super,now let’s talk about a little bit further out in the future. What about when you are done with high school? College?

Grace: I want to go to college for music, have a band and be the lead singer.

Joyce: Kate, whom would you like to perform with if the opportunity arose?

Julia: I want to go to college and be like my dad and put the band back together. I also want to be a hair stylist. (Julia’s mom is the owner of Julia Grace Salon in Madison.)

Kate: I’d love to play more with jazz musicians and composers, who could take my melodies and harmonize them in unexpected ways.

Evonne: I’m not positive on what I want to do yet.

Joyce: Do you think your kids will be in the music business? Will you encourage them if they do?

Kate: They are both musical. I’m not sure I would encourage them, but I would certainly support them.

Joyce: Any words of wisdom for women in the music business?

Kate: I have to admit the internet really opens things up. You can do what you want, you can do many things yourself and not have to wait around for someone to give you permission. And you can work from home if you have young children!

Joyce: Where can people buy your CD at?

Kate: They can get it from my website at: www.katejacobsmusic.com Joyce: Thank you so much for your time and good luck to you. It was nice chatting with you.

Grace: If I can’t be in a band, I want to be a hair stylist too.

The Sweethearts joined together and sang me their song,“Sparkle”. They are three very talented,determined young women to make it in the music business. They shared with me that other students wanted to join their group, but they wanted to just keep the three of them and suggested that they start their own band if they were really interested in doing so. The girls will continue to practice, between basketball, piano lessons, school etc. Their families are supportive and I do believe that some of this talent has been passed on through hereditary means. Julia’s dad Marc Barnaby is one of the best guitar players/performers around, Grace’s mom is a great singer and Evonne says her Grandpa is very talented and a good songwriter! The girls didn’t have a choice but to inherit these talents!

I wish Julia,Evonne,and Grace the best in their future and you readers be sure to check them out if they are performing in your area. If you would like to book them for a party or to play for an event, please contact Marc Barnaby at: 608-712-9287 or 608-5273564.

Story and photos by: Joyce Ziehli

Kate: Thanks so much. I enjoyed it as well.

Story by: Joyce Ziehli Photos supplied. w w w. a m e r i c a n a g a z e t t e . n e t

7

Aaron Williams:

Blues & Roll for the Masses

A

aron Williams is one of the hottest Blues men on the scene today in Wisconsin and the Mid-west. A scientist by trade he swapped his Bunsen burners and test tubes for a Fender Telecaster and Super Reverb.

Williams has been playing professionally for 10 years; first with his late father’s band Cadillac Joe and now with Aaron Williams and the Hoodoo.

Williams and the Hoodoo put on an explosive live show! You won’t believe your eyes or ears! Playing their trademark Blues & Roll they have been tearing up the Mid-west for three years now. In 2011 a new studio CD, a live CD, bigger tours with upwards to 200 shows on the road is in store for them. Williams will be a very busy man.

I caught up with Aaron on a Tuesday morning in January where we talked over coffee about his music, the road, and what the future holds for Aaron Williams and the Hoodoo.

AG: You are going into the studio to cut a new album soon.

Williams: Yea we are going in February in Milwaukee. Geoff Wilborn and Jack Laturno are engineering and producing it.

AG: Is this album going to be all original music?

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Williams: We are not really sure right now. We have 11 originals that we feel are ready to record. We are going to record this CD live in the studio so you never know what happens and hits you when recording that way. We’ll play the songs and listen to how they turn out, and if we don’t like them we’ll add some covers from our live set. We want to end up with 10 songs.

AG: Are you using just your band, or are there going to be guest artists?

Williams: We have a wish list for some special players like Jimmy Voegeli on Hammond and a Chicago Harp player, but we’ll have to see how it goes. The CD is really meant to be about the three of us and how we sound live. That will determine if the guests play or not.

AG: Let’s talk about your live shows. You have been traveling a lot especially in the South. How do you guys go over there?

Williams: It’s been fun to find out how things work out in the world outside of Wisconsin. We tour a lot doing 150-200 shows a year. As we get out we are finding that we are really accepted in places like Kentucky and Georgia. They seem to really like us there. They like our style of music and crowds keep getting bigger every show and we keep getting work there so the club owners are happy too. Western Kentucky is a great place to play. In fact we are booked for two nights in a row at this club we work there. There are places like Southern Illinois where we have not caught on yet, but that’s the way it works.

It’s hard to play when the crowd does not get it!

AG: So with your Blues & Roll moniker how do the crowds react? Do you get instant feedback or does it take a while for them to get it? Do they want just covers?

Williams: We’ve been able to pick venues that support original music and have gone over well in them. There are bands that play covers and do it well. We are just not that kind of band. We do play some covers, but we make them our own.

It’s recognizable, but it’s different. It makes it special that people are digging our tunes. That really gets you going!

AG: You know the curse around Southern Wisconsin is that you just can’t be an original band and make money. That’s really odd for as many songwriters and good songwriters there are here. I just interviewed a performer who has been making music here since the 60’s and he said that it was that way back then. Crowds around here just don’t want original music.

Williams: I wonder about that. I think sometimes the people who control the music venues don’t give the crowds enough credit for wanting to hear original music. Clubs like the High Noon, Harmony, and Club Tavern, they get it. They let you play the kind of music you are good at, original or covers. It’s too bad that some of the other clubs don’t see it like those folks do. When we get to some of the smaller venues they want covers, it’s hard to go after those jobs so we generally stay away from places that want covers.

AG: How did you get started playing?

AG: How do you travel?

Williams: In a van. The great American road show! One person drives, the other two sleep. We have had the van for two years and have put on over 90,000 miles. It’s also our hotel a lot of nights. When we started out we wanted to experience the “band” travel in a van, you know the excitement of the road and now we know! (laughs) It’s not what it’s cracked up to be. The excitement wore off after the first night sleeping in it!

AG: How do describe your sound?

Williams: That’s the hardest thing for an artist to do. We all want to be creative and say that we are doing something new, but we all borrow from the past. I really try to be sincere in the music that I play and not be so new that it doesn’t click with the audiences. We call our music Blues & Roll. It’s not the Blues Rock that Stevie Ray Vaughn did. We respect him and what he did but we don’t play like that. We also don’t play like Zeppelin or Canned Heat. We combine it all and make it our own. w w w. a m e r i c a n a g a z e t t e . n e t

AG: Let’s talk about songwriting. When did you start writing and how do you construct your songs?

Williams: I’m not really sure when I started. It was about the same time I started singing. When I played with my dad he did all the songwriting. I did write instrumentals, but no lyrics. So I’d have to say it has been in the last three years that I got started.

The first CD was very light lyrically. You can get away with that in straight blues by repeating verses. It took a while to get to be a better more direct songwriter. Beth Kille has really helped me with that. We talk about inspiration and using that to write better songs. After my dad passed away I started to use that as inspiration to write with. Beth has helped me turn that into music. I think a lot of musicians are guarded and don’t let others into their worlds so when they write something on such personal levels you get that gut feeling that you get when you connect with a song that you hear.

AG: How do you start your songs?

Williams: I am a guitar player first and foremost so I always start out with a riff or chord progression. I’m always strumming a guitar while I’m watching TV so I come up with riffs or parts and I work from there. I get writer’s block a lot and have to work through it. I look at pictures and try to figure out what happened just before it was taken or right afterwards.

I’m not someone who can just sit down and write.

AG: When you get writer’s block, how long does it usually last?

Williams: It can last a long time.

When I started to get ready to write for this CD I had it for about six months and I was freaking out. Then one day a song just came out and I was able to write again. Since then it has been easier.

AG: When you go out on the road how long are your tours?

Williams: The longest so far has been two weeks. That was from the Twin Cities to St. Louis to Atlanta to Nashville to Indianapolis back to Madison. We have been staying in a 10 hour radius of Madison. This year though we are looking to expand that. We wanted to get a home base started and hit the same clubs every four months to build a following.

with my band. I’ve only been signing a short time.

I started singing three months before we played out the first time. I was so shy about people hearing me sing. The hardest thing for me has been getting my vocals to catch up with my guitar playing and songwriting. It takes time to get good at something as every musician will tell you, so I’m just getting to like my singing.

AG: Do you ever co-write?

Williams: My dad, Cadillac Joe had jams at our house when I was growing up but I never really took to the music or the guitar then. I was into sports. One day oddly enough I heard a Stevie Ray Vaughn song and I could not believe you could play guitar like that. I had been messing around with a guitar for about a year at that time. I was playing grudge at the time. My dad was happy to see me get into Vaughn’s music and it gave us something to connect with. At that point we started jamming together in the basement. One day he asked me to join his band and we started touring together for about five years. When he gave it up I started my own band.

AG: Did you sing in your Dad’s band?

Williams: No not at all. I just started singing

Williams: No I have not, but I would like to try it.

As a band we work out our parts together, but I have never sat down just to write with someone.

AG: Have you ever tried shopping your songs out to other artists?

Williams: No, to be honest I have a lot to learn about writing. The direction I write in is the way I hear the songs and I’m not ready to let that go just yet to have someone put their stamp on it.

AG: Your live shows are incredible. How do you keep the energy so long on stage?

Williams: That’s the coolest thing anyone can say to us! We try very hard to put on a quality energetic show. We pride ourselves in our live shows.

We put the gas pedal to the floor. It’s the love of continued on page 28

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CD Review

Out of that collaboration has come the debut CD,“Debbie Hawkins,” serving clear notice that Hawkins is a songwriter to be reckoned with. Her lyrics are edgy, earthy and strong, touching some familiar country music themes, including, of course, infidelity.

One of the most memorable cuts is “Sugarcane,” in which Hawkins applies some Louisiana imagery to a single woman dealing with a married man.

Sugar cane tastes so sweet But you know it rots your teeth Honey, I’m like that sugar, I’m what you want But I’m not what you need Stay away from me Throughout the CD, Hawkins deals frankly with a woman’s sexuality, writing like a modern-day Loretta Lynn.But her commentary has a wider range.In the powerful cuts, “Atonement”and“Everything Money Can Bring,”she takes on the sin of American greed.

One of her characters in these story songs is an old man who has lied and cheated his way to the top, and now hates himself for his lack of generosity. … they say people help themselves, And some people just won’t

Mark Croft ♪♪♪♪♪ Evening Flood Style: Pop/Americana Self-Released This is one of those CD’s that once you put it in your CD player you will not want to take it out! It’s not very often you find 10 songs on a CD of this caliber! Mark Croft has risen to new heights on this, his fourth release.

Evening Flood is a collection of wonderfully written songs that lyrically and musically stand up to any songs written today in L.A., Nashville, or NewYork. The CD kicks off with the title cut and gets right to the heart of what you can expect on this record. I listen to lots and lots of music and I have to say that this CD is sonically one of the best CD’s I have heard from a local artist here in Wisconsin.

Croft’s story telling in his songs are mini novels. You can shut your eyes and see everything in his songs play out in movies in your mind. His chord choices and rhythms are just icing on the cake to his fantastically written lyrics. Croft’s voice is a special treat.

Full, deep, and smooth, a perfect listening experience.

My favorite cut is Good Enough. The guitar and organ are coolly played. The groove is inescapable. I’m a sucker for great Hammond organ and this song has it.The Gas is on is a hip R&B song that will have you stomping your feet and clapping your hands right along. Cripple Me and One Mississippi are Southern grooved funky tunes; slide guitar swampy backbeat and greasy just like a hot night in Louisiana.

The Crow and the Raven is almost World Music style in its form and style. It reminds me of Bill Miller and his styling. The last cut Washing of the Water is a gospel tinged song that is a perfect end to the CD. It’s soothing imagery and flowing lyrical context is both relaxing and spiritual.

Mark Croft is one of the Madison areas finest singer/songwriters. This CD shows his best work to date and deserves to be heard by the masses. Croft hit one out of the park with Evening Flood. Hopefully this will be a huge step towards the big time for him.

It’s that good!

Review by:Andy Ziehli

Debbie Hawkins ♪♪♪♪ Debbie Hawkins Style: Americana/Folk Cascabel Aero Debbie Hawkins is a Louisiana native, raised in the swamps, who later migrated to the Arizona desert where she ran a 7,000-acre cattle ranch. She passed many a solitary hour writing songs, deeply influenced by the folk-country-blues on which she was raised.

Sometimes at night the sound of her music would drift across the wide open spaces, and her nearest neighbor, Miller McPherson, liked what he heard.A folk guitarist who taught sociology at the University of Arizona, McPherson began sitting in with Hawkins on her gigs, including the prestigious Tucson Folk Festival.

And I saw no need for charity helpin’ those that don’t For all its lyrical strength, it is possible to nitpick Hawkins’ CD. Some people may find the arrangements too spare and there is, over the course of a 12-song album, a certain sameness in the meter of the songs. But pick any song and you’ll be struck by the honesty of Hawkins’ voice, the delicacy of McPherson’s guitar, and above all else, by the power of the words. Hawkins, who recently moved to Nashville, has established herself in a short amount of time as one of the city’s most poetic writers.

Review by: Frye Gaillard

Marshall Chapman ♪♪♪♪♪ Big Lonesome Style: Americana/Rockabilly Tall Girl Records A few years ago, Marshall Chapman and her friend Tim Krekel, a fine singer-songwriter and guitar picker with whom she often wrote and performed, were planning to make an album together. They already had a couple of songs – a country lament called“Big Lonesome”and a novelty number called “Sick of Myself” – that could serve as the cornerstone of the record.

But then they got some devastating news. Krekel was diagnosed with cancer, which rapidly progressed, and in the early summer of 2009 he died at the age of 58. In the grief that came with the loss of her friend, Chapman decided to make an album anyway. She found two tracks that she and Krekel had sung together, including their last live performance – a rock ‘n’ roll number called “I Love Everybody” that has all the raw and exuberant energy of Jerry Lee Lewis or the Rolling Stones. There are two other songs Chapman wrote with Krekel, three more that she wrote in his memory, and a rockabilly duet with Krekel’s son, Jason. It is, all in all, a moving tribute to a musical friendship that was one of the most important in Chapman’s life. But “Big Lonesome” is more than that. It is, I think, Chapman’s best album since “Me, I’m Feelin’ Free,”her first record for Epic in the 1970s.

In the intervening years, Chapman has established herself as one of Nashville’s most original songwriters and a live performer in a class by herself. Her eleven CDs have been critically acclaimed for their unpredictability and heart, and “Big Lonesome”is solidly in that tradition. Her music isn’t slick, but it’s always energetic and edgy, and this latest CD seems somehow to be more full of love.

In addition to “I Can’t Stop Thinking About You,” which she wrote for Krekel, she also wrote a tribute to her friend,Willie Nelson, and his sister Bobbie, after spending a few days on their bus.

Bobbie and Willie play music all night Sister and brother what a beautiful sight There are only two covers on this eleven-song CD,Hank Williams’“I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry”and Cindy Walker’s “Going Away Party.”The rest of it is pure Marshall Chapman – songs of introspection and loss, of the giddy pleasure that comes from making music, and the honest love-songs that spring from her heart. Listen to this album a couple of times, and it’ll be hard to get it out of your mind.

Review by: Frye Gaillard continued on page 28

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Ole Lefty Frank James Abella: Still singing Country the way it should be!

Many of you who followed Country Music in Southern Wisconsin know the name Frank “Ole Lefty” Abella. Lefty was a mainstay in Country Music in this area for 4 decades. He owned Country Corners out in Cottage Grove with his then wife Trish, fronted numerous bands, worked for Merle Haggard, and never once wavered from playing straight ahead Country Music. He has recorded three CD’s of his music along with a CD of Marty Robbins tunes. He has worked for TNN as a writer on the game show Fandango and as a writer for WSM’s Waking Crew hosted by Charlie Chase. He has opened or backed such Country stars as Tex Ritter, David Allan Coe, Faron Young, Dave Dudley, and Bobby G Rice. He has won numerous awards including Local Country Artist of the Year, Favorite Country Band, Country & Western Nightclub of the Year, Local Legend, and recently appeared on Shotgun Red’s Variety Show.

To say that Lefty wrote the book on Country Music in Southern Wisconsin is an understatement. His band mates (including Stormy Rice, Walt Houston,The Dixie Drifter, Jerry Rivers, and many others) ruled the local Honkey Tonks for years pumping out honest to goodness Country Music. In the “old” days entertainers like Lefty kept the dance floors full and the booze glasses empty. They were a breed of pickers that you don’t see these days. Armed with Fender Telecasters and Twin Reverbs these guys pumped out music for 5-6 hours a night never repeating songs because their repertoire was so great. No fancy light shows or sound systems, just honest to goodness Country Songs.

I had the pleasure of talking to Lefty before Christmas. We had a fantastic time reminiscing about past glories, old friends, and his plans for the future.

AG: How did you get to Madison?

Lefty: I was married to a woman from Wisconsin in 1964 and we split up. We were living in New York at the time. She took my boy and headed back here to live. I got drafted to go to Vietnam, passed my physical and was already to go to boot camp when I got notice that I was turned down because I had a son. At that time they were not taking people with families so I did not have to go. I took that as a sign and headed off to Wisconsin. May in 1965 I took off for Wisconsin in my Olds Rocket 88 which I wrote a song about with no spare tire and headed here.

AG: Did you always play music, even as a child?

Lefty: I have always made music. My earliest memories of toys I wanted were musical instruments, guitars, harmonicas, drums, etc. I was banging on pots and pans and putting rubber bands on cigar boxes.

AG: Was your family musical?

Lefty: On my Dad’s side, he was an illegal immigrant from Spain. He left us when I was one year old, but he played and so did his family. I started playing upside down left handed. My mother was shocked because that’s the way my dad had played. My dad was a great player and singer. He made a couple of 78’s which I still have. My mom’s families were West Virginia hillbillies and they all played too.

AG: So when you came to Wisconsin did you start playing right away?

Lefty: Yes I did. I met Shirley and Jim Dawson the first day I came to town. Jim was a local DJ and had a show called the Dixie Drifter Show with Shirley the Weather Girl.

I went to find them out in the boonies at the time on Lacy Road at WMAD AM. They were great to me. They treated me like family, fed me gave me a place to stay when I needed one, just great people. They helped me record my first 45. Jim took me down to Nashville to a studio. We toured around 4-5 states looking for radio stations to play my music. We would see a tower and drive to it, then give them a copy of the 45 and try to get them to play it which most did. Nothing like today’s market!

I started a band right away called the Blue Notes. I had met a few musicians and we made music all over. We were pretty big back then.

AG: Who played with you?

Lefty: I had a guitar picker named Caden Johnson,Rolly Drear played bass.

We had to teach him to play. We played at a club called the Onion House down on East Wash where Visions is now.The waitress was a sister to Caden and she talked the owners into having live music. At first we just played Country like Buck Owens,Lefty Frizall, and Ray Price. After a while people told us to get a drummer and then we became more or less a rock band. Back then like now Madison was a place where you had to play everything if you wanted to work steady. There was such a different crowd makeup because of the University, Oscar Mayer, and Truax Field. A lot of different folks wanting a lot of different music.

There were great musicians around at that time playing the clubs. Guys like Jerry Francois, Donny Ward, Chuck Johnson, Billy Wayne, Bobby G. Rice, Lloyd Kay, and The Rice Family with Loraine Rice who even had a TV Show. Just tremendous pickers and singers. John Ponti had a hell of a nightclub that was always packed. Club 18 was another great club.

AG: In the 70’s what was it like?

Lefty: I played around here until about ‘73 and then I moved back East. I had a lot of friends out there that were making some headway in the music business so I went to see what was going on. I hooked up with Shorty and Smokey Warren. They played the Opry and a lot of big shows on the Eastern Seaboard. We backed folks like Jack Greene, David Houston, guys like that. We also played a lot of Western Swing. That kind of petered out so I hooked up with an old girlfriend and we moved back to Wisconsin in 1975. I continued to play music here until about 1980 when I met Gordon Terry who worked for Haggard and I went with them for a few years. I worked for Lewis Talley who worked for Haggard. I did that for two years.

AG: When did you start writing songs?

Lefty: I started writing seriously in about 1981. My first records were covers. After I released them I started dabbling in writing. I wrote a lot when I lived in Nashville, I haven’t written anything for quite a while. The bug kind of left me lately.

continued on page 21

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A PET NOTE

and now for something a little different. . . . . .

“MAYBELLINE” – Farmer Jason’s favorite chicken!

For you readers that have been with us from the beginning, you will recognize the name Farmer Jason, aka Jason Ringenberg, aka Jason and The Scorchers! Jason is a good friend of mine and I felt it was about time I featured one of his favorite pets.

Now Farmer Jason has many pets on the farm, but he has one in particular that he is quite taken with and that is his favorite pet chicken, Maybelline.

As you can see from the photo, Maybelline is a very attractive chicken, as chickens go. She excelled in gymnastics when she was younger and is very good with her balance as you can witness by her sitting on Jason’s guitar neck. Maybelline watches Jason closely as he plays; she is trying to steal some of his guitar licks I think. Her future plans are to become the lead guitar player in Jason and The Scorchers, thinking she will be able to replace the infamous Warner E. Hodges. (Watch out Warner, any “foul” play on your part and you are out of the band).

Now Maybelline came to live with Jason and his family in Bon Aqua,Tennessee as a gift. Lisa Shively, a publicist friend of Jason’s gave Maybelline to him. And what a fine gift she turned out to be. Farmer Jason informed me that Maybelline is very friendly, neat and tidy and a just down to earth kind of gal…..doesn’t this make you all want to get a pet chicken????

Besides being the family pet, Maybelline earns her keep. She is a terrific egg layer and provides Jason and his family with yummy gifts of eggs. And she also provides much entertainment for all of Farmer Jason’s little fans when he is out performing. I hear she has many little fans,“guys and chicks’.

In case you didn’t catch exactly who/what Farmer Jason is or does, I pulled some info from his website to share with you. He is a fascinating man. Check out his website at:www.farmerjason.com and next time you are looking for a party theme – check out a date with Maybelline and book Farmer Jason!!!

Farmer Jason because there is a little farmer in all of us!

When internationally acclaimed singer-songwriter Jason Ringenberg created his family music character FARMER JASON in 2003, he had no idea he was launching what would prove to be the most commercially successful creation of his storied career.With JASON AND THE SCORCHERS, he pioneered the fusion of punk rock and country that turned the music world on its ear in the mid-1980s.

Their first record,LOST AND FOUND,still shows up on critics’“best of the 1980s”lists, and there is an exhibit of them in the COUNTRY MUSIC HALL OF FAME. When Jason went solo in 1999, the LONDON TIMES called him“one of the most dynamic live performers of his generation.”In 2008 the AMERICANA MUSIC ASSOCIATION awarded the band their LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD.Jason could rest easily,assured that his place in rock‘n’roll history was secure.

However, with two sweet, beautiful, preschool daughters missing Daddy Jason during his 200 dates a year touring schedule, Jason wanted to make a cd that his kids could listen to while he was out globetrotting. Since they lived on a small farm near Bon Aqua,Tennessee, and Jason grew up on an Illinois hog farm, he reckoned that a roots oriented record about farming and farm animals was just the ticket. Hence the first Farmer Jason cd,A DAY AT THE FARM WITH FARMER JASON, was born. He released it

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“purely for fun” in the fall of 2003, delighted to hear his daughters singing along.That was the peak of his ambition for it.

To his surprise, soon lots of other daughters and little sons were singing along as well.

Disney’s magazine FAMILY FUN called it“one of the Top 5 Family CDs of 2003.”Farmer Jason, Jason Ringenberg’s “twin brother” (wink wink), was soon doing concerts from inner city schools in Brooklyn to country fairs in rural Norway. In 2006 he released ROCKIN’ IN THE FOREST WITH FARMER JASON.With its stick in your head hooks and subtle lessons about ecology and nature appreciation, the record earned rave reviews, including the PARENTS CHOICE GOLD AWARD. Its success generated even heavier touring around the world, including many major European and US festivals. At the huge STAGECOACH festival USA TODAY called the Farmer Jason show “one of the most memorable of the festival.”

In Tennessee, Nashville Public Television took notice of this new sensation in their back yard, and produced an educational interstitial video series starring Farmer Jason based on songs from the two cds called IT’S A FARMER JASON! To everyone’s delight and surprise, the program won an EMMY AWARD for BEST CHILDREN’S PROGRAM MID SOUTH REGION in 2009. Using those videos and more new footage,Farmer Jason released the IT’S A…FARMER JASON! DVD in May of 2009. One reviewer for DADNABBIT called it “…instantly memorable fun… everything you would want in entertainment for your young ones.”

What started out as a simple side project to entertain his own daughters has grown into a worldwide band wagon pulled by a tractor and a singing farmer.

Information on Maybelline supplied by Jason Ringenberg, written by Joyce Ziehli.

Photos supplied and info on Farmer Jason from Farmer Jason’s website. w w w. a m e r i c a n a g a z e t t e . n e t

“They Came to NASHVILLE” BY: MARSHALL CHAPMAN

“The night I met Billy Joe Shaver, my hair caught on fire.”

So begins Marshall Chapman’s splendid new book,They Came to Nashville,a collection of interviews and profiles about some of the greatest songwriters of our time. Billy Joe Shaver is one of those, and so are Kris Kristofferson, Emmylou Harris, Rodney Crowell and Willie Nelson. But it’s not just anybody telling these stories. Chapman herself is a gifted Nashville artist, her songs having been recorded by Jimmy Buffett, Irma Thomas, Conway Twitty, and Joe Cocker, among many others.

As Peter Guralnick writes in the book’s foreword,“Anyone who has ever seen her onstage knows that Marshall Chapman is a force of nature.” I agree. I first saw her back around 1975 at a club called the Exit Inn in Nashville. I didn’t know her then, though she and I had been classmates in college, and I thought to myself, as she and her band tore through their set, that she seemed somehow like a female Elvis. She was six feet tall with wild blond hair and an electric guitar that dangled from her shoulders,and she moved like the King in tight-fitting jeans. Later, I would learn that Presley, in fact, had played a major role in Chapman’s music.

In the 1950s, when she was seven and living in Spartanburg, SC, she climbed the back stairs of the Carolina Theater with the family baby-sitter and maid, and together they watched from the“colored”balcony as Elvis took control of the stage.“The whole place just shook,” Chapman remembered, and she found herself a child of rock ‘n’ roll. Later, as a student at Vanderbilt, where she graduated in 1971, she was quickly drawn to the songwriting scene – to those wild and unpredictable poets who peddled their wares on Music Row. Chapman discovered that she fit in well.There was something so free about the experience, so improbably high-minded about a creativity that took her near the edge.That was Nashville in the 1970s – and in many ways, it’s still Nashville today – and nobody has ever described it better than Chapman does in this latest book. She weaves in plenty of her own adventures, but with the writing skill of an accomplished author, she strives to keep the focus on her friends.

Kris Kristofferson is the first of her subjects. She met him sometime early in the 1970s, back when his star was first on the rise. He was sitting on the end of a motel bed, singing “Me and Bobby McGhee” in a room that was jammed full of Nashville’s finest.

When he came to the most famous words in the song – “freedom’s just another word for nothing left to lose” – Chapman found it a soul-changing moment. Kristofferson seemed so scruffy and unassuming,so at odds with the world of privilege in which she had been raised, and so completely committed to his craft, that Chapman herself felt compelled to make a choice.

“You can’t have it both ways,Marshall,”she remembers thinking.“You’re either free and open and sensitive to the world, or you’re not.”At that moment, as she writes in her book, Kristofferson embodied the songwriter’s art – that literature of music in which the lyrics themselves, as much as the melody or the sound, or even the charisma of an artist onstage,possessed the power to touch people’s lives.It was,in a sense, the magic of Nashville, and Chapman chased it as hard as anybody.

She writes of nights when they partied hard and long – of a time, for example, when she found herself sitting in the lap of Ian Tyson, a Canadian cowboy who had written such hits as “Four Strong Winds” and “Someday Soon.”As it happened, they were driving a car full of songwriters – both of them literally driving the car, Chapman steering, andTyson,who couldn’t see out,managing the accelerator and the brake.When the car, not surprisingly, wound up in a ditch, they escaped arrest because the police weren’t sure who to charge as the driver.

Nashville is full of those kinds of stories, and Chapman tells them as well as anybody.

She has some rich subject matter. In her interview with Rodney Crowell, for example, she asks him for a story that could only have happened in Nashville. He told her of a day in the 1970s when he was sitting on a front porch with Guy Clark,Townes Van Zandt and a few other songwriters:“We’re all playing music on the front porch, as if it were a stage,” said Crowell.“It was a full-blown hootenanny. Of course,Townes was a w w w. a m e r i c a n a g a z e t t e . n e t

bit too accomplished and too well-known, but he was sitting there drinking and carrying on, and we had a little record player. So we’re all sitting there playing, and here comes this guy walking down the street with a record in his hands… He walks up and says,‘Hey, I heard you guys all playing and, ah…I just made a record.You want to hear it?”“And we went,‘Well, yeah, man, we got a record player. It’s right here.’“…So he plopped down – he was kind of a Spanish-looking fellow – a boy really … just a beautiful boy, at the time.And it was Johnny Rodriguez.And the record was ‘Pass Me By (If You’re Only Passing Through)’ … It was his first record. He didn’t know anybody in Nashville.He was walking,and he happened to hear us playing,so he comes over to see if we wanted to hear his record… “And we all just fell out.We were all slayed by this…

He was so innocent. Just totally guileless. Anyway, that could only have happened in Nashville.”

Chapman’s book is full of such tales – Emmylou Harris telling about her first encounter with Dolly Parton; songwriter Bobby Braddock recalling his collaboration with Curly Putman in writing “D-I-V-O-R-C-E”; and the young and beautiful Miranda Lambert, the twenty-something sensation from Texas, telling the story of a song called “Guilty Sunday,” which she had written but not yet recorded.

“It’s about being with some guy the night before,”she says,“some guy I had no business being with, and knowing I was going to be with him again.”

“Been there,done that,”says Chapman.And the stories continue to roll from there.Some are funny,some poignant and sad,but all are ingredients of the songwriter’s art.As Chapman makes clear in the pages of her book, Nashville is more than a corporate headquarters, a home for the Top 40 country music sound. It has been, and remains, a songwriter’s Mecca, a destination for the Americana artists who, like Chapman, understand that the roots run deep. Marshall Chapman’s book,They Came to Nashville, was released late last year by Country Music Foundation Press in association with Vanderbilt University Press. Simultaneously, Chapman released her latest CD, Big Lonesome (see related review), and she has a supporting role in the current Gwyneth PaltrowTim McGraw movie, Country Strong.“It’s been a busy year,” she says.

Review by: Frye Gaillard

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“You Ain’t Gonna Believe This”...

MEL TILLIS CRACKS BILLBOARD COMEDY CHART AND HIS LATEST CD HAS BEEN NOMINATED FOR A GRAMMY!!!

There seems to be no stopping Country Music Hall of Famer Mel Tillis, as he continues his ascent up the nation’s Billboard Comedy Chart. Tillis currently sits high atop the comedy chart, alongside some of the nation’s funniest comics, including Rodney Carrington, Dane Cook, Robin Williams, Aziz Ansari and “Weird Al” Yankovic. “I’m lovin’ every minute of this ride,”laughs Tillis.“Having a hit country record is one thing,but this is something else. I’m right up there with guys who have been doing this for years, so I guess I must be doin’ something right!”

One could say that country music legend Mel Tillis has just about done it all during his 50+ years in the entertainment business. Throughout his monstrous career, Tillis has recorded more than 60 albums, has had 35 Top Ten singles, was named the Country Music Association’s coveted Entertainer of the Year, is a member of the Grand Ole Opry and holds country music’s highest honor as a member of the Country Music Hall of Fame. He has written over 1,000 songs, 600 of which have been recorded by major artists including Kenny Rogers (“Ruby, Don’t You Take Your Love To Town”),George Strait (“Thoughts of a Fool”),and Ricky Skaggs (“Honey, Open That Door”). Broadcast Music Inc. (BMI) named Tillis Songwriter of the Decade for two decades.

There, now you have a bunch of background information on Mr. Mel Tillis which Katrina Tsang, Assistant to Don Murry Grubbs of Absolute Publicity Inc. out of Nashville was so kind to share with me.

I have been listening to Mel Tillis songs since I was a little girl back on the farm. I also had the pleasure of interviewing his daughter, singer and songwriter Pam Tillis a while back.

Mel was with his daughter, Pam in Branson, Missouri doing some shows at their old theatre, but took off a few minutes to have a chat with me about his new CD. What a nice man, and so funny. I had a side ache from laughing by the time the interview was done. I can see where Pam gets her great personality!!!

Joyce: Well, hello Mr. Mel Tillis. How are you doing today? I’m calling from beautiful Wisconsin.

Mel: I’m doing just fine. I’m here in Branson where there are lots of Wisconsin people. My guitar player was from Madison and his mom used to bring us all kinds of apples from Wisconsin and they were great apples!

Joyce: Let’s get started. How did this comedy album come about?

Mel: I don’t do a concert, I do a show. At shows you can tell anecdotes and stories. My stories are 85% true, (laughs) if they need a little help, I help them out. Comedy has always been a part of my life. I started to school and found out I stuttered. I didn’t know I stuttered. I said,“Mama, do I stutter?” She said,“Yes, you do son.” I replied,“Mama, they laughed at me.” I was just a cryin. Mama said,“Well, if they are gonna laugh at you son, then you better give them something to laugh about!”

From that day on, I guess that was the beginning of my show biz career; cause when I went back to school, I could ad lib stuff. I just waited for a good spot to ad lib on that stuff, and they would just laugh and laugh. I could sing too. The teacher would let me get up and sing, I wouldn’t stutter when I was singing.

Joyce: (laughing) That’s funny.

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Mel: I know it. Anyway, all through my career, I’m old school, Roy Acuff, Porter Wagner Show, that kind of stuff, that’s where I did those little comedy skits. I did the Glenn Campbell Goodtime Hour, about 18 episodes of that. I did comedy skits, it was humor and I got to tell stories on stage. Minnie Pearl was responsible for that. She told me, “Melvin, you need to talk on stage.” I said,“Minnie, they’ll laugh at me.” Minnie said, “No they won’t Melvin, they’ll laugh with you.”

(laughs) Joyce: On that note, what happened to old Arnold the Pig? Mel: Oh, they had a luau, and Arnold was the main guest.

Joyce: When will you be making these other new CD’s?

Joyce: Man you are a busy thing.

Mel: I’ll be 79 in august and I’m still pretty active. I do about 100 shows a year. I was in Branson for 13 years. About 8 years ago I sold the theatre. I bought me a little ranch down here in Ocala, Florida. It’s the horse capital of the world. I got two hay burners, that’s what I call them.

Mel: Got them all ready cut. We’ll see how this one does. Whatever. This CD is on my label, distributed by Toby Keith’s label and Universal. You can purchase it at www.meltillis.com . It is suppose to be at ¾ of the Wal-Marts. I’ve been to about ¾ of the Wal-Marts and I haven’t seen it.

Joyce: Do you ever sleep?

Joyce: Yea, that’s what they are.

Mel: I sleep a lot at my age. I sleep really good.

Some of my band members say they can’t sleep.

I tell them if they’d lay down and shut up you could. I’m in pretty good shape. Oh Lord have mercy, I just had my physical and they said Get Out Of Here!

Mel: Yes, ma’am. I asked my wife once what’s the name of that glue place, I wonder where that factory is? She said to shut my mouth. (He laughs.)

I left Nashville in 1990 and moved to Missouri and built a theater. When in Missouri, I would be doing two shows a day. I would tape all of my shows. All those stories that I said on stage have all been taped and archived. I’ve got hundreds and hundreds of stories that I’ve taped.

I’ve got about enough for 15 CD’s. I picked out what I thought was family humor and funny and put it out on this CD, which went to #3 on the Billboard Comedy chart. I think it’s still up there pretty high. It’s also been nominated for a Grammy! I’ve won every award that you could win, except a Grammy!!!!!

Joyce: What does 2011 look like for you?

Mel: If this CD does well, we’ll put out another.

I’m looking at pulling out a new album of just singing. I had something else to tell you and hell, I forgot what the hell it was.

Mel went on to tell me a little bit about a new painting out called,“Ballad and the Rose”, and the Masonic America Organization . Mel had recorded a song with the same title back in 1958 or 1959,The Ballad and the Rose. He cowrote this with a guy from Minneapolis. Mel sang me a verse of this song and it was beautiful. I said I felt so special that he sang to me and we both chuckled, as he replied I only sing to special women. Flattery will get him everywhere!!! These paintings are selling for about $750 each and they have sold about 3. Mel has raised around $80,000, with all the money except for shipping charges going to Masonic America,Scottish Rite Foundation,which works with speech and hearing clinics. How impressive!

Joyce: This could be it!

Mel: This might be it. I’m on Cloud Nine.

Joyce: So 85% of these stories are true, huh?

Mel: (laughing) Oh yea. I talk about my aunts and my cousins, just good old family humor. In fact I was up in New York to promote this album and I had finished up all my work and had some time off. It was getting dark, so I went out in the streets of New York all by myself. I was at the Square there, the Time Square, and I wanted to get on the other side of the street. There was a hand there that said NOPE! I looked over and there was a fellow looking at me. He was looking pretty strong and he acted like he knew me. I looked at him and thought, hell, I know him too. We both crossed the street, met in the middle and it wasn’t either one of us. (both laugh) Ain’t that silly?

Joyce: Got me on that one. How are you promoting this CD?

Joyce: Before I say goodbye, what would you like your fans to know about you?

Mel: I’ve done just about everything, but I haven’t been on the Oprah Winfrey Show.

See if they can get me on. I’ve done a lot of shows, Dean Martin, Merv Griffin, Dinah Shore,Tony Orlando, 13 movies, but never been on Oprah Winfrey.

Mel and I talked a little about his movie career, working with Burt Reynolds in Smokey and the Bandit and the Cannonball I and II movies. He said it was a lot of fun. What a great guy and performer. If you are looking for a good laugh, check out his new CD, “YOU AIN'T GONNA BELIEVE THIS”.. and check out Mel Tillis @ www.meltillis.com .

Mel: I’ve been doing this for 54 years. I’ve got a band that I’ve had for 42 years. I got 10 in the band. The whole month of November we were in Branson. Pam and my other daughter were here with me and I stayed really busy. I will continue to go out and do these shows as long as I can.

Story by: Joyce Ziehli Photos supplied.

Joyce: Mel, are you still writing?

Billboard Comedy Chart / 10-30-2010 Issue Date:

Mel: I do a little writing. I wrote one in this new album called “Huntin Buddies”. I did a DVD with Tim Conway. We did it down in Arkansas. Do you remember Ebb from Green Acres? He took care of Arnold the Pig?

1. Get Him To The Greek (Soundtrack) - Infant Sorrow (Universal Republic) 2. Seriously,Who Farted? – Nick Swardson (Comedy Central) 3. Let It Go - Bill Burr (Artist & Industry DIGITAL EX) 4.You Ain’t Gonna Believe This… - Mel Tillis (Show Dog – Universal Music) 5.The Essential "Weird Al" Yankovic - "Weird Al" Yankovic (Way Moby/Volcano/Legacy) 6.Who's Ready to Party? - Fred Figglehorn (Fee) 7. Stark Raving Black - Lewis Black (Comedy Central) 8. ISolated INcident – Dane Cook (Comedy Central) 9. Midlife Vices - Greg Giraldo (Comedy Central) 10. I Told You I Was Freaky (Soundtrack) – Flight Of The Conchords (HBO) 11. Feel The Steel - Steel Panther (Universal Republic) 12.Weapons of Self Destruction - Robin Williams (Columbia) 13. El Nino Loco - Rodney Carrington (Capitol Nashville) 14. Bigger And Blackerer - David Cross (Sub Pop) 15. Intimate Moments For A Sensual Evening - Aziz Ansari (Comedy Central)

Joyce: Why yes I do. I remember those good old hotcakes of Lisa’s too!

Mel: Ebb’s name was Tom, and he and I were the hunters. Tim Conway was the Game Warden. We entered a contest and if we won, we got to go to Hot Springs, win one of those Humvee vehicles and get a massage. We sure raised hell with old Tim Conway.

Anyway they wanted a theme song, so I said I’d write them one and I did. I’ll sing you the first few lines.

We’re huntin buddies, old Tim and I, We’ve got our lives, we’re bonafide.

Heaven help us if we should get lost, Old Tom can’t see, and I can’t talk!

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“I’m Just Sayin”

...Check Out Nashville’s Singer/ Songwriter MATT GARY

I recently had the pleasure of speaking with Matt Gary about his life and his new I'M JUST SAYIN' 6 Pack CD. Featuring romantic lyrics and a sing-along chorus, the title cut is poised to be a surefire hit with pop country fans across the board. Music City News Media hooked me up with Matt. He is such a delightful, well mannered, talented young man and not too bad to look at either! Before we get into the meat of the interview, I pulled the biography off of Matt’s website (www.mattgarymusic.com) to give you a little background.

Matt Gary has an invigorating verve for life. He has a natural glow that radiates joy to friends, family, and strangers alike.With a heart full of love for life and people, he sings his soul to all who will listen. A 28-year-old Lenexa, KS native,Matt was an atypical boy next door. While spending summers at the Lake of the Ozarks, Matt daydreamed about becoming a country music star.As a teenager,Matt was drawn to vivid lyrics within heartfelt,realistic songs.“Just about every song Kenny Chesney,Tim McGraw, and Keith Urban record is just my style.Their songs are diverse and always sincere, which gives them the ability to connect with listeners of all ages.They definitely know what to look for during the song selection process and that’s exactly what I aim to do.”

After graduating from high school, Matt’s goal was to head to Music City to pursue his career in music, but, his parents had a different game plan.“My mom called me her ‘little dreamer,’ because I was always in my own little world, but she understood. My parents have always been supportive of me and my desire to pursue my music career.We made a deal; if I went to college to secure a Plan B, they’d support me in the pursuit of my dream, my Plan A.” Today,a graduate from the University ofTampa,with not one,but two degrees (a B.S. in Computer Information Systems and a B.A. in Digital Art with Concentration in 3D Animation), Matt is a full-time resident of Nashville—a recording artist set to illuminate the country music scene.Plan A! With a solid education behind him,Matt’s career options in the technical design field were endless.Yet rather than take the golden road to become a prospectively successful graphic designer, his personal dreams, love and passion for the country genre, drove him to Music City.“You have to be happy and enjoy what you’re doing; music and performing is what I enjoy. I just feel like this is what I’m supposed to do. I’ve never wanted something so badly in my entire life! It consumes me. It’s the first thing I think about when I wake up in the morning and the last thing on my mind when I go to bed. It’s intense, like a haunting lover. How can I deny it?”

Matt established a working relationship and friendship with Grammy award-nominated producer Kent Wells (Dolly Parton/Neal McCoy/Michael Peterson); he worked with Wells recording demos, honing his vocals and vocal style.Twelve months later, Matt recorded songs for his own project and made his country music debut with his single, aptly titled,“The Days You Live For”(produced by Frank Myers and co-written by Wade Kirby and Myers) in April of 2009.“This song is the perfect introduction to who I am as a person and as a recording artist.

It’s everything I believe in. It’s about remembering what’s really important in life and the experiences and people that made you the person you are today. It’s about enjoying and living everyday to the fullest and not taking life for granted. It’s my nod to Tim McGraw’s ‘Live Like You Were Dyin’—the song is an anthem to ‘live’ by.”

Matt has since captured the attention of music critics and country music lovers alike. In the months that followed his 2009 single release, he was showcased in Country Weekly, CMA Close-Up and the Nashville Lifestyles’ feature,“Single in the City.” Matt was also

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3 for 1

New Glarus Primrose Winery

Wild Hare Foods

Cool Beans Coffee Cafe

Opening on July 19, 2001, Cool Beans offers a delicious, unique and decadent selection of sandwiches, and dessert items.There are several great reviews on Cool Beans' salads and wraps. Their menu also changes from time to time. New food items are always in the works and will keep you coming back to see what else is new.

If you like Ancora coffee,Cool Beans serves it up fresh and hot. If you have never had Ancora coffee, it will become your favorite.

They also have True Coffee which is a fine new roaster in Madison WI. Their smoothies are all natural and iced drinks are great on days when you just need to cool off. Stop over to Cool Beans for an after-dinner or post-movie dessert and coffee. It's an alternative place to meet if you don't want to take up a table at a busy restaurant. They also offer catering services.

Cool Beans offers a meeting room that is perfect for real estate agents, sales representatives, and other professionals that need a place to meet.This room is normally open for Cool Beans' patrons, but can be reserved and closed off for private meetings as well. The meeting room is perfect for small business meetings, club meetings, and small parties.This room is normally open for Cool Beans' patrons but can be reserved and closed off for private meetings as well.The meeting room seats 1620 people. You will find Cool Beans conveniently located near East Towne Mall at 1748 Eagan Rd, by the Princeton Club.

Cool Beans cares about the environment.They use ecofriendly products that help make a difference. Most of their containers are made from renewable resources & are 100% compostable. Cool Beans Coffee Café is a great place to relax AND bring the kids, too. In the children’s seating and play area inside, and sandbox outside, there is plenty to keep them busy while you enjoy their coffee and food.

For more details or to reserve the room,please give them a call at (608) 244-8414.

HOURS: Monday - Saturday: 6:30am - 9pm Kitchen Closes at 8pm Sunday: 8am - 4pm WIRELESS INTERNET AVAILABLE Info by: Andy Ziehli

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New Glarus Primrose Winery offers a wide selection of wines,made primarily from Wisconsin grown grapes and fruit. If you are looking for a dinner wine, dessert wine or a wine to enjoy just for the fun of it, stop in.Wine tasting allows you to take home your favorite.You can also take a break and enjoy wine by the glass. Enjoy browsing our gift shop. Ask about our personalized wine labels.

Bob & Peg Borucki have been making and selling wine since 1990, beginning in Mineral Point, Wisconsin, in 1990 with the Mineral Springs label. In 1997 they consolidated Mineral Springs Winery into the New Glarus Primrose Winery.

The New Glarus Primrose Winery customers have complimented that their wines have a fruity style, full body and genuine grape or fruit flavor. Grape wines are available in red, white or blush, dry, semi-dry, semisweet and sweet.Wisconsin grown cherries,apples,cranberries and rhubarb are used to make our original "Wisconsin flavor" wines.

New Glarus Primrose wines can be tasted at 500 First Street, "Up Town" New Glarus.This Historic, turn of the century, building is conveniently located for your shopping ease. You can also buy wines on-line at their online wine store www.PrimroseWinery.com Email us at: primrosewinery@charter.net PHONE: (608) 527-5053 FAX: (608) 527-6062 Summer Hours - May 15 - December Mon. - Sat.: 10:00 am - 6:00 pm Sunday: 11:00 am - 6:00 pm Winter Hours- January - May 14 Friday: Noon - 5:00 pm Saturday: 10:00 am - 5:00 pm Sun - Mon.: Noon - 5:00 pm

Wild Hare Brand“Premium”Meat Snacks (Jerky, Sticks & Summer Sausage) are the creation of avid outdoors enthusiast Scott“Scooter”Hare and his wife Lisa. Their original homemade recipes have been personally developed over time in the heart of the beef snacks industry,Wisconsin! After years of eating highly mass produced, difficult to eat, tasteless beef snacks their goal was to provide the very best meat snacks available produced from the highest quality lean American Beef and bursting with lasting flavor. The results have exceeded all expectations and they are proud to share our products with you and your friends.

Starting in their kitchen by making jerky products the Hare’s have developed some of the best tasting jerky and snack sticks on the market. A beef summer sausage and slicers are also available. Their products can be found in grocery and convenience stores,taverns,and on the internet at wildharefoods.com. They have even expanded into Harley Davidson Dealerships in 32 states, along with many other fine distributors which can be found on their website.

Wild Hare Foods is in the business of providing the absolute highest quality and best tasting snack foods. As the result of their combined efforts and exceptional products they intend to grow incrementally and fully meet the expectations of their customers, employees and investors. Through their honesty and integrity they intend to be a leader in their community and the markets they serve. They are committed to settle for nothing less.

All orders will be shipped within 48 hours upon receipt of order. Delays due to product availability will be communicated at the time of order. Orders will ship via US Postal Service Priority Mail, UPS, or Fed Ex. Normal delivery is 2-3 days from date of shipping. Special shipping requests can be accommodated if mentioned at the time the order is placed. Shipping cost is calculated into the total sale based on the published rates.

Wild Hare Foods P.O. Box 166 Belleville,WI 50508 TOLL FREE: (866) 424-1717

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We Did It Before, COULD WE DO IT AGAIN? In 1998 Tom Brokaw wrote a book entitled “The Greatest Generation.” It is a wonderful read. It is stories of men and women who became of age during the years of the Great Depression and the Second World War. He went all across America interviewing people in all walks of life.They told him stories of their lives of that decade in time when we were at war.The book depicts one of the greatest periods in the history of our country.The book was on the best seller list for a long time.

In 1984 I did much the same thing. Only I did not tour the country to get personal interviews. I wrote of a small town in the Midwest in the state of Wisconsin. My writings never reached the best seller list nor were they published by a big publishing house.The only similarity to Mr. Brokaw’s writing and mine was it was in the same time frame.

In 1984 I was a librarian in a small community -population under 2,000.As always libraries are in need of funds, but seem to always be low on the list when budget time comes around. In order to raise some extra money I volunteered to write something of interest about the community.With the help of the Friends of the Library we would put it all together and sell it at a minimal cost and the proceeds would go to the library. I chose to write about the town covering the years 1940-1950.Ten years in the life of a town.

Where does one get the research for such a project? I chose the weekly newspaper.The copies of the paper were housed in the library in bound volumes. I spent the summer reading and re-reading every issue of the paper from 1940-1950.The history of those years was there.

the mud until thawed and brought to the surface.The identity of the infant was never known; a sheet from a calendar pad dated December 17 was stuck against the leg of the infant.

By the time I got to 1949 I knew I needed to end my book with something other than facts from a newspaper. My closing chapter was an interview that a friend did for me of a neighbor of hers.

The neighbor was a German lady who had lived through the horrors of the 1940’s in Nazi Germany and it was an account of some events in her life during that time.

I had the pages typed, proof read by a friend who was a teacher, and then we (The Friends of the Belleville Public Library) used the new Xerox copier that the library had acquired and assembled them in book form. (When I said pages typed I meant it literally for this is before we had access to a word processor.A library aide who was a high school senior did all the typing.)

We made about $400.00 for the library. Not a lot by today’s standards but, it helped the library out and that was our objective.

I learned a great deal about the community where I live. I learned the value of a good weekly newspaper and its editor,and I learned just asTom Brokaw did that this was the greatest generation.

Written by: Rosemary Ziehli

I found that Belleville is a town of many heroes, both decorated and unsung. I saw the community through the eyes of the paper’s editor. He did not live to see the end of the war but the newspapers of the community published during his time as editor leave a very vivid picture in the mind of the reader of the home, community, and friends that he was so proud of.

In “Letters to the Editor almost all the men and women of this community in the service of their country wrote to Mr.Adams.They thanked him for the paper, they praised the Red Cross for the things they received, and thanked the churches and ladies societies of their community for all they contributed.

By May of 1941 nine young men of the community had enlisted in the service of their country. At the close of World War II the small community of Belleville listed one hundred and fifty eight people of the community and surrounding area who had served their country in the War.This included women too.

Ten young men lost their lives, five were prisoners of war, and one served as a fighter pilot in the RAF. One had a destroyer named after him, and one was in the funeral procession in the death of a president.

All things going on at the home front were recorded too.The rationing of food and gas, the scrap drives, the war bond rallies and work of the Red Cross workers in the community.

I found that even though there was a war going on the community had a sense of normalcy too. Junior proms were held, soap box derbies took place and there was always Friday night football and the annual Fireman’s Dance.

The paper kept abreast on worldly affairs also.There was one report that the Nazis had wiped out a whole Czech town in reprisal over the assassination of a Gestapo official. They executed every male and sent all the women to concentration camps.

There were also local tragedies that took place. In April of 1947 a body of a baby, a newborn girl was found floating in the river.A man was fishing, saw the body and reported it to the constable.According to the reports of an autopsy the baby died of a skull fracture and had been dead since December.The baby had frozen and lodged in w w w. a m e r i c a n a g a z e t t e . n e t

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learn how to play an instrument was more important than selling them a new instrument. A place where they would not over sell you a guitar if you were not ready for that high end model yet. A place where you could put a few bucks down to hold piece of gear and they would not sell it out from under you even if they had someone there with the cash in hand to buy it. Lastly loosing Good N Loud is the end of a long career for two of the nicest people you will ever meet. The Liethans gave back to the community. They tried to make Madison and Southern Wisconsin a better place to live. They brought joy and happiness to many by operating Good N Loud these many years. It’s sad they had to go out this way.

It was a very sad day for me when I read in the Capital Times that Good N Loud was going out of business. I have known Steve Liethan since 1977 and Chris since the early 90’s. I served on the MAMA’s Board of Directors with them, and I am proud to call them my friends. I have bought a hell of a lot of gear from Good N Loud over the last 34 years. Over half my studio gear came from there, and 80% of my live gear. Now you might say how come you did not buy all of it from them and the answer is the stuff I did not buy from them they could not get for me, or it was used gear I found.

I’m not saying I was their best customer, but I can say that I bought from them every chance I could. I can also say I was always satisfied with the experience. The Liethans are the best!!!

I remember going to Good N Loud when it was downtown on the corner. It was a wild place full of old equipment, Peavey gear, homemade stuff, and the most colorful cast of hippie characters you would ever meet working there.

Steve and Pete ran the show. They were funny as hell to listen to tell stories of the road. I remember one time Mark Gruenenfelder and I went there to buy some mics. Pete took two brand new AKG mics and went outside and threw them onto the pavement and then went in and plugged them in to show us how durable they were.

“Beer tent mics” he called them. There was Dan the long haired wild man on the Bass Guitar who was a salesman there. He moved like a rabbit through the maze of gear piled up. Sid was the repair guy. He looked like Floyd the Bass Man from the Muppets. He could fix anything!!! He could and would tell you how to fix something on your own as would Steve and Pete. They were there to help you, not rip you off. Music was king and they were the royal court in Madison.

One thing that they loved to do was to haggle over prices when you went to buy something used from them. On a good day you could get either Steve or Pete to shoot you a lower price than the other. They always had a story to go with each piece of used equipment they sold you. Sometimes the stories were worth more the gear itself!

The move to the University Ave store brought changes. Gone were the hippie store clerks and in was the more professional approach to business. That did not mean a change in the way they did business, just the way the store looked. It was still the store of choice in Madison. They bought out Regenbergs and expanded to the East Side of Madison with another store. Even with these changes it was still Good N Loud. The yearly Garage Sale was cool! Slim was cool! Lessons were cool! It was a cool store and now it’s gone.

In today’s world of on-line mega stores and corporate brick and mortar stores the demise of one little mom and pop shop may not seem important to most of you, but it is.

It is the end of an era when real musicians ran music stores. Where there wasn’t a big blue book to tell you the value of a used piece of gear. A place where you could go see the local musical hero’s talk and trade stories. A place where you could hang up a poster for you next gig or find work with a new band. Where teaching someone to

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So next time you are in Guitar Center or drooling over the picture of a guitar or bass in Musicians Friend think about how cool it would be if there was a place you could go to get the answer to all your questions about your purchase. Where you didn’t have to rely on some moron with his nose pierced, the music so loud you can’t even hear yourself think, or some guitar slinger wannbe who will demo the guitar you want to play for you showing you every Van Halen, Metallica lick he knows at a volume and distortion level you did not even know existed.

Once there was a place where you could talk about music and gear from people who used it and understood it. A place where you were treated as someone special not just a commission about to happen, and a place where local people not a board of directors set pieces and policy,there was a place like that and now it’s gone. That place was Good N Loud!

To the Liethans I wish you the best of luck!!! I will miss you as mentors and advisors. Mostly I will miss you as the kind of business people that I strive to be. Giving back,helping out,and honest. Steve and Chris,the Madison Music Scene will not be the same without you! Your legacy will always be your community involvement and your talent for keeping the music alive in Madison!!!

I will miss you my friends, Andy Ziehli

The Best in Live Music

At Schwoegler’s Sugar River Lanes Belleville, WI Feb 12 • Frenchtown Feb 19 • Greenfield Brothers Feb 26 • Concrete March 5 • Lube March 12 • Fedora March 19 • Amber Skies April 2 • Bob Rocks April 16 • Super Tuesday April 30 • Lucas Cates

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9:00 p.m.

Sugar River Lanes is located on HWY 69 on the North End of Belleville.

Call 608-424-3774 for updates w w w. a m e r i c a n a g a z e t t e . n e t

ole lefty... continued from page 11

AG: Tell me about your show with Shotgun Red. Lefty: My wife heard about a show that was being developed in Branson and we sent a CD. They were looking for artists that were not famous to come on the show and play there songs. In October we got a call from them and they asked us to be on the first season. They called the next day and wanted a song I had written for my wife. I said I would and then we started talking and we were both saying how much we loved Marty Robbins and the next thing I know I’m singing a Marty Robbins tune too. I had always wanted to record a CD of Marty Robbins songs, who was my musical hero. I went down to Kenny Kepplers studio in Madison and recorded that CD of 15 songs. Come to find out it was the Shotgun Red Show and I had known Steve Hall who is the puppeteer for Shotgun Red when I worked in Nashville at TNN. I wasn’t going by Frank James then so he did not know it was me until we started talking. We taped the Show in Branson at the RFD Theater. The show will air in April late 2011 on the RFD Channel on Thursday night s at 7:00 p.m. and Friday Nights at 9:00 p.m., I have all the info on my website when I get the exact date .

AG: You have been around Madison’s music scene for a long time. Why do you think it’s so hard to keep the Country Music scene going around here?

Lefty: I think it’s the difference between the East and West sides of town. The university has such a huge influence on the west side of town while the East Side has always been a more blue collar area. The Downtown and West sides have always had such a huge influence on what kind of music gets played and accepted that whatever flavor is hot there so goes the rest of Madison.

We talked earlier about having to play everything to keep the crowds happy. That still goes. Madison has always had a place for Traditional Country Music, but never really a home. We tried with Country Corners. The crowds there at first were very supportive but Trish had to let a little Rock & Roll in to keep the crowds.

AG:Tell me about the Country Corners: Lefty: We bought the club in the late 80’s. I always wanted a club that just had Pure Country Music. I wanted my own house band and the ability to make music every night. I had a huge Jukebox with my own record collection in it of just Country Music.

We kept the volume down, ran off the bikers, stopped the fist fights, and cleaned up the place. Well it was fun for a while,but I ended up spending more time doing repairs and upkeep than making music. It was a great experience!

Looking back I should have stayed in Nashville. I had a good job at TNN, I was opening some doors with my music, and I was having fun. When I took over the bar I put more time in bartending then playing music.

AG: Tell me about the switch.

Lefty: (Laughing) Oh the switch. I had a fake pull switch put in at the end of the bar by the stage that I told all the bands that played there if they got too loud or played too much rocky stuff I would shut them down. If I shut them down more than three times I would never hire them back. It worked like a charm to keep the volume down and the Country Music playing.

AG: You created an Urban Myth!

Lefty: I did at that! Most of the folks that came to Country Corners in the 80’s wanted real country music. It’s changed now. Most of those folks are either in Nursing Homes or are dead!

AG: So Lefty do you still play now?

Lefty:Yes I do. I still play some bar jobs, jams, and I do special events like Toys for Tots and such. I still play at Country Corners on Thursday Nights with Bobby Briggs. I have to give my wife so much credit for keeping me going. She does all the promo work, website updates, and generally keeps me organized and going forward. I love to make and play music and I guess I always will!

(A friend of mine, Russ Bethke gave me a copy of Madison Country dated August 1983 with a story about Lefty titled Frank Abella: Star on the horizon. It was written by John Mehne who was the owner and publisher of Madison Country. It has a picture of a younger Frank Lefty Abella in his Outlaw stage cloths playing an upside down Stratocaster. It talks about his going to Nashville and recording. Mehne says that “it takes talent,showmanship,and luck to make things happen. All Frank will need in the future is some luck, because he has everything else.”)

After the interview Lefty and I talked about old friends we knew,those who had passed away, and those that had gotten out of the music business. It was a great interview and time I thoroughly enjoyed spending with one of the great ones here in Southern Wisconsin, Frank Lefty Abella, and a star for sure!

The Americana Gazette is proud to announce that they are coming back!

Eric Brace, Peter Cooper, & Phil Lee along with Tim Carroll on lead guitar, Bones Hillman (Midnight Oil) on bass, and Pat Mcinerney (Nancy Griffith) on drums to play two shows on March 4th & 5th 2011!

On Friday March 4th Eric Brace,Peter Cooper,and Phil Lee will be playing at Puempels Tavern in New Glarus Wisconsin.(this is a free event). The show starts at 7:00 p.m.with songwriters in the round with Mark Croft, Marc Barnaby, Matt Belknap, Rob Kosmeder, and Andy Ziehli.

At 8:30 Eric, Peter, & Phil take the stage for a fun filled night of music East Nashville Style! Eric Brace is the leader of Last Train Home and a well-respected songwriter.

Peter Cooper is another well respected songwriter and music journalist. Phil Lee is a well-respected songwriter and artist who has played all over the world. All three artists are chart topping recording artists in the Americana Charts!

On Saturday evening the show rolls to Belleville for a fundraising concert for the Vocal Music Department. Starting at 7:00 p.m. local artists the Bathtub Mothers, Matt Belknap, Marc Barnaby & Tony DiPofi, along with Amber Skies will be take the stage and play short sets. At 9:00 p.m. The boys from Nashville will take the stage for a concert!

You won’t want to miss either night!!!

Admission for the March 5th fundraiser is $10.00 for adults and $5.00 for children.

Seating is limited to 220 seats so first come first served. Tickets can be purchased at Sugar River Bank in Belleville or from the Americana Gazette at 608-558-8131 0r 608558-8132.

Wanted:

Plan to attend these great shows brought to you by the Americana Gazette!

Sugar River Lanes is looking for someone to host a monthly Jam Session.

If you are interested call Mark at 608- 424-3774.

Scwoegler's Sugar River Lanes Belleville, WI.

Story by:Andy Ziehli w w w. a m e r i c a n a g a z e t t e . n e t

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Red Underwear Day!

I found that to be a very practical suggestion. I know when I drive past the home of my youth it just feels so different. I r e c a l l vividly the rooms and t h e thoughts that were mine and the things I did to steer my boat through my growing up years. When I look upon that dwelling I can feel

We were just about to leave the house on our way to the downtown square in Madison WI for the weekly Saturday morning farmers market.

Do you have them on? The question shouted to me from somewhere upstairs. I consider responding“yes”when in fact I did not but found myself unable to.

“No,“ I said. Then I made the trip back upstairs to swap out the perfectly good white pair for the red pair. Sigh. Now I have to tie my shoes again!

What I had failed to remember was that it was a Wisconsin football game day. Early in the season I figured as kind of a joke that I would wear my one and only pair of red underwear on game day. I announced it as we walked around the square, our friend Lois too far ahead to hear my declaration, and lo and behold, the Badgers won that day.

I did not realize I had just birthed a ritual that I would then be expected to repeat because, of course, the Badgers were in the win column because of my underwear. So, every Saturday that was a game day the same question was addressed to me…“Do you have them on?”

Growing up in a Roman Catholic family I was steeped in ritual as long as I can remember. The familiar sights, sounds, and scents that go along with the experience of attending a Catholic service are hardwired in me. Even now after not attending for many years when a funeral or some other event finds me sitting in a pew I know what to expect. I can recite the words and often feel the years disappear, and I am back in my youth where a young boy’s mind was both curious and mystified with the entire experience.

A more recent repeated pattern for me takes place before I head out of the driveway on the motorcycle. Even though I am in the proper safety gear I always take a moment to ground myself and clear an energetic path all around me. It’s my way of pre-paving a safe and fun riding experience. Does my moment of intention actually do any good? I find I feel better knowing that I have taken a few moments to set my intention for my experience. However there is no way to prove if my efforts influenced my outcome in any way.

Sometimes ritual stems from a practical need,and then just becomes habitual. Often ritual has as its origin my desire for a specific outcome when I feel I can not guarantee what is to come. Somehow I feel comforted by the idea that I can caress and nudge the experience.

If you are a winter Olympic fan you have no doubt seen the guy standing at the top of the bobsled hill with his eyes closed (does he have his “red”underwear on?) with arms in front of him mimicking the movement he will soon need to successfully get his team to the bottom of the hill. Some call this preparation; some would see it as ritual. Would his outcome be different if he simply trusted his ability to do what he does so well and just jumped in his sled and took off?

A pattern of repeated action is a familiar experience. If the pattern is simple enough then more often then not the outcome will repeat itself. The difficulty may come when I repeat the same ritual and expect a different outcome than before. That sort of experience has led me down a path of frustration more often than not.

As I have grown older, I find myself more willing to let go of my rigid thoughts of what was necessary for me to be happy. I discovered that while my life experience has shown me that I have expanded and changed,I still was mentally repeating many things from my younger days.

In a seminar given by Abraham-Hicks, a man was inquiring about why he has not experienced the flow of good fortune that A.-H.had suggested were his. They helped him consider that he has changed but has not allowed his thoughts to keep up. They suggested he revisit his birth home if it was still there and visit the people in his old neighborhood just to see just how well he fit there NOW. He realized on the spot that he would feel small and condensed by returning and that his life experiences have created for him his own unique outlook about life and its experiences.

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my expansion. It’s inevitable.

As the New Year begins there is ritual in the air! How many of us have sworn to do or not do this or that in the days following the calendar marking of 1-1-11. How many of us did the same thing last year? If there was an uttering of promise and that promise when unfulfilled by ourselves, how did that feel? For me it feels like failure and that I am lacking the character to see my promised thing through. The New Year ritual can be a gateway to a new life or a trod down the repeated path of disappointment.

Ritual can be a wonderful experience. One of my favorite personal rituals is smudging. My Native heritage has used smudging as a part of daily life for years. The herb sage is used either alone or blended with other herbs, harvested, and bound together to form a bundle. The idea is that the sage was created and has wisdom and purpose of its own. It is harvested with great reverence. When the community gathers for spiritual sharing, healing intentions, or communal politics, those that are gathered are ‘smudged’ before and sometimes after the event. The bundle is lit on one end, then navigated around the person or object allowing for a release of any energy that is not welcoming. It is considered that the burning of the sage is the sage’s giving its gift, transforming from herb to smoke.

Thus it assists the intended person to experience the same.

I smudge myself often. I do this whenever I feel stuck.

This ritual helps me move from my current thought of resistance to one of trust that all is well. This ritual has a familiar expression but is not locked into a desired outcome.

It’s open ended. To me this is the healthiest way to experience ritual. When I realize that I have a ritual in place as sometimes I am unaware of the fact, I now try to take the time to consider if it is healthy for me or not. If I discover in any way that I feel restricted,stressed,concerned,afraid, anxious or totally surrendering to the act,I now know that it is not something that serves me very well. Like any tool, ritual in my life is there to enhance my daily experience.

I enjoy the freedom I feel when my rituals open me up rather than closes me down. I am comforted and then often inspired to go forward into a new experience with a deeper feeling of trust and wonder.

I no longer wear red underwear on Badger game day. While I understand the fun of some of those rituals to me it goes deeper. That ritual for me became a bit of an obsession. I am not even a football fan, but if the Badgers lost, and I did not have my red underwear on, I had a moment of wondering if that would have helped. Crazy huh?

If you have ritual in your life, enjoy it. If you find that your ritual is no longer serving you but you feel compelled to repeat it consider this: The ritual was put in place by you for a reason. The reason was valid and important at the time. Perhaps there is a way to simply adjust the ritual to your now wiser and more experienced self thus allowing you the pleasure of your ritual and the new experience of it supporting you as you are now, not as you were then.

Go Badgers!!!

Written by: Jim Smith w w w. a m e r i c a n a g a z e t t e . n e t

FOUR OF A KIND

Part I

Four of a kind? Four queens? Playing cards? No, the four of a kind is my reference to four ladies that were once part of my life. They were four unique women: Grace, Minnie, Phyllis, and Betty.Two were neighbors, and the other two were relatives.

My grandmother was a Norman Rockwell grandmother. Had that famous painter met her he would have wanted to paint a magazine cover of her. She looked the part that said, “Grandmother”. At home she was seldom seen not wearing an apron. It was a full apron with the yoke going around her neck, it was tied behind her, and it ran down to her knees. It contained pockets, and each day a new clean white handkerchief was placed in one pocket. If any child came anywhere near her with a speck of dirt on its face, the handkerchief came out and wiped that speck of dirt away.

You can guess how she moistened that corner of the handkerchief used to wipe the dirt away. As a young boy, I resented that cleaning effort on her part. She scrubbed deep, and you had some pain from the scrubbing, but you soon had a clean face.

Cleanliness was important to her. Even in times when she did not have running water,she washed her hands thoroughly many times a day. Her clothes were spotless. That apron kept her clean, and somehow she kept the apron clean. Even though it was clean, she quickly changed into her “good” apron as soon as a visitor walked toward the door. She had standards, and she wanted to make sure the apron she wore was spotless when she greeted her visitor. Her gray streaked hair was swept up in a bun at the back of her head. The front was pinned back. She wore glasses. Her cotton stockings often had bulges in them. She wore black oxford shoes. Isn’t that the picture of our idea of how a grandmother should look? She was kind and considerate and took time to listen to you.

She was interested in current events, and she was a life time Democrat. “That FDR saved us and our farm, and I don’t want you to ever forget it was a Democrat that cared enough to help us through tough times.”

And she knew what tough times were. Her own mother died when she was a young girl,and at that time she and her two brothers were sent to live with other relatives. The three of them remained close throughout their entire lives even though they were separated from each other early in their lives. Her own husband died when she was 41, and she was left with five children. She and her two older sons ran the family farm. One daughter (my mother) was married and away from home at that time. Two of the children were under 12 at the time of their dad’s death. Previous to that my grandparents lost a six month old daughter. In the 1940’s a tornado struck her farm. Every building on the farm suffered damage, the garage was upside down with the car inside upside down, and every window in the house was blown out sending glass throughout the house. Those home that day huddled down in the basement as the storm roared overhead. One son died at the age of 21.

He was bedridden for many years before his death.

It seemed to me that there always was a hospital bed in grandmother’s front room. The young daughter was sick for many years in her young life

even spending an entire year in bed when she was fourteen. But I never heard my grandmother complain. She took good care of her sick children, and she helped as much as she could in running the farm. She was lucky her two older sons never married and ran the farm until the l980’s.

Grandma, as we called her, had many unusual traits. She baked bread twice a week, and she believed that newly baked bread was bad for you. She thought that the yeast in warm bread was bad for your body. So the bread had to be a day old before she would eat it or allow her family to eat it. Monday was always wash day. If Monday was a holiday, she still washed clothes that day, and she always hung the clothes on the outside line---every week of the year. On Saturday mornings she baked cake or pie for the week end. She was extremely afraid of bats, and she always covered her head when she went out-of-doors. She was sure a bat would fly into her hair. She lived all but about fifteen years of her life without an indoor toilet, and she did not have running water in winter months.

On certain days of the month she would announce that she wanted to go to “town” the next day. It had to be early as she wanted to get there before the crowds came. Before I could drive, she would take the Badger Bus to Madison a couple times a year. The bus ran right passed their farm. She stood out by the mailbox and flagged the bus down. When I became a licensed driver,she called me to ask me to take her to Madison. She loved company,she loved her children and grandchildren and great grandchildren. She did not believe in vacations. She never had one in her life, and she firmly believed that it was silly to fool yourself while on vacation because as she said the stress and problems will still be there when you get home.

My grandmother without meaning to destroyed my budding career in magic. When I was ten I sent away for a magic kit that would turn me into a magician. The kit arrived, and I diligently studied the materials and guidelines so I would be ready for my first magic show. Grandma was to be my first audience. She was always interested in what I was doing. The day arrived, and we were visiting her.

While the rest of the family gathered in the front room,I asked grandma to come to the kitchen with me. I was all set with my first magic trick. I had three cups upside down on the table,and I had the magic colored disk that she would place under one cup as my back was turned. I would turn around and move the cups around several times until I was ready to point out the cup under which the colored disk would be resting.As I am turned around waiting for her to place the disk under one cup, I heard her say,“Wait there is something caught on the plastic disk. I will pull it off and then you can do your magic.” Of course,what was caught on the disk was the hair that I had stuck to the disk. It would stick out of the cup, and I could point out the wonders of magic. Only now the magic was gone because grandma’s eyes were too good, and the budding career in magic was over almost at the moment it was to begin. continued on page 31

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That Sacred Space Heading back into the city after a day of work is never my idea of a good time. Once I have left the hurried faceless crowd of the concrete world,I don’t intend to return until it is absolutely necessary, but tonight I head from the peaceful country back into the ever-buzzing city for round two. I usually reside in a rural area where the peace and openness is enjoyed and also is missed dearly when it is lacking. It puts a heaviness on the shoulders and an anxiety in the chest,but I knew I had to press on. I was on my way to meet the three-dimensional artist (and I don’t mean three dimensional like “Frankenstein in 3D”, but more like sculptures, metal work, and glass) Allyson Reza and visit her loft to check out her artwork and solve the world’s problems while we’re at it.After a nice shuffle through the early stages of the city’s rush hour traffic I finally made it to the complex thatAllyson finds refuge in from her very concrete jungle world.As I walked up the stairs I imagined the dwelling.

A small sterile apartment,art lying all around half finished,and a dark and brooding atmosphere, but I would come to find I couldn’t be further from the truth. As soon as I walked through the door my whole attitude changed.The heaviness lifted and the anxiety subdued instantly.A poster borrowed from a subway in Paris hung proudly on the wall,a book of mandalas was lying on the desk, and items collected from nature sat proudly next to strangely un-natural objects. So many things popped out at me,but nothing was out of place.It was just such a vast amount of things that were arranged in such a chaotically, yet orderly fashion.Art hung everywhere,strung across the lofts wide open space and filling the shelves beside books of every genre the reader’s heart could desire.Lights also hung across the vastness and gave the whole space an outside carnival feel and I stood there staring in awe and waiting for the announcer to shout at me about the next sideshow act.The art that hung and sat about the loft had a very natural feel and comforting quality about it.It wasn’t shocking,nor in need of a curator to explain to me what was meant by it, it simply was. But simply was, was not the way that Ally came to find herself where she was today,there were changes to plans and bumps in the road,but the world works in mysterious ways. Ally hails from Montclair, California where she discovered her enjoyment of art at a young age,but didn’t exactly

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stick with it.“There is definitely a start and stop.When I was younger I liked to draw and color and my grandma was an artist, so when I was younger I definitely wanted to be an artist when I grew up, but then somewhere around high school I got the idea that I was going to be a business women, so I decided on advertising because that way I would get the art side and the business side.Well, as soon as I took a fine arts class that resonated with me,I knew that this was where it was at.”

But it wouldn’t be for a few more years that Allyson would believe in herself enough to make a change. So after some years studying business and advertising she finally changed schools, changed majors,and wound up in Milwaukee,Wisconsin,where she dove into the artsy side of art and shied away from the business end. Also by getting away from the advertising,she was released from the two dimensional bonds that held her to her computer.Now she could create art that stood on its own,without the help of technology or an“On”button. So now here she is,sitting in the middle of the city,in the“Loft of Serenity” creating her works, but Allyson has ideas beyond just creating art, she also seems to want to create a sense of community for artists.“An art gallery/collective.That would be really exciting! I’ve certainly thought about if I wasn’t practicing my art as much,I could host artists but I think I had thought of every way to be in the art community except being an artist.I think it takes the most courage to just be an artist and not just host them.But that is also I guess the whisperings of the desire to just be with other artists.And that’s the idea of the People’s Art Collective that just started up this fall.”

One of Allyson’s very near future goals is to rent a space at the P.A.C.and be able to make a hard separation between home time and art time. Creating art in her own home is challenging at times because“ there isn’t a direct sense of energy that says,“Oh my desk is here I want to work”,there is also“Oh my bed is just over there,I want to rest.” I think there would be more clarity. In your rented space, you are there to move things along. At home you're continued on page 30

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Robert’s Ramblings

What fun this retired thing has become! I can sleep beyond 6 AM if I want,I can go shopping any day of the week and any time of the day,I can attend movies in the late morning or early afternoon when they offer lower prices for the movie ticket,I can take a nap if I wish for one, I can read any chance I get,and I can go sit at a mall and people watch.

Does it get any better?

On one of those mall stops I strolled to a store selling only cupcakes.

I was a bit disappointed in the limited choices that Tuesday, and I have to a d m i t there was more frosting than cake--I wo u l d rather have a balance between the two, but I did eat every morsel of both the cake and the frosting. Next I headed for a stroll up and down the mall. I entered a few stores, but it was mainly a window shopping excursion for me that day. At the end I found a book store. I searched the shelves for something of interest, and I decided to buy a paperback of short stories by John Grisham.

The book is called FORD COUNTY STORIES. There are seven short stories in this collection.

All are set in Mississippi, Grisham’s home state, and each has characters typical of the Southern folk of Mississippi. Grisham tells the stories warts and all. I liked every one of them.

Most moved me in a good way.

Here is a bit about the seven stories: “Blood Drive”tells of the reaction of the residents of a small Mississippi town when word comes from that one of their local boys is seriously injured in an accident in Memphis. Word of mouth spreads the story throughout the town, and with each telling some part of the accident story is changed. But it seems that everyone agrees that the victim may need blood;thus,three young men are off to Memphis to give blood. A wild series of adventures and misadventures follow as they make their way to Memphis,and the adventures continue once in Memphis.

“Fetching Raymond” is the story of a family going to the nearby prison for the execution of a family member. You won’t forget this family, and you will discover that“Fetching Raymond” means something you probably would not have guessed. “Fish Files” deals with a company’s request to settle claims against them by people injured by their product. It is not a good picture of people in the legal profession. “Casino”is exactly what you expect.

The people of a Mississippi County are not eager to have a casino in their midst. Others search out possible Indian blood so they can reap some riches,and one man feeling that he needs to get back at his ex-wife attempts to break the casino. “Michael’s Room”is a look at the reality of a child so handicapped that he needs constant care. The family attempts to get financial help via a law suit, and this story shows the lawyer that fought against the claims and won just what his actions really did to the family of Michael. It is a powerfully told story. “Quiet Haven”is a look at a small nursing home and the residents and staff therein.

The reader soon discovers that a new employee of the place is really a con artist, but you find yourself rooting for his success because he finds way to make life so much better for the residents. The last story is called“Funny Boy”,and it is the most powerful one in the book.

A local man returns home to die,but his illness is so bad that no one in the community will care for him. His family wanting to be rid of caring for him finds a way that a Black woman

in the Black community will take him in and care for him. The story takes us into the depths of both characters. If you enjoy short stories, this book is for you. It would be a great book to take on vacations as you can finish one of the stories at various times and not lose your place in the plot.

Not so long ago a few of us knew of Susan Boyle. Then she became that Internet sensation, and soon the media found all sorts of ways to showcase her, and her first CD became a smash hit.Susan made a Christmas CD for this past season. It did not sell too well,but if you like to collect Christmas CDs, I think you should give hers a try. It is very well done, she has made some interesting choices of songs,and the use of orchestra and choral accompaniment made this one of my favorite holiday CDs of all time.

It is movie award season. This means that for a few weeks there is a much better selection of movies at area theaters. I have one to recommend: THE KING’S SPEECH. This is a very entertaining movie. It is funny, it is interesting, it is well written, and it is brilliantly acted. I suspect that the three major stars will all be receiving acting nominations.

And without too much effort you get a crash history on British royalty, and how fate brought the present Queen Elizabeth to the throne, and, of course, the possibility of her son Charles and his son William could someday be king. Without fate the three of them would hardly be the household names they are now. The movie also shows us that the King’s speech helped unite the country for the battle for freedom duringWorld War II. This retirement thing has also freed me to be a bit more adventurous in the kitchen. It has been fun to try new foods and to then decide if that one is a keeper or not. The television show“Mad Hungry”has given me some really good ideas for simple meals with just a different twist to make them more interesting and certainly making them better. The show is on the Hallmark channel.

I have been spending some of my nights this winter viewing some TV. series from the past. I have really enjoyed the series INTREATMENT. It is a clever format,and I have seen the first two seasons. It is a fascinating look at the world of psychology. I am also watching EVERWOOD. I am almost done with season three. At times it is quite predictable,but it is entertaining and features some darn good acting,and it is a close look at various relationships and the daily problems that arise within them.

BUT now I need to end this. It is nap time. Please no phone calls or text messages for the next forty-five minutes. Thank you!

Written by: Bob Hoffman

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Mark Croft Wisconsin Troubadour

Mark Croft is a hell of good songwriter and performer! I would even say that he is a great songwriter and performer! Croft is lucky enough to make his living doing what he loves to do. A troubadour from Columbus,Wisconsin he has been playing as a singer songwriter solo and with a band since 2005. His music has been described as Pop/Rock, but I hear a tinge of Americana in his lyrics and song styling’s. In fact I would call his music Pop Americana. It is laden with classy hooks both lyrically and instrumentally,fantastic story lines, and especially on his new CD“Evening Flood”a tinge of Southern Gothic styling’s. He is a multiple MAMA’s award winner, a fantastic guitar player, and probably one of the nicest people you will meet in the music business.

I met with Croft at one of his favorite hangouts Cool Beans Coffee House on Eagan Road on the East Side of Madison for a delightful conversation and laughs.

AG: This CD is incredible! Besides the fantastic collection of songs the recording and sound quality is right up there with CD’s that are coming out on major labels.

AG: The songThe Gas is On is really different than most of the songs on the CD. It has a real R&B flavor to it. How did you come about to write it?

Croft: It was just a feel I had to start with. The rhythm just came alive in the studio. Sometimes that just happens. You have an idea how a song will go,but when you get in the studio or with the band it takes on a life of its own.

AG: How long have you been doing this?

Croft: I started playing piano as a little kid and did so exclusively until I was about 17. I picked up the guitar when I went to college and it was a love affair right away. I pretty much did not go anywhere without my guitar for about three years. I really started writing and pursuing music at a high level in about 2003. I went full-time 2005 when I put out my first CD and have been doing it ever since.

AG: Do you travel the whole country or just regionally?

Croft: Thanks. I am very proud of this CD. I recorded it in Minneapolis at Master’s Rec0ording Studio. This is the same studio where Mariah Carey and Janet Jackson cut tracks. The gear and musicians were the best Minneapolis had to offer. It was such a cool experience to make music in a place like Master’s. It was the first time I ever had a producer and it was a great experience. Anthony Benson was super to work with.

The musicians got my music right away so the whole tracking process was effortless.

AG: Your songs are so well constructed. The chord changes, lyrics, hooks, everything just flowed. I do have to ask though how does a guy from Columbus Wisconsin write such authentic Southern influenced songs (Cripple Me,One Mississippi)?

Croft: It’s funny I don’t think I realized until I went in and started recording these songs that they had that kind of influence to them. I write in a rootsy kind of way. I have had more than one person tell me that I write Country songs with an edge. I guess in some ways I have kind of fought against that, but as I listen more to my songs I hear that influence myself. I don’t know where that comes from,but hey I’m a big fan of southern style songs and I’m just glad they found their way to this CD.

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Croft: In the past just regionally. This year though I’m going to be spreading out and working different parts of the U.S. AG:Were you ever in a band before you undertook this solo gig?

Croft: In High School I played in Garage Bands playing Rock music with friends and my next door neighbor. I played keyboards. But since I picked up the guitar I have been a solo artist,though I do play live at some gigs with a band or as a duo depending on the job.

AG: How do you approach songwriting?

Croft: A lot of times I get my inspiration form driving round in my car. I don’t listen to music as much as I use to so it’s more from visual things that I get my ideas from. When I start to look for ideas I do listen to new artists to see what others are doing. I usually start with a line or phrase that popped into my head and I build a song around it. Sometimes I come up with the hook and then construct the song around it.

AG: Do you write on guitar and piano? w w w. a m e r i c a n a g a z e t t e . n e t

Croft: Mostly guitar, it is my go to instrument, though in the past I have written a couple of songs on the piano. My language on the piano is not what it used to be,so I feel much more at ease with the guitar,and it’s a lot easier to pick up and carry with you than a piano!

AG: How do you categorize your music,or how would you like to be categorized?

Croft: That’s a tough question. I’m not really a folk artist or a rocker. So when it comes to the MAMA’s the POP category seems to fit me best.

When I write maybe it’s more of a POP approach because of the hooks I use. I really, really like to pull from a lot of different area’s rootsy bluesy bluegrass structured songs and influences. So it’s really hard to say where I belong.

AG: I think you’re Pop Americana with all those flavors running through your music. You have great stories,rootsy rhythm and chord structures,and your voice really fits into it.

Croft: I guess you’re right. It’s so hard to say where one belongs in today’s music,but I can live with Pop Americana. I like to try to take all my influences and make them mine.

AG: What do you wish you would have known about the music business before you went into it full-time?

Croft: I wish I would have gotten my degree in Marketing instead of Music because I spend the bulk of my time marketing myself and getting jobs! If I would have known that I would be spending as much time on the computer and the phone, booking, networking, and selling myself as I am doing I would have taken business and marketing classes!

AG: What’s the worst thing about your career and the best thing about it?

Croft: The worst is the constant hustling for work. Booking jobs and knowing what to charge and make money doing this. The best is playing live for an appreciative audience and turning someone onto my music. That is the best!

AG: If you could give some advice to someone who is thinking about being an artist today what would you tell them?

Croft: Take marketing classes!!! Be true to yourself and your music. Learn as much as you can from other songwriters and network with them. I have been very lucky to have met great songwriters around here and they have been very helpful. Robert J.is a great guy who always has the time to answer your questions and give you advice. The Madison Songwriters group is another great place to connect.

Beth Kille has been great to play with and talk business with. Networking is so important.

Connecting with your audience and with folks that can help you make it a lot easier than trying to do it all by yourself.

AG: Mark thanks for your time and for the great music. How can people hear and check out your music?

Croft: They can go to www.markcroftmusic.com and there is everything there to find out about where I am playing and what I’ve been up to. Thank you for the press!

You can catch Mark Croft at the songwriters in the round at Puempel’s Tavern in New Glarus on Friday March 4,2011 at 7:00 p.m. This is a free concert put on by the Americana Gazette. Mark and Matt Belknap,Marc Barnaby,Rob Kosmeder,and myself will be opening for Eric Brace,Peter Cooper,and Phil Lee. Please join us and check out this wonderful night of songs and songwriters.

Pam Tillis Teams Up With Country Weekly For Food Column Country Weekly wants to let you in on a little secret—Pam Tillis, the Grammy Award-winning country artist doesn’t like just making music, she loves to cook!

And the celebrated country star will bring her kitchen prowess to a new cuisine column for Country Weekly.

The self-proclaimed “foodie” and “top chef wannabe” grew up around good cooking and has a history of amazing culinary explorations which she plans to share monthly with Country Weekly readers in her new column, Pam & Company. Her first column was available in the November 22 issue.

Tillis says, “This is my maiden voyage as a columnist, but I think it's going to be great fun. I'm excited to be working with Country Weekly. This column is a fantastic way to connect with the audience.” She adds, “I will be using some of my recipes as well as others I have picked up through the years. But I want to make them accessible for the average person—keep it down to earth, but still push the envelope a little bit and make it interesting so you don't get bored with cooking.

I also want to make the dishes health-conscious. That's very important.”

Andy Ziehli

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Laura Cash ♪♪♪♪♪ Awake But Dreaming Cash House Records Style Traditional Country

cd review... continued from page 10

Jeff Talmadge ♪♪♪♪♪ Kind of Everything Berkalin Records Style Americana Jeff Talmadge is singer/songwriter out of Texas. This is his 7th CD and it is a “good” one. Talmadge was a practicing lawyer who gave up his practice in 2003 to be a full time musician, and if Kind of Everything is any indication of his previous work he made a good choice.

Talmadge reminds me a lot of Eric Taylor in his styling and vocals. This does not mean that he is a copy artist; on the contrary this is an excellent CD full of original music and melodies.

Kind of everything starts out with if it wasn’t for the wind a great up-tempo song that was written by David Olney and Keith Fleming. Talmadge puts his own stamp on it and it rocks! The title cut Kind of Everything is a Talmadge original and the third song on the CD. It’s a melancholy song that really sticks with you. Other outstanding cuts on this CD are Molly, Mississippi Moon, Step by Step, and Sometimes you choose love.

This is a fine recorded CD with great musicianship and production. Talmadge is a great writer that really zones into the muse that ignites passion in music. Theses tunes are all pretty much mid-tempo and slow in the meter but they will get your foot tapping and bring a smile to your face.

I really recommend this CD if you love that Texas Singer/Songwriter style of music ala Guy Clark,EricTaylor,and Lyle Lovett. Hopefully with the release of Kind of Everything, Talmadge’s name will be mentioned with those writers, because it sure needs to be!

Review by;Andy Ziehli

The CD kicks off with Bob Will’s Awake But Dreaming (also the title cut) a high flying twin fiddle tune. The image to me is a Classic Country song with all the drama of the great Honky Tonk tunes of the 50’s. A true Country duet song with Jason Carter, Look what you’ve done is an instant classic. My favorite cut is Who’ll be the First, a song by Vern Stovall and Bobby George. It is Country all the way! Cash let’s all these fine players do what they do best on all the songs especially the instrumental,Twinkle Little Star.

She’s got the horses here and she lets them run.

I can’t say enough of how I LOVE this CD! If I could give it a ten rating I would! It is beyond anything coming out of Nashville for the last 20 years. It is true Traditional Country Music and it is beyond Good!!! Cash produced this cd and did an excellent job doing so. She recorded it at her husband’s Cabin Studio. It was engineered by Chuck Tanner who did a fantastic job mixing this CD to bring out all the talent on this CD. There is even an extra unlisted bonus track for you to enjoy.

If Music Row was looking to get back to real Country Music (like they should be doing) they should open their eyes and check out Laura Cash. She’s the real deal! Hopefully someone down there on 16th-18th avenues will get their head out of their ass and start listening to what is going on east of them. Laura Cash would be a great place to start. She’s that good and she deserves to be heard by the masses! Let’s hope the powers check Cash out and she becomes the star we know she can be.

John Carter Cash ♪♪♪♪♪ The Family Secert Cash House Records Style Rock/Americana The Family Secert is 15 songs CD of exceptionally fine music! John Carter Cash wrote or co-wrote 14 of the 15 songs and let me tell you this ain’t your Daddy’s kind of Country Music! This CD explodes with everything from Rock guitars, synths, mandolins, and loud drums. Not what I expected from a guy who’s lineage is pure Country Music. This CD is a cross between Jason and the Scorchers,Warren Zevon, Bob Dylan, and John Lennonistic Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds type of songs.

This CD Rocks!

The CD kicks off with a great Louden Wainright III song the Swimming Song. Cash puts his own spin on the tune and it twirls and spins like a waterspout dancing across the open water. The Family Secert is a Warren Zevon type of story song ala Warner Hodges type of guitar work. Santa Monica is a fantastic ballad. It shows a real depth in writing. Uncle Sam is Dead is another rocker that hits you right in the mid-section. The tune If God made anything better than a woman could be on any George Jones album.

It is a ¾ time country tune with Steel Guitar and pure Country Harmonies. The final song on this cd is a Celtic flavored tune called Killarney complete with tin whistles. It is the longest song on the CD, and it’s a great way to end this fantastic collection of songs.

Cash really steps out on this cd. It’s not his familys music, it’s his music, and his music is good! The CD was recordecd at Cash’s Cabin Studio. A fine producer himself ( he produced this CD) Cash was able to concentrate on being the artist on this CD and it sure sounds like he had a blast doing so. There is even an unlisted bonus track for you to enjoy.

I recommend this CD to anyone that likes variety and surprises in their music. John Carter Cash really steps out here. It shows the true depth that he has as a writer and artist. A long shadow was cast before him, but with this cd John Carter Cash can step out of it and be the artist he wants to be.

Andy Ziehli

Laura Cash is an accomplished fiddle player and vocalist. Her singing style is reminiscent of the great female country singers of the late 40’s through the mid 60’s. This CD swings and two steps through 12 Country tunes. Cash’s backup band on this CD is a who’s who of fantastic country pickers. The great Lloyd Green on Steel Guitar, Pete Wade on Electric guitar, the king of Country Piano Pig Robbins, and Dennis Crouch on bass. This CD has Twin Texas Fiddle songs, dueling twin lead guitars, swinging steel guitar, and the best Honky Tonk Piano ever!

Review by:Andy Ziehli aaron... continued from page 9

the music. That’s how we really are! We enjoy playing our music to people that like our tunes and we feed off their energy! I think if there is a down side to our shows it’s that we don’t have a subtle edge to our music and sometimes that’s too over the top for some people. As we mature with this new CD we have a few slower songs and hopefully they will reach the audience we don’t currently have. We don’t always have to be at 10!

AG: At the show at the Majestic you got on stage and played a couple of songs with Beth Kille. A friend of mine was there and commented to me that “Aaron should just farm himself out as a guitar player and he’d make all kinds of money!”

Williams: (Laughs) AG: Your stage presence and playing style is so different when you are a sideman. Is that intentional?

Williams: I always try to play to the song. I really try to capture what the songwriter wants, not what I want to play. With the new CD I try to play more to the song. I don’t want to always have a 10 minute guitar solo. Just play what the song dictates.

AG: When you first got on stage with your dad, were you nervous or was it natural to be there?

Williams: The first time I stepped on stage I did not sleep the whole week before the gig. I’m typically very shy and I was scared! The first job was at Pott’s Inn. The first song, my dad hit the transpose button on his keyboard by mistake and started playing the song in a different key than the rest of us. It was an absolute train wreck! I was looking at my guitar trying to figure out what I was doing wrong. The bass player was looking at me I was ready to quit then! After that things got a lot better! Even today I’m still shy and shut my eyes when I play. I’m not a natural onstage.

AG: What’s the best gig you ever played?

Williams: It was with my dad at Luther’s Blues. We sold out the club and the look on my dad’s face is something I’ll never forget. He was so happy to continued on page 31

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EnjoyA Variety In Your Music

AMY SPEACE’S THIRD ALBUM, LAND LIKE A BIRD, CHRONICLES A MOVE THAT OPENED NEW DOORS Thirty Tigers album due in stores March 29; Kim Richey contributes vocals, Neilson Hubbard produced Amy Speace wrote her new album, Land Like a Bird, with her life in a state of transition. Having spent many years in Manhattan, Brooklyn and New Jersey, surrounded by concrete, taxi horns and rushing trains, Speace suddenly found herself in the South.

She’d done quite well as a New Yorker: she was signed by Judy Collins — who called Speace“one of the best young songwriters”— to Wildflower Records;she was awarded an NPR “Song of the Day”; and she toured with Collins, Nanci Griffith and Shawn Colvin.The city’s WFUV-FM named her song“Weight of the World”the #4 Folk Song of the Decade in its 2010 year-end Top 10 list.

Space began writing Land Like a Bird as she bade farewell her Jersey City apartment with the view of the Statute of Liberty and lower Manhattan (inspiration for the song “Manila Street”).Many of the songs were goodbyes to people and places (“Had to Lose,” “Ghost,” Ron Sexsmith’s beautiful “Galbraith Street”). She brought these songs and unpacked them in her new East Nashville home.

Land Like a Bird follows Speace’s 2006 Songs for Bright Street on Collins’Wildflower Records and 2009’s The Killer in Me.The latter, her “breakup album” which featured guest vocals by Ian Hunter, earned much critical praise.“Amy Speace is a rising star,” opined USA Today. NPR said,“Her velvety, achy voice recalls an early Lucinda Williams.

Sounding grounded but wounded, Speace exudes the vulnerability of someone who’s loved and lost.”The Washington Post advised,“If you bemoan the lack of solid singersongwriters in the world who can bridge inner turmoil with universal experience, Speace is just what you need to hear.”

The new album was produced by Neilson Hubbard (Kim Richey, Matthew Ryan, Glen Phillips, Garrison Starr) at Mr. Lemons studio in Nashville. Hubbard played bass, keyboards and vibes. Speace and Hubbard first met seven years ago while performing on an Arizona TV show and discovered their simpatico musical directions. However, they did not remain in touch. When Speace moved to Nashville last year, they were reintroduced, immediately co-wrote a song, and decided to collaborate on what would become Land Like a Bird. Kim Richey sang background vocals on“Land Like A Bird,”“Half Asleep & Wide Awake” and “Real Love Song.”

Lisa Morales Looks Inside For Beautiful Mistake After building a strong reputation with sister Roberta as Sisters Morales, Lisa Morales steps out on her own with an album of stirring and emotional self-penned songs, Beautiful Mistake.

In the three years since the last Sisters Morales record (Talking to the River - produced

by Los Lobos' Steve Berlin), their mother, Gloria, died after a difficult struggle with cancer. It was Gloria’s fight for her life that made Lisa re-examine her own.“This album is an emotional capsule of the past couple of years for me,”Morales said.“My mom’s love for life made me realize that I hadn't lived in the moment forsome time. I had settled for what ‘was’ even if I didn't agree with it or knew it should be better. I'm going for better in every aspect even if I screw up. I'd rather know I tried than to sit back and let it be less.” Morales’ writing on Beautiful Mistake is unquestionably her best to date.

Teaming up with longtime friend and bassist, Michael “Cornbread”Traylor to produce this gem, Morales gathered a great cast of talented and soulful musicians (including Walt Wilkins and Dustin Welch) to pull out some of Morales’ best performances. In addition to her continuing work with Sisters Morales, Morales has also worn producers’ hat with highly acclaimed production on Hayes Carlls’ Flowers & Liquor; co-wrote “Waiting For the Stars to Fall”with Hayes Carll on his last CDTrouble In Mind.! She also cowrote “Helpless Heart” on Clay Blakers’ Welcome to the Wasteland ! and sang “No More Memories Hangin’‘Round” duet with Blaker on the album.

Information provided by: Lance Cowan LCMedia (615) 331-1710 lcmedia@comcast.net

Information supplied by: Conqueroo: Cary Baker • (323) 656-2600 • cary@conqueroo.com

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good intentions... continued from page 24

there to slow things down.” Allyson’s living space definitely had the feel of slowed down and chilled out, which is perfect for homes and interviews.Different places make people feel differently and that concept is the basis for another dream of this artist;to create spaces.“I would love to create spaces and environments. It would be amazing! Everyone should have a chill room and that’s all it’s dedicated to.” I thought to myself, well that’s just an interior decorator, but I was wrong.“It’s more outside the box and not as traditional, but traditionally bizarre? Hell yeah! I love thinking of the silly and absurd,but placing them in a beautiful way” I catch myself gazing off into the space and art,loosened by the down-tempo music whispering in the background.The loft had a whimsical and dreamlike aura to it,but I’ve talked a lot about dreams and I’m done with it.Now,dreams are all well and good, but you may ask yourself, when she is not talking to reporters about dreams, what does Allyson create?Well,I’ll do my best to describe,but a personal look-see would prove much more rewarding. Her main focus right now are her glass-blown dream catchers which in my eyes find roots in the NativeAmerican dream catcher,but branch in whatever direction the muse favors. They hang quietly throughout the loft swaying slowly in the gentle breeze of the fan. Some with glass“conch shells”holding small living plants and some with other treasures,but each one different and each one made carefully. The “Pleasure Caves” are interactive art, art that doesn’t just hang on the wall, but art you can play with. Each cave (a small acrylic cube or metal sphere) has a different texture to it and in it.Inside most are "rainbow spikes", intensely colored growth forms that flex at the warmth of your finger,gently massaging the holder.It may seem strange,but each one makes you smile for experiencing something different and basic,as basic as the sense of touch. Many other projects hang or sit proudly around the loft, all just where they should be. I began to look around the space, and realized everything was exactly where it should be and that this loft was just one ofAllyson’s art projects; her ideal project and she had succeeded. She had created an environment that was meant to inspire certain feelings, and I noticed nothing here, but quiet calm in the air.

After some time of idle chit chat, forgotten questions, and random silly art pop quizzes,it was time for me to head out to the cold outside world. I said farewell to my hostess and the Raptor Rabbit (orVelociRabbit.Another piece of her art, a cast-iron dinosaur with rabbit ears. It doesn't have a definite name,as she enjoys hearing people make up one) and faced the cool night breeze.Luckily for me,I was able to experience the peak of rush hour traffic, but this time I was cool headed. I gracefully weaved between cars, smiled at the foolish ones,and made my way under the overpass and into the cool country winter night.There were no stars hanging in the sky, just the cold dark air and premonitions of an oncoming blizzard. I breathed a low sigh of relief as my car was swallowed by the rural blackness and I zipped away into the night.I would have to come back for work in the morning, but that wasn’t for hours and I still had good vibes from the environmentAllyson created in her home. I thought, maybe I should go home, clean my living space, put on some music and then I can have my own little chill space at my residence,but I have no time now. I have to get this story written, but then again, my bed is right there, maybe I should take a nap, but then again I have to get to work on the article.I have never been very good with blurry lines;maybe I need a special space or two.

If you’d like to get a hold ofAllyson or check out some of her art, you can contact her at rezally@gmail.com. Check out her work for sale at http://www.etsy.com/shop/rezally.A portfolio of her creations can be found at rezally.com.

Written by: Rob Kosmeder Photos by: Justin Blumer

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an active participant in a number of music industry functions including Country Radio Seminar and the CMA Music Festival. Matt formed his own independent label, 17 Music Entertainment, and working along side Frank Myers,recorded his first full-length album. In addition to music, Gary is also fueled by his commitment to giving back and serving others. Working with nonprofit charity organizations like Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital, Christmas4Kids and The Angelus, Matt Gary relishes every opportunity to raise awareness and money for causes that he feels passionate about.

And now here is how our conversation went: Joyce: Good morning Matt. It is a pleasure to speak with you.

Matt: Thank you. And thanks for doing this interview.

Joyce: Let’s get started. You grew up in Kansas; please tell me about growing up and how you got in the music business?

Matt: I live in Nashville now. I grew up in Kansas City, that’s where all my family’s still resides. Actually, I wanted to move to Nashville right out of high school.

My parents said,“No way – that’s not going to happen.”

They said you are going to school. So, I ended up going to the University of Tampa down in Florida. I worked on my degree and kind of put the whole music thing behind me. This is the path I was going to take (for now).

I was focused on my education but music is what was in my heart. I knew what I wanted to do and what I was passionate about. So I started flying to Nashville and meeting with songwriters, producers and just tried to learn the industry and to do demo work. Later, after graduation,I was offered a good opportunity,quit my job and moved up here.

As far as my family goes, they are not in the music industry. Actually,I started getting involved in music when I was in preschool. One of my music teachers called my Mom and said, “Matt’s really good at this.” My Mom replied, “Really?” I started doing some things around town. Mom put me in little music groups where I sang and it just kind of grew from there. At a young age, I knew it’s what I wanted to do. It’s what I loved. That’s how it all came about!

pitch them to you?

Matt: People help me locate songs and I’m also pitched songs throughout the year constantly. It almost gets to a point where, O.K. – no more songs. (laughs) I look for songs that portray a message I want to send or that my fans will relate to. That’s what I look for when picking a song. Songwriting is a whole industry in itself. Just because you might be a good artist doesn’t necessarily mean you’re a good songwriter, and vice versa.

Joyce: Now about your new CD, I’m just Sayin, how are you promoting this and what do you want your fans to know about it?

Matt: This CD has been a long time in coming, a long time in the making. I’m thrilled to finally have something that I’m proud of, that represents me. It’s the album that let’s people know where I am coming from and what I’m passionate about. I try to live my life to the fullest. I love being outdoors and traveling, taking advantage of everything and enjoying life to its fullest as best as I can. I hope this is reflected in my songs. I want people to get to know me as an artist, but as a person as well.

Joyce: Will you be touring?

Matt: I’ve been out on a radio tour for the past month and a half. 2011 is looking good, my agent is busy booking me. I will be playing all over the States.

Joyce: Coming to Wisconsin?

Matt: I don’t know about that yet. My agent is looking at State Fairs, festivals at this time. Maybe. We will also fire the radio tour back up the first part of this year. That will continue for a couple more months and doing shows in between.

Joyce: If you ever have any spare time, what do you do, hobbies?

Matt: Spare time, what is that? I love to golf. I try to spend as much time on the golf course as possible.

However, this doesn’t mean I’m good at golf, but I enjoy it. It’s relaxing for me. I like to go fishing and I work out. That is the 3 things I basically do in my spare time.

Joyce: Matt, which instruments do you play?

Joyce: Plans for the Sophomore CD? 2011 or ?????

Matt: I play a little keyboard and a little guitar.

Matt: That’s a good question. Right now I have no idea.

I’m guessing we will probably go in the studio towards the end of 2011.

Joyce: Lessons or self taught?

Matt: When I was younger; I took piano lessons, but to be honest I was never really good at reading sheet music.

I was always playing by ear. Teachers never really liked that because that’s not what they want you to do. I’m picking up the guitar more and more and enjoying it.

Joyce: Matt, do you write songs, co-write or mainly do other people’s songs?

Matt: I do write. When I first moved to Nashville, the first project that I did I wrote myself. I ended up scratching the project two weeks after it was completed because I was kind of being pushed in a direction I really didn’t want to go. It wasn’t really what I wanted to do.

This go around I got to meet with Frank Myers, he’s an incredible songwriter --Songs like Front Porch Lookin In, I Swear, --Billy Baker and Billy Montana are also writers featured on the new CD. My philosophy is…the “song” wins; I don’t care who wrote it, a hit song is a hit song. When I was going through this process, I was putting my songs up against other people’s songs. Their songs kind of won. I’m still new to the writing thing and I’m still learning it. I love it. I am holding on to a couple of songs I wrote for my Sophomore album. I guess I’m thinking ahead.

Joyce: How do you pick other people’s songs? Do they

Joyce: When you are out playing in Nashville, where should people look for you?

Matt: I usually play at 12th & Porter,Wild Horse Saloon, The Rutledge and the Cadillac Ranch.

Joyce: Ok, I may have to come check you out when I’m in Nashville and we will be watching for a new CD. Thanks for your time and good luck to you. Maybe I’ll catch you at a fair or festival this summer.

Matt: I’ll see you there! Thanks so much.

Matt is energetic and very passionate about his music which I think will take him a long way. Check him out and purchase his CD at: Official site: http://www.mattgarymusic.com/ MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/mgarymusic Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/MattGaryMusic Twitter: http://twitter.com/mattgarymusic Story by: Joyce Ziehli Photos supplied.

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aron... continued from page 28

four of a kind... continued from page 23

have done that. It was his first CD release party because he had always been a sideman. To sell out a club on his own really meant the world to him. There were over 400 people there.

I have a picture of her in mind for the Rockwell cover.

She would be standing beside a square wooden table that was covered with a well-worn oil cloth that she bought by the yard at the “Dime Store“. On the table would be the bread dough that she was kneading as part of her bread making process. The table would be flour covered, and there would be a hint of flour on her apron and hands.

She would be smiling. Even with her having had so many tragic things in her life, she smiled easily, and she lit up the room with her smile. She lived into her mid-90’s outliving all her sons.

AG: What was the worst?

Williams: It was in Louisville Kentucky. It started out slow and got slower. The crowd (ten people) was not into us and started leaving the bar. By the time the show was done the bartenders had even left! (laughs) AG: Ever thought about playing Europe?

Williams: We have. The band has friends who have toured Europe and especially the Netherlands where they love the kind of music we play.

We would love to give it a try.

AG: What’s the secret to Aaron Williams and the Hoodoo?

Williams: I think it’s the longevity that we hope and work for. Keep doing what we do best and that is to play live as much as possible. Keep putting on the best shows we can and playing the best music we can. We work at getting better as musicians, writers, and performers. All in all it’s doing something we all really love doing, making music!

For more information on Aaron Williams check out: www.aaronwilliamsandthehoodoo.com www.myspace.com/aaronwilliamsandthehoodoo www.twitter.com/AWATH Written by: Andy Ziehli Photos Supplied

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I met Minnie for the first time around 1968. I had a home built on the edge of Belleville. Minnie and her husband Hubert lived across the road from my home. Minnie, too, wore an apron every day of her life. Minnie judged other people by their work ethics. If she thought you worked hard, she was your friend. Lucky for me she thought I was a hard worker.

She used to tell me how much she enjoyed watching me work on my gardens and lawn. The longer I stayed outside working on them, the dirtier I got, and more I was using the wheelbarrow the more she respected me.

If I backed my car out to wash it, she backed hers out to do the same, and if I took out the ladder to wash windows, she took out her ladder to wash her windows. I thought to myself that I had better stay off the roof because Minnie might think she had to climb up on her roof, too. As she got older, I would take her mail in for her, and she would always tell me to throw the dunning letters away and don’t bring them into the house. I shared my leftovers with her. She got to the point that her hand was out for the food even before I got into the room. She would often give me her grocery list, and she would make me promise not to tell her family about some of the things she wanted especially bags of very salty popcorn and packages of frozen waffles. She loved to have you stop for a few minutes just to visit with her. Her television might be on so loud that you could hear it across the street, but the minute you came into the room, the set was turned off so we could visit. If you went away for the day, she would watch your house in absence,and before you got into the house,your phone would be ringing because she wanted to give you a report on things while you were gone.“You have a package by your front door.”

She would tell you if you had company while you were gone,and then she could describe them so that you soon figured out who had visited. I was always pleased that she looked after me and my house in my absence. Once I was gone for the weekend to be in a wedding. She waited up beyond her bedtime for my return. I walked over to let her see me dressed in my finery. We visited a bit before I crossed the street to go home. Before I was in my front door, her lights were off, and she was off to bed. If she called early in the morning, it was a report of bad news she had learned early that day. A favorite time for her was when my friends from Freeport would visit.

They always traveled in groups. They packed their station wagon with people. Every possible space in that station wagon held a passenger. They would announce their arrival by honking the horn as the entered my driveway,and soon the process to empty the car of the passengers began.

Minnie loved to watch them crawl out, and she always counted to see how many came that day. Then she would call a few of her daily phone contacts to tell them that today ten people came in that station wagon to visit me.

Minnie had a belief that a person’s goodness in life was measured by the number of pies brought to your funeral. One day she made a pie to take to a funeral in town that morning.

She backed her car out, and then she went into her kitchen to get her freshly baked pie. As she walked out with the pie, she noticed someone taking two pies into the mourner’s house. Later she called me to tell me that she did not think that deceased person had worked enough in their life, and that person was not worth three pies, so she took her pie back into her kitchen and kept it for herself. When Minnie died, I took two pies to her funeral. I knew there would be many pies at her funeral, and I wanted to be part of honoring her in the way most important to her. I got to attend her 100 birthday celebration, and I got the pleasure of helping carry her to her grave when she died at 103.

Note: you will meet the other two of“these four of a kind” in the next issue of this newspaper.

Written by: Bob Hoffman

Sugar River Studios

The small town studio with the big sound!

Sugar River Studios specializes in demo, single, and EP recording. Our hearts and ears are in Americana/Country music recording. That’s not to say that we can’t rock when we need to, so rock & rollers are always welcome too!

Sugar River Studios are located in Belleville, WI a short 16 miles from South Madison. We work with Singer/songwriters, duos, and bands to bring a customized product to completion. Our services include: • Tracking • Mixing • Demo’s • Singles •EP’s • Transfer and conversion from analog recordings to CD’s

•Full production CD’s

We have state of the art digital equipment, analog tube effects, top of the line microphones, vintage recording and outboard gear.

If you are interested in setting up a recording session please call 608-558-8131. Rates are very competitive. Session time can be booked by the hour or project. If you want a recording that will spring from the speakers and grab your audience Sugar River Studios is the studio for you! Give us a call before you record your next project. Our staff will make your recording project an enjoyable and memorable experience.

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ERIC BRACE

PETER COOPER

PHIL LEE

Featuring: Tim Carroll, Pat McInerney & Bones Hillman Friday, March 4, 2011 • 7:00-10:30 p.m.

FREE FREE ADMISSION Puempel’s Olde Tavern • New Glarus, WI ADMISSION SONGWRITERS IN THE ROUND with Marc Barnaby, Mark Croft, Matt Belknap, Rob Kosmeder & Andy Ziehli • 7:00-8:30 p.m.

PERFORMANCES by Eric Brace, Peter Cooper, & Phil Lee • 8:30-10:30 p.m.

KEEPING THE MUSIC GOING FUND-RAISER SATURDAY • MARCH 5, 2011 BELLEVILLE HIGH SCHOOL AUDITORIUM Matt Belknap • Bathtub Mothers • Marc Barnaby Tony DiPofi • Amber Skies 7:00 - 10:00 p.m.

Shows sponsored by Americana Gazette For tickets contact: Americana Gazette @ 608-424-6300 or purchase at Sugar River Bank in Belleville.

Hurry, limited seating!!!!