Showing posts with label Americana. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Americana. Show all posts

Friday, November 2, 2012

"THE FIRST COUPLE OF FOLK ROCK", MIKE and RUTHY are coming to Boston



 NOTLOB PARLOUR CONCERTS PRESENTS...

"THE FIRST COUPLE OF FOLK ROCK."


THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 8PM  


PRESENTED AT THE HISTORIC LORING-GREENOUGH HOUSE, JAMAICA PLAIN


Mike + Ruthy

Living legends and rising young stars performing in a 261-year-old house make notloB Parlour Concerts a Boston treasure.

Welcome back Mike + Ruthy! Having combined a total of seven times as a duo or as a part of the Jay Ungar and Molly Mason Family Band (Jay Ungar is Ruth’s father) or as a part of Sometymes Why, Mike Merenda and Ruth Ungar Merenda are no strangers to the notloB series.

As a duo Mike + Ruthy have refined their sound down to the very core of acoustic American music, demonstrating an uncommon ability to create songs as lyrically sophisticated as Bob Dylan or Leonard Cohen and as harmonically beautiful as Gillian Welch & David Rawlings or Simon & Garfunkel. With their arsenal of fiddle, banjo, guitar, ukulele and their hallmark harmony singing, a Mike + Ruthy concert is overstuffed with soulful songs and stories and a timeless sound that is spellbinding and pure.

Over a decade of touring has taken them worldwide where they've performed well over a thousand concerts in listening rooms, living rooms and festivals as well as performances at NYC's Carnegie Hall accompanying Arlo Guthrie in 2005 (with their former band The Mammals) and Madison Square Garden as part of Pete Seeger's 90th birthday celebration in 2009.

2012 will see Mike + Ruthy's 4th release entitled The NYC EP featuring the premiere recording of "My New York City" a beautifully revived Woody Guthrie lyric from the Woody Guthrie Archives. The song will also be included on "My Name is New York," a 4-CD compilation being issued by Woody Guthrie Publications including new recordings by Pete Seeger, Arlo Guthrie, and Bob Dylan and more.  Mike + Ruthy are on tour in 2012; with a springtime CD release tour and another national swing in the fall.

"The essence of American music . . . this summer's must-hear acoustic album." - Performer Magazine

"Quite a few folks have done this 'set-Woody's-lyrics-to-music thing' over the past couple decades. I'm not sure anyone's ever done it better than this." - Peter Blackstock (co-founder of No Depression)

“Extraordinary . . . some of the most exquisitely expressive vocals you will hear in the roots music field" -AmericanRootsUK.com

“Mike + Ruthy are carrying the torch for simple, heartfelt acoustic music . . . the rustic kind without any smoothing out of the edges with a direct line back to the Carter Family via Woody Guthrie, Hank Williams, Bob Dylan and even the Byrds" - Maverick Magazine, UK

“Mike + Ruthy have become a force to be reckoned with in the acoustic music world, and [The NYC EP] proves their mettle . . . Bold banjos rule, fiery fiddles run wild, and an expansive sound that threatens to raise the rafters prevails.” – The Daily Freeman”

“There's perhaps no better way to summarize the lasting impact of Woody Guthrie's music than to note the quality of the very newest music being made with his words. Husband-wife Mike and Ruthy Merenda got the lyrics to "My New York City" from the Guthrie archives and set it to one of the most gorgeous melodies ever to accompany one of Woody's songs. It came out in April 2012: Brand new right now, it's destined to become a classic.” - eMusic’s 20 Best Woody Guthrie Songs (Sung By Other People)

"Mike + Ruthy channel Woody Guthrie." - Journal & Courier

"The first couple of folk rock." - Radio Free Americana

"Everything else starts from music like this." - AmieStreet.com

"Infectious new folk rock" - Boston Globe 

“Seemingly descended not just from one famous folkie, but the entire folk tradition itself." - Willamette Week

“Some of the best songwriting of their generation - literate, political, melodic, alternately angry and satirical and sensual." - Michael Simmons

Presented at the historic Loring-Greenough House, 12 South Street, Jamaica Plain, MA 02130
Sliding scale $14-19, JPTC 20% member discount + $1 preservation fee.
Doors 7:30, Concert 8:00pm
Due to the parlour’s intimate size, reservations are strongly advised. Email notlobreservations at gmail dot com
Concert & series information: https://sites.google.com/site/notlobmusic/

Pastries from Fiore's & Coffee from JP Licks
Public transportation information: http://mbta.com/

notloB concerts are volunteer-run and not-for-profit. 100% of patron donations go to the artists and production expenses.

"In this era of pop-driven acoustic music, notloB is keeping the folk tradition alive." 
-Jack Hardy


Upcoming:
Saturday, December 8 ~ August Watters and Jose Lezcano
Sliding scale $10-15, JPTC 20% member discount + $1 preservation fee.




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Wednesday, December 24, 2008

The Sacred Shakers, 1/31/09

Happy Winter!

As I get ready to visit family and friends for this holiday I am reminded of all the patrons and volunteers who have helped support Notlob Concerts this year. Thank you so much for coming out to shows and bringing great energy with you.

I just got off the phone, finalized booking Signature Sounds recording artists THE SACRED SHAKERS for Saturday, January 31, 2009!




How fitting to have the Sacred Shakers in the Clarendon Hill sanctuary.

Suggested donation will be $12.50 general, $10 students and seniors and will be available through Brown Paper Tickets after the first of the new year. If you have last-minute holiday shopping to do you're done, just write a note and buy tickets online in their name.

You can read more about them at their website and myspace.

Press

Country Standard Time - 8.22.08

Smålandsposten - 8.13.08

Boston Herald - 8.5.08

Boston Globe- 8.1.08

Daily Freeman - 8.1.08

Songs: Illinois - 7.25.08

Fish Records (UK) - 7.17.08

Bio

For The Sacred Shakers, there's nothing finer than old-time, country and blues-influenced gospel music. Think Hank Williams, The Carter Family, The Stanley Brothers, Son House, and Mississippi Fred McDowell. Beginning in 2005, that music drew a small but ever-widening circle of some of Boston's finest musicians and vocalists together at the Country Gospel Brunch concert series. In short order, The Boston Globe described the group as "a local Who's Who of all-star roots musicians." And last summer, after hearing a single live performance by The Sacred Shakers, indie Signature Sounds label owner Jim Olsen encouraged the group to record their repertoire. On their eponymous debut, The Sacred Shakers offer new life to the gospel genre by revisiting the stripped down country and bluesy gospel material that inspires them.


On The Sacred Shakers, respect is paid to the old tunes but don't look for a strict interpretation on this 14-track disc of mostly traditional gems plus a few gospel classics from Hank Williams and George Jones. Forget about the R&B grooves and slick sounds of modern gospel. Unlike many modern artists' versions of heavy spiritual tunes, the Shakers don't clean things up or over-produce and make it sound pretty. The Shakers simply play the songs and transition effortlessly from slower acoustic country/bluegrass like "Ready To Go Home," to their rollicking rockabilly version of the traditional "I'm Gonna Do My Best," and on to the droning blues of "Travelin' Shoes." As for the religious angle of these songs, the Shakers are an omni-denominational band, joining Christians, Jews and Agnostics to share this genuine, historic music with their believer and non-believer fans.

The beauty of The Sacred Shakers (live and on CD) is the easy mix and match of lead vocalists, with Fram taking lead backed up by Jewell's rich harmonies on some numbers, Beek and Jewell joining voices on another, and the pure ring of Glassman or Royer out in front on others  all with some combination of the others voices not far behind. The choice of songs was an equally democratic process, as Beek puts it, "One of us heard a particular tune, brought it to the band and together we processed it through the Shaker format to come out sounding good and fun." That approach of putting a contemporary spin on older material follows the recipe Jewell, Beek, Sciascia and Miller took collectively as the Eilen Jewell Band on her internationally acclaimed 2007 label debut, Letters From Sinners & Strangers. Of Jewell's original songs and selection of covers, The Washington Post praised "her knack for giving older songs a traditional feel with modern flair." And like that debut, The Sacred Shakers is a wonderful distillation of classic folk, country and blues styles delivered by an unforgettable chorus of voices.



The Sacred ShakersThe Sacred Shakers On Sale! New!
Company: Signature Sounds
Catalog Number: SIG 2015
For The Sacred Shakers, there's nothing finer than old-time, country and blues-influenced gospel music. Think Hank Williams, The Carter Family, The Stanley Brothers, Son House, and Mississippi Fred McDowell. Beginning in 2005, that music drew a small but ever-widening circle of some of Boston's finest musicians and vocalists together at the Country Gospel Brunch concert series. In short order, The Boston Globe described the group as "a local Who's Who of all-star roots musicians." And last summer, after hearing a single live performance by The Sacred Shakers, indie Signature Sounds label owner Jim Olsen encouraged the group to record their repertoire. On their eponymous debut, The Sacred Shakers offer new life to the gospel genre by revisiting the stripped down country and bluesy gospel material that inspires them. [More Info and Sound Clips]