A Rose for the Holiday

by Nicole Corley

Tuesday December 02, 2008, 2:46 PM

Michigan native Rosie Thomas and crew, including her new hubby, share the season's cheer with a concert at Calvin's Ladies Literary Club.

What to give your friends for Christmas? Something thoughtful, something inexpensive.

Hmmm... Many Christmases ago, Rosie Thomas sat with a friend in her Seattle apartment asking this same question. They decided to throw together a Christmas album, which, of course, their friends loved. Years later, when Thomas's friend Sufjan Stevens put out his Christmas album, she asked him what inspired him, and he reminded her of the gift she had given him so long ago. Then she realized that nowadays, she has a lot more people to share a Christmas album with.

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Random Musical Notes

by Joanne N. Bailey

Tuesday December 02, 2008, 2:44 PM

Holiday Hoedown

Heard "Little Drummer Boy" to the point you want to smash the drum? Swap your "bah, humbugs" for "yee-haws!" with a little down-home country fun provided by Trailer Choir, which rolls into The Intersection December 18. You'll certainly be having a merry old time as Butter and Crystal belt out the tunes while Big Vinny dances to such originals as "Off the Hillbilly Hook" and "Rockin' the Beer Gut." Here's an early Christmas present to boot: advance tickets are $4.93. At the door, the price becomes $8.

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In Session

by Various

Tuesday December 02, 2008, 2:41 PM

Sacred Space
Diane Penning

Finally there is a recording that captures just how beautiful Diane Penning's voice really is. A mixture of classic sacred music and favorite songs and spirituals, you can't help but be moved by Penning from the opening "O Magnum Mysterium" to the finale, a haunting rendition of "Sweet Little Jesus Boy," that had me hitting the replay button quite a few times. Another track not to miss is composer Nicholas Palmer's arrangement of "Gloria," which features Palmer, violinist Cameron Warne, and flutist Karen Betz performing on a Griewahn flute. The light, playfulness of the flute against the piano and violin evoke delightful images of laughter and dance.

If you're looking for a little escape from all that is happening in the world right now or just want something to sooth the soul this holiday season, I think Sacred Space would certainly fit the bill. A-
Joanne N. Bailey

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Luck Be a Lady

by Joanne N. Bailey

Friday October 24, 2008, 5:04 PM

Expect to be charmed when two-time Grammy Award-nominated artist Karrin Allyson takes the stage this month at St. Cecilia Music Center.

The first time I heard Karrin (pronounced CAR-in) Allyson was during a media event this past summer announcing St. Cecilia Music Center's 2008--2009 season. Suddenly I was flipping through papers to read her bio: friends helped her cover the expenses of a CD that happened to land with a DJ/record producer, which got her a record contract that lead to rave reviews putting her in the company of Ella Fitzgerald and Shirley Horn and two Grammy Award nominations. All I could think was "Where have I been?" As luck would have it, Allyson was able to squeeze me into her schedule before jet-setting to Europe for a one-night performance and then back to the states for a tour that leads her to Grand Rapids this month.

OTT: What's your earliest recollection of being introduced to music?

Allyson: Well, my mom was a classical pianist. My grandparents were musicians, and not. I come from a line of ministers, so there was music. I started off on classical piano and went to the University of Nebraska, Omaha, to study music with an emphasis on classical piano. It was there that I discovered jazz.

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The Music of Dance

by Joanne N. Bailey

Friday October 24, 2008, 4:57 PM

"You know, when I wake up in the morning, I just go," said Savion Glover. "I never really stop and think about should I put my hat on this way or that, not thinking that little JoJo down the street would be copying that. I'm more conscious about it now and tell the kids that it's not about the shoes or what kind of shoes...it's all about the dance."

Ever since Glover walked into his first tap-dance class, he was hooked. "I was a drummer in a group called Three Plus," he said during a recent phone interview. "We were performing at a club in New York, and my mother signed me up for tap classes. I fell in love from the door...so you can blame it on my mother."

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In Session

by On-the-Town

Thursday October 02, 2008, 10:04 AM

Didn't It Feel Kinder
Amy Ray
Daemon Records

My Indigo Girls knowledge begins and ends with its popular song "Closer to Fine." Does that automatically disqualify me from writing an intelligent review? We'll find out as I'm only dealing with half of the American folk-rock duo as gone is Emily Saliers and up for another solo effort (she's gone astray before) is Amy Ray with Didn't It Feel Kinder. The singer/songwriter's intimate lyrics and sense of musical identity are strongest with the somber "Birds of a Feather" and the breathy beginnings of "She's Got To Be." The upbeat "Cold Shoulder" gets feisty as Ray sings, "I hang with the deviants and the tranny nation / They don't take the name their mama gave 'em." Want to hear it firsthand? Both Indigo Girls perform at the Kalamazoo State Theatre October 4. B Melissa Black Continue reading "In Session" »

Takin' It to the Hills

by Martin Zyla

Thursday October 02, 2008, 9:58 AM

...Forest Hills Fine Arts Center that is, as "blue-eyed soul" legend Michael McDonald comes in for a one-night performance.

So how does a kid from St. Louis, born into a first generation Irish-Catholic home, self-described as "very Old World," find a voice in soul music?

At first, it was the voice of Michael McDonald's father, a classic Irish tenor that brought him to the discovery of music. "I think I really inherited his love of a good song, of a good lyric, of a good story, and that is really where I think I got my love of songwriting," McDonald said. But it was the radio and the sounds of Motown that he ultimately fell in love with.

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Come Together

by Nicole Corley

Thursday October 02, 2008, 9:54 AM

A group of area musicians encourage everyone to join the party in
celebrating a man who still inspires the world.

Guess who turns sixty-eight on October 9? OK, yes, maybe your Uncle Harry, but that's not who this article is about. Unless your Uncle Harry has an alter ego who was an British singer-songwriter, artist, and peace activist who wore round glasses and you have an Aunt Yoko Ono. No? OK, then we're talking about John Lennon.

And you're invited to his birthday party at Founders. The coordinator of the honorary B-day bash, Joshua Burge (of local band Chance Jones), is a self-proclaimed Lennon nerd. "When I was fourteen, I heard The Beatles for the first time and that was what put a guitar in my hand. Ever since then, I've been a huge John Lennon fan," Burge said. So he's inviting fellow music lovers, casual Lennon appreciators, and Lennon nerds alike to come celebrate the life, music, vision, and influence of this working-class hero.

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To the Beat of the Drum

by Caryn Elam

Wednesday September 03, 2008, 2:59 PM

The Grand Rapids Symphony kicks off its Decade with David with a bang, a boom, and a crash all provided by principal timpanist Shannon Wood.

It isn't a piano, a violin, or other melodic instrument that will be taking center stage this month as the Grand Rapids Symphony opens its 2008--2009 season. No, rather a tuxedoed timpanist, whose hummingbird hands hammer six kettledrums, will be raising the roof and snagging all the attention.

Regular partakers of traditional classical music may tend to relegate the percussive element of an orchestra as of secondary importance. Yet it is the percussionist who heralds the crescendo with rumbling drums and clashing cymbals; he is the exclamation point. They Symphony principal timpanist Shannon Wood acknowledges the often secondary role percussion plays, yet regularly he feels like a soloist in the sense he always plays alone. A violinist shares a performance with the rest of the section. "I am my own section," Wood said.

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Making Her Mark

by Mark Hensch

Wednesday September 03, 2008, 2:50 PM

Midwest native Julie Neumark returns to Grand Rapids, this time performing at Jukes.

Here is a lady who sings like an angel yet cakes her fingernails with dirt. She could be that stereotypical girl next door, but bother her in a dark alley and a trip to the hospital is coming next. Los Angeles's Julie Neumark hits hard with the intensity of rock, grounded country, and intimate folk simultaneously. I chatted with this versatile songwriter about nasty, nice, and the music in between.

OTT: Tell me about your latest album. What does the phrase "dimestore halo" mean to you?

Neumark: Dimestore Halo came out of an experience I had at a group seminar where this one person started talking about how we can solve certain problems in two days or less. It got me thinking that people in our nation, maybe even our world, are obsessed with instant gratification. People do not want to work anymore for something good. I think that, left to our own devices, we can all be pretty lazy sometimes. In my mind, a halo is representative of being a good person. The phrase itself, "dimestore halo," invokes how people want something for little effort, good for cheap, kind of along that same idea of laziness. We get value through hard work.

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In Session

by Various Authors

Wednesday September 03, 2008, 2:42 PM

Drastic Fantastic
KT Tunstall
VIRGIN RECORDS

One of my favorite things about KT Tunstall is the chameleon that is her voice. One moment it's a raspy cry; listen again and there's unwavering decrees followed by smooth and silky turns like a ribbon in a young girl's hair. Half the fun is trying to figure out which girl you might be listening to next.

I like to think there's a timid journal writer singing "White Bird." This softer ballad is lyrically driven and a nice meditation.

A potent and dancey "Hold On" should get lots of radio play. This convincing incarnation has a wise sound that would feed off the energy of live audiences. When Tunstall sings this track you know you best obey.

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Q & A with KT

by Melissa Black

Sunday July 27, 2008, 4:28 PM

She's the "no, no, no" girl. She's the one who let her heart do all the talking on her first single and smash hit "Black Horse And The Cherry Tree" from the multi-platinum debut Eye to the Telescope. Rolling Stone has hailed her as a "folk-rock goddess." We're talking about and to the Scottish-born singer and songwriter KT Tunstall who is performing at the Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park August 11. All together now: Woo-hoo!

OTT: What can Gardengoers expect to hear at the concert? Some popular songs, obviously new songs off Drastic Fantastic, and ... any covers? Do you have your setlist in place before you walk on stage, or is there some impromptu element?

KT: We carefully think about how to put the show together. We try and use different song styles. I enjoy mixing up slow, soft ballads with the foot-stomping songs. You'll hear mandolin, double bass...We've done "Walk Like An Egyptian."

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Hitting the Big Time in Their Own Backyard

by Herb Woerpel

Sunday July 27, 2008, 4:26 PM

We gather some insight from two local bands who performed at the inaugural Rothbury Festival.

There is no place like home.

After spending nearly a decade in search of superstardom across the United States, West Michigan mainstays Four Finger Five and Sweet Japonic never envisioned the village of Rothbury as a key destination on their yellow brick road to success.

"We have been as far west as Portland, as far east as Boston and New York City, as far south as New Orleans and everywhere in between," said Joe Sturgill, singer and guitarist for Four Finger Five. "If you would have told me a couple years ago that our biggest gig would be in Rothbury, I would have said you are out of your mind."

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Taking Flight

by Various

Sunday July 27, 2008, 4:18 PM

Wake up as The Battle Royale brings the party and the Conchords bring the laughs.

Wake Up, Thunderbabe
The Battle Royale
Afternoon Records

Giddy pop tracks to make you dance alongside sweet and stripped-down acoustic folk ditties. It's a bit Jekyll and Hyde if you ask me, but it works for this Minneapolis band, which has garnered genres as if attending an Easter egg hunt with the colorful modern pop, electro, indie, disco-house, and folk terms thrown in the basket. The band brings a first date/birthday party/last-day-of-school sort of energy, and if you missed its gig at the DAAC, I'll remind you about the band's Wake Up, Thunderbabe release with noteworthy tracks "Wake Me Up," "Notebooks," and "Racecar." This is the kind of band that asks you to "bring your best Charlie Brown dance" to the party. Even your grandma would get down to this. Fun! Fun! B+
Melissa Black

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