Thursday, September 26, 2019

IRIS DeMENT
Can Move Mountains!
SEPTEMBER 15, 2019
BUCKMAN ARTS CENTER, ST. MARY'S EPISCOPAL SCHOOL, MEMPHIS, TN
Iris DeMent stayed to chat and sign albums until the last person
had a chance to visit. Proceeds from sales were donated to
MIFA. Iris backs up what she sings about!
We've never seen a performer do that. Ever!
       IRIS DeMENT can move mountains, and she will surely move you! Her voice and her song selection hit you hard--right between the eyes. She penetrates your very soul and you can't take your eyes or ears away for a second. We have put off blogging about Iris DeMent for a couple of weeks, because we just didn't know what to say or how to say it.
       One thing is for sure and certain: There is nobody like Iris DeMent! Her gentle touch on the piano and on the strings of her guitar stands out in contrast to the plaintive cry in her voice. And she is not afraid to sing about what many others would not dare to tackle. Her music carries the message that we're all out there striving for something better. Salvation? Maybe. Freedom and justice? Forgiveness for self and others? Count on it.
       Iris DeMent started life as one of 14 kids (the last one!) in nearby Paragould, AR. The family moved to Southern California, where she lived most of her earlier years. The wide separation of lifestyles between rural Arkansas and Southern California, cotton sacks and dirt roads of the Delta, mingle with the complicated life of the West Coast. It's all there inside this creature called Iris DeMent. Today, she lives in Iowa with her musician husband Greg Brown and their daughter whom they adopted in Russia.
       Russia brings us to Iris' sixth album, The Trackless Woods, which was influenced by the book of Russian poetry by Anna Akhmatova (1889-1966). Iris knew quickly what would come next. She would try to set Akhmatova's poems to music. The poet knew the hardships of the Bolshevik Revolution, two world wars, and Stalin. Anna lived it and somehow made it through with her poetry. Time passed and 16 tracks later, which were recorded 'live in Iris' living room under the guidance of producer Richard Bennett and a few musicians, Anna's poems with Iris' magic touch are The Trackless Woods. Babette Deutsch and Lyn Coffin served as translators for the project.
       We encourage you to purchase the album. Its haunting beauty will hang around in your mind forever. The Anna Akhmatova songs: To My Poems, Broad Gold, And This You Call Work, From The Oriental Notebook, Prayer, Not With Deserters, All Is Sold, Reject The Burden, From An Airplane, Oh How Good, Like A White Stone, Song About Songs, Listening To Singing, Lot's Wife, Upon The Hard Crest, The Souls of All My Dears, The Last Toast, Not With A Lover's Lyre, and Anna Akhmatova's Recitation of "The Muse".
       Iris DeMent’s music isn't just on her collection of CDs. Perhaps you have heard her voice in movies like "True Grit" and "Songcatcher," in which she actually had a role. The final scene of one of our favorite series, "Northern Exposure"? Yes, that's the Grammy-nominated Iris. "The Leftovers" and "The Handmaid's Tale," too? Iris again. She has garnered the respect of her musical peers, such as John Prine, Emmylou Harris, and Merle Haggard, who referred to Iris as "the best singer I've ever heard".
       Her subject matter comes from everywhere: folk, country, gospel (she's a fan of Aretha Franklin, but who isn't?), bluegrass, Americana, and whatever she can use to reach out to her audiences. You are likely familiar with songs like "Our Town," "Let the Mystery Be," "Leaning on the Everlasting Arms," "Wash My Face in the Morning Dew," and her encore for the evening which brought the Buckman crowd to their feet, "When Morning Comes Around".
For More Information:
Iris DeMent  www.irisdement.com and The Trackless Woods is on Flariella Records
Anna Akhmatova  www.poetryfoundation.org 

Thursday, September 19, 2019

 
NO TIME FLATT
A WINGDING OF A CD RELEASE PARTY!  
THE OLD COUNTRY STORE, JACKSON, TN  
AUGUST 27, 2019
 
L to R:  Kevin Wright, Patrick Cupples, Becky Weaver,
Steve Moore, and Kevin Keen
 
      We're late getting the word out, but it's time you knew about the release of the second CD from West Tennessee's own NO TIME FLATT! The band has been together a mere five years, but with this second project called CALLING AFTER ME, the band has really come into its own. Folks have found them, they love them, and the band is excited about playing for fans from near and far! No Time Flatt is the 2017 and 2018 Bluegrass Band of the Year from the Tennessee Music Awards held annually at the University of Memphis Lambuth Campus, Jackson, TN. The band has twice played Pickin' on the Plaza presented by WSM 650 outside the Ryman Auditorium, the "mother church" of bluegrass and country music, Nashville, TN. The band is headed back to Paragould, AR, for the final KASU-FM 91.9 Bluegrass Monday concert of 2019 on November 25. Join them at the Collins Theatre! It's a $5 minimum pass-the-hat for the show. Buffet supper beforehand is down the street at Terry's CafĂ©. You can't find a deal like this anywhere else! Visit the band's website below the blog to see their schedule of upcoming performances. No Time Flatt consists of Kevin Wright (guitar, vocals), Patrick Cupples (bass, vocals), Steve Moore (banjo, vocals), Becky Weaver (fiddle, vocals), and Kevin Keen (mandolin)
L to R: Kevin Keen, Steve Moore, Kevin Wright,
Patrick Cupples, and Becky Weaver

L. Kevin Keen  Center Clark Shaw telling
a bit of the Civil War history of nearby
Trenton, TN
L to R: Kevin Wright, Steve Moore,
Becky Weaver, Patrick Cupples
and Kevin Keen
      
 





It is becoming a tradition to have what is known as a CD release party for bands to introduce their latest effort. They let friends, fans, and other interested folks know about the date, time, and place. CLARK SHAW of BROOKS SHAW & SON OLD COUNTRY STORE located in Casey Jones Village, Exit 80A, Jackson, TN, has generously hosted the two CD release parties for No Time Flatt. Thanks, Clark and crew of The Old Country Store! There were upwards of 250 people there for the August 27, 2019, event. There was some great food, lots of family and friends, and some very fine music from No Time Flatt. Mark and Sharrye Holder provided excellent work on the sound for each of the CD release parties by No Time Flatt.
       Calling After Me is a recollection of difficulties during and after the Civil War, and even the historic home in the photographs was part of that trying time here in America. Clark Shaw introduced the band by sharing some history of the area. The home seen in the YouTube video was referred to as the Witness House during the Battle of Trenton, TN, in the winter of 1862-63.
       Set 1:  Fox on the Run, How Deep Is the Lonesome, Dixieland Delight, Little Lou, I've Lived a Lot in My Time, Before the Cold Wind Blows, Ten Plagues, Foolin' Around, and Long Gone
       Set 2:  The Methodist Preacher, The Golden Rule, This Must Be Love, Calling After Me, I Can't Live Without Dying, Whiskey and Tears, Tammy Marie, I Love You in a Song, Encore #1 Rocky Top, Encore #2 Go On Ahead and Go Home.
 
Fans of No Time Flatt (known as FLATTHEADS) love this band! A Flatthead said that!
 
Further Information:
No Time Flatt  www.notimeflatt.com Facebook, Google Play, Spotify, Apple Music, Airplay Direct
Contact: Kevin Wright, 115 Creekwood Road, Humboldt, TN 38343 Ph 731.616.1208
 

L to R: Kevin Keen, Steve Moore, Kevin Wright, and
Patrick Cupples  Note: Becky Weaver was in line getting
supper for this blogger  Thanks, Becky!