Episode 237: Hillside Inside 2016

This edition of Folk Roots Radio features music from performers at this year’s Hillside Inside, the winter version of the Hillside Festival. Hillside Inside takes place from January 29 – 31  at a variety of venues in downtown Guelph, and includes some great community activities alongside some fabulous musical performances.

Artists performing at this year’s festival include Basia Bulat, Casey Mecjia (from indie faves Ohbijou), Dakhabrakha, The Strumbellas, The Elwins, Geoff Berner and the Grand River Ramblers.

Also, Anna and Jane McGarrigle, sisters to sadly departed Kate McGarrigle and aunts to Rufus and Martha Wainwright, will be reading from their family memoir Mountain City Girls in the afternoon of Saturday, January 30 in the gorgeous sanctuary of St. George’s Church. A Q & A will follow. On this episode of Folk Roots Radio we played the song “Love Is” from the McGarrigles fabulous 1990 album “Heartbeats Accelerating”, a song co-written by Kate and Anna with big sister Jane.

Hillside Inside also features a Sunday Gospel Session, a youth showcase and the winter festival favourite, Girls and Guitars – taking place in six downtown storefronts (cafes, stores, and a gallery), showcasing six female singer-songwriters for half-hour shows that you can take in on the street or in the store. Individual show tickets and weekend passes are available online or at The Bookshelf, 41 Quebec Street, downtown Guelph. Buy tickets online HERE. Check out hillsidefestival.ca for all performance and community event details.

Glenn Frey from the Eagles sadly passed away this week. The Eagles (or Eagles as they were intended to be known) were probably unfairly maligned, after the arrival of punk and new wave, because of the polished nature of their music, and the fact that they were so successful during their 70s head day – selling more than 150 million records — 100 million lone in the U.S. alone, including 42 million copies of “Their Greatest Hits (1971–1975)” and 32 million copies of “Hotel California”. I think I’ve bought at least two copies of both of those albums – and they’re still personal favourites. I’d have more of their excellent early albums if it made sense to acquire more for a CD collection thats already getting a bit too big for a folk-DJ with a home studio.

On this show, we played two songs written by Glenn Frey. The first “Take It Easy”, co-written with Jackson Browne, features lead vocals from Frey himself, and it was the lead off track on their Glyn Johns produced debut album “Eagles” in 1972. And after that… a cover version of a Glen Frey/Don Henley song, a hauntingly beautiful version of “Desperado”, as performed by the then nine year old Sheila Behman – with music supervisor, Hans Fenger on piano from the The Langley Schools Music Project albums “Innocence and Despair”. Recorded in 1976 and 1977, the albums contain some wonderfully natural interpretations of rock classics from the 70s including Bowie’s “Space Oddity”, Lennon & McCartney’s “The Long & Winding Road”, Brian Wilson’s “In My Room”, Fleetwood Mac’s “Rhiannon” and many more… and all as interpreted by pre-teens from Langley B.C. who clearly love singing and having a good time doing it.

Originally recorded for the kids to take home to their parents, both albums are now available on one CD and I can’t recommend it highly enough – and yes, I do believe that Sheila Behman’s version of “Desperado” is better than those by the Eagles and Linda Ronstadt. In retrospect I should have considered playing their version of “Space Oddity” as part of my  Bowie tribute if only for the kid banging a drum for all its worth as part of the accompaniment.

John Trudell, Native American author, poet, actor, musician and political activist passed away in December. I got to know his rock poetry in the 90s. We played two tracks as a tribute – “Rant & Roll” from the 1994 album “Johnny Damas & Me”, which incidently was produced by Jackson Browne. And then, “Graffiti Man” from the 1993 album “AKA Grafitti Man”.

Bellwood-based guitarist Gary Beck has a new album out, “I Witness”. Gary performs with his trio “Sideways” every Saturday at the Millcroft Inn & Spa in Alton. He also has a monthly residency at Manhattans in Guelph.

The ever-prolific Richard Garvey releases his latest E.P. “I Found A Box of Beer In The Snow”, recorded live off the floor with the Ever-Lovin’ Jug Band, with a show at The Bookshelf e-bar on Quebec St in Guelph on February 4. We’ll have an interview with Richard on next week’s show.

Nashville duo 10 String Symphony is a collaboration between Rachel Baiman and Christian Sedelmyer, two 5­-string fiddle players and veteran side players on the Nashville music scene. Rachel is a former Illinois state fiddle champion in the old time tradition. Clasically trained Christian is a touring member of the Jerry Douglas Band and previously played in rock bands. 10 String Symphony are already building a great reputation for their live shows and their 2015 album “Weight Of The World” has garnered excellent reviews and wide audience support. They’re in Guelph for Home Routes Guelph house concert on Sunday January 31 at 8 p.m. (Doors 7:15 p.m.). Tickets: $20 per person, $10 for students, free for kids under 12, bring some friends and get 6 tickets for $100. All six Concerts for $100. As house concerts take place in people’s homes, for privacy reasons, we are unable to share information about the venue and presenter. To contact the presenter visit homeroutes.ca/concerts/guelph or contact us directly and we’ll share their e-mail. For information on other Home Routes venues and regional touring artists, visit homeroutes.ca.

Well, that’s all we have time for. Check out the full playlist with artist links below and share your love for all the great folk and roots music out there. Thanks to all the artists who share their music with us, and thank you for listening. We have a lot of great music to bring you on future shows. I hope you’ll join us! You can listen to this show again on Mixcloud by following the link below.

Folk Roots Radio: Episode 237 Live & Local by Folk Roots Radio on Mixcloud

Nicolas & The Iceni (Theme)
Lucy She Rises (Demo)
Roll Right (expected 2016)

Kate & Anna McGarrigle
Love Is
Heartbeats Accelerating (1990, Private) CDN

Basia Bulat
Fool
Good Advice (2016, Secret City Records) CDN

Geoff Berner
I Don’t Feel so Mad at God When I See You in Your Summer Dress
We Are Going to Bremen to Be Musicians (2015, Coax Music) CDN

Grand River Ramblers
Rail Tie Blues
Outlawed (2015, Self) CDN

The Strumbellas
Spirits
(Single) (2015, Six Shooter Records) CDN

Dakhabrakha
Karpatskyi Rep
Light (2014, Self)

Gary Beck
The Way She Moves
I Witness (2015, Self) CDN

The Eagles
Take It Easy
Their Greatest Hits (1972, Asylum)

The Langley Schools Music Project
Desperado
Innocence and Despair (1977, Bar None Records) CDN

John Trudell
Rant & Roll
Johnny Damas & Me (1994, Rykodisc)

John Trudell
Grafitti Man
AKA Grafitti Man (1992, Rykodisc)

Richard Garvey
I Deserve It
Where Fools Gather (2015, Self) CDN

10 String Symphony
Anna Jane
Weight Of The World (2015, Poppychop Records)

Peter Willie Youngtree
Cornfields
(Single) (2015, Self) CDN