Kathrin Shorr & Tim Burlingame of Sweet Talk Radio

UPDATE 7/29/10: Here is the link to the March interview on KRUU with Tim and Kate.  You can stream it there or download and listen at your leisure.

Last August, I was at a cool but noisy bar in Lyons Colorado, with billiards in the back, a stage set with an array of acoustic instruments in front.  A tall blond man and a slender brunette woman stepped up and somewhat unassumingly started to play, without fanfare or announcements.  As they slowly built volume and momentum, the people in the bar one by one stopped talking and turned toward the music.  By the time the duo was blending harmonies in the first chorus of the song, they had the room in the palm of their hand.

Sweet Talk Radio is the husband and wife team of Kathrin Shorr and Tim Burlingame.  With a sound that has been described as alt-folk or americana-pop, the seasoned musicians have that magic chemistry of two people who have each others backs, and are passionate about making music.  As they seamlessly traded lead vocals, guitar riffs and even instruments, they always gave the songs room to breathe.  The metaphors and imagery in the lyrics tumbled over my ears, painting characters and whole relationships with just a few well chosen words.

But Sweet Talk Radio is from LA, and I’m from Iowa, so what were we both doing in Colorado?  Oh, just that little thing called Rocky Mountain Song School that I’ve been going to the past couple years and seem to end up talking about quite a bit on this blog!  Tim and Kathrin were instructors in performance, and after that show I knew I had to take their class because they were so calm, solid and grounded underneath all the fun they were having on stage.

It ended up that I missed the first part of their class because I was in a mentoring session, but I got some invaluable insights out of the part that I did get to attend.  And it was amazing watching the other students blossom under Kathrin and Tim’s instruction.  For example, I never would have imagined that Sue Krehbiel was not a highly experienced performer based on her time at the front of the class.

So yeah, Sweet Talk Radio = great songs, great performers.  Here are a couple of videos so you can see what I’m talking about!

Breaking My Own Heart:

Writing in Pen:

If you’re reading this elsewhere, you may need to come to the actual blog to see the videos

Back home, I had their album “My Hallelujah” on repeat for probably a full month.  I was completely sold before I even heard that they’ve had songs featured in numerous television series and commercials, or that they’ve shared the stage with the likes of Shawn Colvin, The Weepies, Glen Phillips, Kelly Jo Phelps, and Kenny Loggins.

So yes, I’m very excited that Fairfield will get the chance to see them live at Cafe Paradiso, Saturday, March 20th at 8pm.  Des Moines singer-songwriter (and previous Lyrical Venus favorite!) Mary McAdams opens. $10 at the door.

Check out their website: http://sweettalkradio.com -from there you’ll find links to all their other social sites!

And of course, all Lyrical Venus Radio listeners from everywhere can get to know Sweet Talk Radio if  they tune in to KRUU-LP 100.1 FM or kruufm.com this Tuesday, March 15th from 9-10am Central!  Interview at 9:30am.

An excited me in my tent behind the stage at Rocky Mountain Folks Fest

Oops, did I leave you alone for two weeks without telling you why?  I hope you’ll forgive me when I say that it was to go off to Rocky Mountain Song School and Folks Fest at Planet Bluegrass in Lyons, Colorado.  This was my second time at that amazing haven of creativity and support for songwriters and it was just as awesome as last year.  Not only did I find lots of inspiration and direction for my own songs, I met and reconnected with a whole bunch of amazing musicians who I hope to introduce you to more in depth over the next few months!  Of all the amazing people, below are the ones who I have their CD’s already.  (Others will be sending theirs later.)  Tune in to Lyrical Venus over the next few months to hear tracks and interviews from these artists!

If you can take my word for it that they’re worth checking out right away, take a peek at their websites:

http://www.theblackberrybushesstringband.com/

http://www.myspace.com/carolinecotter

http://www.cherylbranz.com/

http://www.coyotegrace.com/

http://www.emilykurnmusic.com/

http://jesraymond.com/

http://kbmarie.com/

http://marymcadams.com/

http://www.myspace.com/somethinaboutlulu

And that, my friends, is only the beginning.  I’m SO excited!

Moira Smiley & VOCO

You might not notice them a first glance, but check out the boots on the ladies of VOCO. More than just a fashion statement, the boots are actually an important part of their act! The wide variety of music they perform, from original folk to traditional ballads, makes VOCO a little hard to categorize. But one thing that makes them stand out as a super cool band, above and beyond their gorgeous harmonies, is their body percussion sets. And that’s where the boots come in – slapping their ankles is a lot louder (and probably less painful) with boots!

I first saw Moira Smiley, radiantly living up to her name, at Song School when she lead the opening sing at the beginning of the week. I didn’t get a chance to take any classes with her that week (there were SO many classes to choose from!), but I sure appreciated how she got everyone involved, moving and singing as a group right off the bat, and brought it all back together for the closing sing as well.

And then, I got to see Moira perform with her band VOCO during the Folks Fest that happened the weekend after Song School:

Feed and email readers may need to come to the blog to see the video

That was when I found out Moira plays banjo, one of my favorite instruments! She also plays accordion, and composes and arranges music for the group. Jessica Catron plays cello, Jess Basta and Christine Enns round out the group – all four of them provide vocals and body percussion.

I think it’s a testament to how tuned in Moira is to traditional music that when listening to both of the latest VOCO albums, I can’t really tell which of the songs are her originals without looking at the CD case! (Except maybe the ones that aren’t in English are pretty obviously Eastern European traditionals.)

The newest release from Moira Smiley & VOCO is a live EP called Circle Square Diamond and Flag, which is a reference to the notation used in traditonal shape note singing, which is the style mainly used for this collection of songs. And while the songs may come from varied backgrounds, somehow the harmonies tie together the diversity of the music across the disc. That and the fact that the performers all have sense of a joyous celebration of life that radiates from every note, every boot stomp, every hand clap, hoot and holler.

The description on their site sums up VOCO pretty perfectly: “stompin’ gorgeous vocals – lush, fierce vocal harmony and delicious vaudevillian combo of cello, accordion and banjo. Original songs, sweet hard-driving Americana, rompin’ body percussion, emotional ballads of Eastern Europe. A visionary blend of four exquisite voices.”

Join me for an interview with Moira Smiley on Lyrical Venus Radio, which is this Tuesday from 9-10am Central Time! KRUU-LP 100.1 FM here in town, kruufm.com from anywhere in the world with an internet connection.

Check out Moira Smiley & VOCO on their website or MySpace.
Get their CDs Blink and circle, square, diamond, & flag at CD Baby.

I first saw Sarah Sample down by the St. Vrain river at Planet Bluegrass, with platium pixie hair and in a flowing green dress, stretching her arms above her head and drinking in the view and the vibe like someone who had just come home. I didn’t know who she was, but I could tell there was something special about her. A sort of settled confidence among a crowd of many others who were (justifiably) buzzing and/or nervous.

Later that night when Sarah “outed” a fellow Song-Schooler she was backing up on an open mic performance for having recently turned 50, it was done with a knowing twinkle in her eyethat implicitly urged the woman to accept and celebrate the very place she was at in life as just perfect. Sarah’s gracious heart seemed to want everyone just to feel comfortable in their own skin.

It was perhaps a bit after that I finally connected that it was Sarah who had won the 2007 Folks Showcase and therefore a slot on the Mainstage during the Folks Fest. She was a trooper during her set, as it rained the whole time. But those who braved the rain were treated to her smart songs and that amazing, amazing voice:

Sarah Sample at Folks Fest 2008

Feed and email readers may need to come to the blog to see the video

Sarah’s newest album Never Close Enough has been in pretty regular rotation on my playlists lately, and I’m excited to be interviewing her on the Lyrical Venus Radio Hour this Tuesday, October 7th. Tune in from 9-10am for great music and to hear from Sarah! KRUU-LP 100.1 FM locally or kruufm.com online anywhere.

Check out Sarah’s offical website and her MySpace for preview tracks and to buy her music.

Want to know when I find more great stuff by and about women in music? Subscribe to Lyrical Venus by Email or by RSS Feed and have the updates come straight to you!

When I was at the Song School in August I had the pleasure of taking a creative writing class with performing singer-songwriter Melissa Ferrick. She gave us a great exercise to get the creative juices flowing, and listened to a few people’s songs and gave them feedback.

After the class I mentioned to her that I had a radio show and said I’d be happy to do an interview with her sometime and she said “How about tomorrow?” Luckily I had a digital recorder with me (for recording classes) so I said “Sure!”

The next day Melissa and I managed to fit in a quick interview before her next class and she talked about the artists she was excited to see at the Folks Festival, staying ahead in the indie music industry, plus all about her new album Goodbye Youth.

Goodbye Youth is a departure for Melissa in that it’s just her and the guitar. That’s how most of her fans know and love her in concerts, but she’s never done a studio album that way. From what I’ve heard of it so far, it sounds really great!

The album is released only on iTunes and at concerts starting today, with an “official street date” in January. Sounds like it’s a great way to get the album out in the hands of the fans without having to wait for all the hoops you have to jump through for a traditional album release.

You can preview some tracks on Melissa’s MySpace.

Get the album on iTunes:

I’ll be airing the interview on the Lyrical Venus Radio Hour this week. That’s Tuesday from 9-10 am KRUU-LP 100.1 FM, or kruufm.com for you internet listeners!

P.S. For a little sneak peek into Song School, here’s a video of Melissa working out a song with Sarah Sample (winner of the 2007 Folks Festival Showcase and soon to be guest on Lyrical Venus Radio!). It’s in the tent where I had my class and interview with Melissa. You can see the main Festival stage in the background:

Feed and email readers may need to come to the blog to see the video.

Hang tight peeps! As seems to be par for the course this summer, I’ve just gotten home from one trip and am diving headfirst into my next projects – this time as in a bunch of part time job offers. I need to do a little figuring out, because they all sound cool, and if I do all of them, I won’t have any me time left! Which, after going to Song School, I’ve discovered I very much want me time for my own music! More on all that as it gets more clear.

Anyhoo, for first impressions after Song School, check my MySpace blog.

And know that I met a whole heap of A-MAZING musicians out in the mountains, and I plan to introduce you to a bunch of them here soon!

PS I have a few random pix up on flickr – I was so immersed in the classes that I didn’t have much chance to document, and then I ran out of batteries on the last day when I was ready for it. But you get some of the idea: