Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Road Trip! The Pine Tree State

Hello and thanks for joining me on our virtual roadtrip across the US, groovin' as we go along!  For the next 50 days we're going to explore the music each state has to offer .  We'll hit up to three acts for each stop and acts are mostly arranged in a way that makes sense to me.  For example, Juliana Hatfield is from Maine but first came to prominence with Blake Babies (named by Allen Ginsberg) which formed at Berklee College of Music in Boston in the late 1980s so we'll be seeing her when we hit Beantown.  Got it?  Cool, let's pile into the Magic Mustang and head down Interstate 95 from Maine to New Hampshire. 

The first Mainer musician we're visiting is a folkie named Gordon Bok.  His first album, Gordon Bok,  was released in 1965 and produced by Paul Stookey of Peter, Paul and Mary.  The first time I heard this guy I thought I typed something incorrectly and I was listening to Gordon Lightfoot.  Bok is still active, still recording and touring and can be contacted on his website (be sure to check out his gorgeous wood carvings, too).  This beautiful song, "The Hills of Isle Au Haut," was first recorded on the album Clear Away in the Morning in 1983. 




A little further down the way is singer-songwriter Patty Griffin.  She's released six studio albums since 1996's Living With Ghosts and recorded with some amazing people including Shawn Colvin and the marvelous Mavis Staples.    She won a Grammy for Best Traditional Gospel Recording in 2011 for Downtown Church which included this gorgeous duet with Emmylou Harris, "Little Fire."



Okay , we'll stop here and make New Hampshire tomorrow.  You all have a great day!

2 comments:

  1. Wow, very diverse choices. Nice start to our journey!

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    1. Thanks, B! Any suggestions just let me know.

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