Salon.com > Meredith Ochs

Charge it, it's free

Thu, 16 Sep 1999 16:00:00 +0000

It's a wonder anyone showed up to see Sheryl Crow play outdoors in Central Park. But despite Hurricane Floyd's approach from the south and the encephalitis-carrying mosquitoes hovering above, 25,000 free-ticket winners crammed into the East Meadow to watch her and her musician buddies play for two and a half hours. Sure, it was a big, ugly promotion for a new credit card, but the audience was treated to high-profile guest spots by Keith Richards, Eric Clapton, Stevie Nicks, Chrissie Hynde, the Dixie Chicks and Sarah McLachlan.

Using a complex distribution scheme, the sponsors dispatched street teams throughout the five boroughs to offer folks random chances to win tickets. But the crowd, dressed in their finest Gap wear, seemed more like a demographic target -- white and in their 20s -- than a cross-section of New York. Apparently, though, they love Sheryl Crow. The first hour of the concert was for them.

Till death do us part

Wed, 21 Apr 1999 16:00:00 +0000

Nashville's historic Ryman Auditorium is a distinguished
building set slightly back from lower Broadway, a
once seedy, now gentrified, strip of bars and souvenir
shops, home to the Nascar Cafe, Planet Hollywood and, around
the corner, Hooters. But the venerable landmark stands
proud, its red brick exterior exuding an almost academic
authority. Once the home of the Grand Ole Opry, the
Ryman now feels haunted inside, its stage, wooden ceilings
and bench seats resonating with memories of country music
greats from decades past.

It was the perfect venue for roots singer/songwriter Steve
Earle's April 12 benefit for "Journey of Hope," an
anti-death penalty organization and one of Earle's pet
causes. The organization -- which includes Earle, playwright
Sam Shepard, whose mother was murdered, and Bud Welch, whose
daughter died in the Oklahoma City bombing -- does speaking
tours of states where the issue is hot. (There will be a
similar small tour later this year in a yet-to-be determined
state.) Their recent two-week tour of Tennessee's largest
cities was prompted by the impending execution of Robert Coe, which would be the state's first since
1960. Joined by some of his good friends, including Emmylou
Harris (backed by Buddy and Julie Miller), Jackson Browne
and the Indigo Girls (with special guests the Dixie Chicks),
Earle and company performed acoustic numbers that were
somehow thematically linked to love, loss, hope and
forgiveness.

Duane Jarvis

Tue, 21 Apr 1998 19:00:00 +0000

On his second solo release, "Far From Perfect," guitarist/songwriter Duane Jarvis pledges he'll be the kind of fellow a woman can count on in the song -- Mr. Dependability. "My other name is Mr. Right," he sings earnestly over a touch of twang and bubbling, blue-eyed Memphis soul. It's an appropriate oath for Jarvis to take, since roots stalwarts such as Lucinda Williams, John Prine, Dwight Yoakam and Rosie Flores have relied on him for musical support over the last decade. Jarvis may have made a name for himself adding the pure ring of glorious, understated licks to their songs, but on "Far From Perfect," he also reveals a knack for transforming his sound into songcraft.

Co-produced by former E Street Band member Garry Tallent (who also plays bass on the record), "Far From Perfect" is such a solid slice of Americana that it almost masks Jarvis' British Invasion roots. His voice is sweetly frayed around the edges as he sings of love, driving and bars over a laid-back soul groove, but his guitar playing stretches from roadhouse riffs into Kinks and Rolling Stones territory. Both of those bands immersed themselves in country music, producing effulgent hybrid albums during the '70s, and it was through them that a young D.J. (as he is known to his friends) discovered country. Indeed, Jarvis' songs sound instantly familiar because his roots run in so many different directions.

Sharps and Flats: Cheri Knight

Mon, 09 Mar 1998 20:00:00 +0000

Cheri Knight makes her living with her hands in the dirt; she makes records as a sideline. The flowers she grows on her farm in rural western Massachusetts rear their lovely faces repeatedly on Knight's sophomore solo effort, "The Northeast Kingdom," and it is through these earthy metaphors that she gradually unveils the secrets and sins lurking beneath life in a small community.

A gifted songwriter and bassist, formerly of the now-defunct Boston roots rock band the Blood Oranges, Knight came to the attention of Nashville maverick/songwriter Steve Earle when his girlfriend handed him a tape of "The Knitter" (ESD), Knight's solo debut. Earle signed her to his E-Squared label and co-produced "The Northeast Kingdom," along with Ray Kennedy, under their "twangtrust" moniker (he also immediately raised the album's pedigree by bringing in longtime friend Emmylou Harris for a vocal cameo).

Sweet Relief

Wed, 14 Jan 1998 18:32:00 +0000

Over the last decade, Victoria Williams has overcome problematic dealings with record labels, the dissolution of her first marriage and a chronic illness (multiple sclerosis) to put out four ambitious if somewhat sporadic albums. Her latest release, "Musings of a Creekdipper" (Atlantic), comes nearly four years after the rootsy, electric "Loose." Recorded near the Joshua Tree, Calif., home Williams shares with husband Mark Olson, "Musings" is a gentler, jazzier affair than its predecessor. Gone are her manic guitar solos, replaced by delicate piano arpeggios, swooping jazz bass lines and swells of orchestral timpani.

The record came together a bit differently than Williams had expected; just as the recording was set to begin, her MS, which can flare up at any time, made playing extremely difficult.
"When I started making this record, my hands were really numb and not functioning very well," she explained during a recent visit to New York, where she performed at the "Rolling Stone's Women in Rock" book party. "I'd had health problems during the last year. I'd finally gotten better and had hired everybody, and then I started getting weird again. I thought, 'Should I cancel this?' But you never know when it's going to come back, so you have to go forward."