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Get off my LAWN! "Grumpy Old Farts"

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#4,746
Guys, I have tears in my eyes... I was going over some notes I prepared for an upcoming documentary I am part of which chronicles the evolution of a music venue I was a founding member of, and I got to the part where I described the act (and tell some stories about) that I cut my pro audio teeth with from 1980-1986 by handling their FOH mix when touring in our region. It occurred to me that she passed away almost exactly 30 years ago today from cancer at the young age of 44 years old. As I sit here listening to her music, I can recall the little mix adjustments that needed to be done on the fly and some of the funny things that happened from show to show... inside jokes and such. I also remember when she dedicated a song to my now wife and I when she found out that we had gotten engaged. It was a different time, which presented some really awesome opportunities including handling FOH duties on a live album tour with the end result being a live double-album (yes, originally vinyl) that is still selling today. I have heard these songs hundreds of times and they still remain current in today's time. During those times, we did shows together with folks like Utah Phillips, Nanci Griffith, Mary McCaslin and Jim Ringer, Tom Paxton, EmmyLou Harris, Jerry Jeff Walker, Wavy Gravy and so many others.

Her name is Kate Wolf, one of the finest folk/country singer-songwriters in the country (in my opinion). For most of the time I worked with her, she traveled with Nina Gerber (an awesome guitar/mandolin player with real soul and feel) and Ford James who I still rank as one of the best bass players I have ever worked with (even after 35 years of high level touring acts) but not because of the awesomeness of his playing but the elegant simplicity, the phrasing, the accuracy of timing, the way he was able to control dynamics and draw the emotion out of the music. His playing was the highest example of "less is more", every single note counted.

Anyway, if you are interested in this genre and want to hear some skillful playing by top players with good arrangements (Ford did some of the arranging as well), go to YouTube and search on "Kate Wolf".

(Funny, I came across a cover of "Give Yourself to Love" by Peter Paul and Mary... ironically Mary Travers passed away from cancer as well. I had worked with her several times when she toured the show "The Life and Times of Peter Paul & Mary" or something like that, where she told stories about their travels and sung songs of the era.)
 
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#4,759
Andy, thank you for writing about Kate. I have a new favorite singer.

The instrumentation of one or two acoustic guitars together with a bass is a wonderful setting, and demanding as it gets. I've been working in that genre for a couple decades, but not at that level, just a local player.

Very inspirational. I understand the tears.
 
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#4,760
More tears, with the passing of Carrie Fisher and now her mother Debbie Reynolds. What a nice woman, a wonderful talent and still a good voice maybe 15-20 years ago, I worked several shows with Mrs. Reynolds as well as her co-star Donald O'Conner. My wife Mrs. agedhorse reminded me that we had breakfast with Donald in 1986 after finishing up a show with him the night before reopening a classic movie house.

Fun times, but the passings seem to be accelerating...
 
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