Tag: Jay Stielstra

Songbird — Dave & Kristi Embrace the Spirit of the Chickadee on Their New Folk Album

Dave Boutette and Kristi Davis in the studio at Ann Arbor’s Big Sky Recording. Photo by Misty Lyn Photography.

Editor’s Note: This article originally appeared on the Ann Arbor District Library’s Pulp blog.

Dave & Kristi feel a special connection to the chickadee.

The Dexter duo embraces the songbird as a symbol of joy and hope on their new folk album, The Chickadees.

“The chickadee reference is about the spiritual part of you that lives on,” said Kristi Davis about her latest release with husband and musical partner Dave Boutette.

“That’s the hopeful part, and they represent good luck, happiness, knowledge, truth, and adaptability. That’s exactly the stuff that we need right now.”

Davis and Boutette channel the chickadee’s positive spirit as they reflect on love, loss, and aging across the album’s 13 tracks.

“As far as things that are on the record, we’ve experienced a lot of loss in the last two or three years,” Boutette said. “And also this summer we’re both turning 60. It’s everything from family members and friends passing.”

The duo unexpectedly lost three family members and a pet during the last few years.

“Our dog passed very unexpectedly and a week later my dad passed,” said Davis, who sings and plays percussion on the album. “Dave lost his mom and his brother. There’s a little memorial to them on [the album], but it’s been an inspiration for the music.”

Some songs from The Chickadees also reference Dave & Kristi’s growing concerns about the nation’s changing political climate and its impact on our future.

“There are different parts of our foundation that we’ve been walking on for a long time and counting on for a long time that have shifted and are slipping,” said Boutette, the duo’s co-lead vocalist and guitarist.

“We’re OK, we have a roof over our head, and there’s food in the cupboard. It’s just that we’re older now—things are different underneath us now. We’re in uncharted territory, and we’re just trying to make our way through it.”

Dave & Kristi explore those themes and reflections through singable lyrics, rich harmonies, and emotive instrumentation.

To learn more, I spoke with the duo ahead of their June 1 album release show at Ann Arbor’s Old Town Tavern.

Continue reading “Songbird — Dave & Kristi Embrace the Spirit of the Chickadee on Their New Folk Album” →

Breakneck Speed – Mark Jewett Follows Life’s Hectic Pace on New ‘Too Fast’ Single Featuring The Accidentals

Mark Jewett brings caffeinated instrumentation, pithy lyrics and a frenzied mindset to "Too Fast," which features Sav Madigan and Katie Larson of The Accidentals. Photo - David Donher
Mark Jewett brings caffeinated instrumentation, concise lyrics and a frenzied mindset to “Too Fast,” which features Sav Madigan and Katie Larson of The Accidentals. Photo – David Donher

These days, Mark Jewett moves at warp speed.

The Plymouth, Michigan singer-songwriter maintains a frantic daily pace on his turbocharged new single, “Too Fast.”

“It was more of a general feeling of being closed in and trapped and things just coming at me faster than I could deal with them,” said Jewett about folk-pop track, which features a collaboration with Sav Madigan and Katie Larson of The Accidentals.

“One day I just took a break at my desk and I picked up my guitar and I started doing this chunking rhythm like you hear at the beginning of the song. I was drinking coffee and I thought, ‘I need some energy,’ and the line just popped into my head.”

That initial opening lyric was “I’ve got a thousand watts of black coffee / Pumpin’ through my veins,” but Jewett upped the ante to “Two thousand watts of black coffee” instead.

“Kyle Rasche caught me between shows up at Nor-East’r last year when I was in the merch barn. He said, ‘Man, that’s a great line,’ and he thought I had said something about ‘8,000 watts,’ but it was originally, ‘I’ve got a thousand watts,’” said Jewett, who started writing the track last spring. “I thought maybe there was too much there, so starting it with 2,000 [watts] just punctuates it right at the beginning.”

Continue reading “Breakneck Speed – Mark Jewett Follows Life’s Hectic Pace on New ‘Too Fast’ Single Featuring The Accidentals” →

Early Check-in – Judy Banker Creates Welcoming Stay on New ‘Buffalo Motel’ Album, Hosts Release Show Thursday at The Ark

Judy Banker, center, will celebrate the release of her latest album, “Buffalo Motel,” at The Ark Thursday. Photo by Robin Scully

With “Buffalo Motel,” Judy Banker creates a welcoming extended stay throughout album’s dozen heartfelt, transformative tracks.

The Americana singer-songwriter shares an expansive, layered and atmospheric sound that transcends her traditional acoustic country and folk roots. Driving drum and bass tracks, hook-driven instrumental intros and breaks, and innovative arrangements push Banker toward a countrified indie rock territory that lies somewhere between Ann Arbor, Mich., and Kalispell, Mont.

Out Thursday, “Buffalo Motel” allows Banker to flex her raw, gritty songwriting muscle and weather a series of intense emotions through different relationships and life events. She poetically chronicles love’s rise and decline at several points in time throughout her third album’s intimate tales.

“There’s something about this being the beginning of a new year and new decade that adds a sense of importance to it all. This album turned out bigger and better than I could have imagined. I think it feels that way for the members of the project – the band and David Roof and Ben Sayler as producers and creative directors,” said Banker, who took creative inspiration from Beck, The National and Sharon Van Etten while recording her latest album.

“We didn’t know where all of our experimentation in the pre-production sessions was going to take the music. There were so many moving parts and different ways we approached recording each of the songs. ”

Banker collaborated with a roster of talented Michigan musicians on “Buffalo Motel” to make it bigger than the sum of its parts. Tony Pace (electric guitar, dobro), John Sperendi (electric and upright bass), Brian Williams (drums), Alan Pagliere (pedal steel) and Roof (multi-instrumentalist, Rooftop Recording engineer) added new elements to realize the potential of each song. They spent most of last year steeped in fireplace bourbon sessions while creating “Buffalo Motel’s” exquisite, multi-genre tracks.

“I hope that the sound of the album, this collection of songs and how they are presented, excites people and engages them. The playing on it blows me away – this band is over-the-top talented,” Banker said. “They pushed themselves and tried new approaches on this album to bring out the heart of each song. I hope people can feel that, and it moves them.”

Continue reading “Early Check-in – Judy Banker Creates Welcoming Stay on New ‘Buffalo Motel’ Album, Hosts Release Show Thursday at The Ark” →

‘Traveling Lady’ – Ann Arbor’s Judy Banker Honors Folk Music Hero Rosalie Sorrels in Idaho This Weekend

Ann Arbor’s Judy Banker will celebrate the musical legacy of folk icon Rosalie Sorrels in Idaho this weekend.

Judy Banker is ready to embark on a folk music pilgrimage of sorts.

The Ann Arbor Americana singer-songwriter will travel nearly 2,000 miles to perform at the Rosalie Sorrels First Annual Music Festival near Boise, Idaho this weekend.

As part of the inaugural festival’s lineup featuring Sista Sarah & Pocket of Bones and nearly a dozen other artists, Banker will celebrate the musical legacy of Sorrels at Julius M. Kleiner Memorial Park in Meridian, Idaho.

A beloved folk singer-songwriter who passed away in 2017, Sorrels has inspired Banker and a growing generation of folk, country and roots artists with her iconic music, storytelling and social activism. During her nearly half-century career, Sorrels recorded more than 20 albums, including the 2005 Grammy-nominated “My Last Go ‘Round.”

“I saw a post that her son Kevin had put on Facebook about how they were going to have a festival, and he was thinking of having it around his mother’s birthday, which was June 24,” Banker said. “She’s one of my heroes, so I thought, ‘How could it hurt? I’ll message him the link to my music, and I said if you’re opening it up for people to play, I’d love to play.’ At midnight or one in the morning that night, I got a ding on my phone, and he said, ‘Yes.’”

Flabbergasted, Banker immediately joined the lineup to support Kevin Sorrels and his family in honoring his mother’s memory and music. During the festival, Banker will perform a Saturday night closing set and cover several Rosalie Sorrels favorites, including “Baby Rocking Medley,” “If I Could Be the Rain” and “Traveling Lady.”

“I feel just this debt of gratitude and closing the show that night will be a real tribute to her. It just feels like I’m going to Mecca,” said Banker, who originally met Sorrels after one of her performances at The Ark more than 30 years ago. “I also would really love for Kevin to play guitar on one of her songs during my set.”

Continue reading “‘Traveling Lady’ – Ann Arbor’s Judy Banker Honors Folk Music Hero Rosalie Sorrels in Idaho This Weekend” →

Three Times A Lady – Angela Predhomme, Kathy Wieland and Judy Banker Host Songwriters in the Round Show Saturday Night at Crazy Wisdom

Angela Predhomme, Kathy Wieland and Judy Banker will perform a “Songwriters in the Round” show Saturday night at Crazy Wisdom in Ann Arbor.

Three singer-songwriters will share two hours of acoustic tunes, tales and triumphs Saturday night at Ann Arbor’s Crazy Wisdom Bookstore and Tearoom.

Angela Predhomme, Kathy Wieland and Judy Banker will perform as part of the “Songwriters in the Round” series and take listeners on an intimate musical journey filled with creative lyrics, catchy melodies and compelling stories.

“It’s a really cool venue because it’s a listening room, almost like a mini Ark, where people come and pay attention,” Predhomme said. “It’s very appropriate for us to tell stories about the songs, talk between the songs and really interact with the people.”

As part of the show, each singer-songwriter will perform her own material, provide insights into her music and collaborate with one another. Together, they’ll offer an invigorating blend of Americana, country, folk, soft rock and pop to uplift the musical spirit on a warm winter’s night.

“It’s fun to be able to share the stories behind our songs with people who care about them,” said Predhomme, who performs regularly at Crazy Wisdom. “I’ll be doing a lot of newer songs, and we may do a song together at the end.”

Continue reading “Three Times A Lady – Angela Predhomme, Kathy Wieland and Judy Banker Host Songwriters in the Round Show Saturday Night at Crazy Wisdom” →