So I went from being on furlough for a week and a half to working nine plus hours a day outside! Now yesterday was fine and tomorrow looks ok, but today it was damn cold especially in the AM. Now I had a drive to the site, which was in Philly out on Lancaster Avenue, but instead of paying attention to the music playing I had to pay attention to things like traffic, traffic lights and stop signs!! Reminds me of that old Morey Amsterdam joke about walking in New York traffic being musical “you either c sharp or b flat!” Anyway what have I been semi-listening to over the last few days! Well one artist, is the one I am listening to right now and that is Shaun Cromwell , and his new release Folk-Worn Prose. Last month the album was seven on the Folk DJ Chart and over all Shaun was the number four artist!
Shaun calls Los Angeles home, you can read his impressive list of accomplishments here. A few of the highlights include:
Region West Finalist in the 2009 Mountain Stage Songwriting Contest
One of Five Finalists in the 2009 Dave Carter Memorial Songwriting Contest
One of Six Finalists in the 2009 Acoustic Blues category at the Telluride BLues Festival.
Shaun’s music is stripped down acoustic folk blues. His first album was recorded with one microphone at home. Folk-Worn Prose features some nice laid back acoustic blues featuring some niffty guitar playing. banjo, occasional tuba and other acoustic instruments and most of all some great songs. The top songs on the Folk DJ Chart include: “I Am Undone”. “The Gristmill”, and one of my favorites “The Second Longest Day of the Year” But all of them are great and sung with a passionate love for the music and it’s heritage. Some of the instrumental tracks like “Old Saw Rag” and “Chubalina’s Daydream” on this album and “Death and Taxes Rag” on his first album The Turning of Clocks album remind my a lot of the acoustic guitar of Dave Von Rank and maybe a little Mississippi John Hurt thrown in. So check his music out at Myspace or at Sonicbids !
Here’s another favorite from Folk-Worn Prose “The Rise and Fall of It All”