Better Days 168 : People's Spring

It's spring. From dead wood and black soil, greenery pipes up.
The sun, in a single day, appears able to draw new stems out of
the ground, cause flowers to open wide. Beware, if you are not
looking closely enough, the birds will catch your attention and
slow you down to peering speed with their timeless song.

This Thursday's show - May 19th - is going to draw primarily
from new items that have come in the mail the past few weeks.

Mike Beck is not only a horse whisperer, but a damn fine
songwriter, too. I was lucky enough to meet and spend a bit
of time with Mike in Texas last summer. He's deep in the
cowboy ways. We have a Norwegian pal in common, Magne
Hellesjo, and if everything goes according to plan the three
of us will hook up in Norway this August to visit and do a
bit of recording. Mike's most recent studio pleasures include
two stellar songs, Oildale and John Steinbeck Drank In Here.
I'll play them both on the show, and add another from Mike's
cd, Mariposa Wind. His website is http://www.mikebeck.com

A new friend of mine, Leila, who helped out answering phones
during the Spring Member Drive, has loaned me some of her
treasured Archie Roach records. I'm just now becoming
acquainted with Archie's music. He's from Mooroopna, in
Australia, and survived a hellish upbringing to develop into
a popular and respected artist as well as a powerful voice
for indigenous people in his homeland. I'll play a few of his
songs Thursday.

Eamon Friel is an Irish songwriter who makes quiet and
beautiful records on the Thran label. Eamon grew up in
the city of Derry, not the easiest place to be a boy. He got
involved in radio, using a BBC gig writing topical and satirical
songs as part of his living. There is little topical or satirical
about Eamon's new cd, The Waltz Of The Years. I know of
no better word for it than lovely. http://www.eamonfriel.com

There's a fine record from an old hotel in Wales called
Live At The Talbot, featuring folks like Jeffrey Foucault,
Peter Mulvey and Kris Delmhorst of Redbird as well as
Eric Taylor and others. The Talbot is in Tregaron, at the
edge of the Cambrian uplands of mid-Wales. The cuts on
the cd are from various artists who visited this old Welsh
getaway over the past few years. Wonderful stuff, on the
Red Kite label. I'll play some of it for you Thursday.
http://www.redkiterecords.co.uk

Mickey Newbury would be turning 65 on May 19th were he
still with us. One of the greatest American songwriters, Newbury
has long been an inspiration. I'll add a little birthday tribute to
him in the second hour. http://www.mickeynewbury.com

Lastly, I've got the Warsaw Village Band, some hardcore folk
from Poland, a record called People's Spring. This is a music of wild
and dark beauty, ancient instruments, voices that travel across
generations with dervish energy.

That's www.coopradio.org Thursday, 10pm to midnight,
Pacific time, for Better Days, heard around the corner and
around the world.

May music's spirit add to how we see.

DL