In-Studio Performance: Catie Curtis

Boston mainstay and resident "folk-rock goddess", as the New Yorker calls her, Catie Curtis paid a visit to the WUMB air studio on September 10th for a performance and interview with Dave Palmater in preparation for her shows at Club Passim on Saturday, September 19th.

Curtis, who is coming off of a divorce--the end of a seventeen-year marriage to be exact--and has a yet unnamed record dealing with the topic, chose to start the session with "Troubled Mind" from her 1996 album Truth and Lies. As an artist who has based most of her material off of her own life Curtis says that she is in a tricky spot with a lot of the material on her forthcoming album. Many of her earlier records were about her married life and parenting her young children. Not all of the songs are based fact for fact on her  own experiences. One song that fits this description is "My Betraying Heart",cowritten with Maia Sharp, which tells the story of overlapping relationships. She never wants to put a disclaimer out on song saying that they did or did not happen in her life. With twenty plus years of touring under her belt fans are always coming up to her and telling her how her songs relate to their own lives. What matters is that relatability, "what is important is that it could have happened" to her. She also played a song that was formerly named after her Unitarian minister who's name appeared in the song. The lyrics include asking "is it real life yet" and questioning whether the person leaving a long-term relationship is in fact doing the right thing. The song is currently untitled because she chose to remove the minister's name from the lyrics.

The next few months are going to be busy for Curtis. In addition to writing and performing she runs a series of songwriting retreats. Applications are still being accepted for a session running Columbus Day weekend. She also produces the Voices United Concerts to raise awareness for Americans United For Separation of Church and State. The next next installation features Rani Arbo and Daisy Mayhem on October 30th at the First Unitarian Society in Newton. Curtis is also looking for a venue to host her annual holiday show.

You can catch Catie Curtis at Club Passim on Saturday, September 19th, at 5 PM and 8 PM. More information can be found on her website CatieCurtis.com.

In-Studio Performance: Claudia Russell and Bruce Kaplan

Husband and wife duo Claudia Russell and Bruce Kaplan celebrated their twenty-fifth wedding anniversary just a few days ago. "This is our Silver Anniversary" Russell joked when they stopped by the station for an in-studio session and interview with Dave on April 10th, performing a set that included "You Are The Light", a song that they had meant to perform at their wedding. The two met when their individual bands booked a gig at the same club and entered into not only a life partnership, but a musical partnership as well. "Most couples argue about money and the house, we argue about song keys," Kaplan laughed.

The first song in their set was "Pirate Girls", coincidentally the opening track on their latest album All Our Luck Is Changing. It describes an intimate friendship between two young girls prior to one moving away--painting a picture of large backyards and summer days spent outside until dark. Both are images from Russell's childhood, though not describing a single friendship of hers but bits and pieces from many, "a conglomeration, like bringing different bits of clay together". Kaplan, who co-wrote the song--stated that though he only wrote two lines, he did have two close friends who moved away in his childhood and that feeling is what the song evokes for him. 

"This song is arguably a jig," Kaplan said as the duo launched into their second tune "Follow Your Tail Lights Home", also from All Our Luck Is Changing. Peter Case, whom Kaplan had known since 1979. Russell had taken two of his songwriting classes as well. Describing the process they said, "Peter is kind of a beatnik... he always gives 110%." 

Russell and Kaplan closed out the set with "I Remember The Wind". They perform at The Linden Tree Coffeehouse in Wakefield tomorrow, April 11th, and Club Passim at 3:30 PM Sunday, April 12th. More information can be found at ClaudiaRussell.com.