Tag Archives: Oliver Craven

A Musician’s Recommendation…Evie Ladin & Keith Terry

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Chestnut House Concerts was introduced to the music of Evie Ladin and Keith Terry by Oliver Craven of The Stray Birds so we asked Oliver to answer a few questions about Evie in advance of her October 1st show.

Oliver, when did you first meet Evie Ladin and/or hear her perform?

I first met Evie at Common Ground arts camp in Maryland in 2012. She was awesome. I don’t know if I actually saw her perform that time but we had a ball just singing songs late night on the porch.

 

What is it about a house concert venue that makes it a good place to hear someone like Evie?

What Evie and Keith do is best observed as close as possible. It’s intricate and nuanced, and the closer you get the more you’re gonna appreciate it. Not TOO close of course. But like a couple feet away.

Both Evie and Keith use their bodies to make rhythm – clapping, clogging, stomping – some of us are familiar with the term ‘hambone’.  What do you think is the most challenging aspect of this type of music?10672327_862551203762922_7108981106180109662_n

They got rhythm all over. It’s one thing to play an instrument, but turning your own body into that instrument and using the whole of it is something else. I’ll stick to strings.

Evie mentioned that The Stray Birds spent time at her home in California this past summer. What’s a favorite memory of that trip?

We did have the chance to visit Evie and Keith earlier this year out on the west coast. They were gracious hosts. They dragged us through some terrible San Francisco traffic one afternoon and I wasn’t too thrilled at the time, but when we got to the beach they had in mind it made me wanna move to California.

Why should music lovers around Lancaster come to see Evie Ladin & Keith Terry at their house concert?

See Evie and Keith because they’re good. It’s real stuff what they do. And they do it well. And they’re friendly too. And tell them I said hello.

Thanks Oliver for such this introduction to Evie Ladin & Keith Terry.

If you’re interested in attending we still have room. Contact Tim at tlehman9@gmail.com or text/call 717-940-9311. Wednesday, October 1 – potluck at 6, show at 7.

 

45? No, wait…44. No, 46?

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stairs

Tim often asks children who visit our home to count the number of steps from the basement to the third floor. The answer varies; partly because there is some confusion about whether or not to count landings and the floor itself, and also because Tim adds to the chaos by teasing, “That’s not the number I came up with. Did one of the steps get away? We better start over.” And so it goes on.

In addition to entertaining young visitors (and of course being generally useful to move from one level to another), the open staircase in our home provides a boost to the acoustics in the front room for house concerts. This was demonstrated by Oliver Craven of The Stray Birds when they were doing a sound check for their December 2012 show. He moved to the stairwell, held the instrument over the open space and gave a few plinks and listened as the notes climbed up and up and out the open door on the third floor.

The Stacks are providing our next house concert on Wednesday, June 19th. We invite you to come and listen to the voices, guitars and fiddle playing of Andy Stack and Tania Elizabeth. We won’t make you count the steps, but you can take advantage of another benefit of the open staircase that I forgot to mention. Seating for the show!

Not Surprised

Aside

One year ago today, Thursday October 20, 2011…I went to the Ware Center to hear Pokey LaFarge & the South City Three. I had no idea who was opening for them until I arrived at the venue.  

I remember that when The Stray Birds came on the stage, prepped and ready to go, Maya made a comment about how the group rehearsed the night before and that they sounded great.  She was not exaggerating even a little bit.  The group was on fire – keeping variety with instrument changes, tight vocal harmonies, mostly originals and a couple covers to awaken the collective memory bank of the audience.  

Since that day a year ago I’ve watched as the group’s popularity has grown, tracking Facebook posts of their tours up and down the coast, hearing about local performances and CD releases. Their new cd is currently the #1 song on the Folk DJ radio chart and their song “Dream in Blue” is the #1 song. 

I’m honored that we are able to host this group on Saturday, December 8, 2012.  I’m not surprised that we have ‘sold out’ seats for this house concert.  Sometimes there are cancellations, so if you’d like to attend and did not yet request tickets, email  your information to tlehman9@gmail.com and we’ll put you on a waiting list. ~ Karen  

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