PHOTO: GREGG ROTH | It’s no secret that marriage is hard work. It requires heavy lifting by both partners to keep the boat afloat. It’s labor, but of course, it’s a labor of love; that’s what it’s all about. However, if you take the marriage and relationship deal and split it with a job in the entertainment business for both parties involved, well, now you’ve really got a challenging situation with which to build a successful marriage.

Larry Campbell and his wife Teresa Williams are no strangers to the road with plenty of frequent flier miles between them. Teresa has a long-time career as an actress, vocalist, and musician which led her to meeting Larry, a long-time session musician who’s resume includes a seven-year stint in Bob Dylan’s Neverending Tour and being the musical director at Levon Helm’s popular Midnight Rambles in Woodstock, NY. Larry and Teresa were also both key parts of Levon Helm’s fantastic final albums, Dirt Farmer and Electric Dirt. Married in 1988, they’ve become a musical powerhouse over the years, so much so that their relationship and musical work was evidenced in a 10 part docuseries which can be found at some of your favorite streaming outlets.

Separately and together, they’ve both worked with many high-profile artists, but there’s always something special in store when they work with each other. Larry and Teresa have just released their fourth album as a duo, it’s titled All This Time and features music and concepts that were born out of the pandemic era and Larry’s personal battle with Covid. On this episode, I’m lucky to have both Larry Campbell and Teresa Williams join me to discuss the new record, highlights from their storied careers, and, of course, how two musicians make the music of marriage.

Evan Toth is a songwriter, professional musician, educator, radio host, avid record collector, and hi-fi aficionado. Toth hosts and produces The Evan Toth Show and TVD Radar on WFDU, 89.1 FM. Follow him at the usual social media places and visit his website.

So once upon the time there was this band of kick-out-the-jams, honest-to-god revolutionaries (or so they claimed—they seemed far more interested in becoming big rock stars than actually bringing down the fascist American state) who came out of Detroit and played this raucous brand of “high-energy” rock and roll.

And while they never sold many records (lotsa hype didn’t stop them from just fading away), over the years they’ve become these larger-than-a-Buick Motor City legends like The Stooges. Except The Stooges never trucked in revolution, probably because they were smart enough to understand that punks don’t fight revolutions (people with guns do). Which is to say Iggy and the boys were actually paying attention in class when the Rolling Stones put out “Street Fighting Man.”

The band of course was the MC5, and every hip individual loves them, if only because if you DON’T love them you risk becoming an unhip individual and NOBODY wants that. Why, they could take away your membership card. Well I’ve never loved them; I’ve never been able to understand what all the fuss is about. Sure they looked great and had real street cred being the musical arm of the White Panther Party and all, but I’d be lying if I said there’s a single MC5 song I’d expend the energy necessary to remove the album it’s on from its sleeve and put it on the stereo. Which basically puts them lower on my musical totem pole than the very unhip likes of REO Speedwagon, Styx, Journey, Sammy Johns, and the lamentable Grand Funk Railroad even.

Then again, who cares if I like a band or not? Nobody, that’s who. If you’ve gotten this far and read the above you no doubt think I’m simply a crank who’s full of shit, so please allow me to explain WHY I think the MC5, who were an undeniably good (but not great) band and an essential entry in any good book about rock history, do nothing for me. And as good a place as any to state my case is their second album (but first studio album), 1970’s Back in the USA.

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VIA PRESS RELEASE | The acclaimed documentary Indigo Girls: It’s Only Life After All is playing in theaters across North America now. Alexandria Bombach’s documentary on the iconic duo premiered on opening night of the 2023 Sundance Film Festival and was screened at numerous festivals throughout the year including SXSW, Hot Docs, and Tribeca Film Festival. Distributed by Oscilloscope Laboratories, the film currently holds a 95% on Rotten Tomatoes and will be available via video on demand on May 7th. Tickets and additional information on the theatrical release is here.

To celebrate the theatrical release, Oscilloscope Laboratories has shared an exclusive clip from the film that dives into the deep communal connections that the Indigo Girls have created with their fans. “Festival audiences have embraced and celebrated this story of Amy and Emily, and now we get to bring this film to fans in theaters all over the country,” notes Filmmaker Alexandria Bombach. “A film about community should be seen in community.”

“From our earliest days at Little Five Points Community Pub in Atlanta, the ideal of ‘community’ has informed our music and activism,” adds Amy Ray of the Indigo Girls. “We feel blessed to have worked with such a compelling crew of folks, who created a document that reflects the vital part our audience, activists, friends, family, and mentors play in our ongoing creative lives.” Indigo Girls’ Emily Saliers says, “It is a beautiful documentary that captures the life force of our community. Now our community has an opportunity to see it on the big screen—we are thankful for that.”

With forty years of making music as the iconic folk-rock band Indigo Girls, Amy Ray and Emily Saliers have made their mark as musicians, songwriters, and dedicated activists. They have represented radical self-acceptance to many, leading multiple generations of fans to say, “the Indigo Girls saved my life.” Still, Amy and Emily battled misogyny, homophobia, and a harsh cultural climate chastising them for not fitting into a female pop star mold. With joy, humor, and heart-warming earnestness, Sundance award-winning director Alexandria Bombach brings us into a contemporary conversation with Amy and Emily—alongside decades of the band’s home movies and intimate present-day verité.

Celebrating Herbie Hancock in advance of his 84th birthday tomorrow. —Ed.

The short description of Herbie Hancock’s gorgeous 1965 LP Maiden Voyage, is that it’s the ’63-’64 Miles Davis Quintet with Freddie Hubbard subbing on trumpet. But as nicely as that reads, it’s actually much more. Hancock’s fifth and best record as leader, to this point it was also his most ambitious, and was additionally something of a rarity in jazz terms; a wildly successful and delightfully peaceful concept album.

Herbie Hancock has had a long and illustrious career, and in tandem with his contribution to the groups of Miles Davis, Maiden Voyage is probably his finest moment. As a look at the personnel relates, the disc is closely tied to Miles’ ‘60’s work, but as a standalone document Hancock’s masterful session equals anything Davis produced in the decade with the exception of the live material from the Plugged Nickel.

Some will disagree and a few will downright scoff at the notion of Maiden Voyage being rated so highly, in part because of its lack of edginess and decidedly refined sensibility. This circumstance extends to the considerable influence Hancock’s record wielded upon subsequent endeavors in the jazz and rock fields, byproducts that span in quality from mediocre to flat-out awful.

But that’s okay. What Maiden Voyage lacks in bluesy grit or fiery abstraction is greatly made up for by boldness of aspiration and a beautifully sustained mood, and as the title track and “Dolphin Dance” have both become late-period jazz standards, a certain percentage of underwhelming interpretations is basically inevitable.

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VIA PRESS RELEASE | Rhino is launching a new career-spanning archival series honoring Robert Hunter’s work as a solo artist with a deluxe reissue of his 1974 debut, Tales of the Great Rum Runners. While Hunter is widely revered as the primary lyricist for the Grateful Dead, this series will explore the depth of his solo work, offering a renewed appreciation for his exceptional artistry. Tales Of The Great Rum Runners (Deluxe Edition) will be available on June 7 from Rhino on 2-CD and 2-LP. Pre-order HERE.

This Deluxe Edition introduces a freshly remastered version of the original album alongside 16 previously unreleased recordings, including alternate versions of album tracks and several session outtakes. All the music has been remastered from the original master tapes by GRAMMY® Award-winning engineer David Glasser using Plangent Processes tape restoration and speed correction. Tales Of The Great Rum Runners will also be making its debut on streaming services on June 7. Available today is a sneak peek, with a newly remastered version of “Standing At Your Door” now available digitally.

Originally released in spring 1974, Tales Of The Great Rum Runners marked the inaugural release on Round Records, an offshoot of the newly formed Grateful Dead Records. Among its 13 tracks were several destined to become staples of Hunter’s live repertoire, like “Boys In The Barroom,” “Rum Runners,” and “It Must Have Been The Roses.”

Recorded at Mickey Hart’s converted barn studio in Novato, California, the album reveals Hunter’s multifaceted talents and features him singing and playing various instruments, including guitar, tin whistle, and bagpipes on “Children’s Lament.” He was accompanied by a revolving cast of Bay Area musicians on the album, including Jerry Garcia, Keith and Donna Jean Godchaux, and Mickey Hart of the Dead, as well as guitarist Barry Melton (Country Joe & The Fish), bassist David Freiberg (Quicksilver Messenger Service/Jefferson Starship), and pedal steel guitarist Buddy Cage (New Riders Of The Purple Sage).

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Voluminous of discography with an unflagging underground spirit, Sunburned Hand of the Man has returned with Nimbus, releasing April 12 on vinyl (black or “big blue”), compact disc, and digital with cover art by Tony Oursler through Three Lobed Recordings. It’s a wide-ranging set packed tight but flowing loose with psychedelic groove jams, post-Beat poetic recitations, and even a delightful folky strummer courtesy of returning member Phil Franklin. Loaded with guitars and rhythm and synths and even mellotron, the album is a fine extension of the Sunburned ethos.

Sunburned Hand of the Man reared to life in mid-’90s Boston, growing out of the deep underground psych-art-scuzz outfit Shit Spangled Banner, but the contracting and expanding troop really hit their grooving-jamming-racket stride in the decade following as part of the burgeoning New Weird America movement (their 2004 CD No Magic Man was released by Bastet, a label associated with Arthur magazine).

Once wildly prolific, with roughly 20 releases coming out in limited editions (mostly CDrs and a few cassettes) in 2008 alone, Sunburned’s output has slowed in recent years, but they’ve still managed to rip multiple CDrs every year in this century so far, some archival, others freshly recorded. Regarding vinyl, Nimbus is a follow-up to Pick a Day to Die, issued in 2021, also by Three Lobed Recordings.

Fluidity of lineup with a solid core is something of a Sunburned constant. Nimbus was recorded last year with Michael Josef K, Matt Krefting, and original member Phil Franklin returning to the fold and fortifying a core of founders John Moloney and Rob Thomas. The other players include Conrad Capistran, Gary War, Shannon Ketch, Wednesday Knudsen, Adam Langellotti, Jeremy Pisani, Taylor Richardson, Ron Schneiderman, and Sarah Gibbons, who’s credited here as making her proper recorded debut with Sunburned.

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VIA PRESS RELEASE | Trailblazing feminist icon, musician, outspoken women’s rights activist, and original rebel girl Kathleen Hanna has revealed the first serial excerpt with People magazine, offering fans a taste of what to expect from her memoir Rebel Girl: My Life as a Feminist Punk due out May 14 with Ecco, an imprint of HarperCollins.

Hanna is also thrilled to announce the lineup of brilliant minds who will join her “in conversation” on a US book tour, including Amy Poehler, Molly Ringwald, Hanif Abdurraqib, Lindy West, Brontez Purnell, Puja Patel and more. Fans unable to attend the tour in-person can join the live stream on May 22! A portion of all ticket sales will be donated to Peace Sisters, a non-profit organization for which Hanna is an Ambassador. Tickets are on sale now.

Hanna’s band Bikini Kill embodied the punk scene of the ’90s, and today her personal yet feminist lyrics on anthems like “Rebel Girl” and “Double Dare Ya” are more powerful than ever. But where did this transformative voice come from?

In Rebel Girl, Hanna’s raw and insightful new memoir, she takes us from her tumul­tuous childhood to her formative college years and her first shows. As Hanna makes clear, being in a punk “girl band” in those years was not a simple or safe prospect. Male violence and antagonism threatened at every turn, and surviving as a singer who was a lightning rod for controversy took limitless amounts of determination.

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VIA PRESS RELEASE | “Joan’s ideas and musings ricochet from the profound and humanly factual to the observant and slyly humorous. Her words can be both poignantly executed and captivating in a colorful closeness that pin-points the chinks in our armor that mirror all facets of the world we inhabit. A National treasure she is indeed.” —Bernie Taupin, author of Scattershot: Life, Music, Elton, and Me

When You See My Mother, Ask Her to Dance, an intimate, autobiographical poetry collection from legendary artist and activist, Joan Baez, will be released April 30 on Godine.

While Baez has been writing poetry for decades, she’s never shared it publicly. Poems about her life, her family, about her passions for nature and art, have piled up in notebooks and on scraps of paper. Now, for the first time ever, her life is shared in verse, revealing pivotal life experiences that shaped an icon, offering a never-before-seen look into the reminiscences and musings of a great artist.

Throughout the collection, Baez shares poems for or about her contemporaries, reflections from her childhood, personal thoughts, and cherished memories of her family, including pieces about her younger sister, singer-songwriter Mimi Fariña. Speaking to the people, places, and moments that have had the greatest impact on her art, this collection is an inspiring personal diary in the form of poetry.

Joan Baez is a dynamic force of nature. Her commitment to music and social activism has earned global recognition, ranging from induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, to the Ambassador of Conscience Award, Amnesty International’s highest honor.

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“Let me take you by the hand/And lead you through the streets of London/I’ll show you something to make you change your mind” —“Streets of London” by Ralph McTell

The folk revival that began in the late ’50s and lasted almost into the early ’70s, is often most associated with New York’s Greenwich Village and Cambridge in Massachusetts while other American locales like Philadelphia and Chicago were also part of the scene. The folk revival, or “folk scare” as it was so humorously referred to by one of its key participants, Dave Van Ronk, was however, not just an American phenomenon. While America had a long roots music history, England also did and the folk revival there happened a little later and centered around a basement club in London’s Soho district called Les Cousins. Initially a French restaurant and then a discotheque, the folk club incarnation launched in April of 1965.

Like folk clubs in America, it served many purposes. It revived the songs and artists from folk’s past, which in some cases had been around for centuries. Folk was also a catch-all term that included blues, bluegrass, country, and other forms of roots music, even early forms of jazz, ragtime, and jug music. Maybe most importantly and foremost for many in England, it described an acoustic-based music played by artists who were song interpreters and stylists, and in some cases guitar wizards.

The list of musicians who actually played at the club in one form or another just hung out there, since its founding in 1965 and final year in 1972 is staggering. This comprehensive and widely varied, 72-track, 3-CD box set covering music released between 1963 and 1973 does not include any live performances from the club, but instead features some of the key figures of the British folk scene, American musicians who count Les Cousins as a key stepping stone in their music evolution and artists who may not have been strictly folk, but who are part of the club’s rich musical history.

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The bassist, composer, and bandleader Moppa Elliott is best known for his playing in the wildly inventive ensemble Mostly Other People Do the Killing, but his creativity is manifest in various other groups, including the quintet Advancing on a Wild Pitch and the nonet Acceleration Due to Gravity. Both have new LPs out now via Elliott’s Hot Cup label. On Disasters, Vol. 2, the five-piece delivers a warm and deep straight-ahead set of Elliott originals, and on Jonesville, an album inspired by bassist Sam Jones, the nine-piece group offers a wilder compositional ride. They are rewarding both singly and considered together.

Released in 2022, Disasters, Vol. 1 was recorded by Mostly Other People Do the Killing in a trio configuration of Elliott, pianist Ron Stabinsky and drummer Kevin Shea, with Stabinsky and Shea doubling on Nord electronics. Across that record, Stabinsky’s piano establishes Elliott’s “inside” compositional core as the bassist’s foundation is supple but sturdy. Shea’s frequently explosive drumming sends the record down a less conventional path. The electronics ensure Disasters, Vol. 1 won’t be mistaken for any other album.

As stated above, Disasters, Vol. 2 is a more straight-ahead affair, though it thrives on toughness of execution, in part through the choice of baritone sax, played by Charles Evans, and trombone, played by Sam Kulik. Alongside Elliott, pianist Danny Fox and drummer Christian Coleman round out the band. Two compositions “Marcus Hook” and “Dimock” return from the first volume; as on the prior set, all of the pieces are named after “towns in Pennsylvania that experienced historical disasters.”

Through an underlying disdain for conventionality, Advancing on a Wild Pitch brings the descriptor straight-ahead into question across Disasters, Vol. 2 in a manner that’s a bit reminiscent of Charles Mingus. Not surprising given Elliott’s chosen instrument, but the feel is based more in the horns recalling Jerome Richardson and Jimmy Knepper. As in Mingus’ work, there’s a boldness in both ensemble play and soloing here that suggests an affiliation with the avant-garde without ever embodying it.

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