LAURA CANTRELL
Humming By The Flowered Vine
Three years is too long to wait for a new Laura Cantrell record. So Humming By The Flowered Vine, the third for the wistful and demure singer/ songwriter and radio show host, comes with much anticipation. Produced by JD Foster (Richard Buckner, Marc Ribot), Humming features a terrific list of players and guests such as Jon Graboff, Mark Spencer, Jeremy Chatzky, Rob Burger, Ted Reichman, Steve Goulding, Kenny Kosek and Mary Lee Kortes. Not to mention John Convertino and Paul Neihaus of Calexico, Amy Helm and Fiona McBain of Ollabelle, and The Schramms’ Dave Schramm, whose tender and contemplative song “And Still” is included among the several covers on this 10-song set. Other artists interpreted by Cantrell include Emily Spray, Jenifer Jackson, classic honky - tinker Wynn Stewart and Lucinda Williams, whose late ‘70s tune “Letters” never made it beyond the demo stage. Its brooding, rootsy rock treatment here makes it one of the more powerful numbers on the record, which overall has a classic country heart and a folksy head. Sad and beautiful at times, spirited and carefree at others. Always good. (Matador)
More Info + Sound Clips
CD $13.99

The M.o.M. Q & A With
LAURA CANTRELL

1. Describe the moment in which music changed your life.

I grew up with an attachment to music that seemed a little out of time. I remember feeling like I was the only kid in the 8th grade that liked Ernest Tubb and, at that point in life, it might be information worth keeping to myself! I didn't really have a "Eureka" moment so much as a realization in college that I really loved music and that interest could drive my choices in life. I've had a few models, like my colleagues at community station WFMU who seemed to figure out ways to balance serious involvement in music with the rest of their lives. That I could do that too was a revelation.

2. I wish I wrote this song, and why.

Uh, well, you can put anything by Dolly Parton, Merle Haggard or Gillian Welch as the answer to this question ... All three really write songs that it seems they lived, whether they’re drawing on imagination or experience or a blend of the two. Hard to do!

3. If I could have been at any concert in history, what would it have been, and why?

I have a lot of lists of people I'd wish I'd seen, like Charlie Rich, who cancelled a trip to NY the year that he died. But if time travel were really an option, wouldn't it be cool to go to Storyville and hear Buddy Bolden or some Tulsa ballroom to see Bob Wills or Milton Brown? Or at Newport when Mother Maybelle was giving a demonstration on autoharp? It would be cool to see any of this music when it was brand new.

4. What have you blatantly stolen and incorporated into your songwriting or performance?

I've taken a lot of mental notes but I'm not a real good copier. I guess I took a lot of inspiration from Amy Rigby and Amy Allison and have actually recorded songs of both those ladies.

5. With a gun to your head, describe your music.

Ow. Country music with traditional spirit and modern sensibility.

6. One thing I hate about the music business is:

It's too expensive.

7. Who is the artist your parents or older sibling listened to that you swore you would never like but have come to appreciate?

Joan Baez

8. What song could you never cover because it's just too damn good and you'd be afraid to ruin it?

"Faded Love" by Bob Wills

9. What's one creature comfort you crave while on the road?

HBO

10. I can die after I've met:

Shania Twain, but only if she has me over for a vegan meal at her Swiss chalet.

11. What's your favorite poison?

Some rare single malt with a little cider on the side.

12. The best way to ride out a hangover?

NOT in a van on tour in Scotland.

13. If you were a Simpsons character, which one would you be, any why?

Can I please be Lurleen Lumpkin??

14. Rate these bands best to worst: Journey, Styx, Foreigner, Kansas. Explain your reasoning.

Foreigner -- Hot Blooded, need I say more? Journey -- Steve Perry's histrionics Styx -- They aren't as annoying as ...Kansas -- "Point of Know Return" get it?

15.You've become Queen of the world, what's your first move?

Buy the Grand Ole Opry and put it on public radio and television so I can watch it while eating vegan meals in my Swiss chalet.