Hi everybody. Anyone here a Gillian Welch fan? I'm such a big fan that I wrote a song about her recently:

Gillian and the Rain (kasper 2003)

Gillian and the rain
go together like tears on a Sunday
go together like a slow dance in a dark space
go together like the ocean and a blue song
and a blue song

my friend Kayla, she understands
how Gillian brings the world to its hands
how she hypnotizes and still surprises
with how she makes us happy to be sad

Gillian and the rain
go together like a heartbreak in a small town
go together like a river to the right sound
go together like a sad doll in The High House
in The High House

Gillian and the rain
Never leave me, always refrain
***


I introduced my friend Kayla to the music of Gillian Welch, and she has since become as much of a fan as I am. I tried to write the music in the spirit of a Gillian Welch song....Does anyone know if she's going to tour Canada anytime soon?

kasper, that's a nice song. You should email it to Gillian, I think she'd be touched by it. I'm listening to her "Soul Journey" CD right now and she has got a beautiful voice that draws you right in.

Thanks, Under. Yes, I find her voice absolutely hypnotic.
I just started recording a new record, on which the song will appear, so I thought I'd wait until it's done and I can send her the actual song with the lyrics. I met her Canadian label guy a couple months ago at a David Gogo show (ever heard of him? Gogo, I mean...?), so maybe I'll send it to him (hopefully he'll remember me.

I don't know if she is touring at the moment, but I have heard of Gillian Welch ... if I'm not mistaken, she's a bluegrass artist in the same vein as Allison Krauss (who is one of my personal favorites, even if my brother-in-law thinks she's ruining the genre) ... in any case, those are some good lyrics there, kasper ... you do have a knack for songwriting.

Thanks, Al. Alison K's "New Favourite" song is awesome - yes, I can see the similarities with her & Gillian (the emotive sparseness) - def. not ruining the genre - I'd say more like injecting it with a refreshing & much-needed new twist.

actually, I think Allison Krauss has covered some Gillian Welch tunes in recent years ... I know for a fact they sang together on the "O Brother Where Art Thou" soundtrack ... it was the song that accompanied the scene where the Soggy Bottom Boys meet up with the three sirens at the river (I can't think of the song title, though) ... they do have similar vocal qualities ... that much I also know.

By the way, the reason my brother-in-law thinks Allison Krauss is ruining bluegrass music is because he is a traditionalist, and he likes his bluegrass played fast with a high, lonesome vocal sound (Bill Monroe, for example) ... he has a hard time listening to some of the newer generation of artists (AK, Nickel Creek) because they take a more subdued approach -- slower tempos, more melodic singing, etc. Personally, I like the newer generation of bluegrass artists, but I also have an appreciation for the forefathers of the genre.