By Denny Dyroff, Staff Writer, The Times
Transatlantic Sessions
A picture of Transatlantic Sessions, a group that is performing May 2 at the Keswick Theater (291 N. Keswick Avenue, Glenside, 215-572-7650, www.keswicktheatre.com), shows a group of musicians walking single file along the edge of what looks like a lake (loch?) in the Celtic region of the U.K. carrying their acoustic instruments.
It is a good depiction of what to expect from Transatlantic Sessions.
Transatlantic Sessions brings together the best of Nashville, Ireland and Scotland in a format that affords these musicians the opportunity to play together for the love of the music they are playing.
Led by Grammy Award-winning Dobro/lap steel player Jerry Douglas and acclaimed Scottish fiddle player Aly Bain, the talented group of musicians on this Transatlantic Sessions
tour features Phil Cunningham, James Mackintosh, John McCusker and Donald Shaw representing Scotland, Michael McGoldrick (England), John Doyle (Ireland), in addition to Americans Russ Barenberg, and Daniel Kimbro — along with variety of top-flight special guest stars.
The “Special Guests” for Tuesday’s show at the Keswick are Mary Chapin Carpenter, Rodney Crowell, Alison Krauss, Karen Matheson, Milk Carton Kids and Declan O’Rourke.
Having originated as an award-winning BBC television series (now in its seventh season), the Transatlantic Sessions tour has become a treasured annual event in the U.K. that brings together master musicians to celebrate the music from their unique and shared musical traditions.
This tour marks the first multi-city tour in the United States and begins a new chapter in the continuing evolution of the Transatlantic Sessions.
“I’m ready for this tour,” said Douglas, during a phone interview last week. “We’re here in Nashville loading the bus. This is the first time the tour has happened over here and that’s pretty exciting.
“Our first show will be at Merlefest in Wilkesboro, North Carolina. This is the 30th year of the festival and I’ve been there every year. It draws 90,000 music fans. Transatlantic Sessions will debut there on the Friday night show.
“Because it’s their 30th year, they asked me if I might have something special. That something special was Transatlantic Sessions. Considering visas and money, this was the first chance I had to bring all these people over.
“I wanted to bring Transatlantic Sessions some street creed over here. It’s a big TV show in the U.K. I wanted people to realize that there is more to this music than just some of the commercial acts that play here a lot.
“It’s a collaborative show – USA and U.K. We have five shows in a row – Merlefest, D.C., Philadelphia, Boston and New York City – and it will be a different cast of special guests in each city.”
Transatlantic Sessions is the collective title for a series of musical productions by Glasgow-based Pelicula Films Ltd, funded by and produced for BBC Scotland, BBC Four, RTÉ of Ireland.
The productions are live performances by various leading folk and country musicians from both sides of the North Atlantic playing music from Scotland, Ireland, England and North America.,
They are brought together under the musical direction of Aly Bain and Jerry Douglas to record and film a set of half-hour TV episodes.
The original Transatlantic Sessions episode was produced in 1995 — a project conceived at that time by Douglas Eadie, Mike Alexander and Aly Bain. The following sessions were produced in 1998, 2007, 2009, 2011 and 2013. To date, the series comprises the six sessions.
“This is the first time in America and we want to do it right,” said Douglas. ‘I just want to bring these people over because they are wonderful singers and musicians – the cream of the crop.”
Dobro master and 14-time Grammy winner, Douglas is to the resonator guitar what Jimi Hendrix was to the electric guitar — elevating, transforming, and reinventing the instrument in countless ways. He also plays lap steel, guitar and banjo.
Douglas is a freewheeling, forward-thinking recording artist whose output incorporates elements of bluegrass, country, rock, jazz, blues and Celtic into his distinctive musical vision.
In addition to his 13 solo recordings, Douglas has played on more than 1,600 albums.
As a sideman, he has recorded with artists as diverse as Ray Charles, Eric Clapton, Phish, Dolly Parton, Susan Ashton, Paul Simon, Mumford & Sons, Keb’ Mo’, Ricky Skaggs, Elvis Costello, and Johnny Mathis.
“I’ve been music director of Transatlantic Sessions since its second year,” said Douglas. “I played on the first sessions in Glasgow, Scotland.
“With every artist coming over for this tour, they are all taking their songs to the band. We want something that is collaborative. We have a sound that we maintain throughout the show.”
Video link for Transatlantic Sessions – https://youtu.be/HSPjw_i9Rww.
The show at the Keswick will start at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $49.50 and $85.
On May 2, there will be another musical act performing locally with its roots on both side of the Atlantic when Scarlet Sails takes the stage at 1984 (2511 West Fourth Street, Wilmington, Delaware, 302-384-6479, www.1984wilmington.com).
Scarlet Sails is a band put together by Brian Viglione and Olya Viglione.
Brian Viglione was born in New Hampshire and has been a mainstay in the New York rock music scene since the turn of the century.
Olya Fomina, as she was then known, studied classical music in Moscow when she was young and eventually turned to rock music.
“Scarlet Sails was born out a chance meeting I had with Olya, who has been my wife for eight months,” said Viglione, during a phone interview last week from their home in New York.
“I went to a show at Bowery Electric and Olya was a bartender there. That’s when Cupid drew his bow and his arrow struck me in the temple.”
Scarlet Sails is the creation of stunningly-beautiful and talented Russian-born singer/songwriter Olya Viglione and Dresden Dolls drummer Brian Viglione.
Their sound rests in this perfectly-balanced place of classic and modern rock — showcasing their signature style with subtle nods to iconic artists like Bowie, The Ramones, and Led Zeppelin.
Joined by band members Mark Kohut (guitar) and Jesse Krakow (bass), Scarlet Sails just released its debut full-length album, “Future From the Past.”
Both Brian and Olya’s diverse music careers date back a long time.
Olya learned piano under strict tutelage at the Moscow Prokofiev School of Music No. 1 — playing classic pieces Tchaikovsky, Debussy, Grieg, and Liszt.
Original music was not tolerated, and as Olya began to write and rebel, the teachers saw trouble coming. Her parents also saw it coming.
But, even though they were intellectual professionals themselves, they did not see their daughter being in a rock band as a viable option. At 18, Olya took vocal lessons and fell deeply in love with the idea of music as a career.
“I started classical music school when I was five and quit when I was 12,” said Olya. “I wasn’t into learning every little thing.
“Then, I started getting back into music after a couple years. When I was 21, I decided I wanted to do music in a different way. I decided to go to New York to learn English so that I could write songs in English.”
A program that enticed Russian youth to go to America and work came to Olya’s school. When she spoke to them about the opportunity, she envisioned moving to New York City and learning/writing in English and soaking up the music in gospel churches and blues clubs.
When she agreed to participate, she found a world very different from what she was expecting.
The summer of 2010 was an exciting one where Olya embarked on her temporary journey to America. The company she went over with were supposed to provide a job and a place to stay.
She quickly discovered that the owner of the place she was to work expected a lot more than was promised by him. Olya soon learned to navigate past the city’s more unscrupulous and unsavory characters into safer waters.
Suddenly she had little more than a bit of money and her strong will to make it in America. She did more than survive the situation, she made a connection that would get her right back on her intended course.
“Originally, I just planned to come for the summertime,” said Olya. “I didn’t plan to stay here. It was very exciting. And, being in a country and not knowing the language was very challenging.
“Then, I realized that three months wasn’t enough time. It was a natural flow. One thing led to another. I definitely liked living in New York. My English was getting better and I got a bartending gig.”
Olya got a job tending bar at The Bowery Electric, working for New York Punk Rock godfather, Jesse Malin — known for fronting the band D Generation. With a kind friend and ally on her side, she went out on tour as a keyboard player with Malin in 2014 and played nine SXSW shows with him.
At the age of 16, Brian was playing gigs in a cover band at sports bars in New Hampshire. Things were progressing, but in order to play bigger places and original music, he needed to go to the next big city — Boston. At 19 he moved to New York City and began his career in earnest.
Reading “Get In The Van” by Henry Rollins and taking an honest assessment of his immediate prospects inspired him to hit the road and broaden his musical horizons.
Playing with early bands like hardcore punk outfit Sic Semper Tyrannis, psychedelia-inspired Asciento, and ultimately The Dresden Dolls, brought the avant-garde into his life.
A decade ago, the Dresden Dolls were forging their own distinctive path through the world of rock music. Their musical stew combined a variety of very diverse flavors – Weimar-era cabaret, hard-hitting female vocals and punk-rock fury.
The Dresden Dolls, who frequently looked as if they just stepped off the set of “A Clockwork Orange,” even referred to their music as “Brechtian punk cabaret”.
Brian’s reputation as a musician and top-shelf drummer also has been built on his time as a member of the Violent Femmes and New York City’s cabaret punk orchestra, The World/Inferno Friendship Society.
The list of acts with which he has also been involved includes The Cliks, Nine Inch Nails, Scarlet Sails, Botanica, Black Tape For A Blue Girl, Jesse Malin, Faun Fables, The Insect Fable, Steve Smith, Martin Bisi, Face of the Sun, and Gentlemen & Assassins.
Brian and Olya met in 2013 at the Black Flag “Barred For Life” book release party at Bowery Electric, where Olya worked.
According to Brian, “When my friend and I went upstairs to refresh ourselves with some libations, I suddenly caught sight of the most radiant smile I had ever encountered — like warm rays of sunshine beaming out from behind the dark counter of the bar, parting the clouds, invigorating my spirit!”
A connection was made right from the start.
“Olya told me she was a composer and songwriter who played piano and sang,” said Brian. “She sent me four demos. I was struck – what a wonderfully unique twist on capturing music – classical compositions over Bowie and Queen.
“We started seeing each other in 2013 – right around the time I joined Violent Femmes. I left that band at the end of 2015. Olya and I realized that there was a strong sense of music atmosphere we had – as well as the message in believing in yourself.”
Olya said, “The first time we played together in a rehearsal space, I played my song and he played along. I’d bring more songs and we’d work on them. It was a very natural process. Now, all the songs start with me, go through Brian and then go to the band.”
Brian said, “Our music has evolved tremendously. We’ve fleshed it out sonically and we have band members to add to it. It just comes with time.”
Video link for Scarlet Sails — https://youtu.be/voRNFqVru3g.
The show at 1984, which has Radiator King, Noelle Picara and Sarah Koon as opening acts, will start at 9 p.m. Tickets are $7 at the door.
Nicole Adkins
Nicole Atkins, who is playing a show on May 2 at Union Transfer (1026 Spring Garden Street, Philadelphia, 215-232-2100, www.utphilly.com), will release her new album, “Goodnight Rhonda Lee” on July 21 on Single Lock Records.
The album is filled with timeless songs that were written during a time of deep self-examination for the New Jersey native, now Nashville resident – several years of intense personal struggles.
“It was a tough couple years,” said Atkins, during a phone interview from Nashville last week while wearing a full-body cast.
“I’m not in this body cast because of any troubles. Actually, I’m in it for a video we’re working on right now. I’m just taking a break from shooting the video to do this interview.”
In the middle of much personal turmoil — getting and staying sober and dealing with her father’s cancer — Atkins moved from her native Asbury Park to Nashville.
In Nashville, Atkins’ once hectic life was very different. Left home alone as her tour manager husband plied his trade out on the road, Atkins found herself writing songs that examined “feelings of separation and being scared of new surroundings.”
Not surprisingly, her sobriety faltered. She drifted in and out of it. Atkins knew the wagon was good for her, but she had a hard time staying focused on what was good for her.
“I knew I was in depression and I knew that I wasn’t who I was,” said Atkins. “Drinking and being pissed off were all things that were holding me back.”
As it went on however, the clarity of those sober days started to shine through. And, she was able to string them together in longer stretches. It helped that she had to be strong for herself in order to be strong for her dad.
“The more I started taking a break and incorporating healthier life patterns, I learned to stop worrying and to live without anxiety and anger,” said Atkins. “It helped my writing a lot.”
She reconnected with her old friend Chris Isaak who encouraged her to write songs that emphasized the one trait that most sets her apart from the mere mortals of the industry — telling her, “Atkins, you have a very special thing in your voice that a lot of people can’t or don’t do. You need to stop shying away from that thing and let people hear it.”
Atkins said, “I treated writing more as a job. I just got up and wrote. As an artist, you encounter a lot of pitfalls. So, you need to incorporate order into your life.”
The direction in which these songs were headed was obvious. Atkins’ voice had always recalled a classic vinyl collection. She is the heir to the legacy of Roy Orbison, Lee Hazelwood, Sinatra, Aretha, Carole King, Candi/Staton.
Even though Atkins moved to Nashville, she provides living proof to the old saying that “You can take the girl out of New Jersey but you can’t take New Jersey out of the girl.”
“My music is 60s soul music,” said Atkins. “That’s the music I’ve always written and I wanted to record it that way.
“I started writing the album in 2013. I wrote the songs over a period of three years and the songs kept getting better. I made the final selection of songs and then cut the album last August in Fort Worth, Texas.”
According to Atkins, “This record came to me at a time of deep transition. Some days were good, some not so good. What I did gain, though, from starting to make some changes and going inward, and putting it out on the table, was a joy in what I do again. Joy in the process and a newfound confidence that I don’t think I’ve ever had until now.
“The album title, “Goodnight Rhonda Lee,” also came from those feelings. Rhonda Lee was kind of my alias for bad behavior, and it was time to put that persona to bed.”
Video link for Nicole Atkins — https://youtu.be/paLarbLjc6s.
The show at Union Transfer, which also features Old 97s, will start at 9:30 p.m. Tickets are $22.
The Stray Birds
On May 3, the Stray Birds, one of the best Pennsylvania-breed bands in the last decade, will be headlining a show at Boot and Saddle (1131 South Broad Street, Philadelphia, 215-639-4528, www.bootandsaddlephilly.com).
The show is part of their 34-city “Open Window Tour” in support of their new album “Magic Fire.” It will conclude on June 3 at the Kerrville Folk Festival in Kerrville, Texas.
The Stray Birds — Charlie Muench, Maya de Vitry and Oliver Craven — have their roots in nearby Lancaster County and now have a Philadelphia-based musician.
“I grew up in Lancaster but I’m living in Philadelphia now,” said Muench, during a phone interview last week from his home in Philly. Oliver and Maya have lived in Nashville for a few years now.
“We’re going into the festival season so we’re excited to have a drummer with us. We use a rotating cast of drummers. It’s a little more of a rock sound.”
The trio has its musical roots in acoustic music — Americana, folk and bluegrass. Prior to this year, the band released two albums and two EPs. The most recent album was “Best Medicine” was released in 2014 on Yep Roc Records.
“We’re all from Lancaster County,” said Muench, who graduated from West Chester University in 2011 with a degree in musical education.
“Maya and I went to Hempfield High and Oliver is from Ephrata. Maya and I were in a middle school orchestra together. Oliver and I met through mutual friends. Maya and Oliver were making an EP together in a basement in Lancaster and I played bass on a couple tracks.
“At the beginning of 2012, it became a three-piece band full time with Maya and Oliver as the songwriters. The band formed around playing their songs along with some traditional Americana, bluegrass and fiddle tunes.
“I got into bluegrass when I was in college. It started with listening to the Grateful Dead and that led me to Jerry Garcia’s other band Old and In the Way. Maya has been playing old-time music with her family for a long time.
“Oliver was in a family band playing fiddle since his early musical days. The family-oriented nature of the music is great. Before there was recorded music, people would sit around and sing together.”
“Magic Fire” was released August 19 on Yep Roc Records. It was their first project with an outside producer, their first recording with venerable guest musicians, and their first truly collaborative songwriting effort.
In addition to being an album of “firsts,” it is also an album of “mosts” — the most exciting and engaging music they’ve ever composed paired with their most outspoken and insightful lyrics yet.
Impressively, the Stray Birds made the record with legendary producer Larry Campbell and one of America’s top engineers — Justin Guip.
They went to Milan Hill, New York, a small town outside of Woodstock in the Hudson River Valley, and teamed up with the three-time Gammy Award-winning producer, who is best known for his work with artists such as Bob Dylan, Levon Helm, Paul Simon, and Willie Nelson. Guip is another three-time Grammy Award-winner who worked with the late Helm.
“We met Larry in New York City a few years ago and stayed in touch,” said Muench. “When we were thinking about producers for the new album, he was at the top of the list. We made a phone call and he agreed to do the album with us.
“It wasn’t too difficult to arrange a time when we could work together. We booked two weeks in the studio in 2015 after Thanksgiving. It was Justin’s studio in the Hudson River Valley.
“We stayed in a little town called Rosendale, which was about 40 minutes away. Justin and his wife made us food and that allowed us t concentrate on the music. It was a retreat-like environment.”
The group spent 10 days together exploring and creating the music that would become “Magic Fire.”
“We had a lot of the arrangements worked out before we went up there,” said Muench. “We had a pretty good idea of how the songs would sound.
“We weren’t going for any particular vibe. We had a lot of genres in mind — pop, country, Americana. The album was recorded live with the vocals layered on later.
“Now, two years later, we’ve been writing as a band again. We don’t have any songs ready to play live yet but we are looking to do a record later this year.”
Video link for the Stray Birds – https://youtu.be/o9Jc3tOkHzY.
The show at Boot & Saddle on May 3, which has Anthony da Costa as the opener, will start at 930 p.m. Tickets are $15.
