Snocko's Lament: Interview with Michael Hurley

Another one from the archives that I'm happy to see on the web: My 1993 Daily Press feature on the legendary singer-songwriter Michael Hurley.

Hurley's music sure knows how to take its time, rolling along the rickety bridges connecting Appalachia, R&B, folk and blues. But where his songs -- "The Werewolf," "The Slurf Song," "Uncle Bob's Corner," etc. -- can take you is often worth the time spent getting there.

Read about Doc Snock by going here.

And Hurley's quixotic career continues to this day, with new recordings and the occasional live appearance. Get the man's latest music AND some of his past treasures by going to the Light in the Attic page.

(Photo: Light in the Attic)

Dark Star: Lost and Spaced

I found myself again.

This happens from time to time. I do a search on a completely unrelated topic and somehow one of my old stories pops up -- usually something that I had completely forgotten about. This thrills me to no end because that means I get to read it "fresh," as if someone else wrote it.

This time, I went looking for information on the films of John Carpenter and I ended up finding a review I wrote for Style Weekly of Carpenter's first movie, Dark Star.  This amazing student film manages to capture the fried zeitgeist of the post-'60s counterculture while successfully skewering the great epic sci-fi films of its day.

Surf over here to read the review.

You can snag a copy of Dark Star by going here.

Interview with Dee Dee Bridgewater

"I was gifted with a flexible voice that can sing all styles," the great Dee Dee Bridgewater says. "And if I commit to it, you'd think that was the style I've been doing all my life."

In a career spanning 50 years, Bridgewater has traversed the tonal spectrum with her chameleonic voice and boisterous stage presence. From avant-garde jazz to disco to show tunes, Bridgewater has been all over the place. The Grammy- and Tony-winning vocal stylist — recently an expatriate residing in France — is enjoying meaty reviews for her new disc, Memphis...Yes I'm Ready. Here, she sinks her teeth into Bluff City classics by Elvis, Otis Redding, Isaac Hayes and Ann Peebles.

Read my Richmond Magazine interview with this fascinating diva (and careful with that alligator, Ms. Bridgewater).

For more on the lady's music, go here.

Virginia Music Hall of Fame: The Blueprint

Roanoke has a pinball museum, Arlington can boast a museum that honors the Drug Enforcement Agency, and there's a place in  Colonial Heights that pays homage to tractors and farming equipment. Virginia has a Sports Hall of Fame and a Communications Hall of Fame. There's a spot in Harrisonburg that honors Virginia quilting culture, and there also exists a (what?) Charlottesville Business Hall-of-Fame. 

All of that, and Virginia still don't have an official museum or hall of fame dedicated to its music. 

Alabama has a state music museum, as does Rhode Island. The neighbors in North Carolina too. Oklahoma not only has a music hall of fame, it has an Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame (believe it or not). West Virginia? You've got to be kidding me. Virginia's musical legacies arguably run wider and deeper than any of those places. 

In the September issue of Richmond Magazine (on newsstands now), I make the case for why the time is long overdue for a real, honest-to-goodness, diverse, lively Virginia Music Hall of Fame and Museum. And not just something on the side of the road with a bunch of old stuff but an institution that would pay ongoing tribute to homegrown legends, and maybe make some new music history.

But what would such a place look like? For this online extra, I get into the weeds, scribble on some napkins and outline just what an official Virginia Music Hall of Fame and Museum might look like. It's a daydream, sure, but let me dream. 

Read "The Blueprint" by going here. 

Read the rest by buying the September issue of Richmond Magazine (print lives!) or watching this space. 

On The House: North Shore Point

Jim Morrison, a veteran journalist from Hampton Roads, has been putting on concerts at his Norfolk, Virginia home for years. His backyard has grown to become the area's often sold-out venue of choice for national singer-songwriters and unplugged rockers.

Morrison’s North Shore Point   House Concerts convinces  Grammy-winning troubadours and acclaimed up-and-comers to perform on his lawn, and they always come back. The likes of Steve Forbert, Garland Jeffreys, Chris Smither, Kelly Willis,  Todd Snider, Della Mae, Marshall Crenshaw, Chuck Prophet, Lloyd Cole, Alejandro Escobedo, Peter Case, the Blasters’ Dave Alvin, and many more.

Read my Virginia Living Magazine story on Morrison's promotions, and how North Shore Point is now partnering with the Virginia Arts Festival to bring even more live music to Tidewater.

Read "On the House" at this location.

For more on North Shore Point House Concerts, go here.

(Photo: Della Mae)

Interview with Melissa Manchester

Melissa Manchester learned songwriting from Paul Simon, made her recording debut with National Lampoon (imitating Yoko Ono) and got her start singing backup for Bette Midler. In the 70's, she was the soulful singer behind hits like "Midnight Blue," and in the 80's, she revamped her style and cut the leg-warmer classic, "You Should Hear How She Talks About You," copping a Grammy Award. In the 1990's, she could be found portraying Mayim Bialik's sitcom mom on TV's "Blossom."

For Richmond Magazine, I recently spoke with the one-and-only Melissa Manchester about all of her different phases and stages, as well as her new CD of standards saluting classic male singers.

You should hear how she talks about it all right here.

For more on the music of Melissa Manchester, click this spot.

(Photo by Jennifer O. Hill)

Arthur Ashe: A Life

The author of the best-selling books “Freedom Riders” and “The Sound of Freedom,” Raymond Arsenault says that his new exhaustive biography of the late Arthur Ashe was born out of a longtime fascination with his legendary subject, a Wimbledon and U.S. Open champion who spoke out against injustice and was eager to break down society’s color barriers even as he was battling the AIDs virus.

According to Arsenault, who spent nine years researching and writing the biography,  Ashe was "so honest and candid, revealing his soul, which is interesting because he had this reputation of being kind of cool and aloof. He was way Obama-esque. I swear sometimes that they were separated at birth. "

Read my Richmond Magazine interview with Raymond Arsenault, the author of "Arthur Ashe: A Life," by going right here.

Click here for more on Arsenault and the book, published by Simon and Shuster.

(Photo by Rob Bogaerts / Fotocollectie Anefo / Nationaal Archief)

Annabelle's Curse is Lifted

Imagine being the best death metal band in New Orleans. Or an acid jazz combo in Utah. Or an ace Memphis-based polka ensemble. You might feel a little out of place.

Much like Bristol's Annabelle’s Curse, a genre-defying indie-rock outfit that is making some unexpected noise in the mountainous Virginia/Tennessee border town acknowledged worldwide as the birthplace of country music.

Read my Virginia Living Magazine feature on the band right here.

And for more on Annabelle's Curse, go here.