FRIDAY, JUNE 27
8:00 PM
CHUCK'S BACK!!!
Chuck did a show for us here at Little Lake Hill in January of 2001. We are SO PLEASED to have him back!!
Chuck grew up in the Philadelphia area. As a teenager he worked at a legendary folk club, the Main Point, where he was introduced to a lot of great songwriters and performers (such as bluesman George Gritzbach and Steve Forbert). Others who influenced Chuck include Bob Dylan, Nic Jones, Jackson Browne, David Massengill, and further toward the literary side, Mark Twain. They say that to tell great stories you have to live an adventurous life. It's a tip that Chuck took to heart. In 1981 he took his guitar and hitchhiked to California. He's worked as a migrant fruit picker, driven an ice cream truck, labored on an Israeli Kibbutz, worked for a book distributor, was a bank courier (until he lost a check for ten million) and spent two years streetsinging in Europe. In the process, Chuck learned what all great writers know--that the best stories are the little things in the lives of everyday people who are trying to muddle through with some grace.
A brand new CD out--"The Baseball Ballads" is not surprising as he has been a baseball fan since a little tyke and many of his tunes are about the sport, players and memorable incidents during baseball's history. He is one of the few contemporary songwriters with a file in the Baseball Hall of Fame. The collection in Cooperstown, NY includes copies of all his disc, for the baseball inspired songs they contain.
"Last of the Old Time" proves he has a healthy dose of scathing humor and biting observations. Here you find many amazing characters and communities--people that Chuck has found in our history, on the road, and in his imagination with stories you'll never forget.
Chuck now lives in Asheville, NC and records for Redhouse Records. In 1996 he released "Letters in the Dirt", which earned critical raves and introduced us to some great characters---a roadside peach vendor still wondering after thirty years if he married the right woman ("Bill & Annie") and the first white baseball player in the Negro Leagues "The Ballad of Eddie Klepp") His 1998 release, "Radio" was even more widely acclaimed for its great stabs at our laughable culture.
With arresting songwriting, groove-oriented guitar playing, and a soulful compassionate voice, Chuck Brodsky has become a fixture on the national acoustic music scene. In 1992 he won the Emerging Songwriter Award at the Napa Valley Folk Festival in California. Hi first release, "Fingerpainter's Murals" (Waterbug Records in 1995) was a critical favorite with its collection of vividly rendered stories. The song that cemented Chuck's reputation as a funny and trenchant songwriter was "Blow 'em Away," a delightfully nasty blues about a pistol-packing commuter. Singer/songwriter David Wilcox made the song one of the highlights of his concerts and recorded it on his 1996 live album, "East Asheville Hardware."
"Social commitment and the individual heart go hand in hand with humor, wit, and longing."--the Village Voice
The Boston Globe says: He has the soft, wry voice of John Prine and the detailed balladry of Bob Dylan...ear catching melodies."
"A sharp eye for detail, a wicked sense of humor and the ability to create memorable characters.: ....Philadelphia Inquirer
If you enjoy Harry Chapin you're bound to enjoy Chuck. Have a listen!
Reservations ($10) for this show are necessary and may be made at (919) 787-6378 or bett_padgett@mindspring.com. Chuck's show in January 2001 sold out. Make your reservations EARLY!