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More April 2005 |
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Playlist
for second part ** = appears on internet version of show only |
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Sid Spencer
Sid Spencer died of AIDS in 1996, leaving us with a loss of one of our very best country talents. His four albums, "Lovin' Strangers," "Family Ties," Out-n-About, Again" and the posthumous "Chasin' That Neon Rainbow" are all well worth tracking down. All are from the mid 90s, and "Out-n-About, Again" especially showcased the direction he was heading, working more and more lyrically gay songs into his songbook. For an interesting reflection of Spencer from one of his fans at the time can be found by clicking here.
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Country Music - - Out of the Country Some of the coolest, in this case, lesbian country music has come from out of the United States. The Topp Twins, from New Zealand have released two excellent discs, "Two Timing" (1994) and "Grass Highway" (2001). Also check out my interview with them on my August 2001 show. They've also hosted their own TV variety show there for years, and I've seen it (via tape), it's a hoot. I just discovered the Jane Waynes while researching for this show. Out of Toronto they were together several years and released their debut album in late 2004, and then split up...go figure. But I like the album, lots to recommend.
And, out of the UK came those Well-Oiled Sisters, who proved that lesbians can get also get down and get dirty. The two songs I'm featuring are from their "Alcohol & Tears" album from 1994, and their other album, "Mad Girls Do Better" came out in 1996...wonder what became of them? |
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J. Byrd Hosch and her trio bring us their own brand of old time country, but then, that genre never had "A Cowgirl's Love Song." And below, more of a comedy act Teresa Chandler & Karen Ripley 1994 cassette, "I Survived a Femme!" offered up a couple country flavored tunes, including "D-Y-K-E."
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Out of Oklahoma comes Matthew Heath-Fitzgerald, already with three c&w albums since 2002, he's a comer...
And Kitty Rose, who bills herself as "That Singing Cowgirl from Hopland, California" stormed into 2004 with a release of classic country. Fans of early women's music may be interested to note that Woody Simmons helped Kitty out on harmonica on this album.
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New Country artists: Matt Alber & Brian Glenn What I've heard so far from these two very talented singers make me really look forward to their debut albums.
Above, Matt Alber, and (right) Brian Glenn, below. Click to see the terrific article from 2004 about Brian as an openly gay artist in Nashville |
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I just love the work of Lynzi Wildheart & the Amazon Range Riders, which got very limited release, mostly from the MP3.com website, back in 1996, when that site was worthwhile.
At the time I downloaded the description of them from the site, good thing as they've disappeared from the internet. Since that's the case I'll reproduce here what it said: Group Members: Lynzi Wildheart, Cadence Kay, Jean DuSablon, Sue Ecklin Artist Description: Four excellent women musicians whose musical and personal styles combine to create an original sound with roots in Eagles / salsa/ percussionistic/ country groove. Strong melodic poetry supported by acoustic and electric guitars weaving in and out of a solid rhythm bed blend to create a sound that wants to live with you. These Texas artists (Denton and Austin, TX) are seasoned players and performers. Though they are currently working on separate projects, they still play the music festival circuit and can most often be heard at women's music festivals. Artist History: The Band was formed in 1994 in Denton, TX. Lynzi put the band together to play the Lone Star Women's Music Festival. She chose some of the finest women musicians that Dallas and Austin had to offer. They began to play the clubs in and around Dallas and Austin. In 1994 the opened for "The Story" at club DaDa in Dallas. In 1995 they played in front of the Indigo Girls and Melissa Etheridge at the Wimminfest in Albuquerque, NM, and at the Ohio Lesbian Festival. |
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Mark Weigle Rarities
Mark's landmark album, "The Truth Is," was released in 1998, but how many of you knew he had an earlier cassette release, in 1990? From it "Other Houses" evolved into a duet with Sonia on the "All That Matters" release. Below, Mark distributed a sampler tape to promite the first CD, and to the right, a post card for one of his German concert shows.
Above, 2002 CD sampler available only then from the site MP3.com, and above right, no, Mark didn't release a porn CD single...in the fall of 2003 he gifted me with two of the early tracks from what would become, in 2005, the "Soulsex" CD. So I cobbled them together onto my own version of a release for him, with a photo I took when I helped him out at the Texas Gay Rodeo Association event in September of 2003. Below more pics from the rodeo.
Visit my Mark Weigle Tribute Section
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Mary Gauthier's music just gets better and better. I used the title track from "Drag Queens In Limousines" (from 1999) for this show, but check out next month's show for a fascinating interview with her.
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A little cajun music to help get to the closing of the show, by our own Les Femmes d'Enfer. Their 1999 album was called "Hot Flash" and the sopohomore edition, "Femmes" came out in 2003.
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I adored the duo Y'All, and was fortunate to have seen them live several times. They gifted our culture with seven releases between 1993 and 2002 that are a humorous cross between folk and country. While the duo is no more a retrospective CD, "Life In A Box" has been just released.
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Okay,
now head back to page 1, click to go there
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