May 07, 2003

Waifs

Before reluctantly moving from Virginia to Illinois, I saw an Australian band called the Waifs open a gig in Arlington for Kevin Johnson and the Linemen. (The Linemen include my friend Scott McKnight, songwriter non pareil, which is French for "dark chocolate w/ white sugary specks that get caught in your teeth.") The Waifs were pretty astounding -- sisters Donna and Vikki Simpson sharing vocals, backed by Josh Cunningham on tastefully flashy acoustic guitar. Each of them writes, and the songs are snappy bits of unpretentious modern folk music. Now they're opening for Dylan, supposedly at the direct insistence of his very Bobness himself.

They're no secret in Australia, but we Yanks get to discover them now. See the official Waifs web. Also, the mysterious and highly recommended Memphis Cat is currently streaming their 2000 record, Sink or Swim. Try it, buy it. Posted by Vernam at May 7, 2003 12:58 AM

Comments

Amy, send me your addy so I can mail your disk.

Re: never saying anything, now I realize that my blog may in fact have thousands of readers -- they're just ones who don't post. This is far less demoralizing than my previous assumption!

Posted by: Vernam at May 15, 2003 03:33 PM

Hey, I looked at it too! I linked to it from Mike's site, which I also check in with frequently, as well as Deano's (and Mark's and Jim's, too). Just 'cause I never SAY anything... sheesh. I particularly enjoy the green type. Groovy.

Posted by: amy at May 14, 2003 05:00 PM

We have a winner! Thx for stopping by, Dennis. Sounds like you visited back before the blog was even up. A brave soul! One BWMcT disk for you.

Posted by: Vernam at May 9, 2003 05:20 PM

The blog is looking good. Last time I checked in it still had the photo of you performing front and center. Not that it didn't look good then as well. ;)

Posted by: Dennis at May 8, 2003 05:20 PM

There's quite a saga that goes along with that picture of JA. He was our high school token racist.

You know, I'm going to remove his name from the picture, so I can write the story. He might still be stalking me! Check in later...;-)

Posted by: deano at May 8, 2003 04:38 PM

Toggled the email setting, Mike. Thx for all the blogging tips, btw. "Blogging" sounds like an expletive . . .

Seeing the Waifs, I went through several stages of recognition. First: "Hmmm, they're not bad." Second: "There's some real talent on display." Third: "Fan-blogging-tastic!"

Posted by: Vernam at May 8, 2003 01:59 PM

I love the Waifs! I saw them last year at the Bottom Line.

I've taken to having Splinterites ignore my blog to new levels. I was just about to mention it there again. Methinks it's funny.

P.S. Vernam - canya turn off the requirement for e-mail (it's under blog config)? Unless you're mining our addys. In that case, keep up the good work :-)

Posted by: mrw at May 8, 2003 10:30 AM

Hey, Deano . . . I guess it's now time to alert splinterites so they can commence ignoring my blog in earnest. Just turned out my friend Greg's server (http://www.friends-partners.org) has MySQL, so getting MT up was a snap. Still haven't gotten around to fixing the search yet, though. If you'd like your own blog on our server, I'd be happy to hook you up.

Loved your ancient pix. Didn't know you came from Rebel stock (http://makeashorterlink.com/?L39D22D74), or at least had friends w/ southern sympathies. Thankfully the cross isn't burning. ;^)

Posted by: Vernam at May 8, 2003 10:14 AM

Cipher me this: You piss me off, you know?

Here you have MT up and on your own url muy pronto quicko. http://deanmartucci.net sits like a '61 MGA, on blocks and leaking, while I waste my time and precious few thoughts slaving over the subaru site at blogspot.

So, congrats and welcome to the 'sphere!

Posted by: deano at May 8, 2003 12:16 AM