MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRDZachary AasmanIndie8-out-of-10
If you are a regular for music at 5th Avenue Cup & Saucer in Yorkton, and you should be if you like alternative folk, you will no doubt recall Zachary Aasman who played at the local coffeehouse back on Oct. 6.
Aasman is a full-fledged folkie. He doesn't add any additional caveats to his style. He tells stories with his music, in the fine tradition of troubadours going back to Medieval times.
When it comes to folk singers the first measuring stick is how well they write lyrics. The music must at least have a story to it, and often there is a message included in the song too. A folk lyricist must be able to look at the world around him and be inspired by it. The music needs a ring of truth to it.
Aasman does that well.
As the musician said himself, "the writing process is a funny thing. I believe for everyone there is a different process. In my case there is none. Most of my songs just seem to come out of nowhere, or if they do come from somewhere it's a sight on the road, a line in a song, or a theme in a book.
"I constantly write songs in my head and then if I remember them down the road I figure they are good enough to put out there."
Songs such as Righteous Man, Sam Hill, Gold Miner and Tombstone Grave are fine story songs.
Tombstone Grave is clearly the best song on the disk.
Once a folk musician has the songs on paper, he has to be able to get them across to the listener. That means he has to focus on his vocals. The instrumentation takes a back seat.
Aasman keeps his voice at the forefront on the disk. Live, he was wise enough to keep the guitar quiet enough that his voice was able to reach the listeners in the intimate setting of the coffeehouse.
Check out this fine effort at zacharyaasman.bandcamp.com
- CALVIN DANIELS
SELF-TITLEDPete Van Dyk & the Second Hand BandIndie6.5-out-of-10
Pete Van Dyk also appeared at 5th Avenue Cup & Saucer Oct. 6, and he could learn a few live performance tricks from tour partner Zachary Aasman.
Whereas Aasman toned back his guitar to afford listeners easy access to his vocals, Van Dyk kept the guitar amped up, and that often buried his vocals.
That of course is not a problem on the self-titled CD, where the mixing can keep the vocals and instrumentation in balance.
Of course comparing Van Dyk's live and CD performance is not a direct comparison since the disk has him backed by The Second Hand Band, whereas life he went it alone.
The disk gives a far better representation of Van Dyk's music which while folk-based, has a broader feel to it.The musician himself likes the recording, his first.
"I'm quite happy with the CD, it offers a good representation of our styles from folk, to blues to country to rock with even a bit of soul/gospel," he said.
There are certainly some good cuts here, Tryin' to Get Away from the Law arguably the best of the bunch, although Van Dyk himself suggested his personal favourite is Evangeline.
Overall a nice effort which is actually better than his live effort, which is somewhat an exception to the rule.
Check it out at www.petevandyk.com- CALVIN DANIELS
Past reviews are archived online at http://calmardan.blogspot.com/
