Borders/NSAI Presents Funk, Folk, and Humor in Songwriter Showcase |
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NSAI Charlotte Songwriter Showcase in DecemberFor Immediate Release: For Immediate Release: Borders Stonecrest Presents Funk, Folk, and Humor in the December Charlotte Songwriter Showcase On Saturday, December 27th at 3 p.m., Borders Books and Music at Stonecrest will host its third monthly songwriter showcase. December’s event will feature live performances by Brian Hartzog, Lucy Allen, and J.C. Honeycutt--three Charlotte songwriters who exemplify the diversity of the local songwriting community. The event highlights Border’s commitment to supporting NSAI and local music. This month’s theme is Funk, Folk, and Humor. The December 27th show features the following performers: Brian HartzogBrian Hartzog recently completed his second CD, One-Way Ticket, on which he not only wrote and produced all the songs, but also played most of the instruments himself. Hartzog's music is a unique blend of classic rock, funk, and punk. Although it's decidedly "alternative", Hartzog calls his style "funk and roll". You'll hear a range of musical influences--from the Beatles, to Prince, to David Bowie, to P-funk, and the Sex Pistols. As a songwriter, a musician, an engineer, and a producer, Hartzog is working hard to establish himself as a true proponent of indie music. You can hear clips from Brian Hartzog's new CD on his website: http://www.brianhartzog.com. Lucy AllenLucy Allen has been singing her whole life. Her singing style is frequently compared to Joan Baez and Mary Chapin Carpenter; her songwriting is reminiscent of Bill Staines. Originally inspired by Peter, Paul & Mary, Burl Ives, Pete Seeger, and Woody Guthrie, Lucy started playing guitar in 1969. Attending folk festivals and meeting musicians led to an interest in other artists, including Jim Ringer, Mary McCaslin, Cheryl Wheeler, Wanda Lu Greene, and Carol Elizabeth Jones. Performing material by other singer-songwriters, Lucy also includes original songs. She has sung at coffeehouses, small clubs, and festivals, including Merlefest, Guilford Coffeehouse in Greensboro, Blue Ridge Craft Festival, Fiddle and Bow and Borders Books in Winston-Salem, The Grey Eagle in Black Mountain, and the Oxford Guitar Club, Oxford, England. In past years she was a member of the groups Salisbury Street and Hand Hewn. She recently completed her PhD in folklore at Memorial University of Newfoundland. Her dissertation looked at early folk song collectors in the South from the turn of the century to the 1930's and how their activities affected the music we listen to today. J.C. HoneycuttJ.C. Honeycutt has been called “the universal id” and “the love child of Tom Lehrer and Minnie Pearl”; but her favorite comment came from an ex-boyfriend who said, “I just don’t get it: you seem so sweet!” Her songwriting is marked by originality, humor and a willingness to take chances, from using a Mae West wisecrack as the title for a dark ballad about prostitution (“I Used to Be Snow White, But I Drifted”) to an interracial love story set during the Civil War (“Sam and Me”) to taking bluegrass music to lengths it was never intended to go (“When the Hogs Et Willie”). Calling her songs “music for manic-depressives”, she often walks a fine line between comedy and tragedy: she may be the only songwriter who not only can evoke both laughter and tears with the same song, but can draw laughs for songs dealing with subjects like stalking and domestic violence—and she says she’s working on a funny song about cannibalism. “Performing onstage is the scariest thing I’ve ever done,” she says: “Now I guess I’m addicted to musical risk-taking.” Songwriter/artists interested in being considered for a future showcase should contact Brian Hartzog at brian@brianhartzog.com.
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