A Summer Gurf Morlix Sighting
Val and I usually get to see roots music veteran/legend Gurf Morlix and his partner, Brende Fuller, a few times during the summer as the former Hamburg resident and partner visit Western New York from their Austin, Texas, home on their way to and back from their summer cabin in Northern Ontario. We saw their vehicle here Friday (Gurf and Brende stay at the home of our next door neighbors, Jim Whitford and his wife Lynn O'Meara; Whitford, the former Pine Dogs guitarist, singer and songwriter, is a childhood friend and former band mate of Morlix).
For those unfamiliar with Morlix, besides his solo material, he is best known for his guitar work and production of Lucinda Williams as he played in her band during what I feel were her best years, including the "Sweet Old World" and "Car Wheels on a Gravel Road" CDs. He has also produced such excellent singer/songwriters such as Mary Gauthier and Linda McRae.
When we went to go to breakfast this morning, we saw Gurf and Brende loading their vehicle for the drive up to the cabin, and we talked for a few minutes. Among other things, it appears that Gurf will be playing a show with Austin singer/songwriter Sam Baker at the Rivoli in Toronto in August; we will tell you more about the show when things are finalized. Whitford gave me a copy of Baker's CD to review a few months ago, and while I am behind in my reviews, I can tell you that Baker can really write strong, realistic, heart-wrenching songs, including the song "Steel" on his "Mercy" CD, the true story of his almost dying from wounds he suffered when a train he was riding in was blown up by Shining Path guerillas in Peru in 1986. The bomb went off in a luggage rack across from Baker, killed the three other people in his compartment and cut his femoral artery and vein, but he somehow survived. The songs on the CD talk about tough times, but never turn to hopelessness.
For those unfamiliar with Morlix, besides his solo material, he is best known for his guitar work and production of Lucinda Williams as he played in her band during what I feel were her best years, including the "Sweet Old World" and "Car Wheels on a Gravel Road" CDs. He has also produced such excellent singer/songwriters such as Mary Gauthier and Linda McRae.
When we went to go to breakfast this morning, we saw Gurf and Brende loading their vehicle for the drive up to the cabin, and we talked for a few minutes. Among other things, it appears that Gurf will be playing a show with Austin singer/songwriter Sam Baker at the Rivoli in Toronto in August; we will tell you more about the show when things are finalized. Whitford gave me a copy of Baker's CD to review a few months ago, and while I am behind in my reviews, I can tell you that Baker can really write strong, realistic, heart-wrenching songs, including the song "Steel" on his "Mercy" CD, the true story of his almost dying from wounds he suffered when a train he was riding in was blown up by Shining Path guerillas in Peru in 1986. The bomb went off in a luggage rack across from Baker, killed the three other people in his compartment and cut his femoral artery and vein, but he somehow survived. The songs on the CD talk about tough times, but never turn to hopelessness.
posted by val at 7:47 PM
1 Comments:
I will comment on that. This is Tom Weber from Pittsburgh PA. I am making a film "Troubadour Blues" about singer songwriters, and I am a friend of Jim Whitford, Mark Winseck, Peter Case, etc. Your post kinda caught my eye since I saw Gurf only a week earlier, in Houston Texas, playing bass for Tom Russell. Gurf is a true musical hero of mine -- he makes everybody sound good. I am also very familiar with Sam Baker, trying to include him in the film, I think we will all meet up at one of the Fred Eaglesmith camping events later this summer. Anyway, all the best to all Buffalo roots music fans, I am from Erie, similar scene growing up there.
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