There was a time, when all I owned was a ’91 Saturn and a cheap laptop. I was separated from the wife, and I basically lived in my car for three months.
That car had no CD player, and the cassette deck had long since stopped working; and I just couldn’t bring myself to listen to commercial radio. So I spent a great deal of my time listening to NPR (classical music and other smart stuff). The “other smart stuff” led me to enroll in college, and to pursue a degree in Political Science. And the classical music served as a nice alternative to all the escapist crap that you’d normally hear on FM radio.
Then one night, as I was dozing off at a rest area near Huron, Ohio, I heard a program called Folk Alley. The songs were familiar, in that most were built around the traditional forms that I’d grown up on; it sounded like bluegrass, or like classic country, but above all, it sounded REAL. Somehow, the gimmicks of modern escapist art hadn’t found their way into this stuff. And I became a regular listener.
A couple of times a year, the staff at Folk Alley (and at WKSU) would hold a fund drive. And I never had a cent to my name, but I did always want to call in, and to tell their listeners who COULD donate, how much this service had changed my life. Public Radio is the closest thing to free, universal education that this country has. And it both informed me of the world around me, and inspired me to contribute again to that world.
And the more I listened to Folk Alley, the more I realized that I had spent too many years running from my past. I grew up with this music. And yet, I had spent over a decade attempting to reinvent myself, musically. When all the while, the answer was right in front of me. The art, lies in being yourself. And I can thank Folk Alley for that lesson.
So I started writing songs again. In part, because I had something to say- but in part, because someone had shown me HOW to say it. And those songs became Hollow Bones in Monotone. And I haven’t looked back since. I’ve spent the past two years as a songwriter again, and I have Folk Alley to thank for that.
So it’s only fitting that I’d perform for their 5th anniversary bash at Happy Days Lodge (in Peninsula, OH) this weekend, because their five years online have changed the course of my life. And I’ve never gotten to formally thank them for that. But I will this Friday, and I’d encourage anyone in the area to join me in doing so.
The boys and I play at 6:30 pm, and Eilen Jewell takes the stage at 8:00 pm. It’s gonna be a great time, and our set is free to the public. So come eat some cake and ice cream, win Folk Alley merchandise, and listen to some music without gimmicks. Oh yeah- and we’ll be unveiling the new disc, Crazy Wind.
Good times all. Peace.
Songwriter Chris Castle
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http://www.folkalley.com/openmic/artist.php?id=1088