tag:terrykleinmusic.com,2005:/blogs/significant-developmentsSignificant Developments2022-03-15T11:17:36-05:00Terry Kleinfalsetag:terrykleinmusic.com,2005:Post/69227632022-03-15T11:17:36-05:002023-10-16T09:51:56-05:00Good Luck, Take Care Release Roundup<p>I knew we'd made a record I was proud of and that was the most important thing but I'll tell you what the response to Good Luck, Take Care has been gratifying. Here are some highlights so far: </p>
<ul> <li>No Depression compared me to one of my heroes: "Like Rodney Crowell, Terry Klein has a knack for telling poetic stories in songs about the sad, funny, ironic, and devastating ups and downs of our lives, and Good Luck, Take Care showcases Klein’s evocative and comic storytelling." (<a contents="LINK" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.nodepression.com/album-reviews/album-review-terry-klein-details-lifes-ups-and-downs-on-good-luck-take-care/">LINK</a>) </li> <li>American Songwriter kept up with the hero stuff and said "As one might imagine, the music is ragged around the edges, a sound that shares a similarity to Ray Wylie Hubbard and Guy Clark in terms of the torrid tapestry and treatment. No, it ain’t pretty, but still, it conveys honesty and emotion that gives the listener a clear connection." (<a contents="LINK" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://americansongwriter.com/review-a-simple-soliloquy-for-the-common-man-from-terry-klein/">LINK</a>) </li> <li>Americana UK blew my neurotic, imposter syndrome-addled mind and said "The spirit of Guy Clark lives on in the latest release from Austin-based Terry Klein." (<a contents="LINK" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://americana-uk.com/terry-klein-good-luck-take-care">LINK</a>) </li> <li>Glide Magazine's headline was "Terry Klein Pens One Of Year’s Finest Americana Albums With ‘Good Luck, Take Care.'" (<a contents="LINK" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://glidemagazine.com/270847/terry-klein-pens-one-of-years-finest-americana-albums-with-good-luck-take-care-album-review/">LINK</a>) </li> <li>Melissa Clarke at Americana Highways said "Terry Klein’s songwriting is perfection. No idea why this dude isn’t wildly famous, but give him time." (<a contents="LINK" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://americanahighways.org/2022/02/23/review-terry-klein-good-luck-take-care/">LINK</a>)</li> <li>Peter Blackstock at the Statesman wrote "Good Luck, Take Care is an adventurous step up from 2019’s folk-oriented “Tex,” with more rocking tracks such as the bluesy opener 60 in a 75, the rollicking The Ballad of Dick Trickle and the full-on rocker Salinas opening up new avenues for Klein’s artistry." (<a contents="LINK" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.austin360.com/story/entertainment/music/2022/02/07/back-austin-tx-groove-spoon-brings-all-home-new-album-more-recent-releases-music/6659378001/">LINK</a>)</li> <li>Alan Cackett said: "With his third album, Terry Klein has grown more magnificent than ever. Without losing an iota of the intimacy from his past releases, he has made what is possibly his most dynamic album to date." (<a contents="LINK" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://alancackett.com/terry-klein-good-luck-take-care">LINK</a>)</li> <li>Jerome Clark at rambles.net wrote "Not a single one of Good Luck's 10 cuts falters. It is even, wonder of wonders, shorter (at not quite 40 minutes) than you'd want it to be." (<a contents="LINK" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://www.rambles.net/klein_goodluck22.html">LINK</a>)</li> <li>Declan Culliton at Lonesome Highway called the album "a suite of unhurried and intimate songs that draw the listener in with their candour, from an artist at the top of his game." (<a contents="LINK" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.lonesomehighway.com/music-reviews/2022/2/21/latest-album-reviews">LINK</a>)</li> <li>Jeff Burger wrote that "This impressive third record from Terry Klein, which should appeal to fans of artists like Guy Clark and Billy Joe Shaver, sounds too polished to have been recorded and mixed in a mere four days, but that’s how long it took to make." (<a contents="LINK" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://americanahighways.org/2022/02/28/music-reviews-elliott-murphy-with-olivier-durand-plus-the-troggs-kate-klim-and-terry-klein/">LINK</a>)</li> <li>Jon Worley at Aiding & Abetting said that "Klein has crafted an unassailable set of songs. The infectious joy of the playing lifts these well-appointed songs into a higher plane. These songs may be locked-in and tight, but they never fail to bring a smile, wry or otherwise. The complete package." (<a contents="LINK" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.aidabet.com/2022/031022.html">LINK</a>)</li> <li>Theo Volk said nice things in Dutch (dank je wel!). (<a contents="LINK" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://musicthatneedsattention.blogspot.com/2022/02/terry-klein-good-luck-take-care.html">LINK</a>)</li> <li>Remo Ricaldone said nice things in Italian (grazie mille!). (<a contents="LINK" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://www.lonestartime.com/2022/03/terry-klein-good-luck-take-care.html">LINK</a>)</li> <li>On the radio front, the record hit the top ten of the Alt Country/Twang chart and the EuroAmericana chart, the top 40 of the Folk DJ Chart, and the top 100 of the Americana chart. </li> <li>On Spotify we went from fewer than 100 monthly listeners to, as of this writing, more than 2,000 (!!!). You can listen for your own self <a contents="right here" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://open.spotify.com/album/56saBfqyoZmiwQW2QyWPEs?si=KBmewlrrRzm16oQT5f2Tbg">right here</a>. </li>
</ul>Terry Kleintag:terrykleinmusic.com,2005:Post/65035722020-12-19T12:51:02-06:002020-12-20T12:47:44-06:00The Last Great Christmas<p><span class="font_regular">"The Last Great Christmas" is now live on Spotify. I have a lot to say about it but before you read all of that, I hope you'll listen to the tune and advise you to do so. </span></p>
<p><span class="font_regular"><iframe allow="encrypted-media" allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="80" src="https://open.spotify.com/embed/track/0TVDIE6Qpd8qDFAlUxys8P" width="920"></iframe><br><br>OK. You listened. Here's the story.<br> <br>Every Christmas Eve we read a short story my wife's grandmother, Marion Norswing Phillips, wrote about her family's Christmas in 1917.<br> <br>The story itself is breath-taking. Marion was a talented writer, one of the first women to attend UCLA and a drama critic at the Daily Bruin. The imagery of the high plains Christmas celebrated by Scandinavian immigrants is intricate and impeccable. And then, after Marion takes us across the fields to grandmother's house, to Christmas Eve & then Christmas Day, she lets us know that it's more than just a pretty story about a special day. It's a pretty story about the family's last Christmas before the 1918 influenza epidemic that claimed her father's life, far too young.<br> <br>I never met Marion, one of my great regrets. She passed away a few years before Lindsay and I found each other. And this year, this horrible year, this will be the first year since Marion's passing that Lindsay won't sit in her family's living room and listen to her mother read the North Dakota Christmas story.<br> <br>***<br> <br>A little over three years ago, a publisher in Nashville gave me an assignment. He said that artists are always looking for Christmas songs and asked me to write him one (I've come to understand that he makes a similar request of pretty much every writer he meets with).<br> <br>I'm the son of a mixed marriage between a lapsed Catholic and a Jew who, at least when I was growing up, never went to temple. And I'm not a great fan of Christmas songs. I do like songs that take place on or around Christmas (e.g., "Christmas in Prison" by John Prine), for what that's worth. But a publisher in Nashville gives a songwriter an assignment, the songwriter's going to complete the assignment.<br> <br>I found myself at sea. I sat down with a couple of ideas and fleshed them out but they didn't feel right, not even in the same time zone as "right". At some point, though, it occurred to me that I could try to take the North Dakota Christmas story and turn it into a song.<br> <br>And I did try and it did become a song, a song that I played live a couple of times that year and I think the following year too and sent to the Nashville publisher. The family loved it. I knew that it wasn't quite there. The song wanted to say something else. I wasn't sure what. I set it aside, as I do with the vast majority of songs I write. A very tiny sliver of those set-aside songs ever come back to life.<br> <br>*** <br><br>But this year. This horrible year. When we talk to our grandchildren about this year, they won't believe us.<br> <br>It took me until about December 1, when we decided that heading to Lindsay's parents' house for Christmas wasn't going to be feasible, to start to see the connection between the North Dakota Christmas story, my song, and the state of the world. I went out to the writing room, the shed, the "Manchaca", and over about four days, as the man once said, I chipped away at all of the parts of the stone that were not an elephant.<br> <br>Exactly two weeks ago, I sent the song to Adam Dawson. As I said, I'm not a great fan of Christmas songs. And I harbor even less goodwill for topical songs, the vast majority of which are pertinent for a few months or a year, and then lose their potency. Adam listened. When things are important he doesn't text me, he calls. This time he called. He told me that we needed to release the song and we needed to do it as soon as possible.<br> <br>Thirteen days ago, I called Jackson Emmer. I told him about the song. I told I wanted to try to record some parts and send them to him to have him mix them and master them and make them sound good, or at least better. And so I went out to the writing room, the shed, the "Manchaca", which gets really cold in the winter y'all, and I recorded some parts for him, the guitar with a couple of Shure SM58s with the windscreens screwed off and the vocal with a little apogee USB condenser mic. I didn't have a pop filter for the apogee so I pulled an old dress sock out of the drawer and draped it over the top. I sent Jackson the tracks, humbled as hell by the sound of my voice and my guitar without the bells and whistles and fancy preamps and compressors that give us a sense of security in proper studios.<br> <br>I expected Jackson to text me and say "no this is a bad song and it sounds bad and I can do nothing with this" but instead, 11 days ago, a few hours after I sent him the tracks, he sent me back a mix that after I played it for Lindsay she cried a little and said "it has a very warm sound, kind of like a kitchen on Christmas." I uploaded the track to CD Baby. I gave Marion Norswing Phillips a cowriting credit. And here we are.<br> <br>Glide Magazine premiered the track earlier this week and said "Klein sings with a trusted gravitas and polished reflection reminiscent of Guy Clark and Steve Earle" which I don't know about y'all I just don't know. <br><br>*** <br><br>Apparently this has been a great year for the Christmas Tree business. And that makes sense. Instead of one big Christmas, we're having a handful of smaller Christmases. Lindsay's mom mailed our stockings to us. We got a little tree, our first ever. And also for the first time ever, we lit our menorah on each of the eight nights and said the Hanukkah blessing. I hope the neighbors looked in and saw our Christmas lights and us lighting our menorah and appreciated the peculiar American-ness of that.<br> <br>If you know me, you know that my feelings about faith and the afterlife are muddled and conflicting and in constant flux. What I do believe in is the connecting, healing power of a song. I try to honor that belief in everything I share with you. <br><br>I've rattled on for long enough. Listen again. If you like it, share this with your friends. You can even buy a download from me by clicking <a contents="HERE" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://terrykleinmusic.com/single/27174/the-last-great-christmas">HERE</a>.<br><br>Be safe. That weird feeling, that unfamiliar feeling, well I think that might just be the tiniest little smitch of hope. See in you 2021.</span></p>
<p><span class="font_regular"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/233533/4159f22004ae150f400b3988538cf0eb17a23ecb/original/the-last-great-christmas.png/!!/b:W10=.png" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></span></p>Terry Kleintag:terrykleinmusic.com,2005:Post/56800562019-03-14T10:15:57-05:002019-03-14T10:16:23-05:00Tex Hits The Top 20 of the Folk DJ Chart for February<p><strong>Tex</strong> has snuck its way into the Top 20 of the Folk DJ Chart. <a contents="Check it out" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.folkradio.org/Charts/FolkDJChartFebruary2019.html#albums">Check it out</a>!</p>Terry Kleintag:terrykleinmusic.com,2005:Post/56487602019-02-18T13:31:10-06:002019-02-18T13:34:07-06:00Terry on Good Day Austin<p>Terry played Anika and Oklahoma on Good Day Austin. Check it out <a contents="here" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://www.fox7austin.com/good-day/music-in-the-morning-terry-klein">here</a>. </p>
<p> </p>Terry Kleintag:terrykleinmusic.com,2005:Post/56422252019-02-13T20:05:15-06:002019-02-13T20:05:15-06:00Tex on Kansas Public Radio<p>Bob McWilliams at Kansas Public Radio puts Tex at number two in his weekly list of folk releases.</p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/233533/c249b37247375931a6b0043017659d593b68657b/original/image-1.jpeg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>Terry Kleintag:terrykleinmusic.com,2005:Post/56398422019-02-12T14:38:39-06:002019-04-18T08:51:45-05:00The Austin Chronicle Reviews Tex<p>Doug Freeman at the Austin Chronicle calls Terry a "remarkable new voice among Austin songwriters." Read the review <a contents="here" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.austinchronicle.com/music/2019-02-08/terry-klein-tex/">here</a>. </p>Terry Kleintag:terrykleinmusic.com,2005:Post/56168652019-01-28T17:28:30-06:002019-04-18T08:51:26-05:00Americana Highways Reviews Tex<p>Andrew Gulden digs into the songs in his review of <strong>tex</strong> in <a contents="Americana Highways" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://americanahighways.org/2019/01/24/review-terry-kleins-tex-explores-the-ways-the-road-can-shape-a-life/" target="_blank">Americana Highways</a>. </p>Terry Kleintag:terrykleinmusic.com,2005:Post/56152852019-01-27T17:37:52-06:002019-01-27T17:38:51-06:00The Bluegrass Situation Premieres "Anika"<p>Here's the <a contents="Bluegrass Situation's" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://thebluegrasssituation.com/read/the-songs-of-nickel-creeks-reasons-why-the-very-best-ranked/" target="_blank">Bluegrass Situation's</a> premiere of Anika. </p>Terry Kleintag:terrykleinmusic.com,2005:Post/56152842019-01-27T17:35:45-06:002019-01-27T17:39:20-06:00Peter Blackstock Reviews Tex<p>Peter Blackstock's thoughtful review of <strong>tex</strong> is <a contents="here" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.austin360.com/entertainmentlife/20190124/austin360-on-record-revisiting-commandos-glory-days">here</a>. </p>Terry Kleintag:terrykleinmusic.com,2005:Post/56152822019-01-27T17:33:08-06:002019-01-27T17:33:08-06:00Wide Open Country Premieres "Daddy's Store"<p><a contents="Wide Open Country" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.wideopencountry.com/terry-kleins-daddys-store-song-premiere/" target="_blank">Wide Open Country</a> had some nice things to say about "Daddy's Store" in its premiere of the track. </p>Terry Kleintag:terrykleinmusic.com,2005:Post/56152812019-01-27T17:31:05-06:002019-04-18T08:52:03-05:00Tex is Rich's Pick on Midnight Special<p>Respected folk DJ Rich Warren selected <strong>tex</strong> as his "CD of the Week" for the week of January 20. <img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/233533/5bd312b55a754472a8c9b2d42e9fbb6bda13fbea/original/screen-shot-2019-01-20-at-10-41-43-am.png/!!/b:W10=.png" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>Terry Kleintag:terrykleinmusic.com,2005:Post/56152792019-01-27T17:28:28-06:002019-01-27T17:28:28-06:00New Slang Lubbock on "Oklahoma"<p>Here's Thomas D. Mooney's thoughtful look at "Oklahoma" over at <a contents="New Slang Lubbock" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.newslanglubbock.com/10-things-i-like-matthew-mcneal-dolly-shine-rumors-old-97s-etc/" target="_blank">New Slang Lubbock</a>.</p>Terry Kleintag:terrykleinmusic.com,2005:Post/56152782019-01-27T17:26:28-06:002019-01-27T17:28:43-06:00"Oklahoma" Track Premiere<p>Thanks to Peter Blackstock and Austin360 for <a contents="premiering Oklahoma" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.austin360.com/entertainmentlife/20181212/song-premiere-oklahoma-by-austin-songwriter-terry-klein" target="_blank">premiering Oklahoma</a>. </p>Terry Kleintag:terrykleinmusic.com,2005:Post/52700862018-06-01T11:41:34-05:002018-06-01T11:41:34-05:00A Georgia Foray<p>Between finishing tracking vocals for Record Number Two* last Tuesday and hustling back to Austin for Zoe's 8th Grade graduation last Thursday, I was overjoyed to participate in a round with three wonderful songwriters at the <strong>Red Clay Music Foundry </strong>in Duluth, Georgia. Playing with sweet <strong>Chuck McDowell</strong>, <strong>Bianca de Leon</strong> & <strong>Laura Monk</strong> was a treat. <strong>Eddie Owens</strong> and all of his folks took tremendous care of me at what is now one of my favorite venues anywhere.</p>
<p>One of the ways they took tremendous care of me is they put up great-sounding YouTube videos of the songs I played (i.e., the sound is great and/but whether I played them great is up to y'all). And so now I am passing them along to you.</p>
<p><u><strong>Dull Women Keep Immaculate Homes</strong></u></p>
<p><iframe allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/bOtbZYpSaGE" width="560"></iframe></p>
<p><u><strong>Everywhere But Here</strong></u></p>
<p><iframe allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/vKb3IbQ90VE" width="560"></iframe></p>
<p><u><strong>Sagamore Bridge</strong></u></p>
<p><iframe allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/U_x8nfmjD3A" width="560"></iframe></p>
<p><u><strong>Andalusia</strong></u></p>
<p><iframe allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/_rL7PqzqX0w" width="560"></iframe></p>
<p><u><strong>Better Luck Next Time</strong></u></p>
<p><iframe allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/I9_e0bSiWh4" width="560"></iframe></p>
<p>Give em a listen!</p>
<p>*Yeah there's a new record coming. Don't expect lots of videos and artsy stills of me HAVING THE BEST TIME in the studio or FEELING THINGS as I track emotional vocals or ENGAGING IN CAMARADERIE with the sickeningly great players who agree to lend their talents. I'm going to let this sucker speak for itself (within reason; there are expectations about what artists do with new records and I'll meet or exceed them) and hope the universe takes care of it and me.</p>Terry Kleintag:terrykleinmusic.com,2005:Post/51158172018-03-07T10:31:28-06:002018-03-07T10:31:28-06:00Dreams Sometimes Come True<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/233533/350a7a2a484e80c3c5ee79b1217a7640328d1cee/original/img-2704.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>I first started heading down this road a few years ago and I thought I'd be writing songs for other people to sing. But then I heard <strong>Jimmy Daddy Davis</strong> say that "Nobody's going to hear your songs if you just sit on your couch" and I started to get out and play at open mics. First just here and there, then more and more. I started booking shows. I made a record. And now I call myself a performing songwriter.</p>
<p>When the wonderful <strong>Kacy Crowley</strong> restarted the Cactus Cafe open mic last year, I went the very first night. I made the list -- not a foregone conclusion -- and I played "Watchman". It was the first song I played at Kacy's magical Strange Brew open mic, a performance that spurred Kacy to start booking me there, and so it just felt right to play at it the Cactus.</p>
<p>That's the night I met <strong>Scott Martin</strong>. He played his song "The Place I Call Home" about Everett Ruess, one of a number of tunes he'd written about folks who had gone missing. It's a hell of a song and we hit it off immediately. I think we both sensed a kinship, though I'm not sure either of us could quite put a finger on what the source of it was. The following week, Scott and I were both selected as Regional Finalists in the Kerrville New Folk competition and we agreed to drive out to Kerrville together. We realized on that drive that our journeys were kind of similar. We both have kids (his are a little older). We both have amazing, inspiring, incredible spouses. We both played music (Scott more seriously and competently than I), left it behind, and then came back to it. We just connected. And it was easy, the way good friendships are.</p>
<p>On the drive back from Kerrville, Scott and I talked about writing a song together about the Roanoke Colony. Remember them? They were a group of 120 colonists in 17th century North Carolina and they simply disappeared without a trace from the face of the Earth. It's a story that's always fascinated me. We wrote the song over the course of a few sessions and called it "Virginia Dare", who was the first English baby born in the New World. I think we both knew we had something.</p>
<p>And now Scott has put "Virginia Dare" on his beautiful record, Missing, which he made with the great <strong>Mark Hallman</strong> at The Congress House Studio. Here's a <a contents="link" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://www.scottmartinsongs.com/free-music/" target="_blank">link</a> for you to find out more about Missing.</p>
<p>This is my first songwriting credit on a record other than my own (more are on the way -- credits *and* records of my own) and that's a milestone. We artists are prone to overlooking such happy things in favor of self-flagellation. But when Scott put this disc in my hands a few days ago, I had a moment. I sighed. I felt happy. I felt lucky to work with an artist with Scott's talents and generous spirit. </p>
<p>You can bask in these good feelings with me, Scott, and <strong>Joel McColl</strong> on Wednesday, March 14th at New World Deli. We have a show at 7. It's free and its all ages and it's a good way for you to ease into your SXSW experience. And you can congratulate Scott on this excellent record he's made. See you there!</p>Terry Kleintag:terrykleinmusic.com,2005:Post/50874592018-02-19T12:20:22-06:002018-02-19T12:20:22-06:00Folk Alliance Mini-Tour Recap<p>The Folk Alliance mini-tour extravaganza is in the books. Here is the curated, way-too-long recap you've been craving. </p>
<p>Monday 2/12 -- I played at Opening Bell Coffee with Jordi Baizan. We wore essentially the same thing, which photographs super well, I have to say. Bill Nash sang for us and any day that happens is a good day. </p>
<p>Tuesday 2/13 -- Dave Rogers is not on Facebook but he made me and Jordi bacon and eggs and then Jordi and I went on Notably Texan in Commerce and it was awesome. We drove through the rain to the The Blue Door and played with Susan Herndon, who let me play lead with her and who sang in French and who is just really the best. Jordi and I got burgers, beer, and a chocolate chip cookie each after and I'm not sure if I just needed them or what but I don't think anything will ever taste that good again. </p>
<p>Wednesday 2/14 -- Valentine's Day! (Sorry, Lindsay Sobel!) We drove to Kansas City, through the Flint Hills that will never not take my breath away. I walked into the lobby at the Westin and asked myself what the f-ck I was doing there and then I saw Jaimee Harris in a jumpsuit and I was all squared away. I sang with John Louis and Shawna Caspi for sweet Lou DeMarco. I introduced Jackson Emmer to people and they all thanked me because DUH. I walked past my heroes, rode in elevators with them, etc., and tried not freak out (you can just imagine I cut and pasted this sentence in each of the following days). </p>
<p>Thursday -- I woke up with a headache for the ages. I sat with Randy Brown and pretended to not be in pain. There was the DJ reception, in which a room full of a zillion introverts almost had a collective aneurysm. Mary Gauthier's official showcase and then Ruthie Foster's official showcase back to back were just I don't know but it doesn't get better. I walked into Carrie Elkin's spoken word showcase at like two in the morning but didn't realize it was a spoken word showcase and so we had a conversation in the middle of it (we'd never met) and the people listening started maybe getting a little frustrated. </p>
<p>Friday -- I woke up and did it all again. I played a neat showcases in Laura Thomas's room with Darling West, who are from Norway and sang better jet lagged in English than I could if roles were reversed (*gets idea to try to play a whole set singing in Norwegian; rejects idea*). Jordi and I and Nichole Wagner and Gaby Harvey had dinner with Mia Rose, who shared her idea for an important project on vulnerability in public spaces. It will be really special, guys. I saw Tim Easton in the Alaska room at 3 a.m. with a stuffed black bear. </p>
<p>Saturday -- I saw Jaimee Harris's official showcase and I wasn't crying you were crying. I saw Gretchen Peters's official showcase and I wasn't crying you were crying. The Los Texmaniacs with Flaco Jimenez showcase had me reassessing my priorities on this Earth. I dropped an empty cup in Hope Dunbar's purse but I'm not sure if she knew it was empty (sorry, Hope! Also, everyone check out Hope Dunbar). I played a showcase in which I attempted to deconstruct a Randy Newman song apart that bothers me. I failed. I sang "Better Luck Next Time" in the same showcase and people sang with me and that was better. </p>
<p>Sunday -- Jordi (who is my brother now) and I woke up after not sleeping enough and drove back to Texas. I didn't start to hallucinate until I was driving through Temple. </p>
<p>That's a wrap, y'all.</p>Terry Kleintag:terrykleinmusic.com,2005:Post/50074862018-01-04T17:17:05-06:002018-01-04T17:17:05-06:00Year-End Tidbits<p>I spent the end of the year out in California <a contents="watching the tide's ebb and flow" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BdYfjEOB_mk/" target="_blank">watching the tide's ebb and flow</a> (and doing other things). While I was out there, some things happened.</p>
<p>1. Larry Hillberg at KVMR was kind enough to include <em>Great Northern</em> on his <a contents="list of his favorite 2017 albums" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://www.kvmr.org/news/kvmr-2017-year-review-our-favorite-albums">list of his favorite 2017 albums</a>. I don't know Larry but he is a gentleman and a scholar.</p>
<p>2. Theo van der Horst and René van Schendelen included <em>Great Northern</em> on <a contents="their ten-best lists" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://www.altcountry.nl/blog/2017/12/de-lijst-der-lijsten-2017/comment-page-1/">their ten-best lists</a>, too.</p>
<p>3. Noel Casey in Dublin included <em>Great Northern</em> on <a contents="his year-end list" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://euroamericanachart.eu/yearlist-individual?field_yearl_value=2017&page=3">his year-end list</a>. </p>
<p>4. <em>Great Northern</em> somehow insinuated its way into the December 30th iteration of the Top 50 <a contents="Texas Album Chart" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.rootsmusicreport.com/charts/view/album/state/texas/weekly" target="_blank">Texas Album Chart</a> and <a contents="Contemporary Folk Album Chart" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.rootsmusicreport.com/charts/view/album/state/texas/weekly">Contemporary Folk Album Chart</a> on Roots Music Report. I have no idea -- like NONE -- how this happened. I'm happy it did.</p>
<p>A year ago today I was finishing up the second day of tracking. If you'd told me then that all this (and a lot more) would happen with this little record, well, I'm not sure how I'd have reacted. I always believed in the songs. But the players and Ron and Walt took them and made them into little worlds -- sad ones, funny ones, sparse ones, lush ones -- unto themselves. My initial goal was just to make a darn record (which recalls to me that my goal arguing before the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in New York was to not upchuck on my wing tips). But at some point, and it may well have been a year ago on this very day, I decided that my goal was to make a record worth listening to. And you know what? I think I did.</p>
<p>Best wishes for 2018, y'all. </p>
<p> </p>Terry Kleintag:terrykleinmusic.com,2005:Post/49736082017-12-12T12:08:19-06:002017-12-12T12:08:19-06:00Houston Music Review Praise for Great Northern<p>I sat next to James Killen at lunch during the Southwest Regional Folk Alliance conference. When I wasn't spilling pasta salad down my shirt, we were having a good conversation about the state of country music. At the end of the lunch, I handed James a copy of Great Northern. He gave it a close listen and wrote some nice things about me and my songs in the Houston Music Review. Here's a <a contents="link" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://houstonmusicreview.com/wordpress/2017/12/04/swrfa-cd-reviews-2017/" target="_blank">link</a>.</p>Terry Kleintag:terrykleinmusic.com,2005:Post/49639202017-12-05T17:01:33-06:002017-12-05T17:01:33-06:00Terry in the Houston Music Review<p>It was awfully nice of James Killen and Edge Ferranti to include me in their <a contents="baker's dozen" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://houstonmusicreview.com/wordpress/2017/10/04/18th-annual-southwest-regional-folk-alliance-austin-tx-review/">baker's dozen</a> from the 2017 Southwest Regional Folk Alliance conference.</p>Terry Kleintag:terrykleinmusic.com,2005:Post/49639122017-12-05T16:58:01-06:002017-12-05T16:58:01-06:00Roots Highway's Review of Great Northern<p>I took two semesters of Italian at Cal State Northridge in 1991 and 1992. This thoughtful review by Paolo Baoitti in <a contents="Roots Highway" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://www.rootshighway.it/outsiders/2017/klein.htm">Roots Highway</a> is my karmic payback for this well-intentioned attempt at youthful self improvement.</p>Terry Kleintag:terrykleinmusic.com,2005:Post/49639102017-12-05T16:47:53-06:002017-12-05T16:47:53-06:00Theo Volk Puts Great Northern on his Top 100 of 2017<p>I was honored to be included on Theo Volk's <a contents="list of his favorite albums of 2017" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://musicthatneedsattention.blogspot.nl/2017/12/theos-top-100-van-2017-nr-71-tm-80.html">list of his favorite albums of 2017</a>. I'm hoping I can get over to the Netherlands and meet Theo in person in 2018 or 2019.</p>Terry Kleintag:terrykleinmusic.com,2005:Post/49638912017-12-05T16:43:09-06:002017-12-05T16:43:09-06:00Terry on Kansas Public Radio<p>Here's the <a contents="full in-studio" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://kansaspublicradio.org/live-performance/terry-klein-trail-mix-bob-mcwilliams">full in-studio</a> I did with Bob McWilliams at KPR in October. They were very good to me.</p>Terry Klein