Asheville-based duo The Honeycutters—backed by members of New York-based group The Woes—performed their original tune “On My Mind” in front of Bistro 1896 in downtown.
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That is so cool to catch the Honeycutters out on the street. You can tell you’re catching performers doing something special but the ambient city sounds overpower a lot of the moment.
Thanks for pursuing this series. There is some amazing talent in this town and to encounter such examples randomly on the street just makes your day sometimes.
The Honeycutters are great, but I started getting a little seasick with the camerawork in the video. Artsy? Don’t think so…..
@David: Thanks for the feedback. For clarity, I’m not going for “artsy,” exactly. These are field recordings, and I’m using a two-year old pocket camera I bought for like $150, so it’s a little hard to have much pretense that I’m making high art.
I’m trying to keep the camera moving largely so it’s a little more interesting than the static setups we used at the start of the Busk Break series last spring. It’s also a function of trying to get a focus on the sound — particularly in cases like this one, where we’ve got four musicians and a 90-degree recording arc — which requires I move the mic (and the camera along with it) to the person who should be the focus of the audio.
That’s also the reason I’ve been trying to keep the camera moving for the last few months of recording. I find it less jarring to keep the camera always moving than to do a quick pan. It’s a trade-off, sure, but with a single-camera setup and zero prep time (I am, after all, meeting these folks on the street), it’s the best solution I’ve found.
That said, I’m still figuring the visual style out, and I’m certainly open to suggestions.
Steve, thanks. I appreciate you taking the time to comment back and fill me in. It IS a good thing to have the music documented.
I look forward to more,
I love the Honeycutters!
Steve, I think an obvious extension would be to pick a random Thursday night or even Friday (the nights that emerging acts MIGHT be able to book a gig around here) and go into the various bars and music venues for a quick look/listen at what’s going on. I dare say that the overall quality of the artistry that can actually book a show in town is greater than that on the sidewalks (of course I’m not talking about Pete and Amanda here…. they are the exception to this rule since they can book the Grey Eagle and other premiere rooms and are choosing in the video to busk as well).
That would be a cool way to hearken back to the defunct listening party feature as well. I’m sure a phone call or two could get you (or someone working for the Xpress) clearance to pop in during shows at Mo Daddy’s, etc.)
Just a thought.
Going into a club on a Thursday or Friday (or Saturday or whenever) for a quick look/listen and a possible write up here? What a great idea! I think that’s called being a music writer for the Xpress and they do it already.
Sarcasm aside, I’m only pointing out that booking a gig at certain club or venue does not make you of higher “overall quality of artistry”, the same way as buskers are not usually of lesser quality. I only say this as I notice many of the busking acts do play around town in clubs/at festivals/etc, so therefore according to the statement above they must be of higher quality.
There’s great music and crappy music all over town, defined by ability, material played and a “sound” all their own, not defined by records sold or “premiere rooms” played -numerous Disney pop stars who outsell say Duke Ellington’s records or the Beatles come to mind.
I used to enjoy the Listening Party feature too but wonder how many write ups were from listening to recorded tracks on a Myspace page (Listening Party was at the onset of Facebook if anyone can remember such a time) vs. hearing them live.
But yeah, if it (Listening Party) could ever get off the ground again, why not? I’m guessing staffing and having to do more for less might be a factor.
Still all kinds of non-local NY and NH Pete Seeger folk scare lame. No backbeat.