{"id":72,"date":"2011-11-13T22:35:00","date_gmt":"2011-11-14T06:35:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/spclarke.com\/?page_id=72"},"modified":"2012-02-28T20:40:09","modified_gmt":"2012-02-29T04:40:09","slug":"gbu-2005-04","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"http:\/\/spclarke.com\/?page_id=72","title":{"rendered":"GBU &#8211; 2005 &#8211; 04"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.jvamusic.com\/\">JVA<\/a><\/strong><\/h2>\n<p style=\"font-size: 1.5em; text-align: justify;\"><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.twolouiesmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/JVA-harriet.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft\" style=\"border-style: initial; border-color: initial; float: left; border-width: 0px;\" title=\"JVA-harriet\" src=\"http:\/\/www.twolouiesmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/JVA-harriet-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" \/><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong><em>Terrible Pictures of Harriett<br \/>\n<\/em><\/strong><strong>Thon Music<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><em><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.cduniverse.com\/productinfo.asp?pid=7131718\">BUY<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">It\u2019s been nearly two years since we last heard from Jim Walker and JVA. See the July 2003 issue of Two Louies for an in-depth biography of Walker\u2019s career, but suffice it to say, for our purposes here, that Walker made his name in Portland (and elsewhere) in the \u201890s under the name Jeroan Van Aichen- hence the three letters in the more streamlined, current band moniker. Under one name or another, Walker has released six previous recordings. Through it all, he displays the sort of savvy songwriting facility about which most dabblers in the craft can only dream.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Here, perhaps more frequently and with more precision than ever before, he marries word with melody with uncanny originality, while charting deathly familiar singer\/songwriter ground. Walker even has the audacity to proclaim in the liner notes that \u201cThere are no electric guitars on this CD,\u201d though, truth be told, lead guitarist Tim Ellis fudges in places, utilizing electronic effects on his guitar. And it\u2019s truly doubtful that effects alone can account for some of the guitar pyrotechnics on the \u201csecret track,\u201d at the end of the proceedings (nor would the lack of an electric guitar even be appropriate for it).<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Still it\u2019s a lush, acoustic album, supplemented by Walker\u2019s subtle keyboard accompaniment and augmented by his and Ellis\u2019 deft acoustic guitar phrasings- which provide much of the rhythmic drive here, along with Walker\u2019s well-chosen beat samples and occasional percussion enhancement. In addition, Myrrh Larsen, Bob McDonald,\u00a0 Little Sue Weaver, Lara Michell, Nancy Hess, Tracey Harris and Stephanie Schneiderman contribute background vocals to Jim\u2019s lead vocals, creating luxuriant harmonies on nearly every track.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u201cJobs\u201d is the first song on the album, a narrative reminiscent of John Hiatt\u2019s \u201cCop Party,\u201d Steely Dan\u2019s \u201cWith A Gun,\u201d and, most especially, Paul Simon\u2019s \u201cLincoln Duncan.\u201d With a raspy voice, calling to mind Simon and Don Henley, Walker weaves a trail of intrigue and probable violence. \u201cHe\u2019s got a look of power. Of dead and heavy wisdom\/Any human caring is just another symptom\/He\u2019s heating up the pliers on the stove\/And in a flash of his gold teeth you\u2019ll see- that there\u2019s no job too dirty.\u201d Behind an insistent snare beat and jangly mandolin phrasings, \u201cPeople Are Guns\u201d is an analogy wrapped in an enigma, as Schneiderman\u2019s vocal harmony fits like a second skin: \u201cSome hearts are like knives. Some people are guns.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Sounding like an arrangement culled from the New Wave \u201880s (replete with Clark Bondy\u2019s hard farting sax interludes), \u201cPoor Baby\u201d could pass for something Johnny and the Distractions might have done, along the lines of \u201cShoulder Of The Road.\u201d Albert Reda\u2019s lovely, melodic bassline is the impetus on \u201cOut In The Light.,\u201d a touching ballad of depth and beauty. The dark, bluesy \u201cShortie 187\u201d may be about a tagger looking for new territory to \u201cdecorate,\u201d but speaks to the desolation and angst, from which all humans suffer, from time to time.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u201cOne Of My Dreams\u201d also references the early \u201880s, with Walker\u2019s Farfisa-like keyboard chortling ala Steve Nieve: during Elvis Costello\u2019s\u00a0<em>This Year\u2019s Model\u00a0<\/em>period<em>.\u00a0<\/em>\u00a0In fact Walker pays half-homage to the influence with the line \u201cBurned the hearts and your lipstick kiss,\u201d echoing similar sentiments in \u201cI Don\u2019t Want To Go To Chelsea.\u201d A very cool number. Well wrought. Changing gears, the upstroke reggae of \u201cDissolve,\u201d could pass for Sting, circa Zenyatta<em>\u00a0Mondatta-<\/em>era Police. Smooth, seamless background vocals by Tracey Harris and Myrrh Larsen and simply stellar solo pick-work from guitar master Tim Ellis, help to render indelible this memorable cut. Zesty.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">A lilting melody propels \u201cBetter Days,\u201d with Nancy Hess and Lara Michell providing solid backing vocals, over Walker\u2019s lead vocal, which is out in Don Henley territory. Meanwhile \u201cWhat Are You Afraid Of,\u201d calls to mind Canadian rocker Bryan Adams during his \u201cCuts Like A Knife\u201d heyday, in the early \u201880s. The swingin\u2019 \u201cHere We Go- We\u2019re Gone\u201d could be the work of Glenn Tilbrook and Squeeze, with Walker\u2019s wiry vocals snaking through the arrangement, like a white-hot filament. Yeow!<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Exposing Jim\u2019s softer side, the elegantly tender waltz \u201cDriving A Nail\u201d brings an element of Neil Finn and Crowded House to the fore. Walker\u2019s cascading piano arpeggios collide with Ellis\u2019 delicate guitar filigree to render a sound like rain falling through the moody gray atmosphere of the song, where \u201cYou\u2019ve got the right look. You choose the right words\/You\u2019ve got the right hook. Gliding like a bluebird.\u201d Marshall Crenshaw smiles over \u201cReturn,\u201d a piece which exhibits many of\u00a0 the same sort of\u00a0 catchy hooks you would find in a well-constructed Crenshaw song. Stephanie Schneiderman\u2019s vibrant backing vocal rings like a sentinel bell through the choruses. Very nice.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Finally, the secret track, \u201cDog Boy,\u201d is an admitted tribute to the twisted memory of Frank Zappa, and is successful on several levels both because of and in spite of that. The Presidents Of The USA\u2019s \u201cKitty\u201d reverberates through the song as well- although this is perhaps the most clearly delineated musical representation of the life and being of a dog, as exists anywhere in the world. Think of Joe\u2019s Garage as performed by and about the Simpson\u2019s dog, Santa\u2019s Little Helper.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Engineer CB Rock, which is the name of Craig Brock, deserves special commendation for this mix , in particular, as well as the rest of the album. Brock, who left Portland several years ago, first migrating to Mexico, before settling in Austin, returned to Portland for twelve days to mix down this album. His expertise\u00a0 lends this project an alluring sheen.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">With contributions from some of\u00a0 Portland\u2019s best musicians, Jim Walker has produced a fine album, with a wealth of good songs and strong performances. His knack for fashioning distinctive pieces from the same whole cloth as countless other singer\/songwriters in the world, sets him apart. Still, his unerring ability to turn an unique phrase or melody places his abilities in the exceptional category. Here, with the aid of\u00a0 the aforementioned local stars, Jim Walker accounts for himself quite admirably.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.sonicarious.com\" target=\"_blank\">Robert O\u2019Hear<\/a><\/strong><span class=\"Apple-style-span\" style=\"font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal;\"><span class=\"Apple-style-span\" style=\"font-size: 20px; font-weight: bold;\"><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.sonicarious.com\" target=\"_blank\">n<\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/h2>\n<p style=\"font-size: 1.5em; text-align: justify;\"><span class=\"Apple-style-span\" style=\"font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft\" style=\"border-style: initial; border-color: initial; border-width: 0px;\" title=\"robert-ohearn\" src=\"http:\/\/www.twolouiesmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/robert-ohearn-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" \/><strong><em>Robert O\u2019Hearn<br \/>\n<\/em><\/strong><\/span><span class=\"Apple-style-span\" style=\"font-size: 13px;\"><strong>Sonicarious Records<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><em><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.cdbaby.com\/robertohearn\" target=\"_blank\">BUY<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Keyboardist Robert O\u2019Hearn has been a fixture in the local and national music scene for over twenty years, first breaking into the limelight right out of school, playing keys, first with Indian violinist L. Shankar (who originally found fame in Shakti with John McLaughlin) in the late \u201970s, then with Jack Charles\u2019 Mien Street in the mid-\u201880s. Since that time, Rob has played with the likes of , Pete Droge, Jeff Trott and Jerry Joseph, while touring and recording with Dolly Parton. He has guested on innumerable local recordings, garnering a reputation as a fine instrumentalist. He comes by that talent naturally, as Robert is the younger brother of bassist\/keyboardist Patrick O\u2019Hearn who was one of the originators (for better or worse) of the whole New Age musical genre.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Patrick O\u2019Hearn cut his musical teeth playing bass with Frank Zappa starting in the mid \u201870s, along with drummer Terry Bozzio, before joining Bozzio\u2019s band, Missing Persons (Robert also briefly played with Missing Persons in the early \u201880s). In 1985, while still in Missing Persons, Patrick released his first solo album,\u00a0<em>Ancient Dreams\u00a0<\/em>for the Private Player label and followed that, in 1987, with the Grammy-nominated instrumental album\u00a0<em>Between Two Worlds<\/em>. Since that time he has released another thirteen albums, maintaining his status as one of the preeminent New Age artists in the world.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Robert O\u2019Hearn\u2019s journey toward a solo career has been a bit slower to develop. In fact, it was only after over ten years of prodding by friends and associates, that he finally committed to recording this project. It must be said, up front, that it was worth the wait. Gathering many of Portland\u2019s top players, including bassists Phil Baker and Jeff Leonard, guitarists\u00a0 Dan Balmer, Tim Ellis (there\u2019s that name again) and Bryan Johanson, drummer Reinhardt Melz and violinists Lex Browning and Eddie Parente (who also doubles, quite effectively, on the Irish whistle), along with a couple of vocalists and an appearance or two by the Oregon Symphony First Chair String Quartet, Rob has constructed a wonderful, mostly instrumental (there is one song with vocals among the nine presented here) album, less New Age than the work of his brother, but full of pretty melodies and superior musicianship.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">The styles vary from song to song. Melz adds hard hitting rock drums to numbers such as \u201cAeroglide\u201d and \u201cOn The Dragon\u2019s Tail.\u201d Others numbers, such as \u201cLost Son\u2019s Of Erin\u201d are most definitely cast in a traditional Celtic mode. \u201cA Night In Ghost Forest\u201d is a film soundtrack theme waiting for a film. Other tracks hover in an ambient New Age-y cloud, whiles still others tread smooth jazz turf. All are expertly rendered, perfectly suited to whatever genre in which each is particularly set.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Melz\u2019 punchy drums impart the accents in \u201cAeroglide,\u201d while O\u2019Hearn supplies an ebullient sitar setting, with organ and piano flourishes, before he duets with a mercurial violin- his luscious glissades dressing up the central melodic figure. Energetic and accessible. Not unlike a hipped-up, modernized version of the violin solo from It\u2019s A Beautiful Day\u2019s \u201cWhite Bird.\u201d Well, that\u2019s something of a reference point anyway. With lovely acoustic guitar flourishes, \u201cWeathervane\u201d is a piano driven number, evocative of Bruce Hornsby, perhaps, with numerous instances of intricate ornamentation and sweeping synth arpeggios. Windswept and haunting, supported by angelic, wordless choral vocals.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Katherine McCarthy\u2019s winsome vocal on \u201cLost Sons Of Erin\u201d recalls Michael Oldfield\u2019s sister, Sally, and her wonderful Celtic album of the late \u201870s,\u00a0<em>Water Bearer<\/em>, as well as Enya, Lorena McKennitt- and the late Johnny Cunningham\u2019s work with vocalist Susan McKeon, on his interpretation of\u00a0<em>Peter Pan<\/em>. O\u2019Hearn\u2019s harp-like flutterings combine with accordion-ish tones, violin and what sounds like mandolin and Irish whistle accoutrements, all over bodhran-esque drums. Very nice. A yearning violin motif plays against a faintly Celtic setting and Robert\u2019s ornate piano accompaniment on \u201cGabriel\u2019s Waltz,\u201d with a ringing glockenspiel brightening the turns.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u201cThe Essence Of Better Days,\u201d begins with a feel similar to that of Marc Cohn\u2019s \u201cWalking In Memphis,\u201d before launching into a more full-bodied performance, with Robert\u2019s insistent piano roiling into a graceful Gospel-tinged duet with Dan Balmer on electric guitar. As mentioned previously, with its lush, orchestral arrangement, \u201cA Night In Ghost Forest\u201d bears distinctive cinematic qualities, with angelic choral vocals, fluttering harp arpeggios, and dramatically awe inspiring strings provided by the Oregon Symphony First Chair Quartet. Superb.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">With soaring violin passages evoking Billy Oskay and Nightnoise, \u201cOn The Dragon\u2019s Tail\u201d rocks a bit harder than the Windham Hillers ever did (thanks to Melz\u2019 dynamic drumming) and also brings to mind the deft interplay between pianist Chuck Leavell and violinist Richard Greene in Sea Level. Bryan Johanson contributes dexterous classical guitar to the 6\/8 waltz of \u201cFlowers In The Rain,\u201d a delicate little tune with romantic string quartet backing. The moody \u201cMemories of 33<sup>rd<\/sup>\u00a0St.\u201d concludes the album on a reflective note, with supple basslines moaning beneath O\u2019Hearn\u2019s contemplative piano etude. A fitting finale for this short, but suite affair.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">It would be easy to understand, were Robert O\u2019Hearn to feel somewhat overshadowed by his brother\u2019s rampant success. Though his career has been far from a failure, Robert has mostly worked as a sideman, behind the scenes, out of the spotlight- typically not as the featured performer. Here, at last, he steps out from his brother\u2019s shadow to reveal a dazzlingly vital talent of his own, certainly worthy of attention from critics and the public alike. His rapturous music defies easy categorization, but satisfies on many musical levels without descending into typical New Age ambient mush, or smooth Jazz blandness. Melody is never far away in his compositions, neither are inventiveness nor sophistication. For anyone seeking sterling instrumental compositions, performed with vigor and elan, this is one of the finest recordings of those genre to come out of this city in quite some time.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.myspace.com\/bazzacork\">Bazza<\/a><\/strong><span class=\"Apple-style-span\" style=\"font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.twolouiesmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/bazza-odd-duck.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft\" title=\"bazza-odd-duck\" src=\"http:\/\/www.twolouiesmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/bazza-odd-duck-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" \/><\/a><\/strong><span class=\"Apple-style-span\" style=\"font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal;\"><strong><em>Odd Duck<br \/>\n<\/em><\/strong><\/span><strong>Bobbin Shop records<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><em><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.cdbaby.com\/cd\/bazza3\" target=\"_blank\">BUY<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Barry Crawford, known in some circles as Bazza, is one of this city\u2019s best kept secrets.\u00a0 His abilities as a crafter of somewhat eccentric songs are renowned in many circles (though hardly enough). His mysterious, hand-distributed homemade recordings have been the stuff of local legend for over twenty years and a joy for anyone lucky enough to hear them. Not unlike Daniel Johnston or Vic Chesnutt, Bazza\u2019s music is typically a slightly off-kilter affair, with enough unconventional quirks to sequester it in a genre eddy far from the mainstream. This, of course, should not be viewed as a bad thing.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Here, he is joined by an extensive troupe of well and not so well-known local performers, notably including Billy Kennedy, Gina Noell and Paul Brainard, among many others; through thirteen songs, either written or co-written by Bazza, to create one of his most accessible recordings yet to be rendered. He has chosen the idioms of blues, country\u00a0<strong><em>and<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0western to express himself- sounding, at times, like a cross between Johnny Cash, regional legend Calvin Johnson of Beat Happening (and Dub Narcotic)\u00a0 and Leon Redbone; like Bob Dylan, John Prine or Neil Young at others.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">As always, Bazza\u2019s songwriting is of a very high order. Sounding eerily authentic in whatever genre he chooses to explore, this recording is a fine example of\u00a0 him at his very best. He even tosses in a bit of the old Bazza weirdness in a few places, just to prove he hasn\u2019t completely gone over to the other side. But this is a very solid, consistent album, with a relentless vision of\u00a0 the real world- as if starkly limned beneath a naked light bulb in a late night shotgun shack. The loose, but eminently authentic instrumentation only adds to the sense of dusty despair and sepia-toned antique melancholy.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">The lazy swing feel of \u201cSavage Season,\u201d jauntily underscored by Lowell John Mitchell\u2019s \u201cbantar (typically, an instrument with a six-string guitar neck attached to a banjo body) accompaniment, belies an uneasy notion of something ominous and tragic looming around the narrative of the lyric. A lonesome desolation pervades, like a steady driving drizzle on a gray day in the dead of winter. Gina Noell\u2019s backing vocals add a \u201820s blues, \u201cFrankie And Johnny\u201d sensibility to the presentation, while the bantar and the wraithlike slide guitar solo in the middle are hewn more from the woodsy, traditional country stock. Bazza\u2019s Leon Redbone-like, crooning baritone adds even more to the old-timey aspect of the arrangement.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Dan Davis\u2019 vaguely funky bassline and Green David Platt\u2019s enthusiastic conga rhythms lend the arid tale of \u201cJoe\u2019s Bumpy Ride\u201d a bit of Stonesy \u201cHonky Tonk Women\u201d meets \u201cSympathy For The Devil,\u201d motivation- the lyric of this song refers to the first cut, \u201cSavage Season,\u201d this time from the aspect of hanging out at the local drive-in, in this god forsaken, savage season ravaged, town. Gina Noell\u2019s sassy background vocals nicely balance Bazza\u2019s wry, Cashian delivery. \u201cCasino Moon\u201d is sort of a weird Jerry Jeff Walker-like, western recasting of the standards \u201cMoonlight Bay\u201d and \u201cBy The Light Of The Silvery Moon,\u201d fused together with Gram Parsons\u2019 \u201cHickory Wind\u201d and welded on to Zappa\u2019s \u201cConcentration Moon.\u201d Strangely compelling.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Bazza sets up an appealing, clippy cloppy, JJ Cale-ish, shuffle rhythm on drums, or drum machine. for \u201cKing Of Illegitimacy,\u201d Brainard\u2019s slithering dobro guitar fills, expertly buff out the spaces in the \u201cBill Bailey\u201d-like solo section, while Bazza sings like Merle Haggard on magic mushrooms. Fun. \u201cNeil\u2019s Coffin\u201d references\u00a0<em>Harvest<\/em>-era Neil Young with more loose, Stonesy rave ups of the \u201cHonky Tonk\u201d persuasion, with Brainard\u2019s sizzling lap-steel guitar kicking up a ruckus.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Moving into a Dylanesque mode, with \u201cDrive Around Everywhere Girl,\u201d Bazza approximates a\u00a0<em>Nashville Skyline<\/em>\u00a0version of<em>Blonde On Blonde<\/em>\u2019s \u201cJust Like A Woman,\u201d with Brainard\u2019s lap steel taking up where it left off on the previous number. The dreamy \u201cAmethyst The Queen\u201d is a minor-key blues affair, with Gina Noell contributing highly effective harmony vocals over more of Bazza\u2019s Dylan-colored deepsea observations. \u201cOn a starry night\/With the moon in sight\/the clams they dance\/Without their pants\/It\u2019s the old softshoe\/Wah wah woo woo woo.\u201d Lowell John Mitchell\u2019s smoldering electric guitar solo is a highlight.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Brainard\u2019s Mexicali-flavored dobro intro and fills adroitly spur \u201cComing Storm,\u201d a song which bears some resemblance to Townes Van Zandt\u2019s \u201cPancho and Lefty,\u201d as if performed by John Prine. Diana Wild\u2019s stellar support vocals on \u201cThrough The Gaps\u201d are a thrilling\u00a0 counterpart to Bazza\u2019s whacked out lead- possibly modeled after the quavering, high tenor twitter of the original Ink Spots\u2019 Bill Kenny. Well done.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">The lonesome ode \u201cParental Rights And Wrongs\u201d is a somewhat twisted Texas style barbecue of the Ozzie and Harriett\/June and Ward Cleaver lifestyle, with an unsettling lyric: \u201cYou turned the puppies into doggies\/You turned the kittens into cats\/You turned your children into men and women\/You are the parents of the past\/You turned the paper into assets\/You turned the rock star into gold\/You rode the buses down to Selma\/You are the parents of the old.\u201d Scary kids.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u201cGold &amp; Brown\u201d is a \u201820s hula send-up, with call and response vocals between Bazza and Gina Noelle, with stalwart ukulele rustlings administered by Lowell John Mitchell. \u201cDunked And Missed\u201d is a tad more directly autobiographical than most Bazza songs, hammering on a droning 12 string guitar, a delta raga of the Bo Diddly persuasion, with touches of Jimmy Page\u2019s playing on Zep\u2019s \u201cGallows Pole\u201d from\u00a0<em>Led Zeppelin III<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Bazza has put together his most rewarding recorded set yet. The combination of seasoned veterans serving as his back-up band, combined with the fact that this is his most consistent songwriting outing ever. Each song relates to the next, melodically and thematically. While his voice is somewhat creaky and croaky, it is still very evocative, and is the perfect vehicle for the idiosyncratic subject matter of his songs. And while he may never find widespread sales and intense media attention, Bazza can remain confident that his work is very special and especially unusual in a lockstep, cookie-cutter world.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>JVA Terrible Pictures of Harriett Thon Music BUY It\u2019s been nearly two years since we last heard from Jim Walker and JVA. See the July 2003 issue of Two Louies for an in-depth biography of Walker\u2019s career, but suffice it &hellip; <a href=\"http:\/\/spclarke.com\/?page_id=72\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"parent":42,"menu_order":2,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>GBU - 2005 - 04 - spclarke.com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"http:\/\/spclarke.com\/?page_id=72\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"GBU - 2005 - 04 - spclarke.com\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"JVA Terrible Pictures of Harriett Thon Music BUY It\u2019s been nearly two years since we last heard from Jim Walker and JVA. 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