The very underrated Tom Kimmel

The very underrated Tim Grimm

An excellent feature on Ferron

"A candid interview with Ferron, an unsung Canadian treasure" Andrea Warner

Ferron is hitting Seattle, Portland and California in October on her current tour.

Oldies but goodies from Fred Small

Here are a pair of Fred Small (make that Rev. Fred Small now) songs certainly applicable today:

"We have cleared off the table, the leftovers saved,
Washed the dishes and put them away
I have told you a story and tucked you in tight
At the end of your knockabout day

As the moon sets it's sails to carry you to sleep
Over the midnight sea
I will sing you a song no one sang to me
May it keep you good company.

Chorus:
You can be anybody you want to be,
You can love whomever you will
You can travel any country where your heart leads
And know I will love you still
You can live by yourself, you can gather friends around,
You can choose one special one
And the only measure of your words and your deeds
Will be the love you leave behind when you're done.

There are girls who grow up strong and bold
There are boys quiet and kind
Some race on ahead, some follow behind
Some go in their own way and time

Some women love women, some men love men
Some raise children, some never do
You can dream all the day never reaching the end
Of everything possible for you.

Don't be rattled by names, by taunts, by games
But seek out spirits true
If you give your friends the best part of yourself
They will give the same back to you.

Chorus"

"The echoes of childhood whisper violence
Cold wind beating out of the past
Rage in your throat, muffled silence
Hold on, I will stand fast

In the darkness your guardians had left you 
Cold wind beating out of the past
None to hear your cries, none to defend you 
Hold on I will stand fast

I will stand fast, I will stand fast
You are safe in the daylight at last
Nightmare and fear, they have no power here
I will stand fast

I will listen to the terrors that tried you 
I will cradle the child that breathes inside you
Though you take the shape of a hundred ancient horrors 
Though you strike at me and flee into your sorrow
Hold on I will stand fast 

I will stand fast, I will stand fast
You are safe in the daylight at last
Nightmare and fear, they have no power here
I will stand fast

Birds flash upon a branch in winter
Cold wind beating out of the past 
Ice in the sun begins to splinter
You will walk with no fetters to bind you 
Cold wind beating out of the past
All the love you have wanted will find you

I will stand fast, I will stand fast
You are safe in the daylight at last
Nightmare and fear, they have no power here
I will stand fast
I will stand fast"

A significant look at Johnny Cash

"Tomorrow will mark the 15th anniversary of Arkansas icon Johnny Cash’s death. Today, we reassess the Man in Black’s career — a life spent wrestling through music with the demons and saviors that haunt almost every Southerner."  -- John Hayes

Two special offerings from Carrie Newcomer

Carrie Newcomer  is one of the few artists who melds spiritual content with accompanying music and delivery making such genuinely accessible and inviting to all:

"No you can't always tell one from another
And it's best not to judge a book by it's tattered cover
I have found when I tried or looked deeper inside
What appears unadorned might be wondrously formed
You can't always tell but sometimes you just know

'Round here we throw geodes in our gardens
They're as common as the rain or corn silk in July
Unpretentious browns and grays the stain of Indiana clay
They're what's left of shallow seas, glacial rock and mystery
And inside their shines a secret bright as promise

All these things that we call familiar
Are just miracles clothed in the commonplace
And you’ll see it if you try in the next stranger's eyes
God walks around in muddy boots, sometimes rags and that's the truth
You can't always tell, but sometimes you just know

Some say geodes were made from pockets of tears
Trapped away in small places for years upon years
Pressed down and transformed, 'til the true self was born
And the whole world moved on like the last notes of a song
A love letter sent without return address

No you can't always tell one from another
And it's best not to judge a book by it's tattered cover
I don't open them to see folks 'round here just like me
We have come to believe there's hidden good in common things
You can't always tell but sometimes you just know
You can't always tell but sometimes you just know"

and

"Here I am without a message
Here I stand with empty hands
Just a spirit tired of wandering like a stranger in this land
Walking wide-eyed through this world
Is the only way I've known
Wrapped in hope and good intention and
Bare to the bone

There is nothing I won't show you
There is nothing I can hide
I've risked it all and dreamt it all
And seldom questioned why
You took me in when I was hungry
When my spirit ached and groaned
Laid wide open and defenseless
And bare to the bone

When I rise, I rise in glory
If I do, I do by grace
Time will wash away our footprints
And we'll leave without a trace
Between here and now and forever
Is such precious little time
What we do in love and kindness
Is all we ever leave behind

When my eyes are slowly fading
When the light is softly waning
When the evening sun is setting
And the world is barely breathing
Then your voice will call me
And your hands will lead me home
Like a newborn awed and naked
And bare to the bone

When I rise, I rise in glory
If I do, I do by grace
Time will wash away our footprints
And we'll leave without a trace
Between here and now and forever
Is such precious little time
What we do in love and kindness
Is all we ever leave behind

Here I am without a message
Here I stand with empty hands
Just a spirit tired of wandering
Like a stranger in this land
Walking wide-eyed through this world
Is the only way I've known
Wrapped in hope and good intention and
Bare to the bone"