So as I was driving back to DC this last time, I popped in a tape (yes, tape, as in...our car has no CD player) and was immediately brought back to my childhood. The tape was one L.J. Booth, and between him, Clay Riness, and Fred Small, I was transported back to Bluebird Springs Campground and the Great River Folk Festival in LaCrosse, Wisconsin. Music can do amazing things...it can make you laugh or cry, forget your troubles, make you incredibly happy or incredibly angry. I remember being at a Fred Small concert and listening to him sing this song called Scott and Jamie. It had to have been 1989 or 1990, I don't remember. But the song was about a gay couple trying to adopt two previously abused brothers. It's such a sad song, one that ends with the boys being taken away from the couple by social services. As I sat there as a preteen, I just remember being moved to tears by the song.
As much as I love Fred Small's music, I have to say I love Clay Riness more. Some of my best memories of the Great River Folk Festival involve watching Clay in concert with my dad (watching the concert with my dad, not watching Clay and my dad together in concert). His best song ever is, in my opinion, Coming of Age, an incredible account of the trials and tribulations of growing up. Please, if you have some time and have never heard Clay Riness, check out the following YouTube videos (feel free to check them out even if you have heard of him!):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EqppURFXVmM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YWKK05AKgc8
Keep in mind these are old school Clay Riness recorded in 1986 or so. I swear I could listen to these songs over and over and never get tired of hearing them!
I often thing about going back to the Great River Folk Festival - try to get the old gang together. We'd do some log rolling, browse the amazing selection of traditional crafts, attend the Friday night concert. I'm sure the music would be fantastic, but it just wouldn't be the same without Clay, Fred, and L.J. Maybe I'll start a campaign to get those guys to come back for a reunion concert.
ps - both Fred Small and L.J. Booth seem to be available on Rhapsody; and you can find a lot of Clay Riness on YouTube or the following websites.
http://www.myspace.com/clayriness
http://www.cdbaby.com/Artist/ClayRiness
Sunday, August 2, 2009
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