Document text
0 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? subscribe | newsletter | deals Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » NEWS NOW Four tips teachers told me that made my life better ... Ashland High senior flips life script after surviving car crash ... Culture of Peace: Ashland police department partners for peace ... Four tips teachers told me that made my life better ... Ashland High senior flips life script after surviving car crash ... Culture of Peace: Ashland police department partners for peace ... MUSIC Sam Baker at the Unitarian Fellowship The singer and songwriter to perform at the Unitarian Fellowship Comment By Laurie Heuston Revels DailyTidings.com By Laurie Heuston Revels Posted Apr. 7, 2016 at 12:01 AM By Laurie Heuston Revels Posted Apr. 7, 2016 at 12:01 AM » Social News Sparse, simple lyrics and instrumentation fill singer and songwriter Sam Baker's newest album — 2013's "say grace" — but each line, each melody, is poetically delivered and richly poignant. A little goes a long way on this collection of country folk. "One of the goals I have when we record is to use just enough," says the Austin-based singer and songwriter during a telephone interview. "There's a frame to every song. I like to have enough on each frame that the negative spaces make sense. We deserve the negative spaces where there is quieter sound or it's almost silent. But there has to be enough positive space to warrant the negative space." "Say grace" is the fourth recording of Baker's career, following his 2004 "Mercy," 2007's "Pretty World" and 2009's "Cotton." Rolling Stone Magazine named "say grace" one of the Top Ten Country Albums of 2013. Baker will perform at 8 p.m. Thursday, April 7, at the Unitarian Fellowship, 87 Fourth St., Ashland. Pianist, recording artist and Baker's close friend, Chip Dolan, will perform accompaniment. Tickets are $20 in advance, $22 at the door and $10 for teens 12-17. Tickets are available at www.stclairevents.com , by calling 541-535-3562 or at Music Coop in downtown Ashland. A new album, "Live at The Folly," will be released on CD and DVD this spring. "The album will include a number of things," Baker says. "It's an underline of my trio, with me, backup vocalist Carrie Elkin and Chip. We've done so many shows together, and I love The Folly so much. That live show was a night where I could be with people I care about in front of people I care about." The Folly Theater was built in 1900 in Kansas City, Mo., and houses a performance venue for touring and regional artists. "One of the tiny things I can do is to present concerts to benefit The Folly, to help preserve it," Baker says. "It's a remarkable piece of American history." Baker was called the "bard of the workaday world" by the Wall Street Journal, and "the most captivating songwriter in America" by Lone Star Magazine. NPR’s Robert Christgau describes Baker's music as "simultaneously beautiful and broken … his is a story that must be told.” The biggest part of Baker's music is his tragic story. It includes surviving devastating injuries from a terrorist bomb attack while traveling by bus to Machu Picchu, Peru, in 1986. Most of the passengers were killed, and his injuries required 15 surgeries, a long recovery and a need to relearn how to walk, move and speak. Now, nearly five albums into his career, Baker sees beauty in everything around him and expresses his gratitude for life with a guitar and song, sometimes with paint and canvas, sometimes a camera or simply words. "I don't know," Baker says. "I think everybody goes through a lot. For some reason, I've been given a message to say. I'm not sure why, but if someone wants to know about it, I'll tell them. Part of my life is the trauma that came to it, the people who were so chopped up by shrapnel and those who lived and those who died. I'll talk about it when someone wants to hear it, but generally I avoid it." New songs started coming to Baker during his recovery. Some are directly related to the attack, others are short stories told in the voices of the characters. Some of his most beautiful songs resemble hymns. "Before the attack, my music was more like what a young person would write," he says. "A young person who skips over the surfaces. It was fine for that time, but what I do today has simplicity and complexity. I think that comes with time. As we get older, we become more accurate and subtle, a bit more accurately nuanced in the way that life is nuanced." Baker's "say grace" — along with his other three albums — takes an honest look at love, loss, relationships, everyday human struggles and foibles, all set to music performed by a team of ace Austin and Nashville recording artists. The instrumentation perfectly matches the mood of each song, building on emotion. "I prefer the moods that correspond with whatever I feel for the songs," Baker says. "I try to gauge what I do and play how I feel and see things. I think I gave each of the pieces on 'say grace' the best voice, the complete voice and the most spare voice." A long-awaited box set, "The Pretty World Trilogy," which includes re-releases from his first three albums, artwork by Baker and a recording of a 2014 interview with Terry Gross on NPR’s "Fresh Air," will be available at the Ashland show. By Laurie Heuston Revels DailyTidings.com By Laurie Heuston Revels Posted Apr. 7, 2016 at 12:01 AM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... Business Name address Location, ST | website.com Find Southern Oregon Attractions Bars Restaurants Beauty Salons Entertainment Doctors Medical Specialists Contractors Education Lawn Services Lawyers Shopping Travel Tanning Used Cars Wedding Services ▼ Add your business here + Events Calendar Connect with DailyTidings.com Facebook Twitter RSS Back to top Reader Services Reader Services home Subscriptions Subscriber controls Contact us Submissions Photos Events Letters to the editor Corrections Alerts Email alerts RSS feeds Text Alerts Advertise Media Kit Home Products and services Ad rates Advertising contacts Propel Marketing Mail Tribune Daily Tidings The Nickel Shop Our Valley Blogs Mobile Site Stay Informed Email newsletter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Your privacy is important, read our privacy policy. © Copyright 2016 Local Media Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms of Service | Local Media Group Publications Original content available for non-commercial use under a Creative Commons license, except where noted. DailyTidings.com | P.O. Box 1108, Medford, OR 97501