I discovered The Bird and The Bee through a covers site, and heard their version of the Roth-era Van Halen classic “Ain’t Talkin’ ‘Bout Love.”
I was smitten.
I love the irony, humor, disposition of musical elements of a good cover song, but this was something else: this was a true tribute. This was love.
But first, we must step back in time.
It’s no hyperbole to say that in 1978, Van Halen’s self-titled debut album split the rock world in two. Eddie Van Halen was the most prodigious and game-changing electric guitarist since our beloved Jimi Hendrix. It was like hearing a jet plane take off and leaving all the copycats, who were to follow in their wake, as mere shadows of the VH craftmanship of chops, songwriting with great hooks and charisma.
Enter The Bird and the Bee forty one years later. (NB: Inara was ten years old when “1984” was released and thought Panama was about the Panama Canal. The videos she saw were “both terrifying and exciting.” Check longer interview.)
Formed in 2005, when Greg Kurstin was hired to assist with her first solo album, All Rise, they “just clicked over musical interests” and “we wrote a couple of songs together and maybe we’ll see if somebody else wants to play them.” The rest, as it said, is history.
The Bird and the Bee will be featured on this week’s Eclectopia radio program. Listen to Eclectopia on WVPB Radio Fridays at 10 pm, with an encore Saturdays at 11 pm.
inara_george_extended_interview_eclectopia.mp3
Broadcast interview with Inara George from December 2016, plus bonus Q&As about Panama, Hot For Teacher, Beck and other good stuff.
Inara, DLR, and Greg at a special invitation-only DLR show. Follow them on Instagram.
Songwriter James McMurtry is highly admired by listeners and peers alike for his astute observations and ability to develop characters while painting scenery with just a few, well-chosen words. This week’s Song of the Week is McMurtry’s “State of the Union,” which depicts a family’s inner-conflicts, long-standing grudges and stubborn optimism.
"We're all in the family/The Cursed and the Blessed/It's the State of the Union I guess."
You’ll hear the rest of James McMurtry’s set, as well as performances from Inara George, The Low Anthem and John Moreland, on this week’s broadcast. Find out where you can listen on a station in your area here, and be sure to subscribe to the podcast below so you never miss a song.
UPDATE: You can hear McMurtry’s entire set, including songs not heard on the radio broadcast, at NPR Music. Scroll down to listen.
Credit Brian Blauser/ Mountain Stage
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James McMurtry and his band making their 11th appearance on Mountain Stage. Hear the entire set this weekend on 240 NPR stations.
UPDATE: Due to travel conditions Lee Ann Womack will be unable to appear as advertised on March 25. We hope to reschedule another date as soon as possible. This post was edited to reflect these changes Sunday morning March, 25.
The lineup for Sunday’s Mountain Stage with Larry Groce is going to be an Americana honors class that embraces our diverse love of music here in Charleston, W.V. We’ll welcome James McMurtry, The Low Anthem, Inara George and John Moreland.
Any available tickets will be placed on sale for $35 at the venue on Sunday, starting at 5p.m.
If you can’t join us in person, we have good news. Thanks to the WVPB Video Production team and our partners at VuHaus, you can watch the show LIVE from anywhere with an internet connection. Just point your browser to MountainStage.org or VuHaus.com at 7p.m. EDT this Sunday, and watch along.
We’ll hear songs from Inara George’s crittically acclaimed new release “Dearest Everybody” when she joins us this Sunday on Mountain Stage.
If you miss the show, the radio broadcasts will be available starting April 27.
Mountain Stage w/ Larry Groce is a production of West Virginia Public Broadcasting and distributed by NPR Music. Watch some of our favorite performances at VuHaus.com.
Mountain Stagew/ Larry Groce has added four new shows to its Spring live schedule, with all dates on sale now exclusively to Mountain Stage Members.
Mountain Stage Members make a recurring gift of $10 per month or more to the program and receive seven days of exclusive online pre-sale access to all Mountain Stage live shows at the Culture Center Theater in Charleston. Current members should check their e-mail for the access code.
Tickets for all three March shows are only $20 each, in advance, $35 if available Day of Show, and our members receive an additional $5 off tickets to the March shows.
All tickets are general admission and will be on sale to the general public on Friday January 19 at 10a.m., available at MountainStage.org, Taylor Books in downtown, Charleston or by phone at 877.987.6487.
Mountain Stage is pleased to welcome Grammy winner, and West Virginia native, Kathy Mattea as its next special guest-host. Mattea will fill in for Larry Groce when the show records episode #917 on Sunday, March 4 at the Culture Center Theater.
Mattea has been a long-time friend of Mountain Stage, appearing on the show 24 times since 1985. Mattea’s career includes four #1 Billboard Country songs, two CMA Female Vocalist of the Year awards, and two Grammys. She was inducted into the West Virginia Music Hall of Fame in 2011. The first guest artist scheduled to appear March 4 is the Seamus Egan Project, the latest collaborative outfit from Solas founding member and influential traditional Irish musician Seamus Eagan. Solas has made nine appearances on Mountain Stage since 1995.
On Sunday March 18 Larry Groce will return as Mountain Stage brings music from abroad to the Mountain State. Tal National, a group of rockers from West Africa returning to the US to support their upcoming album “Tantabara” will join us for the first time. More international flare on March 18 will be provided by Calan, an exciting group of five young traditional Welsh musicians. Their unique instrumentation blends fiddles, whistles, guitar and bagpipes with an award-winning champion clogger. The group wowed the audience at a FOOTMAD concert last October and Mountain Stage is excited to welcome them back to West Virginia.
Finally, on Sunday April 15 we welcome singer-songwriter, producer and in-demand collaborator M. Ward to Mountain Stage for the first time. M. Ward released his eighth album “More Rain” on Merge records in 2016, which Jason Heller at NPR called “more of a mood piece, an overcast state of mind translated into easygoing melody and an underpinning of dusty Americana and late-’60s/early-’70s AM radio.”
Tickets for April 15 are $30 in advance and $35 day of show, available online now to Mountain Stage Members and via all outlets on Friday January 19 at 10a.m.
