Looking back to 2016 for our 33rd-anniversary celebration with Iron & Wine, Tift Merritt, Todd Burge, Paper Bird, and Andy Shauf.
Support for this podcast is provided by Digital Relativity. https://digitalrelativity.com/
Tag: Todd Burge
Listen: Natalie Prass on Mountain Stage
Recorded at the Peoples Bank Theatre in Marietta, OH, in 2018, this week’s episode of Mountain Stage with Larry Groce features a broad array of musical styles, drawing from pop, rock, soul and folk.
Our Song of the Week comes from Ohio-born, Richmond, VA native Natalie Prass, who brought her band to Marietta, with songs from her sophomore album The Future And The Past. Our preview of this week’s show is the fun, uptempo soul track “Short Court Style.”
Recorded in Richmond with producer Matthew E. White, Prass tells us in her set that the recording console used in the making of The Future And The Past was used first in Ohio for acts like the Ohio Players and others.
Hear the entire set from Natalie Prass and her band, plus performances from the incomparable Jill Sobule, Ohio rockers Red Wanting Blue, songwriter Todd Burge and guitarist/songsmith Gurf Morlix, on this week’s encore episode of Mountain Stage with Larry Groce.
Find out where you can listen and be sure to follow Mountain Stage on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter for updates.
Don't Call It a Comeback: Mark Poole's Produced #WVmusic For Years
“[The Phantom Six] never went away. I’m not one of these guys who can get a record out every two years, but it’s consistent though. I’ve kept doing it for a long time. I don’t plan on stopping.”
From West Virginia Public Broadcasting and A Change of Tune, this is 30 Days of #WVmusic, the interview series celebrating the folks who make the West Virginia music scene wild and wonderful.
And today’s interview is with a longstanding pillar of the Morgantown scene who is a rocker, a songwriter, and even a producer. This… is Mark Poole.
Mark Poole is part of The Phantom Six. Follow them on social media as they gear up for a new release. Hear more #WVmusic on A Change of Tune, airing Saturday nights at 10 on West Virginia Public Broadcasting. Connect with A Change of Tune on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. And for more #WVmusic chats, make sure to go to wvpublic.org/wvmusic and subscribe to our RSS / podcast feeds.
Interview Highlights
On beginning in music:
A really good friend of mine named Scott Fetty, who lived in Morgantown for a long time and was a drummer, I got started through him. He had a band in junior high school, and I went to see them in the talent show [laughing]. I was blown away that I could have friends that were 14-years-old on stage playing “Taking Care of Business,” and they had explosives on stage. One guy, Gary Turner, had a top hat and jumped off a Fender Princeton amplifier when the explosion went off. And it was only ten inches tall, so it was a very Spinal Tap moment.
But Scott and I were skateboarding buddies and he was like, “If you get a guitar, I could probably get you in this band,” so that’s how it started. I’ve got to thank Scott for that. I convinced my parents to get me a guitar for Christmas. And by May of that year, Scott made good on his promise, and I was in that band playing house parties. I guess that was the first thing I did moving forward to actually become a musician. I started taking lessons from John Gallagher in Parkersburg; he owns a store there now called Gallagher’s Music. It seems like everyone in Parkersburg has taken lessons from John at some point.
I played in cover bands, and I just tried to get good at playing guitar; no singing, no songwriting until I was in my early twenties. But I played in cover bands all through high school, and we played in bars before we were 18.
On performing with The Larries:
The turning point was a band called The Larries. In early college, Todd Burge formed The Larries. I wasn’t in the band, I was just friends with them, but they were the only band in Parkersburg doing original music… and they really couldn’t play their instruments at the time. At all. The first gig I went to see them, Wes Poole (the drummer) had a Sony Walkman in his pocket, and he had to play the cassette play of the practice between songs so he knew what to do on drums [laughing]. They were really just starting out, and I had already made a little bit of a name as a guitar player in high school cover bands and things, so everybody thought I was crazy when I wanted to join. But I thought “I don’t want to play in cover bands all my life. I’d rather go with my friends and do original music.” That ran its course after three years. Todd moved to California to work for the record label that signed the band, and the whole thing kind of fell apart. Just another one of those stories of your first record label experience being bad.
Todd eventually moved back to West Virginia, and that’s when we formed 63 Eyes. That was the really big changing point for me. I started writing songs, singing a little bit. I got a real thrill out of being able to play a song I had written. 63 Eyes was around for ten years, and I developed as a songwriter during that period.
On working with Todd Burge:
Todd has been a big influence on me. He was the principal songwriter in The Larries and 63 Eyes, so I learned a lot by his methods. He was the person who demonstrated that it wasn’t that hard and it could be done. Todd was always like, “If you spend more than an hour on it, you’ve already overthought it.”
You know, we had some disagreements over the years, and there was maybe a little bitterness at times but we’re almost family. We’ve been together so long.
On playing in The Phantom Six:
We never went away, but if you trace the pattern of my musical career, it moves very slowly. I’m not one of these guys who can get a record out every two years, but it’s consistent though. I’ve kept doing it for a long time. I don’t plan on stopping. But it’s been five-and-a-half years since our last release came out.
After the record came out in late 2011, I basically spent all of 2012 trying to push it. We’re not really a band that can head out on the road for long periods of time. We’ve maintained pretty regular practice schedules. We shot two videos. We’re a very DIY band, so we made the videos ourselves. We played a good bit of gigs that year, and we did radio promotion (which is a lot of work to package 400 copies of your CD and send them out). After that, we just started writing songs for a new record, but we get two songs done a year. To me, it doesn’t feel like a reunion; just another slow process of trying to come up with 15 songs. And we’re almost there. We’ve been doing it separately since William Matheny’s been on the road a lot.
On the growth of the #WVmusic scene:
It’s cool seeing friends that have gone on to pretty impressive success. Todd’s had a successful career. Karma to Burn play in front of huge crowds all over Europe. Like I tell everyone, it’s good for all the West Virginia bands when any band is successful. The tide rises with their success, and everybody gets more notice.
The internet is a completely different way to go about things. In the 63 Eyes days, it was all done snail mail. The internet has changed everything. Maybe something’s lost; there was something really cool about that old method of doing stuff. I wouldn’t say it’s easier for bands now, but it’s easier to network. It seems like there were a lot more rock’n’roll bands when we started out, and there’s been a move towards singer-songwriter and newgrass bands. There’s a lot of music bringing back old-time sounds.
Music featured in this #WVmusic chat:
Phantom Six- Outta this Wasteland
63 Eyes- Trucker’s Misery
Phantom Six- Will (Don’t Let Me Down)
Support for 30 Days of #WVmusic is provided by Bunj Jam Music, featuring the album, Todd Burge Live on Mountain Stage (2006-2015). More information at toddburge.com.
Support for 30 Days of #WVmusic is provided by Kin Ship Goods, proud supporter of DIY music and the arts. Locally shipped worldwide at kinshipgoods.com.
WATCH LIVE: Mountain Stage feat. Pokey LaFarge, Rose Cousins, Ruthie Foster & more
This Sunday, February 12, point your browser to MountainStage.org at 7pm EST to watch a LIVE recording of Mountain Stage with Larry Groce via VuHaus.
Sunday’s show at Charleston’s Culture Center Theater marks Mountain Stage’s 889th episode and features performances by Pokey LaFarge, Rose Cousins, Ruthie Foster, Fred Eaglesmith, and RJ Cowdery. Our radio listeners will hear this episode (as well as special guest host and West Virginian singer-songwriter Todd Burge) on over 200 NPR stations via NPR Music starting March 31.
For those of you watching along online, make sure to share your listening/watching experience with us! Use #MountainStage and #gotowv.
Tag Mountain Stage on Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr and Facebook. Find VuHaus on Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr and Facebook.
Watch more Mountain Stage performances (including Paper Bird, Iron & Wine and Rachael Yamagata) on VuHaus.
Mountain Stage's Favorite Performances of 2016
2016 was a big year for NPR Music and West Virginia Public Broadcasting‘s Mountain Stage. We celebrated 33 years of live performance radio, commemorated the 25th anniversary of R.E.M.’s legendary set, and listened to the voices of two new guest hosts.
And across seven venues in four states, we recorded over 120 live sets that showcased the best and brightest musicians in the world today. Along the way, we video streamed eight of our shows through VuHaus and made some new #gotowv friends along the way (with posters and glass records in tow!). Of course, none of this would have happened without your support.
Before we embark on another musical year around the sun, Larry Groce and the Mountain Stage crew have picked out 33 performances that deserve another listen and another round of applause. From A to Z, these are our favorite Mountain Stage performances of 2016. (Hint: click the Episode # for their Mountain Stage podcast episode, where available.)
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Aoife O’Donovan – In the Magic Hour (Culture Center Theater in Charleston, WV on October 30, 2016 – Episode #883)
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Billy Bragg & Joe Henry – Gentle On My Mind (Byham Theater in Pittsburgh, PA on September 25, 2016 with WYEP & Pittsburgh Cultural Trust – Episode #879)
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Bottle Rockets – Dog (Culture Center Theater in Charleston, WV on March 20, 2016 – Episode #866)
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Brett Dennen – Cassidy (Culture Center Theater in Charleston, WV on May 8, 2016 – Episode #870)
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Cheryl Wheeler – Estate Sale (Culture Center Theater in Charleston, WV on July 24, 2016 – Episode #874)
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Chris Smither – Leave the Light On (Byham Theater in Pittsburgh, PA on September 25, 2016 with WYEP & Pittsburgh Cultural Trust – Episode #879)
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Darrell Scott – Desperados Waiting for a Train (Culture Center Theater in Charleston, WV on May 22, 2016 – Episode #871)
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Foy Vance – Ziggy Looked Me In The Eye (Clay Center in Charleston, WV on October 16, 2016 – Episode #881)
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Hayes Carll – Sake of the Song (Culture Center Theater in Charleston, WV on May 22, 2016 – Episode #871)
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Indigo Girls – Shame on You (Culture Center Theater in Charleston, WV on September 18, 2016 – Episode #878)
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Iron & Wine – We Two are Moon (Culture Center Theater in Charleston, WV on December 4, 2016 – Episode #885)
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Jerry Douglas presents The Earls of Leicester – Down the Road (Culture Center Theater in Charleston, WV on July 24, 2016 – Episode #874)
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John Paul White – Once and Future Queen (Culture Center Theater in Charleston, WV on November 20, 2016 – Episode #884)
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Judy Collins with Ari Hest – I Choose Love (West Virginia University in Morgantown, WV on April 17, 2016 – Episode #868)
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Lake Street Dive – Call Off Your Dogs (Clay Center in Charleston, WV on June 5, 2016 – Episode #872)
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Lucius – I Can’t Help Falling in Love with You (Culture Center Theater in Charleston, WV on June 26, 2016 – Episode #873)
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Margaret Glaspy – Emotions and Math (Culture Center Theater in Charleston, WV on June 26, 2016 – Episode #873)
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Mike Cooley – Made Up English Oceans (Culture Center Theater in Charleston, WV on March 20, 2016 – Episode #866)
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Ona – Sleep, Rinse, Repeat (Culture Center Theater in Charleston, WV on February 21, 2016 – Episode #864)
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Overcoats – Smaller Than My Mother (Culture Center Theater in Charleston, WV on February 21, 2016 – Episode #864)
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Rhiannon Giddens – At the Purchaser’s Option (Davis & Elkins College in Elkins, WV on August 13, 2016 – Episode #876)
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Robbie Fulks – Aunt Peg’s Old Man (University of Kentucky in Lexington, KY on April 3, 2016, with WUKY – Episode #867)
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Robert Ellis – California (Byham Theater in Pittsburgh, PA on September 25, 2016 with WYEP & Pittsburgh Cultural Trust – Episode #879)
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Sarah Jarosz – House of Mercy (University of Kentucky in Lexington, KY on April 3, 2016 with WUKY – Episode #867)
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Steve Poltz – Folksinger (Culture Center Theater in Charleston, WV on May 1, 2016 – Episode #869)
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Suzzy Roche and Lucy Wainwright Roche – Bleeker Street (Clay Center in Charleston, WV on June 5, 2016 – Episode #872)
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The Wood Brothers – Never and Always (Culture Center Theater in Charleston, WV on May 1, 2016 – Episode #869)
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Tift Merritt – Heartache is an Uphill Climb (Culture Center Theater in Charleston, WV on December 4, 2016 – Episode #885)
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Todd Burge – Time to Waste Time (Culture Center Theater in Charleston, WV on December 4, 2016 – Episode #885)
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Todd Snider – Stuck on the Corner (Culture Center Theater in Charleston, WV on October 23, 2016 – Episode #882)
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Wilco – Space Oddity (Culture Center Theater in Charleston, WV on February 14, 2016 – Episode #863)
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William Matheny – Living Half to Death (Culture Center Theater in Charleston, WV on June 26, 2016 – Episode #873)
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Wynonna & the Big Noise – These Are The Things That I Lean On (Culture Center Theater in Charleston, WV on September 18, 2016 – Episode #878)
Parkersburg's Todd Burge to Guest Host Mountain Stage
On Sunday, February 12, Mountain Stage will have a sweetheart of a Valentine’s Day show as we welcome special guest host Todd Burge to present the long-running public radio show.
This February 12 show will take place at the Culture Center Theater and feature performances by retro-roots crooner Pokey LaFarge, Canadian alt-country songwriter Fred Eaglesmith, award-winning blues singer Ruthie Foster, Scottish folk musician Rachel Sermanni, and Canadian songsmith Rose Cousins. Tickets are available online, by phone (877.987.6487), or at Taylor Books in downtown Charleston.
“As a longtime listener and fan, as well as a repeat guest, I can say with certainty that Mountain Stage has profoundly influenced my music and the direction of my career,” singer-songwriter Todd Burge said. “Being asked to guest host is a really big deal for me. Huge.”
Burge joins a short list of guest hosts in the show’s 33 year history, joining Tim O’Brien, Joni Deutsch, and Conor Knighton as the only hosts to fill in for Larry Groce in over 885 episodes. Although, we should mention Burge guest hosted the program (for 33 seconds) back in 2011 when introducing regional music favorite Southeast Engine.
Burge, who may be best known for his method of writing songs from the perspective of odd characters, bugs and animals, has performed on Mountain Stage twelve times since 1991. In 2016, he released a 17-track album featuring almost a decade’s worth of his performances from the Mountain Stage. Find out more about Burge on his website.
Need even more Mountain Stage in your life? Join us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, and get the latest show updates and ticket deals with our e-mail newsletter. And if you’re looking for a new soundtrack (or more of Todd Burge’s performances), subscribe to the Mountain Stage podcast on iTunes.