CONTENTS:

Folkus - Yoav Biran
Book review
Visiting artist
Internet radio

FOLKUS - YOAV BIRAN

"The best Irish tenor in Israel" were the words overheard at a recent Jerusalem folk club describing Yoav Biran. Although not Irish (he was born here), his voice has that true, unerring quality to it and he does sing Irish as well as American and Canadian music. Indeed, his songs are carefully selected, often focusing on love and death (mainly sea-related), allowing him to sing from his heart to such an extent that he sometimes feels drained after the emotional outpouring. Stan Rogers, Dar Williams, Christine Lavin, Sandy Cash and Ray Scudero are clearly his favorite songwriters. With great respect for his audience, the perfectionist in him causes him to always come prepared, knowing the words and all that he Who can remember the first appearances of this tall folk person about 2 years ago, standing behind his music pages, uncertain that anyone really wanted to hear him?

Yoav

What brought him to folk clubs? It was Lynn Lewis who encouraged him to leave the living room music circles and get up on stage. It was Barbara Hochman and her son Mike who got him into the living rooms in the first place. It was three months of lessons with the magnificent Liz Magnes who freed his musical mind to fly. It was winning a talent contest when he was 16 singing a Beatles song (and his last public appearance until folk clubs). It was three years of classical guitar lessons, providing his gentle playing touch. It was 3-4 months of piano lessons at the age of 6. It was his father waking him up to the Weavers on Saturday mornings during his childhood in Haifa by the sea. Maybe it was his incredible ability to hear a tune and not only remember, but be able to reproduce it without the aid of musical notation - which he sees only as a barrier to the music. Whatever it was, this blend of nature and nurture has provided the folk community with a gem of a musician with an ear for the perfect chord.

Music is a two way street and cross-fertilization of styles and talents affords a way to continue to grow. Thus his quiet harmonies in the background of less formal performances have resulted in performing duets with the likes of Sandy Cash and others, who in return shared their songs and expanded his musical horizons.

A little encouragement does a lot to diminish the ubiquitous stage fright and improve singing finesses such as diction. Although a native Israeli, you wouldn't know his English wasn't American, thanks to a stint in Boston at ages 6-9 and reinforcement from his parents (ok, one grandparent was American, too).

Yoav has other interests, including getting a degree in psychology, horseback riding and a love for children, which he has combined by working in riding therapy. He shares his music in all areas of his life, and was especially happy to see Israeli student friends appear in the audience of a Tel Aviv folk club and sing along with his "Anglo" songs. He is a good example of what the music is about in all senses of the word. May you long share your gifts, Yoav

--Judi Ganchrow

Visiting Artist: Pete Morton

Peter Morton is a paradox. In an era when British singer songwriters have been thin on the ground, he's gone against the flow to emerge as a folk songwriter in the old style making his way in the new.

Peter Morton

Even more than that, he's a singer-songwriter who's fallen passionately in love with traditional ballads, not only becoming a fine interpreter of the tradition, but boldly incorporating its influence into his own songs, which he's now attempting to mold into a modern extenuation of traditional song.

--from: http://www.bbc.co.uk/ radio2/folk/artist_database/pages/mortonpete.shtml

Pete will be appearing at the Tel Aviv Folk Club, Tzora Folk Club, Jerusalem Folk Club and other places.

Book Review:

by Nick Tosches, Da Capo Press 1999, with new preface. Copyright 1984 by Nick Tosches

This is the second of three (starting with the most recent) books by Nick Tosches that I am endeavoring to review for falconets. The first review appeared in the April 2002 edition and I'm certain, well, almost certain, that those of you who read it are awaiting the second with bated breath.

The lack of the definite article in the title or the book is appropriate and important. There are twenty-four individual artists and four groups that Mr. Tosches deals with in the book, all of whom pre-date Elvis. I'm sure that with minimal research, one could find a hundred more, no less important, who could have been included in Mr. Tosches pantheon. There is indeed no dearth of unsung heroes. I could add four or five off the top of my head. My argument, however, is not with who is not included, but with who is. The author seems to lose the thread and be carried away with his biographies. I will point out three examples.

Nat "King" Cole - True, Nat Cole was indeed a serious jazz pianist before he found his niche, his fate and his fortune in crooning sophisticated romantic ballads. His jazz was bluesy and cool and he delved into boogie. He did not, to my mind, play rock 'n' roll or contribute at all to its birth or growth.

Louis Prima - Louis Prima was indeed a fascinating character and a wonderful subject for a biographer. He mixed a jazz trumpet with stylized scat singing and crude (but hey, very funny) greaseball humor. Mr. Tosches, apparently an Italian-American himself, shows a predilection for Italian-American subjects. He wrote a biography of Dean Martin (which this reviewer will probably leave unread). Louis Prima, with all his outrageous anecdotal material, is a great story. But that story has nothing to do with rock 'n' roll.

Nick Tosches - the man in the Leopard Skin Loafers

Jesse Presley a.k.a. Esau Smith - One of the dubious benefits of a misspent youth and young adulthood is to have met in bars alleged ghostwriters of Lennon and McCartney's songs, purported members, usually criminally neglected, of the Kennedy and Rockefeller families and all shades of hard luck stories with connections to the rich and famous. Some of these characters were quite convincing but I learned to keep these revelations in skeptical proportion. Mr. Tosches apparently didn't learn that lesson and weaves the tale of Elvis' long lost twin brother. I didn't do the research to prove or disprove the story, but, or so it seems, neither did Mr. Tosches.

The man can write. Some of the anecdotes are priceless and the juxtaposition of abstruse literary commentary with pungent real life crudity is delicious. Mr. Tosches is neither a musicologist nor a musician and generally fails to point out the elements essential to the contribution to rock 'n' roll and its development. The book is an enjoyable read with a lot of material for anyone interested in the history of rock 'n' roll. This reviewer is still, however, waiting for the definitive book on the subject.

--Marc Miller

Internet Radio

--Charles Crosson

Milestones

Happy Birthday to: Gila Cook, Rannen Doron, Charles Greenbaum, Lenny Labensohn, Dave Lewis, Judi Lewis, Dena Maltinsky, Oren Regev, Margo Schotz

Condolences to: to Bracha & Shula Fuchs on the loss of their father

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FolkNotes Staff: Sherry Whetstone, Larry Gamliel, Carol Fuchs, and Cecile Panzer