Airwaves

by Brian Goslow

WCUW (91.3 FM) continues to be a home for budding performers to be heard, especially weekday mornings from 6 to 9 a.m. "The concept of New Traditions is to present music you're not going to hear elsewhere," says Richard Fox, who hosts the program on Tuesdays. "It's unique music from singer/songwriters to roots to blues to jazz to Celtic and world music that defies categorization, that doesn't have a home because it's American melting-pot music. I see people who are incredibly talented and want to scream, `Look at what these people are doing!'"

Every Tuesday at 7:30 a.m., Fox hosts an in-studio guest who performs, talks about his or her music, and plays selections from his or her favorite CDs. Chicago's Rose Polenzani visits on December 2. "She's going to be a rumor in the flesh. I've been hearing a lot about her since she played the Folk Alliance, a big national conference for singer/songwriters. Waterbug Records signed her immediately. She doesn't have a recording out yet, just a cut on a Waterbug sampler that will blow you away." Jim Rader follows her on December 9. "He's got his first EP out. He's another clever maverick singer/songwriter from Boston and a big supporter of its open-mic scene."

Fox is excited about upcoming appearances by two Pacific Northwest artists, including Laura Kemp, who visits WCUW on December 16 between performances at the Green Rooster Coffeehouse and Plantation Club. "She's a major name in the Oregon singer/songwriting community and part of Babes with Axes, four women who have solo careers but come together on occasion. They're kind of like the Four Bitchin' Babes but with an edge. She's a really eloquent songwriter and powerful performer who plays acoustic guitar but really rocks. She hasn't been back east for a while. She has two wonderful CDs out [Corduroy and Volcano]. She is one of those people who truly have that special quality that only comes along once in a while." Anne Weiss visits on December 30. "She's has a really souring emotive voice. She writes great songs and does great covers, including the blues classic, `Love in Vain,'" which is included on Tomorrow's Gone (Harmony Ridge Music).

Current CDs featured by Fox include The Sound Must Leave Your Throat (Cottage Industry Music) by another Oregon performer, Martha Schuyler Thompson. "She's a potent, driving, bluesy singer but funny at the same time. Hollis Taylor is on her album. She's a classically trained violin player who also does bluegrass she calls `Twisted Fiddle.' The guy from Beausoleil called her, `Bartok on Acid.'" Taylor's own CD, Unsquare Dances (Twisted Fiddle Music), features tracks like "Albanian Dance," "Fast Forward," and "Split Personality."

Recent Green Rooster visitor Kevin So just released Individual (KS). "He's really hit his stride with this one. He's maturing as a writer and a performer." One of Canada's leading exports, Holly Cole, returns with Dark Dear Heart (Metro Blue), which includes a cover of the Beatles' "I've Just Seen a Face." "It's her fourth CD. She's loosely classified as a jazz singer. She covers other people's songs but takes their innocuous lyrics and twists them for her own purpose." Her prior release, Temptation, was all Tom Waits compositions.

Looking for a tip for 1998? Fox is excited about Mary Ann Farley's Daddy's Little Girl (Deko Music). "She's from Hoboken, New Jersey, and writes songs with an edge and delivers them that way, too."

Fox also delivers on the Internet. Visit him at www.foxy.net for weekly updates and connections to many of the performers featured on his program.