Flower power

Cheri Knight farms her own following

by Don Fluckinger

Cheri Knight and Garth Brooks have absolutely nothing in common, unless you count the fact that they both occasionally hang out in Nashville. Yet they both belong -- sort of -- in the country-music genre. Garth wears a cowboy hat and plays silly pop-rock ditties; bassist/vocalist and dyed-in-the-wool Yankee Cheri Knight plays folk-rock so authentically country that, to explain it, baffled pundits coin neologisms such as "roots rock," "adult alternative," "alternative country," or even (brace yourself) "y'all-ternative."

Packed with instruments like acoustic six- and 12-string guitars and a pedal-steel guitar, bouzouki, mandolin, fiddle, and even the resonator guitar, Knight's new CD, The Northeast Kingdom, follows the tradition of her old band, the Blood Oranges, Hank Williams, and R.E.M. circa "Don't Go Back to Rockville." Although on the CD it sounds like there is a huge crowd of people playing stringed instruments, the album mostly comprises Knight, guitarist Mark Spencer (Blood Oranges), and drummer Will Rigby (dB's) playing the tracks; the rest, she says, is "added color." In the CD's opener, "Dar Glasgow," Knight sings a tribute to an artist friend; in the background, harmonium and hurdy-gurdy lay down sustained, bagpipe-like tones.

"I don't consider it a country record, if what you want to call `country' is the mainstream Garth Brooks," Knight, who appears this Monday at the Iron Horse, says. "I call it `country rock' in the tradition of all the people who have done this thing before me: Emmylou Harris, Gram Parsons, the Byrds, Creedence Clearwater Revival, my old band. There have been a lot of bands who have used rock and roll with American roots music. . . . I feel like carrying that on in my own life."

Loyal to the New England soil, Knight defies the music industry's promotional machine that could turn her into a pop, rock, country, or even an alternative star. Instead, she aligns herself with Nashville outsider Steve Earle, a brilliant guitarist.

She also chooses to give priority to growing flowers in Hatfield, squeezing in gigs during the less-busy moments of the growing season. Her farm's biggest seller are sunflowers, "a specialty variety, not the huge ones that are like 18 inches in diameter," Knight says. "They're smaller and have better color."

The approach works. Her music turns out all the better for it, filled with compelling, gorgeous melodies. Her vocals are strong, perfectly suited to the treatment they get on The Northeast Kingdom, which reflects contemporary rock mixed with country and distant strains of Appalachian folk. The CD was recorded with Spencer, Rigby, and mandolinist Jimmy Ryan (also of the Blood Oranges). Emmylou Harris adds vocals on two tracks. And then, the frosting on the cake is Steve Earle -- his E-squared Records is Knight's new label -- who plays on almost every track.

Earle never has fit in Nashville, even though he might well be the best musician there. His past bouts with drug addiction and his own records' commercial failure have put him on the Music City fringe. On guitar, though, he's like Michael Jordan -- watching His Airness slam-dunk a basketball, you marvel, completely forgetting his off-court gambling problems. Same with Steve Earle. You hear the elegant flair added to The Northeast Kingdom by his bouzouki, harmonium, and 12-string playing, and you're glad he's still in the game.

"He's got a lot of energy, a lot of good ideas," Knight says. "He's really supportive, and he let me have more input on this record than I've had on any other. I really enjoy working with Steve Earle."

The Northeast Kingdom, named after the rural Vermont region, explores the backwater New England landscape familiar to Knight, who grew up in western Massachusetts. It's also rife with flower references, reflecting devotion to her farming; two songs, "Black-Eyed Susie" and "Rose on the Vine," invoke the flower metaphor as central concept, and the closer "Black Eyed Susie Reprise" morphs into a beautiful ode to verbena and its healing powers.

This interesting, earthy dichotomy of playing music and growing flowers -- taken together with an independent Yankee spirit -- begets solid music that will unquestionably endure, remembered long after the Man in the 10-Gallon Hat. And while Garth Brooks epitomizes Nashville today, Cheri Knight proudly proclaims her roots.

"I'm totally not a Nashville person. My label's there, but it's owned by the biggest renegade in Nashville" she says. "I didn't start going down there until I began preproduction for my record. I consider myself completely a New Englander." n

Cheri Knight appears at 7 p.m. on March 16 at the Iron Horse, in Northampton. Tickets are $5. Call (413) 584-0610.