SIMPLY SIX: John MacLean

John MacLean is a singer/songwriter from Massachusett.

1. For many artists, they cite a defining moment for themselves when they knew they wanted to be a singer. For many it was the appearance of Elvis on the Ed Sullivan show, to another generation it was the Beatles’ appearance on Sullivan half a decade later. Is there such a defining moment for you?

By 1979 I thought I had missed my chance to be a singer, player, songrwiter - any of those things I had sort of dreamed of. I was well past my teens and figured it was too late to start learning. But that year my great dear friend George Brown, who is a wonderful Texas born guitar player and singer, was living in my house in Baltimore. One night he played Townes Van Zandt's "Pancho & Lefty" and I was suddenly knocked over by the realization that I had to learn to play and sing. George taught me how

2. When you’re not creating music what are you listening to? Who are some of your favorites?

There are so many! Constants include Bruce Springsteen (especially "Nebraska"), Richard Shindell, Kate Campbell, Lyle Lovett, Dick Gaughan, Dylan, John Prine, Emmylou Harris, and Steve Earl. More currently, I have discovered Antje Duvekot and Cliff Eberhardt and just love their music.

3. What would you say is your greatest moment so far as an artist, either on record or live?

For my song "Liar's War (Letter Home)" to receive honorable mention in the 2005 Boston Folk Festival Singer Songwriter Contest was a defining moment. I gave me the courage to believe I am a songwriter. As for live performing, the first time I stood in front of a microphone and sang to an audience was my greatest moment - not for the quality of my performance but simply because I did it. I'll never forget that.

4. Do you believe music can change the world or is just something to listen to? How much can music influence current events?

I'm not sure that music can change the world all by itself BUT I do believe it can provide unmeasurable emotion, unity, and focus when a serious cause is brewing. Music is very, very powerful. Songs make me cry all the time.

5. How has technology affected the music industry? How has technology affected your career as a musician?

Everything has changed and fragmented. On the one hand that has meant CD stores are closing down all over the place and few people buy my actual CD, but on the other hand the door is wide open for unsigned artists to get heard in so many other ways, especially on the internet. Voices to Hear is a perfect example of that. And I've sold mp3's and CD's as far away as Belgium and France via iTunes! Couldn't have imagined that ten years ago.

6. Now for my Barbara Walters question: If you were a pair of shoes what type of shoes would you be?

Easy. A well worn in pair of snakeskin boots - just like the pair I bought in Scottsdale, Arizona twenty years ago. They always remind me of the Texas origins of my earliest music education from George Brown.

SIMPLY SIX: Joe Croker

Joe Croker is a singer/songwriter from Nashville.

1. For many artists, they cite a defining moment for themselves when they knew they wanted to be a singer. For many it was the appearance of Elvis on the Ed Sullivan show, to another generation it was the Beatles’ appearance on Sullivan half a decade later. Is there such a defining moment for you?

This is a great question, and it's one that pushes my thoughts back to childhood. As a kid, I can recall taking on different guises when listening to tunes. One moment I would be Professor Harold Hill from Meredith Willson's "The Music Man"; the next I was a heart-strung Eric Clapton saddled with the "Bell Bottom Blues." Songs became a way of accessing feelings and possibilities, a bridge back and forth between adulthood and youth. The line dissolves.

2. When you’re not creating music what are you listening to? Who are some of your favorites?

I met Antje Duvekot the other night at a club in Nashville. There were only sixteen people in the audience, but everyone was enraptured because Antje brings it. She has access to the deep muse. So I listen to singers like Antje and Kathleen Edwards, Walt Wilkins, La Lupe, and Celia Cruz. Though the latter two women have left us, they still haunt me. I remember seeing Freedy Johnston out at McCabe's in LA one time, and he told me to get the hell out of Wichita, where I was living at the time. So Nashville became the place for new tunes and old, and it all sort of centers for me there. Mark Knopfler comes back to town from time to time and I always listen to him and seek out his show. The same is true of countless others.

3. What would you say is your greatest moment so far as an artist, either on record or live?

For me, live performance is almost always the best. I like an audience, whether real or imaginary, so my best moments occur then. I knew that I was onto something when the tunes that came through my pen started to give me the same chill and shiver that Dylan and Joni Mitchell and Leonard Cohen evoked in me over the years. These "shiver" moments happen quite frequently, sometimes when I'm rehearsing alone. I remember playing a song of mine called "Sally, Everything's Changed" with Arkansas songwriter Dave Fredrick, and we both knew that we had gone to that rare space. Almost none of this stuff is on record. Like theater, musical performance is often a very ephemeral art.

4. Do you believe music can change the world or is just something to listen to? How much can music influence current events?

Sure. It's both, or can be. I tend to lean toward the heavier stuff, with a social edge, but it can also be pure celebration. Delight and instruct said the old Roman. Songs often do both.

5. How has technology affected the music industry? How has technology affected your career as a musician?

I like the openness of the non-system. New songwriters get their space. But there's a lot of anonymity, too. Valuable blogs like this one are a sound intermediary for bringing the anonymous artist to the public.

6. Now for my Barbara Walters question: If you were a pair of shoes what type of shoes would you be?

Something Italian -- elegant but sturdy. It may be time to cross The Alps.

Will Hoge Playing Again

We mentioned Will Hoge's accident back in August. We've also mentioned that he's back playing and recording music again. Some fans have posted some videos up on You Tube of some recent shows that we may highlight over the next few days. This video is his first appearance after the accident. He's sounding and looking great. We're glad that Will is back, he's one of the favorites at Voices to hear.

SONG OF THE WEEK

This week's song is by Grace Potter and The Nocturnals. Grace and band are from Vermont. They are at work on their third album with producer T Bone Burnett. Their sound ranges from blues to americana.

ALBUM REVIEWS

Carry The Light by Kelly Richey

Kelley Richey is a woman that knows how to play the blues. She's been playing since a young age and has been compared to everyone from Stevie Ray Vaughn to Janis Joplin. If you like your music with a blues/rock edge this is for you. She's not inventing anything new on this cd, but she takes the familiar and makes it her own her. While I might not place her on an equal footing with Stevie Ray I would say that she is a very talented guitarist and certainly knows how to play very well.

ALBUM REVIEWS

Brother Joscephus and the Love Revival Revolution Orchestra

This is an self titled album with a mouthful for a title, but it's a name you should remember. This is a band and an event, created by a man from New York but evoking the music and world of New Orleans. When I put this cd in my player and the first song "A Child Shall Lead" started I had to check the linear notes to make sure that this wasn't a record made in New Orleans. It has the good time, fun feel of the best music from the crescent city. Their description of their music is that it....

blends together the perfect gumbo of New Orleans party music, Soul in the style of Ray Charles and Al Green, a good helping of jam-bandy Roots Rock and a righteous splash of good, upbeat Gospel without the religious overtones (we like to call it "Secular Gospel").

This is an album I've listened to many times already. A Child Shall Lead, Bon Temps Roulez, O Moses, Bury Me In New Orleans are great songs. When he slows down and plays more of a love song he loses some of that energy, but luckily most of the songs more than make up for any such lack with more than enough spirit.

SIMPLY SIX: Phoebe Sharp

Phoebe Sharp is a singer/songwriter from Tennessee.

1. For many artists, they cite a defining moment for themselves when they knew they wanted to be a singer. For many it was the appearance of Elvis on the Ed Sullivan show, to another generation it was the Beatles’ appearance on Sullivan half a decade later. Is there such a defining moment for you?

To be honest, I can't remember there being a specific defining moment where I suddenly decided that I wanted to be a singer. I definitely don't have such epic memories as watching Elvis or the Beatles for the first time. Music was just part of who I was from birth. It just came naturally. Although none of my family is musical, I for some reason had this overwhelming desire to create music. From about 3 or 4 years old I started to create little songs, granted they were certainly not grammy winners! I always wanted to create music, however I think the moment that I realized that being an artist was not just a dream but a very real possibility was when I met the band Pairadeux from Denver, Colorado in 2006. They taught me a lot about songwriting and helped me to record some of my songs. They also introduced me to the Kaua'i Music Festival in Kaua'i, Hawaii where I made some fantastic industry contacts and got introduced to my producer in Nashville, Cliff Downs. Another little fun fact that has always stuck with me may sound crazy, but my Mom got talked into seeing a psychic by her friends when I was only a little baby and the psychic told her that I would travel the world because of music. Quite the freaky coincidence that I am actually pursuing music! :)

2. When you’re not creating music what are you listening to? Who are some of your favorites?

When I'm not creating music, I absolutely love to listen to the greats like The Rolling Stones, The Beatles, The Eagles, and Michael Jackson. I also love some more current artists such as Ben's Brother, Sara Barielles, Coldplay, The Fray, Demi Lovato, and U2! I basically love any type of music so I listen to a lot bands, but it would take way too long to list them all!

3. What would you say is your greatest moment so far as an artist, either on record or live?

I would say my greatest moment as an artist so far was not from performances, but actually happened just recently online. I have been getting a ton of support from fans on my myspace page and they have been sending out bulletins to their friends trying to spread the word. Just recently I discovered that two of my fans made videos telling people how much they loved my music and telling everyone to check it out! They are even making videos to my songs. I think that's the most rewarding moment as an artist to know that your music touches people and that they care about it so much that they are willing to do whatever they can to help you out and tell everyone about it!

4. Do you believe music can change the world or is just something to listen to? How much can music influence current events?

I definitely believe with all my heart that music can change the world. Music is the universal language. It speaks to people in a way that words alone cannot. It reaches deep into the soul and can draw up overwhelming emotions in people. It can inspire them to do things that they never thought were possible. Music can be very powerful and if used in the right way, can help spread the word about making our world a better place.

5. How has technology affected the music industry? How has technology affected your career as a musician?

Technology has definitely affected my career as a musician. It has allowed me not only to have the ability to record tracks in my own home, but has also allowed me to create instrumental tracks in the studio that I would normally not have had access to. It allows you to create an entire orchestra with only a midi hookup and a keyboard, although nothing can beat the real instruments of course. It also has allowed myself, and other artists around the world to create new unique, synthesized sounds and effects to fully convey their concept for the song. With the new technology, there are almost limitless possibilities to the sounds that can be created. But there is more than just recording technology that has forever changed the music industry. The internet has become a huge force recently, allowing artists like myself to promote, share, and sell their own music independently through sites such as myspace. It has allowed me to share my music with people from around the world who normally would not have been able to hear it! Technology is fabulous! However with it comes disadvantages such as illegal downloading of songs which is really affecting the music industry and artists! I tell everyone I can to please support their artists and purchase their songs :)

6. Now for my Barbara Walters question: If you were a pair of shoes what type of shoes would you be?

Wow, this is probably the toughest question yet! :) Hmm...I would have to say that I would be a flip flop. I absolutely love flip flops, especially because I am obsessed with Hawaii and that is definitely the official shoe over their (although they are called "slippers" there!). :) Flip flops can be fancy and cute but they can also be comfortable and easy going. I guess my personality is sort of like that :)