Malcolm Holcombe Album Release - TO BE RESCHEDULED
Schedule
Thu, 22 Jun, 2023 at 07:30 pm
Location
3227 N. Davidson Street,Charlotte,28205,US | Charlotte, NC
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contemporaries like Emmylou Harris, Lucinda Williams, Steve Earle, and Iris DeMent are fansMalcolm Holcombe is a survivor. Most recently, a cancer survivor, so it’s a real gift to have this, his 18th album of brilliant vignettes and expressive musicianship. Shortly after his diagnosis in 2022, he and Jared Tyler decided to get these songs recorded, just the two of them, not knowing what the future held in store for them. To musicians, giving life to new songs can feel as critical as life’s most basic needs. If a completed album can come from it, all the better.
He’s a survivor of other struggles, too: ones that claim the lives of folks half his age. There are the self-inflicted ones, and the ones inflicted upon us by, well, the unpredictable world that he describes, unfiltered. Greed, hatred, inexplicable injustice… Malcolm helps us wrestle with them, as he has done for maybe a few lifetimes now. As he sings in “Fill These Shoes”, “People get murdered for no reason / Some give up their lives so others keep breathin'.” Through it all, we are blessed to have him among us.
Jared Tyler is, as RB Morris has called him, the musical shadow of Malcolm: able to anticipate his next moves, predict what’s needed when, and provide just the right embellishment and backbone on harmonies, guitars, mandola, dobro, banjo, etc. (As I write this, the music world is reflecting upon the recent passing of David Lindley, who provided the kind of support to Jackson Browne and others that Jared has done for Malcolm since 1999. Let this be a reminder, to all of us, to appreciate and support those who excel so well at backing up our favorite headliners, yet rarely receive the credit they deserve.) Jared also produced this album, along with Brian Brinkerhoff. No one can fully get inside the musical mind of the great Malcolm Holcombe, but Jared comes as close as anyone ever could.
Let me repeat part of that again: no one can fully get inside the musical mind of the great Malcolm Holcombe. You can memorize his lyrics, you can witness the awe and power and transcendent experience of his live performances, but you still won’t be absolutely certain that you see exactly what he’s seeing. And that’s but one of his many attributes. One that has perhaps made contemporaries like Emmylou Harris, Lucinda Williams, Steve & Justin Townes Earle, and Iris DeMent fans of his.
Yes, he’s a favorite among many songwriters in Nashville and beyond. But to those of us who live in Western North Carolina, he’s our friend and neighbor who bestows upon others whenever he can, and is part of an incredibly fertile local music scene. Born in Weaverville (1955) and residing in Swannanoa, two small towns outside Asheville, he spent a bit of time living in Nashville, making a major label record that didn’t get nearly enough of the attention it deserved, which only affirmed that his true home is ‘round here. He and Jared chose Asheville’s mother church of music studios, Echo Mountain, to record this one. From his frequent visits to nearby WNCW, for some of the most unique live interviews ever, we’ve learned to listen for his many nuggets of wisdom he’ll spontaneously impart upon us: proverbs you never knew, or sayings he seemingly just created out of thin air. “Malcolmisms”, we call them. See him live, including his many shed show videos (cancer treatments notwithstanding) that helped many of us get through the pandemic, and you’ll hear them between songs. And of course Bits and Pieces of his songs are Malcolmisms, too. Sage advice like “You gotta butter your bread on the right side / Don't whistle at the women 'round here / that corn fed bible belt mama's gotta skillet made for your head” (“Happy Wonderland”.)“ “It's an ev'ry day battle wakin’ up in the mornin'...Lock the doors and the windows / turn the music up louder” (“The Wind Doesn’t Know You”.) And there are cautionary tales: “The hypocrites of poisoned concrete grow taller in their clay feet” (“Bring To Fly”) “You can make a silk purse from an ol’ sow's ear / You can polish a turd with some elbow grease. / There's a flim-flam floozy full o' booze and boobies / I know I been there all over again” (“I Been There”.)
Malcolm Holcombe: singer, songwriter, survivor. He survives thanks in part to the fire and passion and conscience that you witness in his craft. “I will not hide from the words of justice / I will not join the cries of liars / I will not keep my heart from climbing from the dust I swallowed behind. …Great spirit lift me from despair / to your bosom sweet and fair” (“Conscience of Man”)
Martin Anderson
WNCW FM
Music director, host
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Where is it happening?
3227 N. Davidson Street,Charlotte,28205,US, United StatesEvent Location & Nearby Stays:
Tickets
USD 15.00 to USD 20.00
