Same River Twice by Darryl Purpose

This led to another march in the (then) Soviet Union and the first-ever, outdoor stadium rock concert there, featuring Bonnie Raitt, Santana, James Taylor, and Darryl's band, Collective Vision.

Purpose moved into music fulltime in 1996. A thousand shows, and 20,000 CD's later, Purpose has "finally realized his calling as a dramatist for the dispossessed, a chronicler of those Americans who, by choice or by chance, live on the heart's back streets, rising up through the crooked lines like leaves of grass" writes Michael Tisserand in the liner notes from his album A Crooked Line .

From unrequited love in a bicycle repair shop in Mr. Schwinn to spurned to ramblings of a disaffected Angelino in "A Crooked Line," we recognize that the often dark characters presented in those story songs live all around us. With his distinctive baritone voice, a smoothly proficient finger-style guitar technique which has earned him an endorsement with Taylor Guitars and a sense of drama and storytelling in his lyrics and music, Purpose delivers a charismatic performance that captures coffeehouse and theater audiences alike, including a huge supply of interesting stories from his activities as a peace activist, professional gambler and modern troubadour.

"Darryl Purpose's music hits all the vital areas: the heart, the mind and the gut... Purpose delivers these tales in language that is precise and unflinching, with a voice that rings true from experience. These songs never let go."

- New Orleans Gambit Weekly

VENUE LIST

Selected Venues -

The Birchmere, Alexandria, VA

Bluebird Cafe - Nashville TN

Circle of Friends Coffeehouse - Franklin MA

Club Passim, Cambridge MA

Freight and Salvage Coffeehouse - Berkeley CA

Harris Creek Acoustic - Hampton,VA

Hill Country House Concerts - Bulverde,TX

The Kennedy Center -Washington,DC

Kerrville Folk Festival - Kerrville TX

Live Oak Music Festival - Santa Barbara CA

McCabes - Santa Monica CA

Rose Garden Coffeehouse - Mansfield MA

South Florida Folk Festival - Ft Lauderdale FL

Seattle Folklore Society - Seattle WA

The Turning Point - Piermont, NY

Uncle Calvin's - Dallas TX

Selected Festivals:

Cambria Hoot Indian Summer Acoustic Music Festival - Cambria CA

Dogwood Festival - Atlanta GA

Falcon Ridge Folk Festival - Hillsdale, NY

Flat Rock Music Festival - flat Rock NC

Kerrville Folk Festival - Kerrville TX

Live Oak Music Festival * Santa Barbara CA

Napa Valley Music Festival - Napa CA

Rocky Mountain Folks Festival - Lyons,CO

Sisters Folk Festival - Sisters OR

South Florida Folk Festival - Ft Lauderdale FL

Discography

* A CROOKED LINE - Tangible Music, 2001

Purpose's latest includes stunning musical contributions from friends Dave Carter & Tracy Grammer, two songs co-written with Ellis Paul, and a vocal/strings arrangement performed by members of the Turtle Island String Quartet. His cast of largely nameless wanderers and fate-tempters now expands to include a mostly-forgotten president (California), a haunted veteran ( Late for Dinner) and a disaffected Angelino (A Crooked Line).

"Darryl Purpose once made his living as a professional gambler, and, like all gamblers, he knows how to tell a good tale. That, plus his sharp eye for detail, his instinctive feel for hard-living, unsentimentalized characters, and his battle-hardened, but ultimately optimistic view of the world makes "A Crooked Line" one of the best recent collections of contemporary story songs. "

-Dirty Linen

* TRAVELERS' CODE - Tangible Music, 1999

Includes the sweet wedding song, "Ring On My Hand" (a duet with Lucy Kaplansky), the soul-baring "Child of Hearts" (with Ellis Paul), and a sweetly updated "Last Great Kiss of the 20th Century"

"Harry Chapin would be proud."

~ Folk and Music Exchange

'"Purpose takes the almost indescribably intense moments of life and brings them a step closer to comprehension... "

~Mike Devlin - Music Matters Review

* SAME RIVER TWICE (originally titled "darryl PURPOSE,") - Dec 1997

Includes - Singer/Songwriter Heaven and Dangerous Game. Recorded in one take in the studio, this album highlights Darryl's dramatic guitar work, his expressive voice and his offbeat world view. With Daryl S. adding sweet and soulful touches on violin, this is an all-acoustic album that compels attention.

"...beautifully crafted literature set to wonderful melodies and presented with an uncommon mix of delicacy and grit. There isn't a filler song on this album"

~Dale Barcellos, Bluegrass by the Bay

" One of the best CD's of the year"

~Cape Cod Times

* RIGHT SIDE OF ZERO - Tangible Music, Dec 1995

Purpose' first release includes The Island Song, I Will Run, Right Side of Zero , Don't Tear Down.

"a breath of fresh air in an overcrowded market"

~Dirty Linen

"Darryl's fine guitar work is evident throughout, especially on the instrumental, 'Rootwing,' which opens and closes the album. Combine that with his hypnotic voice and heartfelt words and 'Right Side of Zero' comes close to a perfect ten."

~The Performing Songwriter

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