Dusk by Dusk

***************************************

ALBUM DETAILS

The recipe for "DUSK":

Take equal and generous portions of keen insight, positive attitude, and good-natured humor.

Blend in a dozen varied musical styles, all highly listenable and melodic.

Combine with real-life stories of a songwriter who is comfortable being personal, like an old friend, and who is an award-winning author with an offbeat, uncanny command of language and lyric timing.

Add strong, clear lead vocals that Songwriting Hall of Fame artist Mickey Newbury declared were even finer than those of Newbury's lifelong friend Bob Shane (of the Kingston Trio).

Fold in fourteen talented supporting artists who cradle everything from Pedal Steel Guitar to Charango, Saxophone to Dobro, Tuba to Accordion, and a dozen more well-chosen instruments from song to song.

Mix in well-timed outdoor sounds and lyrical foreshadowing that enhance the cohesiveness that is loved in theme albums.

Bake to golden perfection in a highly-regarded studio, employing classic analogue equipment that captures the warmth and personality of each performance.

Serve on a platter of thought-provoking fun, splendid dynamics, and refreshing shifts in tempo and accompaniment.

Garnish this platter with a handsome 16-page CD booklet containing all song lyrics, many engaging photographs, background notes, and artist bio.

PRESTO! What you have is the delightful album adventure entitled "DUSK".

**************************************

ARTIST'S BIO

Dusk has had a remarkable number of unusual experiences in his atypical life, and he brings all of them to bear on his musical art. He seemed destined from birth for extraordinary adventure, and at age 3, he won a major baby pageant and was scheduled for all-expenses-paid screen testing in Hollywood.

However, family tragedy soon placed him, instead, in a South Carolina orphanage where he was raised with 350 other children to age 18.

The strange new life (and the strangers there) eventually became his new home (and closeknit family), and Dusk excelled in sports, academics and music. He earned a varsity letter jacket and many high school superlatives, including Valedictorian, and he gave every spare minute possible to the rhythm & blues bands he formed from age 12 onward.

After graduation, Dusk went to Furman University on scholarship, and there he joined both the oldest national music fraternity Phi Mu Alpha and a jazz/rock fusion band that ignited his creative fires further.

As a young adult, Dusk made a two-year exploratory trip across America and wrote a detailed account of it in a weekly feature series for the nation's fastest growing daily newspaper. At journey's end, he settled in Southern California for five years, and for most of that time, he raised Percheron draft horses and lived next door to actor John Travolta.

In California, Dusk also wrote the award-winning book "Sunburst: A People, A Path, A Purpose" under contract with publisher Harcourt Brace, and a photo of him disking fields with a team of Percheron horses was used on the packaging of dozens of nationally distributed natural food products.

Through his ongoing devotion to music (the focus having shifted to troubadour-style songwriting), he befriended songwriting greats Townes Van Zandt, Billy Joe Shaver, and especially Mickey Newbury, who served as a role model and mentor.

When Dusk married and began his own family, he opted to teach his children at home through high school while he simultaneously earned a degree by independent study through Western Illinois University. He and his family lived for three years of this period in a 22' Sioux tipi in which his son was born.

In 1995, Dusk designed and built a unique, passive solar home in the shape of a Gothic cathedral, supported by massive curved wooden beams and paneled throughout with natural V-groove pine.

Photos of many of these adventures (and more) are included in the CD booklets of the two albums and CD single. Please visit duskweaver.com for more details.

**************************************

SONG DESCRIPTIONS

Imagine, if you can, a songwriter's campout with Weird Al Yankovic, Ray Stevens, Kris Kristofferson, Jeff Foxworthy, John Prine, and the late Townes Van Zandt and Victor Borge... then imagine that The Mavericks and/or George Thorogood & The Destroyers accompany them on songs written at the campout... you're on the right track.

But "DUSK" is more varied than that.

For example, the song "God Is a Verb" comes out of the gate with a 100% Outlaw Country intro (a Merle-Haggard-knows-exactly-where-he's-going section), but then it shifts directly into contagious, foot-tapping Western Swing upon reaching the chorus. The song is a favorite of reviewers, and has been included on two separate compilation/tribute CDs.

"Shepherd in Shades" takes off with a bit of Western-style yarn spinning, then promptly spins itself off into a lively and lovely South-of-the-Border number that spotlights El Salvadoran sideman Mauricio Amaya on handcrafted Charango, Bombo, Udu, Claves, Guiro, and Classical Guitar.

And, as for "Truckloads of Venomous Snakes," you have not lived fully until you have heard all the entangled glories of this Off-Broadway Oompah that becomes an Off-the-Wall Waltz in a single bound.

Speaking of Off-Broadway, the CD "DUSK" has several other theatrical features in addition to the aforementioned "outdoor sounds and lyrical foreshadowing." The CD booklet is laid out in the style of a Theatre Program with headings "The Artist," "The Players," "The Performance," etc. And, the first track on the CD "To the Arbor!" is a dramatic re-enactment that sets the stage for the true-to-life song on track #2, then segues into it.

So, "DUSK" is far more than a random collection of songs, one following another. It is a visit into the world of a personable artist who gives of himself, and who has prepared well for your sojourn by laying out all you will need for your heart and soul in a flowing, unified journey of thoughtful discovery and fun that is best enjoyed from start to finish.

But, at some point, all description and vicarious experience should ultimately give way to the real thing. The only way to take in this decidedly offbeat, but reassuringly upbeat album journey is to send for your own copy, then to enjoy it through and through.

A recommendation: Because the CD was recorded, mixed, and mastered for optimum sound quality, and because its varied music and involved lyrics deserve undivided attention, it is suggested that you listen using headphones, or seated before a stereo component system. Of course, it will be enjoyable on any boombox, even one located in a neighboring room, but why not maximize your delight?

Phi Acoustics Music, updated December 22, 2003

Average Customer Review: