Since busting out of Providence on the heels of her educational stint at Brown, Erin McKeown has been in earnest pursuit of greatness. Over the last five years she’s made a handful of captivating studio albums, toured the country like a drunken fly, and embraced the kind of whimsical (and magical) repertoire that she truly loves. The latter is best heard on her new album, Sing You Sinners (Nettwerk), a collection of lesser-known standards from the ’30s through the ’50s, or thereabouts. Fans of Erin know that this era, when pop culture was based on theater rather than hit radio, has most interested her. Erin has always been something of a throwback stylistically, as much an indie cabaret diva as a folk singer, an association she often hears.
SINGING FOR SINNERS: McKeown. |
She won’t have to worry about that much longer though, especially if the tastemakers actually spin the new album. With a slightly richer vocal tone this time out, Erin proves she’s an outstanding singer and quasi-visionary capable of arranging and tackling an eclectic array of material with panache. You’ve never heard the Arlen/Yarburg classic “Paper Moon” done quite this way. And the zoot-suity “Rhode Island Is Famous for You” from 1948, a Blossom Dearie number she’s been doing live for a few years, sounds ab-fab when Erin swings into it. It’s a high point of the album. “The response to ‘Rhode Island,’ ” she explains in the disc’s liner notes, “is one of the things that made me sure that I should do a record like this. People always ask for that song.”
She’s joined by simpatico musicians Todd Sickafoose on upright bass, Sam Kassirer on keys, and Allison Miller on jazz drums. The band sounds intimate and joyful, like the small combos of the ’40s, which is likely what Erin had in mind. They’ll be taking the show on the road for eight weeks beginning in January.
While Erin admits she’s not on a crusade to turn the world onto standards, she does feel a certain change sweeping through her work. “There’s a lightness, an easy-ness, to having arranged and recorded these songs that will influence everything I do after it,” she says. And we can’t wait to hear it, this weekend, and forever after.
ERIN McKEOWN + CORRINE WAHLBERG | December 9 | Stone Soup at St Paul’s Episcopal Church, 50 Park Pl, Pawtucket | $15 | 401.457.7147
Rockin’ the point
As you may have heard, a group of local filmmakers calling themselves the Visual Army is putting together a documentary about Rocky Point Park, utilizing old home movies and interviewing people regarding the history and function of the former Warwick landmark. One of the aspects they want to focus on is Rocky Point’s music scene. Many bands — local and national, famous and not so — played the park and the crew is reaching out in search of anyone who might have footage of performances. For further details, go towww.rockypointmovie.com. There is also a comic book project in conjunction with the film, which means if you’re an illustrator, your skills might come in handy. E-mailmayohj@yahoo.com oradmin@rockypointmovie.com if you or someone you know is interested in taking knowledge of Rocky Point Park for a spin.
