gillian welch is my favorite voice. i first heard gillian while i was in college at berkeley in the early aughts. something about the ease and clarity of her voice really gets me. i’m not usually attracted to the belters, give it to me straight and plain.
great songwriting too. her’s is a front porch, country style that i can listen to or play in most any mood. i would say it’s also psychedelic for the way it can hypnotize and lull you into another time and place (she frequently plays a killer version of “white rabbit” live). darkness, light, the old and the new. it’s refreshing to hear country tropes inverted and from a female perspective. there you go (and forgive me for lumping in her musical partner dave rawlings into that playlist, their blend is quite natural plus they play on [every?] track of the other’s. also live they have the most intimate chemistry of any duo i’ve seen).
i actually met gillian welch at a live show in santa rosa. after the show ended, she and dave and a guest singer kept right on singing and playing backstage. amazing — they just loved the music and each other so much that they didn’t stop. i stuck around near the velvet rope to listen. eventually, gillian came out to greet the half-dozen of us standing around. shit shit shit shit what do i say what do i say what do i say what do i say.
“you guys are so great, you should come to san francisco more.”
fuck that was stupid, they come to san francisco all the time.
“we come to san francisco all the time” she chuckled — and with a smile she signed my cd and headed backstage to keep sing.
— hey —
thanks for reading! i’m playing a quarantine show on instagram live of gillian welch (& some dave rawlings) tunes THURSDAY August 13 2020. join me!
https://www.instagram.com/_c.lp_/
you missed it live but it lives on forever online:
