On July 8, 2010, I returned once more to Hard Luck Recording Studio to add strings to my own version of the song Sally's Farm from Joe's Cafe. The recording features myself on voice and guitar and Marc Schmied on double bass. Bryan Saunders played cello and Carolyn Pook played violin on another great arrangement by John Guari. The attached podcast contains the finished product, engineered and mixed by Chris Medrano. This was one of the last sessions at the old Hard Luck premises. They're moving next door in August.

(Translated from German)

‘Welcome to Joe’s Cafe’ – so the audience is greeted by the singer in his first song. It is a friendly invitation that one is keen to accept and which one also does not regret. Fourteen true stories are recounted in his cafe, like growing up on a farm. Memories of a snowy day in New York are also provided. A stand-up comedian presents himself, and there’s a very beautiful story of an old man in the mountains, upon whose land a platoon of US soldiers in the Second World War took up their quarters, made tea and then moved on. All the stories are very well told. Rupert Wates plays guitar and has composed all the songs. The songs are sung by a range of guests in this imaginary cafe. Occasionally a violin supplies an accent that reminds one of coffee-house music. As a result, at several places you find yourself swaying along. However, several ballads and one blues on the CD make sure that this doesn't become a habit. The visit to Joe's Cafe is well worth it.

- Karsten Rube, Folkworld
Original review in German

As referenced in my previous post today, here's the recording of Days of Mercy from the June recording featuring myself and bassist Marc Schmied. Listen or download free.

At the same June session at which we recorded More Holy Ground, I revisited the roots of the album with stripped-down versions of Sally's Farm and Days Of Mercy, featuring just myself and bassist Marc Schmied. Attached to this post is the recording of Sally's Farm. Listen or download free.

On Tuesday, June 15, at Hard Luck Recording studios in Brooklyn, N.Y., we recorded a new version of the song More Holy Ground, featuring a great vocal by Alissa Stahler and a superb string arrangement by John Guari. Click on the podcast that accompanies this post to hear the recording. The song is the story of Robert Gould Shaw, the colonel of the first all-black regiment recruited in the Civil War. It didn't make it onto the album but it's a great addition to the live show, and to the roster at Joe's Cafe.

According to a survey made by a website called FOLKDJ-L, at www.folkradio.org, songs from 'Joe's Cafe' were among the top 70 most played songs on folk radio stations in the US for the month of May. The survey was taken from the playlists of 142 different Folk DJs. There has also been fairly regular play on stations in Germany, the UK, and New South Wales, Australia.

For immediate release:
May 20, 2010

Contact:
Rupert Wates
(206) 354-4122
bitemusiclimited@hotmail.com
www.bitemusiclimited.com

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. -- For this year's Minnesota Fringe Festival, Rupert Wates And Friends are bringing Joe's Cafe, a new musical revue of songs based on true stories, to the Minneapolis Theater Garage on August 5, 8, 9, 13 and 14, 2010.

The audience is invited to imagine that they are guests in an all-night cafe, where friends gather to share their stories. In this intimate environment, four consummate
performers deliver fifteen songs that retell the experience of ordinary American people.

In Dick And Delores (The Loving Kind) we hear of an interracial couple in the south in the 50's, who defied state law to marry. The Skies Of South Dakota unfolds the sad story of a young girl's struggle with religious and class prejudice. Days Of Mercy tells of the exodus of a poor family across America during the Dust Bowl Depression. There are tales of love and loss in the two world wars, and other stories of yesterday and today, each recast in song, each of them a piece in the mosaic that is the story of America itself.

Reviews of Joe's Cafe:
“Wates doesn't withhold his powers as a poet, tearing through the veneer of consensus reality to bring listeners the raw truth of the human condition. Joe's Cafe burrows deeply into heart and mind.” (Folk And Acoustic Music Exchange - Read full review.)

“Succeeds brilliantly in conveying the warm atmosphere of Joe's Cafe” (www.altcountryforum.nl)

Rupert Wates (author) is an award-winning singer-songwriter, born in the UK, based since 2007 in New York City.

“Truly gripping lyrics with great themes and troubling, witty messages” (Leith FM Radio Scotland)
“A new and unique songwriter-musician already in the front ranks by dint of timeless work” (Mark S. Tucker)

Performers
Rupert Wates: Guitar and Voice
Dave Turner: Piano and Voice
Stacey Lorin: Voice
Valorie Miller: Voice

Performance times
Thursday August 5: 10pm
Sunday August 8: 1pm
Monday August 9: 7pm
Friday August 13: 10pm
Saturday August 14: 8.30pm

Venue
Minneapolis Theater Garage
711 Franklin Avenue
Minneapolis MN 55405
For additional information visit http://www.sonicbids.com/joescafe

At the following link is another review of the album - I think the reviewer liked it! http://www.acousticmusic.com/fame/p06304.htm

I thought you might like to know that the first review of the album has appeared, in a Danish online paper. Go to altcountryforum.com to see the review. If your keyboard has a 'translate' function, click on it and you a rather garbled translation from the Danish will appear. It's a good review, anyway, and singles out some of the tracks for praise. The reviewer has also taken the trouble to download all the segments of the video made at the Metropolitan Room.