Margaret speaking: When I was a kid I read all the folk tales and fairy tales I could get my hands on. In the sixties, my older sisters came home with two records which influenced me immensely. The first was a recording by the Berea College Choir which included the gloriously grim old ballad "Earl o' Bran."
The second was the first Joan Baez Vanguard recording. Baez was my source for "Mary Hamilton," "Wagoner's Lad," and "Death of Queen Jane." Later singing influences for both Phil and me included Art Thieme, Ray Fisher,
Jean Redpath, Louis Killen, Martin Carthy, and Dick Gaughan.
Phil here: I started playing with a page of xeroxed chords, a Sears Silvertone guitar and a Phil Ochs songbook. I got interested in alternate tunings watching John Fahey on a Public Television show. I really like, for different reasons, the guitar styles of Bert Jansch, Martin Carthy, Dick Gaughan, Nic Jones, Richard Thompson, John Martyn, and Michael Chapman. My dad took us to see Pete Seeger when I was five and I still remember that show, as far as other influences.
Sounds Like
Phil here again, I'd like to say that we sound like a combination of the people that have influenced us. We try to sing in our own voice. For popular folk band type sounds, I would say we sound like the folkier side of Pentangle. This is odd because I would say I was probably more influenced by Fairport Convention.
Phil Cooper and Margaret Nelson have delighted audiences with their
interpretations of traditional and contemporary folk music for more
than
twenty-five years. With hundreds of songs in their repertoire, they are
able to
tailor their performances to specific occasions and audiences. A
single
adjective isn't enough to describe Cooper & Nelson shows; their
approach to
folk music is humorous, informative, heart warming, thought provoking,
and
(when they launch into one of the gloriously grim old ballads)
hair-raising.
Hey, thanks! Condolences on the estate stuff. It seems endless, doesn't it? We'll have a party in late January as always and hope to see you there, if you aren't off being musical on tour.
Thanks for getting in touch. The 'Trad Songs of England' Cd still sells believe it or not! Thanks for the friendship. I listened and enjoyed everything and particularly enjoyed 'Lord Thomas and Lady Margaret. Best wishes. Jo
We have the album in hand, and next week it will be available for purchase through www. februarysky. com and shortly after that on CDBaby! OR at any of our numerous gigs...
Sam Adams: Thanks for the reminder Phil! I'll try to bring some of that, or maybe something else interesting. Next lifetime, or after they make the days longer, I plan to start homebrewing, and bring some to FARM!
Looking forward to meeting you in person at Lil Fest. For the fearmongers of the world I've got a song called Scairdycat that I'll do for the 9/11 show at Bills. And I just wrote a new song, You Belong. It'll be fun to introduce it to a brand new audience during the weekend. See you soon.
more than happy to accept the offer of friendship,you guys really do some justice to some great songs,I mean that!!
Folk music goes on. We all have our own struggles and we should take the chance to express them,that to me is what folk music is all about,everyday people telling their own story.
You're part of a great tradition,it doesn't matter where you come from,keep playing it and feeling it with passion.
