In ten days, during June of 1993, Joe Woodard, in a burst of energy, angst, boredom, whatever, penned a heap of songs in a Holiday Inn in Toronto. In March of 2002, he finally released the album between, after slowly pecking away at it over the years, in various studios around Santa Barbara, CA. The songs are alternately, brooding, sweet, goofy, reflective, and other adjectives that will come to mind at a later date.
For lack of a more suitable term, Woodard calls this music “faux folk,” tongue only half in cheek: the foundation is the folk tradition, but the end result slithers into other idiomatic neighborhoods, including C&W (“Sweet Pain”), jazz (“Otherwise”) and kinda-blues (“News Flash (Toronto Blues Society)”)--also heard on Headless Household’s 1995 album ITEMS, with Jennifer Terran singing—and rock (“The Having Known,” the first appearance of the group later known as flapping, Flapping). Lyrically, the songs run from shameless wordplay to personal ruminations on the meaning of life to the first in a series of tributes to infomercial gurus (“Anthony Robbins”).
He was aided, immeasurably, by a cast of guest musicians and muse-kissed engineers, including Robinson Eikenberry, Ellen Turner, Glen Philips, Bruce Winter, Tom Lackner, Chris Symer, Bill Flores, Allegra Heidelinde, Sally Barr, Gabe Lackner, Dick Dunlap, Tom Buckner, and Nate Birkey. For longer than he’d care to admit, Woodard has been exercising creative impulses in assorted projects, including Headless Household, flapping, Flapping, Dudley, Ballroom and others, and has been centrally involved in the mom and pop label, Household Ink, since 1987. This is the first release under his own name.
By day, Woodard is in the sentence construction business.
“…thoughtful, unexpected guitar playing, intellectually twisted yet painfully honest lyrics and heartfelt singing.”
--Jennifer Kelly, Splendid e-zine
“…songs of quiet loneliness, yes, but always with a twist in the tale.”
--Ted Mills, Santa Barbara Independent
Dear Joe (of the sentence construction business by day, really interesting songwriting business in Holiday Inns)
You have some way cool stuff here.
Thanks for finding me in the big ole myspace sea.
Always a pleasure to bump in to you, wherever...
Anne
