Stellar folk & blues

In praise of Rossoni and Verdi

by Michael Caito

If you've ever worked in downtown Providence you've happened across a middle-aged gentleman with a ready smile on a bicycle festooned with trailing streamers. He's "Cowboy Bob" to most, though I called him "Mister Weatherman" when this here odious tabloid was located on Washington Street. One day he asked why, and I told him it was because the sun always came out when he came around. He thought about it for a second before deciding that was acceptable. Point being, Bob's well past due for making his way into a song, and Mary Ann Rossoni does well by him "Safe Zone," a standout track on her new Half Slips &GartersCD.

While Rossoni is certainly not the first folk singer to immortalize offbeat characters, she does keep the facts straight, realizing the world of difference between "simple" and "simplistic." Her stories are mostly unadorned sketches, like the two young friends hopping the Providence-Worcester train to New York City, leaving closed-minded people in a small-minded town far behind in "Night Train." "One In the Jury" is a first-person account of one too-ambivalent juror who fails to acknowledge that a defendant's entire future rests in the jurors' hands until it's over and the guilt twinges have already started.

Rossoni's voice is not spectacular, nor does she try to make it so, but with the help of fellow artists D.J. Lauria, Mike Watson, Manny Silva, Aubrey Atwater and John Orsi, who appear throughout, the results are never boring. Lauria, who fronts the D.J. Lauria Band, lends some tasteful guitar work, especially on "Peace of Mind," a fine song whose sonic Polaroids of a man taken through different stages of his life raises far more questions than it answers. Rossoni does not shirk from cracking wise, and ends the disk with a zinger in "When I Die," singing "When I die, don't let me burn/Or put my dust in a fancy urn/Near my portrait on a shelf/'Cause you know I'd hate to be by myself." That more than compensates for the occasional groaner lines like "You're the tempest in my teapot/You're wuthering to my height." If that line was on SportsCenter it would be greeted with a big ol' Boubacar "Owwww!!"and it's appearance remains as much of a mystery as Austin Croshere's fifth foul last Sunday. Not to worry, though, because there are few slips on Half Slips and the only sliding is done well by Lauria on his blues-y guitar. The expansive, quizzical immigrant tale "In America" has a Simon &Garfunkel circa "The Boxer" feel, augmented by the keyboards of Watson, tin whistle of Atwater and percussion of Orsi, all of whom have extensive recording and performing experience. With producer/engineer Jack Gauthier behind the console, you'd expect a fine representation of what the artist is really about, and again Gauthier delivers. The CD release party therefore fits perfectly -- it's at the Tabor-Franchi VFWPost on Atwood Avenue in Cranston, an unassuming place with extremely tasty, if not especially fancy fare. Sounds like the place to be next Saturday, April 5.

Cowboy Bob, of course, would probably go bonkers over the new release by Geri Verdi. No female blues singers have approached her level of conviction since Lynne Harrison moved to Boston. While Harrison was steeped in numerous blues styles, her voice was reminiscent of Janis Joplin, while her soul seemed most content when crooning an underappreciated gem by Patsy Cline.

Then there is Geri Verdi who, like Rossoni, has a strong supporting cast on her 13-song debut Lipstick &Powder (Queen Green). Rossoni's cast can justifiably boast of diverse backgrounds -- having Holy Cow's Silva, Spindle Shanks' Watson and Aubrey Atwater on the same record is a slight clue -- but Verdi's Villains, led by the legendary Ken Lyon on bass/guitar and Mark Taber on keyboards, are simply unstoppable. It's a searing blues record which showcases the breadth of Verdi's talent for singing and songwriting -- giving nods to the soul and sass of Aretha and KoKo and the crash'n'burn trauma of Joplin at her most tormented. For a while in live settings Verdi was a bit over the top; her voice was this giant untamable thing and she pinned everyone's hair back like the Memorex guy sitting in his armchair.

And that's exactly what makes this debut such a happy, classy surprise. I mean, at this point, why the hell would Ken Lyon and Mark Taber give the time of day to some translucent Janis wannabe? Verdi's rampant energy isn't harnessed, but meted in morsels the listener can deal with and bask in. Her blues touchstones can hail all the way back to Big Mama Thornton and up to the permanent Texan teens of ZZ Top. On Lipstick &Powder there's a riptide running just below the surface even on the majestically crawling blues like "Mainline" and "Scarlet Moon." When Verdi and the Villains do let loose it's intimidating -- in a good way. You wanna roll around in it, dance on it, and generally rip the floor up. Don't forget the rest of the Villainous cast: fiddler Kevin Fallon, Tex Burbank (guitar/dobro), backing vocals by erstwhile-folksinger Marilynn Manfra, more gits from Rod Farias and drumming duties shared by Dave May, George Correia and Mike Aguiar. Production by Ken Lyon at Millrat (which originally started as a tandem -- Lyon's son Josh and TBuck) except "Johnnie Walker,"which was recorded live on WRIU and "Blue Lady," done at Celebration Sounds. If the record's closing duet "Vacation" -- Verdi with Lyon on guitar -- doesn't move you, you'd best find a stethoscope. Quickly.

Geri Verdi &the Villains' CD release parties continue Friday at the Green Room, Saturday at Silvio's in Johnston, and next Saturday (4/5) at the Call.

WHAT'S LEFT OF YOUR DIAL: Once -- and only once -- a year the folks at WRIU hit us up for donations. In exchange, the non-paid staff prize the public with a welcome respite from canned, repetitious formats and epic commercial breaks, and usually provide history lessons to boot. A friend once told me any good neighborhood is always going to be on the edge of danger, and that's exactly what happens -- fiscally -- every single year in Kingston. You may have noticed that in the past year the station transmitter has been increasingly balky, causing more blackouts than usual. The FCC (a.k.a. the Frequently Clueless Carabinieri) is leaning on 'em, mandating improvements. With what? Pixie dust?

But 'RIU DJs have always been a stick-it-out crew. For instance, jazz turntable master/bassist Joe Potenza has been spreading the musical gospel through gigging with other station DJ's who have stepped up efforts to fill the huge gap in programming which developed when WOTB sold many an area jazz fan down the river. Now 'OTB is disco. Need we say "More, More, More"?

Radiothon is here, and extra-special treats are planned all week long in addition to the always stellar tunes by Colonel Chuck, Laura Travis and numerous other superstars bringing the jazz, classical, blues, folk, swing, zydeco, hip-hop, funk, reggae, rock. Every thing for every one. State U.

In Under A Soprano Sky, poet Sonia Sanchez warns of times when "bright red public relations men market and sell death and presidents in one day." In a few places, these clowns are never welcome; at 90.3 FM music always comes first. But it's not free, and University-wide funding is such a disaster that a few months ago one academic department sponsored a bake sale.

A bake sale.

Radiothon. Once a year. To keep the signal strong.

Thee Hydrogen Terrors host their CD-release at the Call on April 1, with guests The Conquistadors and Peer Group. Peer Group feature former Mission of Burna/Volcano Suns drummer Paul Prescott; Joel and the Conquistadors recently released a sparkling yet sparse self-titled debut (reviewed here a while back), and the Terrors just finished one tour with Six Finger Satellite. Load Records honcho Ben McOsker mentioned that the band may hit the road again soon behind Terror, Diplomacy &Public Relations with 6FS in a cross-country trek; a third jaunt is in the works with the excellent Varnaline, who feature Jud Ehrbar. Release bash is Tuesday. Call it April Fuel.