http://blogs.wickedlocal.com/..folkbluegrass/2009/10/28/song-..for-melissa-chris-pahud/

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Melissa Gosule

http://blogs.wickedlocal.com/folkbluegrass/

Chris Pahud’s deep baritone is right out front in new CD

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Quincy’sChris Pahud has always loved music, even though his career, since about1980, has been in computers, in the information technology departmentat UMass-Boston.
   Pahud would often meet friends on Sunday afternoons for casual songfests, where he’d play his guitar.
 About 11 years ago, Pahud began venturing out to open mike nights, asacoustic music enjoyed a mid-1990s heyday in the area. His distinctivebass/baritone voice made him a memorable  performer, and before longPahud was getting gigs.
 Now Pahud is putting the finishing touches on his first album, ....RedSky at Morning,'' and is headlining tonight at the opening of Walpole’snew Dog Rock Coffeehouse, in Blackburn Hall, 30 Stone St. (Show beginsat 7:30 p.m., all ages, tickets are $15. Call 508-660-7353 for moreinformation.)
    ....I think my beginning as a real performer came from a time when Ihad just been working too much,'' Pahud said. ....I had been taking on alot of extra jobs at the university, and I just needed a change. Folkmusic was booming in the mid-90s so I decided to try playing out. Ididn’t know if I had what it took, but I figured I’d take a crack atit, so I wouldn’t wake up one day years later wondering what-if.''
 Pahud’s start was shaky but he adapted to performing quite easily. Hecertainly knew the coffeehouse scene well enough, having run theWessagusset Coffeehouse in Weymouth for many years.
 ....I was so nervous at first, I was even debating why I was doing it,'' said Pahud.
 Pahud’s choice of material is one of the things that sets him apart,with songs from folk icons like Tom Rush, Stan Rogers, and also GarnetRogers, who’s become a good friend. But Pahud also performs tunes fromrockers like Dave Alvin, Lucinda Williams, and Richard Thompson, andfrom country artists like Willie Nelson and Merle Haggard.
 ....The songs I play are all from writers I really admire,'' said Pahud.....My favorite criteria, which comes from Stan Rogers, is a ‘meatynarrative song.’ I’m drawn to story songs, that’s what really grabsme.''
   Pahud said he loves songs that elicit emotion.
   ....Just last week, with all the snow flying, I was driving alongWollaston Beach with my windows open and the Beach Boys blasting away –it felt great, because they took me back to summertime.''
 The new CD will have three Pahud-penned tunes, along with a collectionof his favorite covers, like Jerry Corbitt’s ....Grizzly Bear.''
....Jerry said he was so glad someone remembered that song I could haveit for free – and he ended up helping us, too. We contacted DaveAlvin’s people for clearance for his ‘Man in the Bed,’ and the wordcame back that all Dave wanted in return was three copies of the CD.''''
link to this interview on the Patriot Ledger web site

November 20, 2008
Hello Everyone,
I have a sampling of songs up on my myspace profile at the moment. They represent some of the latest rough mixes of my CD project, recorded, engineered and produced by Seth Connelly. The last track contains two songs from a live performance earlier this year when we opened for Red Molly at the Homegrown Coffeehouse in Needham.
I have been fortunate to have the friendship and assistance of notable and talented musicians accompanying me. Garnet Rogers, Jerry Corbitt, Steafan Hannigan, Joe Donnelly, Hatrack Gallagher and the one and only Seth Connelly. These gentlemen are all professional musicians, which is what makes these recordings so special.
The first cut is Bob Dylan's "Girl from the North Country", c 1963.
According to Wikipedia: "While in London [*Dec 1962], Dylan met several figures in the local folk scene, including English folksinger Martin Carthy. "I ran into some people in England who really knew those [traditional English] songs…Martin Carthy, another guy named [Bob] Davenport. Martin Carthy's incredible. I learned a lot of stuff from Martin." Carthy exposed Dylan to a repertoire of traditional English ballads, including Carthy's own arrangement of "Scarborough Fair," which Dylan drew upon for the melody and lyrics of "Girl from the North Country," including the line from the refrain "Remember me to one who lives there, she once was a true love of mine".
My version is based on an arrangement by Larry Abbott, an old childhood friend with whom I played in high school in a band called "The Town Dump". One of the very cool things about this recording is a return to a British Iles feeling with the addition of the Uilleann Pipes played by Stefan Hannigan. I love Seth's piano part on this too.
The second cut is an original based on snippets from my younger days spent in Vermont of the late 1950's through mid 1960's with my friend Robbie Anderson and his wonderful family. It is also influenced partly by the works of Fred Neil who was a major musical inspiration to me as I first started to perform as a teenager. Joe Donnelly's drums, Hatrack Gallagher's harmonicas and Seth Connelly's bass and mandolin really make this song move right along.
The third cut is Jerry Corbitt's 'Grizzly Bear'. Jerry co-founded the Youngbloods along with Jesse Colin Young and 'Grizzly Bear' was their first hit. Jerry graciously offered to play bass and lead guitar on this cut. Both bass and lead guitar are cranking in the best tight formation that the Youngbloods were famous for. I never would have thought when I played this song as a teen ager that I would ever have the privilege of actually recording it with Jerry or having the pleasure of his friendship. Jerry has observed that Hatrack's harmonica playing is up there with Charley McCoy. Joe is right on the money and Seth's rhythm guitar compliments the whole arrangement to a 'T'.

The forth cut is Townes Van Zandt's signature song 'Pancho and Lefty', which has many fine renditions of it out there. This was a hard tune for me for me to nail just right in the studio for some reason even though I had performed it many times in band and duo ensembles. It was Seth's insight and arrangement that I lead me to this seminal 'Ah Ha, that's what I have been looking for!' moment. The vocal track was done in one take, the first take. Then Garnet Rogers came in and added a shimmering track on Telecaster, Seth is on string bass and Hatrack's haunting harps really set the mood. To me, it is more about the addiction than the cowboy and the bandit.
The fifth tune is a traditional African American Whaling Sea Chantey from the 1840's. I first heard it when I was a child from Bill Bonyun when he was the folk singer at Old Sturbridge Village in the late 1950's. My mom's parents were the potters in the village then and often my brother and I would visit for several days on end. I always loved to hang out on the common when Bill was singing. The real surprise for me was that Garnet Rogers came up with an intricate 4 part harmony which encompasses his full vocal range. Sort of 'Garnet Rogers and the Northern Persuasions' if you will. Steafan Hannigan added bodhran and chain shakers to give it that authentic foc'sle kind of feeling.
The sixth cut on myspace is a long 10 minute piece of lesser quality from an opening set for Red Molly at Needham's Homegrown Coffeehouse. The tunes are written by Tom Russell and Richard Thompson. This cut captures the live show spirit and how I love to play with Seth Connelly!
Best wishes,
Chris

This Sunday Feb. 11, 2007 - between 9:00 – 10:00PM - WATD, 95.9FM Radio – or live on the web at http://www.loveourmusic.com -

The show is "Tomorrow's Dreams" and Bobbie and Steve will play my tune 'Magic Street'. This is off of the CD, 'Morton's Return' with Phil Kissinger and the tune was written by Bob "Fitzy" Fitzgerald.

This week I was also contacted by German Radio, on line at http://www.br-online.de/ asking for a copy of my new song called 'The Songe' with lyrics written by the Lord of Misrule himself on May 1st 1627 for the May Day celebration at Merrymount, in modern day Quincy MA, USA. Like 17th century Beastie Boys, Morton and his men were ready to fight for their right to party. Alas they did it poorly, but some say the tradition continues along Quincy Shore Drive to this very day.

'The Songe' may very well be the first English language folk song written in the new world that we know of… Thus making Quincy of old, the original Singer/Songwriter capital of North America. Eat your heart out Cambridge! The Germans are planning to use 'The Songe' for a show on May Day Celebrations to be broadcast on this coming May 1st

On sort of a related note, I've been getting regular anonymous radio air play for over 35 years on Cape Cod and the Islands. I speak of the 'Island Queen Ferry Jingle', which continues to run several times a day on radio to Cape Cod, Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket every summer, mostly on WMVY FM http://www.wmvy.com/ on Martha's Vineyard. I sing on the choruses.

Here's the short story…

The Island Queen jingle
circa - late 1960's/early 1970's

Written by Dave Whiting, Produced by Hal Appleton of Appleton Associates
Recorded in Hal's basement of his home in Needham Ma...

"Sail away from Falmouth, sail away on the Island Queen
Get it on at Falmouth, sail away on the Island Queen

And it's a mini cruise, a water trip
Every 90 minutes on a swinging ship
And if city life has been treating you mean
Go to Martha's Vineyard on the Island Queen

Sail away from Falmouth, sail away on the Island Queen"

(then Hal would do his voice over, over the jingle instrumental in the
background and when he was finished, the musical tag came back in)...


"Sail away from Falmouth, Sail away from Falmouth, Sail away from
Falmouth, Sail away from Falmouth, Sail away from Falmouth"


Happy Sailing,

Chris