Reviews and Interviews

An Interview with James Lee Stanley: Part II, All Wood and Stones

Acoustic Covers

This is the second installment of a three part conversation with James Lee Stanley. In the first installment (read it here), James talked about the process of songwriting. Here, he discusses a different and equally important element of musicianship – playing someone else’s music in a new and interesting way – which he’s focused on [...]

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An Interview with James Lee Stanley: Part I, Songwriting

Acoustic Originals

Over the last 37 years, James Lee Stanley (www.jamesleestanley.com) has released a meager 24 albums of original material. As I’ve explored his music, what’s impressed me most is that he’s continued breaking new ground with each project. For example, what you’ll hear on Live at McCabe’s (1986) – see the I Lose You Win video [...]

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Music and Environmentalism: A Review of Sanyo’s Pedal Juice

Reviews and Interviews

It’s hip nowadays to grieve for the vanished social and political consciousness reflected in pop music. The folk revival, and to a lesser extent the rock which emerged in part from it, established musicians as influential voices for political protest and social change. But in the last two or three decades, the argument goes, musicians [...]

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Review of Castiv’s Guitar Sidekick

Reviews and Interviews

Thomas Jefferson, the great American statesman, was also a renowned inventor who devised a range of instruments for use around the house. One of these, a revolving book and music stand, allows its user to easily rotate between multiple texts – let’s say, scales and other exercises, a piece for performance, and a lesson in [...]

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