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 larger view Our CD Release Party was huge success! Read review by Keith Lawrence Read article by David Blackburn Read press release |
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November 2008: Bluegrass Unlimited THE PERSIMMON SISTERS, GREEN PERSIMMON TREES After the whir of the CD settles into place, the quiet is cut by the crystaline alto of Martha Gipson proclaiming her future in "When I Read My Title Clear" and the band joins the revival for "The Unclouded Day." With these pristine vocals and the exuberant musicianship, the tone is now set for the album that unfolds. After giving a glimpse of just one part of the vocal prowess in the band, the Sisters launch into "Jerusalem Ridge." Here the Sisters introduce their adopted "brothers," Joel Whittinghill on mandolin and former Blue Grass Boy, Sunny Mountain Boy and Virginia Boy, banjoist Vic Jordan. The next two songs introduce another excellent vocalists in the group, Nancy Cardwell. "Rainbow River," from the catalog of the rock group, The Ozark Mountain Daredevils, features the Sisters on tight harmonies floating atop Cardwell's buoyant bass. "Green Persimmon Trees," as does "Comin' Home," showcases the songwriting of Cardwell, who contriburtes two of the album's three originals, although she also has ties to the other, "Without You," written by her late husband, Frank Erdos. Pulling next from the repertoire of Jim & Jesse, the band blazes through "El Cumbanchero," a powerhouse showpiece for Whittinghill as he is backed by Jordan and his sister, Anita Owens, on rhythm guitar. With "Blue Trail of Sorrow," Owens shares her traditional bluegrass voice, a voice she showcases again on the album closer, "Muleskinner Blues." Two other instrumentals show that these ladies (and gentlemen) are not to be taken lightly in the musicianship department. On "Ashokan Farewell" Whittinghill switches to fiddle for a twin fiddle waltz with fidddler Cathy Rogier. Rogier shines on the traditiona fiddle tune, "Lost Indian." Green Persimmon Trees is a fantastic debut from some powerful women of bluegrass who have provided some music we will still be dancing to long after the persimmons fall to the ground. (Nancy Cardwell, nancycardwell@comcast.net, www.persimmonsisters.com), -C Eric Banister www.UncleWilliamsPlace.com, September/October 2008 - "SoundCheck" Persimmon Sisters, Green Persimmon Trees, www.persimmonsisters.com Nancy Cardwell is one of those people who bears watching because she WILL wind up in interesting situations. And it's sorta like I told Tom T. Hall--I can't imagine anything he (or Nancy) might be involved in that I wouldn't find fascinating. So here we have a band that is not new--it pre-dates the International Bluegrass Music Association's move to Nashville because most of the members still live in Owensboro. Okay, when I say to anyone who knows Nancy that this is a bluegrass band comprised of her and three other women, with Joel Whittinghill often working as "the bearded Persimmon Sister," the first thing you envision is an amazing range of harmines. Right? Well, half right; the harmonies are a big part of the party, but first and foremost, this is a whallyjumper of a BAND!!! Anita Owens (Joel's sister, who grew up accompanying him in fiddling contests) plats a LOT of guitar when a lot is needed. Cathy Rogier plays fiddle for the most part, doubling with Joel on twins once on this album and often on live shows. Nancy plays bass with the bottom end authority of a Bob Moore. Martha Gipson does vocals as needed. Joel mostly plays mandolin and, for this album, Vic Jordan provides good solid banjo backup. For live shows, several other women play banjo, Dobro or "bluegrass flute," as available. Now for the music. It's all good. I wouldn't try to pick a favorite track for fear of causing you to pay less attention to another one. Nancy wrote several of the songs, her late husband wrote one, and the others are a delectable blend of contemporary and PD experiences. Okay, I give in--the LAST track will prove to you that you've never really heard "Mule Skinner Blues" with such fervor!!! -Bill Littleton, Nashville, Tenn. |
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In the April 2008 issue of Bluegrass Now Magazine
On My Mind: The Persimmon Sisters’ Debut Album!
Local Bands, Producing your own CD & Setting Realistic Goals
By Nancy Cardwell
For even the biggest stars, it’s difficult to listen to your own recording and not be too critical, and it’s even harder to write about a band you play in---but I’m so excited about The Persimmon Sisters debut CD that I just have to tell you all about it. If you want a little background music while you’re reading, go to http://www.myspace.com/thepersimmonsisters. I wrote the title cut, “Green Persimmon Trees,” when I was a junior at NWMSU in Maryville, Mo.—300 miles from the front yard you see in the photo and feeling a bit homesick.
By the time you read this, www.persimmonsisters.com will be up and running. My brilliant daughter, Erin Faith (who appears with us occasionally, contributing vocals and hot breaks on the bluegrass flute) designed the free MySpace page.
The Persimmons are friends who formed a bluegrass band several years ago in Owensboro. What started out as a demo recorded in Scott Partridge’s Savona South studio in Mt. Juliet, Tenn. last winter has evolved into an album, and we’re pleased to invite you into the circle for a listen.
Besides yours truly on acoustic bass and vocals, the band includes Cathy Rogier on the Kenny Baker-style fiddle. She’s a junior high science teacher, an avid bird watcher and the only member of our band who has a Geiger Counter in her home. When vocalist Martha Gipson, who works as a teacher’s assistant in Owensboro, sings a gospel song if you don’t feel led to shout and testify about the Lord’s goodness, then something’s probably wrong with you. Guitarist/vocalist Anita Owens supervises nurses for the Daviess County Health Department. Growing up in a Fordsville, Ky.-based family bluegrass band, Anita has accompanied her brother, Joel Whittinghill—also known as “The Bearded Persimmon Sister”—at a fiddle contests for several years, and they usually win. You may have seen Joel onstage with the Roland White Band, Curtis & Ruth Burch, The Jim Hurst Band or Timberline Drive.
We often invite a sixth persimmon to perform with us—Jennifer Kennedy on Dobro, or Casey Henry on banjo. The legendary Vic Jordan, (formerly with Bill Monroe’s Blue Grass Boys, Jim & Jesse and Jimmy Martin’s Sunny Mountain Boys), sat in on banjo for the album. I met Vic in Branson in the early ‘90s, when he came to town with Wayne Newton. We played a theme park gig together with a group called Pure Heart, and over endless cups of coffee in the break room, Vic taught us how to read chord charts and regaled us with road stories.
Although we don’t have plans to quit our day jobs, jump on a bus and tour full-time, The Persimmon Sisters take pride in our music and enjoy playing part-time.
It’s fine to record at a friend’s home studio, but make sure he/she has good equipment and knows how to use it. You may also be able to trade your services as a back-up singer or instrumentalist for studio time. After the session, we spent the extra money to have our album mastered, we planned a photo session in Cathy’s backyard and hired a graphic designer to come up with an album cover we could all live with. Karen Simon at Progress Commercial Printing laid out the CD booklet, and Wax Works in Owensboro made our first 300 copies.
Although we did include a few public domain and original songs, we made the effort to license the others and set up a payment system to publishers—something I feel very strongly about. Songs are the intellectual property of their writers. Too many bands in bluegrass are at best un-informed and at worst dishonest when they never pay mechanical royalties (9.1 cents/album sold). If you don’t want to do the research and bookkeeping yourself, there’s a company called The Harry Fox Agency who would love to do it for you, for a small fee. (www.harryfox.com)
We asked some broadcaster and event producer friends to listen to the album and give us a few quotes for the liner notes, so we wouldn’t have to resort to making up our own hype or asking our parents to brag on us in print!
We picked a release date, informed the local press and planned an reception at the Bluegrass Museum Gift Shop in Owensboro in conjunction with one of their weekly jams.
Although we plan to sign up with CDBaby.com and we may have some on consignment at gift shops in Owensboro, we mainly plan to sell CDs at our shows. We may enlist the services of a radio single service like Prime Cuts of Bluegrass, to help get a single out. When we perform, we’ll make sure to get a copy of the CD to local bluegrass radio DJs and also contact local bluegrass association newsletter editors in advance.
Give us a listen and remember—we don’t all have to sound like Alison Krauss & Union Station. Alison already has that pretty well covered! Just work on your craft and make your band sound as good as your can, while representing yourselves in a unique, professional way. The size of your market share doesn’t have a lot to do with quality of music or personal satisfaction as an artist.