News
The Daily Record - Adrienne Young embraces moral issues
3/1/2005
Adrienne Young embraces moral issues
By Robert Hicks, Special to the Daily Record
As newcomers a year ago, Adrienne Young & Little Sadie charmed us with their renditions of traditional folk songs and contemporary roots music on "Plow to the End of the Row."
With its agrarian ideals and raw energy, Young's debut marked her as a singer-songwriter of considerable talent with a socially conscious outlook on life.
For her second effort, Young and her new band have turned to old-time tunes and traditional Irish music, as well as new original songs that address the moral issues faced by Americans in view of the Bush administration's policies concerning the Iraq war and corporate America.
Young and her new Little Sadie band are currently touring in support of their forthcoming CD, "The Art of Virtue," scheduled for release on AddieBelle Records in July. The group will arrive at Outpost in the Burbs in Montclair on March 18.
The new touring lineup consists of Young on vocals, guitar and banjo; Flynn Cohen on guitar; Eric Merrill on fiddle and banjo; Kyle Kegerreis on bass; and Rob Rudin on percussion.
Benjamin Franklin's writings inspired Young to pen her original songs on the new recording, which she co-produced with Will Kimbrough. Franklin's "Thirteen Virtues," in which the American statesman discussed how to build character and moral development in a systematic way, caused her to rethink what she called the current Bush administration's use of so-called moral values to justify its own political ideals.
"I saw a direct discrepancy with the way corporate America seems to be benefiting from the current administration and how this same party promotes this basic, fundamental family-oriented moral value system. It causes me to question things," Young said from her home in Nashville, Tenn.
As a result of reading Franklin, Young said she understood that moral virtuosity is a personal thing, not a political agenda that can be prescribed to people. She liked the way Franklin developed a methodology to achieve personal moral standards, so she incorporated his thoughts about moral virtue into the themes for her original political and love songs on the forthcoming CD.
"I didn't like the way that the Republican Party decided that they were going to 'own' morality. I just don't see it that way," she added. "Everyone has a relationship with God and it's personal."
Young and her band road tested some of the new songs last year, but she has written many of them since December. Young penned the majority of the new songs, but she co-wrote others with Kimbrough and Mark Sanders before recording them at the House of David studios in Nashville. Young hired Gary Paczosa, who has worked with Allison Krauss, to mix the songs.
For the recording sessions, Young brought in a lot of guest musicians, ranging from multi-instrumentalist Kimbrough and Boston-based Irish musicians to veteran bluegrass players such as Tim Stafford and Rob McCoury and the up-and-coming traditional bluegrass band The Wheelhouse Boys.
"It really allows me to explore creatively all of the different sorts of music that I love," she said of the guest musicians. "It doesn't limit me to one sound. That's why I love doing music - there are just so many different types of music that you can explore."
She also decided to interpret some standards such as Uncle Dave Makin's "Don't Get Weary, Children." The band does an Irish version of "Bonaparte's Retreat" and a bluegrass version of the gospel song "Farther Along," as well as a contemporary singer-songwriter version of "Hills and Hollers."
"We do four cover tunes, but there's mainly original songs," Young said. "There's a lot of social commentary. I want this record to be radio and CD player friendly. I want a record that will be played repeatedly."
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Robert Hicks can be reached at (973) 428-6200.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
By Robert Hicks, Special to the Daily Record
As newcomers a year ago, Adrienne Young & Little Sadie charmed us with their renditions of traditional folk songs and contemporary roots music on "Plow to the End of the Row."
With its agrarian ideals and raw energy, Young's debut marked her as a singer-songwriter of considerable talent with a socially conscious outlook on life.
For her second effort, Young and her new band have turned to old-time tunes and traditional Irish music, as well as new original songs that address the moral issues faced by Americans in view of the Bush administration's policies concerning the Iraq war and corporate America.
Young and her new Little Sadie band are currently touring in support of their forthcoming CD, "The Art of Virtue," scheduled for release on AddieBelle Records in July. The group will arrive at Outpost in the Burbs in Montclair on March 18.
The new touring lineup consists of Young on vocals, guitar and banjo; Flynn Cohen on guitar; Eric Merrill on fiddle and banjo; Kyle Kegerreis on bass; and Rob Rudin on percussion.
Benjamin Franklin's writings inspired Young to pen her original songs on the new recording, which she co-produced with Will Kimbrough. Franklin's "Thirteen Virtues," in which the American statesman discussed how to build character and moral development in a systematic way, caused her to rethink what she called the current Bush administration's use of so-called moral values to justify its own political ideals.
"I saw a direct discrepancy with the way corporate America seems to be benefiting from the current administration and how this same party promotes this basic, fundamental family-oriented moral value system. It causes me to question things," Young said from her home in Nashville, Tenn.
As a result of reading Franklin, Young said she understood that moral virtuosity is a personal thing, not a political agenda that can be prescribed to people. She liked the way Franklin developed a methodology to achieve personal moral standards, so she incorporated his thoughts about moral virtue into the themes for her original political and love songs on the forthcoming CD.
"I didn't like the way that the Republican Party decided that they were going to 'own' morality. I just don't see it that way," she added. "Everyone has a relationship with God and it's personal."
Young and her band road tested some of the new songs last year, but she has written many of them since December. Young penned the majority of the new songs, but she co-wrote others with Kimbrough and Mark Sanders before recording them at the House of David studios in Nashville. Young hired Gary Paczosa, who has worked with Allison Krauss, to mix the songs.
For the recording sessions, Young brought in a lot of guest musicians, ranging from multi-instrumentalist Kimbrough and Boston-based Irish musicians to veteran bluegrass players such as Tim Stafford and Rob McCoury and the up-and-coming traditional bluegrass band The Wheelhouse Boys.
"It really allows me to explore creatively all of the different sorts of music that I love," she said of the guest musicians. "It doesn't limit me to one sound. That's why I love doing music - there are just so many different types of music that you can explore."
She also decided to interpret some standards such as Uncle Dave Makin's "Don't Get Weary, Children." The band does an Irish version of "Bonaparte's Retreat" and a bluegrass version of the gospel song "Farther Along," as well as a contemporary singer-songwriter version of "Hills and Hollers."
"We do four cover tunes, but there's mainly original songs," Young said. "There's a lot of social commentary. I want this record to be radio and CD player friendly. I want a record that will be played repeatedly."
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Robert Hicks can be reached at (973) 428-6200.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
