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Community Corner

Susan Werner and Marblehead's own Jim Trick at the me&thee

On Friday, March 28, the me & thee welcomes back Iowa native, farmer’s daughter, folk singer extraordinaire Susan Werner to its stage. Marblehead’s Jim Trick, one of the brightest songwriters and storytellers coming out of the northeast these days opens. Doors open at 7:30 PM for this 8:00 PM show. The me & thee coffeehouse is located at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Marblehead at 28 Mugford Street.

 At age five, Susan Werner made her debut, playing guitar and singing at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Manchester, Iowa; she learned both piano and guitar by ear. After earning a degree in voice from the University of Iowa, she attended Temple University in Philadelphia, performing in numerous recitals and operas while completing her graduate studies. On occasion Werner, who calls Chicago home now, still closes any one of the 125 club dates she plays annually throughout the US and Canada with “Un Bel Di” from Madame Butterfly or “Habanera” from Carmen, but ultimately, she opted to forgo a career as an opera singer, dedicating herself to songwriting instead, building a reputation at jazz clubs, coffeehouses, and folk festivals along the Eastern Seaboard. After launching her career with the self-released Midwestern Saturday Night in 1993, her second recording Live at Tin Angel impressed executives at Private Music/BMG, which released her critically acclaimed major label debut Last of the Good Straight Girls in 1995. She also received critical accolades for her subsequent recordings Time Between Trains and New Non-Fiction.

 

She has toured the nation with acts such as Richard Thompson, Keb Mo, and Joan Armatrading, and was featured in a 1998 Peter, Paul, and Mary PBS special as one of the best of the next generation of folk songwriters. Susan’s latest CD, Hayseed is another in a series of concept albums, beginning with 2004’s I Can’t Be New, which features original songs in the style of Cole Porter and George Gershwin, followed by The Gospel Truth in 2007 and Classics in 2009, and  2011’s country-blues flavored Kicking The Beehive which hinted at this turn towards the rural. “I like concept albums because they give the audience and the artist a place to meet, something in common to talk about, right from the word ‘go,’” Werner says. “And it seems everybody - from the First Lady to Dodge Trucks - has something to say about food, farms, and farmers these days.” “There’s a changing of the guard taking place in American agriculture,” Werner explains. “Farmers like my father and mother are retiring, and new farmers are starting out. I wanted to honor my parents and their way of life, and I want to be part of the conversation about what happens next, what farming looks like this year, next year, ten years from now.” The ultimate purpose of making Hayseed, though, is broader, more light-hearted. “Maybe the reward of it all is just this simple: to write a song like ‘Egg Money’ or ‘City Kids,’ to see a song like that make my parents laugh, my brothers laugh, my cousins, my high school friends, and see people all across the country laugh,” she finishes. “Well, there you have it. Mission accomplished!”

Covered in blood and screaming are not descriptions typically applied to acoustic musicians. This however is exactly how Jim Trick began his career as a performer. The community theater production of The Wizard of Oz was underway. Jim's chubby eight year old thighs were crammed sausagely into a pair of yellow tights and he and the other two "lollipop guild" munchkins were about to take the stage. Heart pounding and palms clammy he stepped into the light. At that precise moment his tiny nose began to bleed so profusely as to evoke gasps from the audience and to launch him into a complete meltdown. Fast forward 34 years and you will find that Jim's thighs are no longer chubby. He has not worn tights again and virtually never gets nosebleeds. He has however evolved into a magnetic and engaging performer speaker. For the last twenty years Jim has melded his original brand of alt-folk / solo acoustic rock with motivational life lessons taught and sung at retreats all over the country. Jim's concert appearances are intimate and with disarming humor and transparency Jim is able to instantly connect with his audience. Jim's fourth and most recent release is entitled Jim Trick Buying the Field was produced by Thomas Eaton (Vance Gilbert, Ellis Paul) and features a wonderful array of players including Duke Levine, Maeve and John Curtis (Pousette Dart, Patty Griffin) and a brand new CD, Further from the Tree will be out this spring.
 
Tickets for the performance by Susan Werner with Jim Trick opening are $25 in advance and $28 at the door. Tickets are available online at www.meandthee.org and can be purchased in person at the Spirit of ’76 Bookstore or the Arnould Gallery in Marblehead. The Landing Restaurant at 81 Front Street, Marblehead offers a 10% discount on dinner if you show your ticket or receipt.  Enjoy a meal before the show! As at all me & thee coffeehouse events, refreshments are available, including homemade pastries, coffee, and teas. The me & thee has a handicapped-accessible entrance and an accessible bathroom, is a smoke-free environment, and is easily reached by MBTA bus.

The me & thee is one of the oldest continually running acoustic coffeehouses in New England, and probably the country. It has been and will always be a volunteer, non-profit organization sponsored by the Unitarian Universalist Church of Marblehead.  For information and directions, call 781-631-8987 or check the website at www.meandthee.org.

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