Love and Death According to Teddy Goldstein
by Richard Cuccaro
It's a warm night in early spring. The singer onstage is sweating profusely and his face is flushed. The veins in his neck are standing out
as blood pumps fiercely, fueling one energetic burst after another. His shirt is pulled taut on his left side where he grips the neck of the guitar.
The shirt is slack on the guitar belly side, halfway out at the waistline. His strum hand moves rapidly and the area around the sound hole is worn
from the thousands of pick strokes whipped across the strings. Teddy Goldstein doesn't just sing; he explodes. It isn't that his songs are violent.
They're filled with wry humor. It's the energy in their expression that's explosive.
It's not hard to remember the exact moment that I realized how special Teddy Goldstein is; where my respect for his artistic expression grew and
was joined by an affection for him as a person. He was singing a song of reminiscence, called "499" about the house he lived in as a youngster in
Pennsylvania. I'm a sucker for a good reminiscence song. There comes a point in the lyrics where visitors are asking him how he's doing. He doesn't
actually sing the response…he acts it. There's an imperceptible, implied shrug as he states in the resigned, deadpan manner of a teenager still held subject
to the vagaries of the rhythms of adult life around him and he responds… "fine…"
Family and friends arrived in droves
Talking about the traffic and comparing notes
I just stood at the door collecting coats
I'd toss them on my sister's bed
And hope nothing had fallen out of them
Kill the lights and head out into the evening ahead
There were always faces I'd never seen
But I'll be damned how they all knew me
Claiming we'd met back in '73
But I was in charge of the ice at the bar
And keeping an eye on all the parked cars
Never quite knowing just what I was watching for
Back then it was a simpler time
And I was living on 499
If you asked me how I was I'd always say "Fine."
Living on 499
It was long dinners and long toasts
Recounting memories and anecdotes
And everyone thanking our gracious hosts
Back then I could always find work
Whether doing dishes or cutting dessert
Or making sure the dog wasn't trackin' in the dirt
Back then it was a simpler time
And I was living on 499
If you asked me how I was I'd always say "Fine."
Living on 499
Then it was, loosen belts and "alright, who
Wants regular and there's decaf, too"
And "everyone, now, head into the living room."
Well that's when I first began
This playing as a one man band
For crowds who talk and rarely give a damn
Back then it was a simpler time
And I was living on 499
If you asked me how I was I'd always say "Good."
Living on 499
Back then everyone I loved was alive
And we were living on 499
If you asked me how I was I'd always say "Fine."
Living on 499
We were living on 499
You could live then on 499
"499" ©Teddy Goldstein
'Most of the songwriters tend to sing about
Love and Bad Love and Death
and...well it's just gonna be a nice weekend. '
- e-mail from Teddy describing a singer/songwriter festival
There's still a lot of teenager in Teddy. A seemingly boundless energy runs through his impish, mischieviously ironic lyrics. His voice is higher-pitched
than you might expect for someone with his rugged features, and there are cracks and breaks where the expression of anguish and/or comic experience
requires it. However, make no mistake, he's always in full control. The same energy that drives the rest of the performance sits firmly below his vocals.
If he's ever hit a wrong note, I've never heard it, though I've seen countless performances.
Although Teddy's performances tend to generate a high attendance of attractive female audience members (single men "seeking" might want to take note), his outlook on romance is skewed and just as f-d up as anyone else's.
Reviewer Theresa Harpster accurately observed: "He's not Andrea Bocelli, but somehow most of the women in the audience still seem captivated by him.
" And, "Lately, he's been writing a lot of songs and when I asked him why, he said 'Misery breeds good music.'" She adds, "…when you put it all together
with his brilliantly offbeat lyrics, good melodies, and his natural talent as a stage entertainer…you have a show that's not only good, it's addictive."
Offbeat lyrics?
One of the better incarnations of the phrase "over my dead body," occurs in his song "Widow." Saying that he will marry the woman only
when he's dead, the words state: "So when I die / and the preacher asks, "did he have a wife" / baby, that's your cue/ to stand up and say "I do"
/ cause, I will let it now be said / I'm gonna marry you when I'm dead / so you should be thinkin' about how.... chorus: Some day babe / When they lay me in the grave / I hope you'll be there / Wearing a black veil ....
In "Love, Love Love," he sings: "As she stood there and said goodbye / I thought I was gonna cry / Instead I shocked us both and threw up / It was not a pretty sight / cause she was all dressed in white / but who had thought that I would throw up…Cause it's love, love, love / that broke our hearts / It was love, love, love that drove us nuts…
But isn't life just like this / A bunch of roses that smell like shit / And though we see the pricks / We still get pricked… Cause it's love love love…"
In "Lucky in Love," it continues, sarcastically: "I've never known anything but good love / I've never had someone I love say goodbye / And I've never known anyone / who's ever known anyone / who's even known anyone / who's known anyone…that's died." The entire audience gleefully joins in on the chorus: "Lucky in love /Lucky in love / Lucky in love / That's what I am…" (sung perhaps a dozen times between comic riffs). This song is one that will run through your head every so often, long after its performance.
Teddy's early musical influences came from his older brother and sister who both played guitar and listened to Jackson Browne, Joni Mitchell, James Taylor, and CSN&Y.
He remembers having his sister show him the chords A and D so that he could play the song "Our House" by CSN.
Asked about sources of inspiration, he responded, "My biggest songwriting influences I would say were Jim Croce and James Taylor. Croce was an amazing story teller. He was able to tell true stories with a good amount of humor. When I listen to his stuff now I can see why I write the way I do." Teddy also wanted to be sure I mentioned the inspirational tight-knit group of singer/songwriters he has gotten so much support from and sometimes performs with. Among them are: Edie Carey, Anne Heaton, Andrew Kerr, Sam Shaber and Ina May Wool.
The turning point in making a musical career his goal came during one summer. He recalls: "I lived in Colorado and did nothing but play and write music. I moved out there and played mostly covers in bars. Then halfway through the summer I went to see David Wilcox play and after the concert I got to hang out with him a play a few songs with him.
That was when I knew I was just going to do music. At the time I was currently getting my BFA from Boston University for acting. I went back to the Acting program in the fall and dropped out and went right down the street and went to Berklee College of Music. The only thing was that I did not know how to read music or anything like that. So I took that entire school year and studied music privately with this Boston jazz guitarist and then began Berklee that following summer."
Go to see him early (it gets crowded) and often. He always kicks ass, especially with the band backing him up.
Website: www.teddygoldstein.com.
To order his CD, go to CDBaby.com or Folkweb.com
Heather Wood: Some Traditions Just Go On and On
by Barbara Horowitz
I first met Heather Wood at a weekend sponsored by the Folk Music Society of New York, commonly known as Pinewoods. Someone mentioned to me offhandedly that she was the president of the club. Frankly, she didn't seem presidential. When musicians gathered to jam--which happens day and night at all Pinewoods weekends-- Heather often joined in to sing. She clearly knew a great many of the songs. When folks chatted about the history or derivation of the songs — which also takes place at Pinewoods weekends — she knowledgeably added a great deal to the conversations. Later on, I heard her perform at the Fast Folk Café and got a heady sense of her taste
for humorous and sometimes risque trad music. She was great fun. I thought presidents of things were serious and sometimes stiff. Not Heather.
Heather has always sung. In England, where she grew up, she attended school and church choirs. Then, she says, "I learned a couple of Joan Baez songs so I could get into clubs for free as a floor-singer. At the age of 20, she met Royston Wood (no relation) and Peter Bellamy. They started singing together for fun, but soon people were saying, "Let us book you. We will pay you money." Known as the Young Tradition, the group was together for four years, touring all over England as well as Canada and the United States. They made four albums.
Heather decided to move to America in 1977 because she was offered a job here and also because "there were more American than English addresses in my address book."
Once here, she joined Pinewoods. Although English traditional folk music is her specialty, she loves American traditional folk as well, and also enjoys eastern European music.
I would imagine this made her a valuable addition to the Pinewoods family. So how did you become president, I asked. Well, she said, I started doing publicity for the club and the following year, in 1995, I was asked to be the president. I asked her what her primary duties are as president. "I run board meetings, serve as a spokesperson for the club, and I'm still doing publicity."
She also finds the time to sing in a group called Poor Old Horse with David Jones and Tom Gibney. They've toured England, among other things.
She counts among her favorite musicians The Carter Family, Louis Killen, and Jean Ritchie. She thought Steve Goodman "was fabulous. He really loved traditional music."
She includes Joni Mitchell and Bob Dylan among the singer-songwriters she admires. The list goes on: The New Lost City Ramblers, guitar player Bert Jansch, and Margaret MacArthur.
Heather has done some composing of her own, but it's not a big issue with her because "there are too many damn good traditional songs sitting around already."
She also sees music now more in terms of a community thing. Gathered in a room singing along with other people is joyful for her. "After all these years, the best thing is not performing; it's about making your own music."Impressed by her vast store of knowledge about traditional music, I asked her how it had come about. She learned a lot, she told me, when she was a member
of the English Folk Dance and Song Society. She often went to their headquarter in England, the Cecil Sharp House Folk Library. Plus, she picked up a lot just from years of hanging out with musicians.
Heather is a wonderful mix of two countries and their musical traditions. I would imagine that the musicians who hang out with her have a terrific time.
Heather will be part of a re-creation of The Young Tradition at the Old Songs Festival June 23-25 at the Altamont Fairgrounds in Guilderland, New York.
Poor Old Horse is performing July 7-9 at the New Bedford SummerFest in New Bedford, Massachusetts. For more information, e-mail Heather at hwood50@aol.com.
Venue of the Month: A Bargeload of History plus Some Music -Richard Cuccaro
The Waterfront Museum and Showboat Barge
290 Conover St. at Pier 45, Brooklyn
Tel/Fax (718) 624-4719
This venue has been chosen a bit early, in regard to music, but we wanted to give our readers plenty of advance notice for this very special summer-only spot to hear some great artists.
The Lehigh Valley Railroad Barge #79 was built in 1914. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is the only floating wooden covered barge of its kind restored and ready to receive visitors. It functions as the home of the Hudson Waterfront Museum, a floating classroom, a showboat, and an art exhibition space.
The Museum preserves the flavor of life along the river by transforming an obsolete vessel into a classroom and auditorium. Participants feel the decks move beneath their feet, hear waterfront sounds, experience the tides, and smell the salt air. From the barge and pier, visitors are treated to a rare front view of the Statue of Liberty, and to the tugs, freighters, container and cruise ships which crisscross the harbor daily.
The Museum/Barge announces its fifth summerseason of CIRCUSundays in June. Seating is free at showtime. Shows are rain-or-shine. first- come-first-served. Ringside Reservations $5.00
The popular Sunset Music Series returns for its 7th season this July. Held on Saturday evenings July 8, 15, 22, 29 and August 5, 12 at 8 PM. Featured among the three different acts appearing each Saturday are Bill Kirchen, former Hot Rod Lincoln guitarist with Commander Cody and his Lost Planet Airmen, and Arthur Lamonica, former songwriter for The Shirts, Heather Eatman, and K.J. Denhert For a complete list of acts and descriptions, check the barge website. The acts are also listed in this newsletter.
For complete information on directions and free bus shuttles, check the website or call David Sharps at (718) 624-4719
During one special evening spent here, a gentle breeze stirred off the water while the sun set in the West and a crescent moon rose to the East. There, in the gathering dusk stood the lighted Statue of Liberty. With great music added--what a memory!