john r. williamson and the c'est la vies profile picture

john r. williamson and the c'est la vies

About Me

john r. williamson and the cest la vies, who perform original toe-tapping salt-of-the-earth roots music, call to mind the soul-stirring stuff of Mississippi John Hurt, Bob Dylan, and the late great Johnny Cash. Their music is a brew of country blues, gypsy music and gospel. Their two most recent albums, the visceral Lost Songs (2002) and the stunning Maybe In A Shade You Don't Know (2004) received critical acclaim from PASTE Magazine and Opus Magazine. While their passion is playing concerts, they have also appeared on NPRs All Songs Considered, as well as Choices with Dorothea Bradley and KXLU radio. They just released their new album, Portable Shrine (July 8, 2006) on ToneMesa. the current lineup features John R. Williamson, who has been writing and performing since 1987, cellist Rebecca Linton, and violinist Rosamond Finley. Linton is a profound mystical musician, poet, and theologian. She aspires in all of these areas. She also enjoys the study of both her mother tongue and foreign languages. Her instrument of choice is the cello, because the tones of the cello are, to her, deep and sonorous. Her hope for the future is to become an impeccable public speaker. Finley studied violin performance at Vanderbilt University's Blair School of Music. Finley, who began playing at the age of 3, also performed in a Nashville Belly Dancing Troupe and Orchestra, called The Perfumed Garden, before coming out West. ============================================================ ====================================GQ Magazine: UNSUNG HEROES:Who is the one musician or band who deserves to be in the hall of fame, but who, for some reason, has toiled in obscurity, never won a grammy or gone platinum? We asked musicians, singers, and writers to nominate their favorite SECRET MUSICAL GENIUS:T BONE BURNETT nominatesJOHN R. WILLIAMSONAfter a talk that I had given one night at a college in the San Gabriel Valley, a young man walked up and handed me a CD called Songs from Crescent Vale. He told me he was Peter Buck's cousin and that he was producing records for the guy that he motioned was sitting on the bleachers about twenty feet away, John R. Williamson.This sort of thing happens to me every once in a while. If I go to some conference or festival or something along those lines, I generally collect enough intellectual property that I have to ship it home. But that night, I had a long drive back to Santa Monica, so I put the CD on in my car and headed west. The fourth song was called "Offerings." After the first listen, I put it on a loop and kept listening all the way home and for the next several weeks. I don't know what it is about that song--I guess if a song is ever any good, you never do--but it is flat-out touching. It has this mesmerizing cadence and old-world language, and the execution is effortless, languid and deeply optimistic.I've got a lot of John's songs now, and a few of his paintings. His extraordinarily benevolent music has insinuated itself into my life in an important way. John's stuff does not fit. One could call John an outsider artist, but he is more outside than that. If his music were any more quiet, you would have to play it yourself to hear it.-May 2006 ============================================================ ====================================Now buy the albums:.. -- CDBABY LINK for JOHN R. WILLIAMSON AND THE C'EST LA VIES: Portable Shrine --

CDBABY LINK for JOHN R. WILLIAMSON AND THE C'EST LA VIES: maybe in a shade you don't know --

.. -- CDBABY LINK for JOHN R. WILLIAMSON: Salt --

SONGS from.. .. -- CDBABY LINK for JOHN R. WILLIAMSON: Songs From Crescent Vale --

My Interests

Music:

Member Since: 26/11/2005
Band Website: http://cdbaby.com/cd/johnrwilliamson4
Band Members: John R. Williamson - singing, guitars, charango, bass, percussion + rosamond finley - violin + rebecca linton - cello + daniel s. mccoy - engineer and producer at tonemesa west//supporting crew (past and present)://zeus alverez - drums and percussion robert deeble - singing and guitars, plus percussion mandy troxel - singing david finley - singing and guitar the world's toughest milkman - guitar joel heflin - marimba, percussion trevor king - bass steve mcgill - vibraphone, percussion alan bartholemew - cello buggs manocchi - drums ricardo romero - guitars and charango mike nichols - guitar richard cranch - guitar mike fay - upright bass jerry monteros - flutes orlando duenas - accordion and organ
Influences: Bob Dylan (particularly Highway 61 and Time Out of Mind), Joni Mitchell (Blue only), Townes Van Zandt, Miles Davis, Louis Armstrong, Tom Waits, Sam Phillips, T Bone Burnett, Peter Case, Lucinda Williams, Hank Williams, The Louvin Brothers, The Beatles, Susana Baca, Los Super 7, Sylvio Rodriguez, John Hartford, Yo La Tengo, Phily Joe Jones, Dexter Gordon, Lester Young, Billie Holiday, Johan Sebastian Bach, Charles Mingus, Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie
Sounds Like: cowboy gypsy blues music
Record Label: www.tonemesa.com -- daniel mccoy is the man

My Blog

zephyr is calling us all on January 17th

john r. williamson and the c'est la vies live at Zephyr January 17th:   8-11 pm 2419 E Colorado Blvd Pasadena, 91107
Posted by on Mon, 05 Jan 2009 20:12:00 GMT

2008 go to bed

three new plants breathe the night airseeds scattered throughout the backyardthe diminished soap slips awaytomorrow must be new year's day
Posted by on Wed, 31 Dec 2008 21:15:00 GMT

singing on saturday at zephyr in pasadena with special guest, my name is milk

well, i finally cashed in on my birthday present.  i bought a guitar microphone for my guitars.  i tested it out this past weekend.  it sounds amazing. come and be the first to hear me ...
Posted by on Fri, 14 Nov 2008 04:49:00 GMT

halloween

We learned our lesson last year. One does not carve a pumpkin very far in front of this holiday in Southern California. And so we waited until last night to operate. I asked Ikuko if she would rather ...
Posted by on Tue, 04 Nov 2008 04:37:00 GMT

dentist woes

26 x-rays down.millimeters of gum recession measured.blood from the upper right quadrant during deep cleaning. i guess the message is don't wait for 4 and a half years between check-ups. fillings diss...
Posted by on Thu, 18 Sep 2008 03:56:00 GMT

impressions from japan

I just returned from Japan.  Whenever I go, I tend to use the pen more than a camera.  My preferred medium is something like haiku, but not really so worried about getting 17 syllables. ...
Posted by on Thu, 24 Jul 2008 08:25:00 GMT

ikebana project

hey there, daniel mccoy and i just mixed "ikebana project" for artists for a free tibet, a compilation cd that puddlegum's kevin flick is putting out soon.  the musicians for the mix are istvan p...
Posted by on Sat, 24 May 2008 15:42:00 GMT

singing in pasadena on may 24 and june 21

hey there, we are playing on the 24 of this month and the 21 of june at zephyr in pasadena.  click to the page for details. love and smiles, john r. williamson and the c'est la vies p.s.  we...
Posted by on Tue, 13 May 2008 21:59:00 GMT

singing saturday february 16

Saturday February 16, 2008 8-10 pm john r. williamson and the c'est la vies live at zephyr coffeehouse / gallery / bungalow 2419 E. Colorado Blvd. Pasadena, California 91107 john will be singing and...
Posted by on Fri, 15 Feb 2008 22:07:00 GMT

OceanView Studio

hi y'all. i just wanted to drop you a note to mention how impressed we were to record in daniel's new, beautiful, green OceanView Studio.  the world is a better place because of daniel and his st...
Posted by on Tue, 29 Jan 2008 05:34:00 GMT