"this year I'm a
folksinger"
Well we're not talking
Burl Ives here, the folksingers you'd have to
look to are Leadbelly, Blind Willie McTell,
Jimmie Rogers. dark, underbelly, political
truthsaying kinda folksingersand yup Nashville
didn't take too much notice of this kind of fly
in the ointment. Ovans belonged to the other
Nashville of Hoekstra, Earle and Harlan Howard
but still relocated to Austin maybe after one
Garth Brooks repackaging too many. The above
quote was given to a journalist who enquired
where to find his 1997 masterpiece 'Dead South' -
he replied-
"I think they've
got me in the folk section this year - Maybe
this year I'm a folksinger".
Needless to say I like
this kind of folksinger. Ovans has received a lot
of comparisons to Dylan -there's an undeniable
influence there -the same gritty determination to
mine back into the true folk heritage - but
mostly commentators ignore the fact that Ovans
belongs to a whole substrata of authentic folk
artists who work this particular rich seam of
blues/ folk and country ore. Tom Pacheco, Bob
Martin, Eric Anderson, Richard Buckner- all come
to mind as operating in a similar area.That they
all seem to receive as much if not more attention
over here in Europe as they do in the states
perhaps because of the marketing grip the
conglomerates have there? Whatever ,we're
fortunate that small artists now self-release and
receive distribution support that enables them to
make infrequent visits and at least get their
discs out there -whatever the section.
If I had to recommend one
disc the 1997 'Dead South' would come top,
closely followed by the new 'The Beat Trade' and
'Tales from Underground' - all essential. For the
beginner 'Nuclear Sky' is a good place to start,
if still available through Demon, although all
his albums offer some great tracks so if you're a
fan of literate folk/blues in the Tom Russell,
Butch Hancock mode go track 'em down!
BIOGRAPHY
Born in a town near Boston June 8, 1953
he left home at 18 and criss-crossed America -sleeping on the beach
at Big Sur, walking to New Orleans, ending up on the streets of
Greenwich Village swapping tales with a fading Phil Ochs or watching
Tim Hardin amongst the Viet Vets, punks and sixties fall-out. He
soaked up the various influences, punk, country, glam that swirled
around him whilst doing a series of jobs to survive. He's done everything
from house-painting to factory shifts. All to provide the dollars
to get his demos recorded and keep his music-making going. As he
himself has said " it's easier to make a buck digging a ditch
than from the music business".After a stint back in Cambridge
he finally struck out for Nashville where he received the warm indifference
that prompted the setting up of NSR and the European break-through.
The experiences of his wanderlust and working had all fed his particular
lyricism that mixes a renegade beat cynicism with moments of imagistic
bliss. Some critics have found it bleak, almost nihilistic but to
me it's just american realism in the Carver/ Kerouac/Whitman vein.
He and Lou Ann Bardash now live in Austin and run NRS Recordings.
Tom has been making appearances at the Cactus Cafe and on local
radio. Lou Ann has exhibited her paintings which adorn some of the
discs as well as conducting her own solo career.