Pillow Book
$14.98
The Curios
15 original songs in a style that Northern California Songwriter Magazine called “a beautiful and quirky musical universe.”
The creative core of The Curios are award winning singer/songwriters and multi-instrumentalists Nancy Hall and Lee Parvin. A song from Pillow Book has moved into regular rotation as a “new favorite release” on the Acoustic Sunrise program on SF’s popular radio station KFOG. Nancy Hall is well known as a background singer with Neil Young and Crazy Horse, and has toured around the world with them, Emmy Lou Harris and Lucinda Williams. Multi-talented keyboard artist, songwriter and Pillow Book engineer Lee Parvin has recorded many greats in his own studio, including Taj Mahal, Michael Bloomfield, Mark Naftalin, Frank Wakefield, Merle Saunders, Daniel Castro, David Grisman and Kitka. Acoustic bass player Jim Kerwin was a full time member of the David Grisman Quartet for twenty-four years, and has had the opportunity to play and record with Sven Assmussen, Yo-Yo Ma, Edgar Meyer, Bela Fleck, Del McCoury, Stephane Grappelli and Jerry Garcia. To date Jim has played bass on six Grammy-nominated recordings.
Featured Artists: Nancy Hall: vocals, acoustic guitar, dulcimer, ukulele, glockenspiel, drums, percussion, piano; Lee Parvin: vocals, piano, hammond B3, mellotron, wurlitzer, accordion, harmonica; Marc Games: acoustic and electric guitars, banjo, electric bass; James Kerwin: acoustic bass
On This Recording
- Sweetness
- Always be your girl
- Meanstreak (the knife thrower's wife)
- Hollow
- Cherries on the ground
- Beautiful
- Commit
- Trampoline
- Harbor
- Sailor on a windless sea
- Man with a megaphone
- Empty
- Pickle
- Fortress
- Back in spades
Reviews:
“…The band members share a passion for creating music that resonates with authenticity and have been together for thirteen years.… Pillow Book represents a variety of observations on life’s struggles, ironies and complexities. Fifteen songs, primarily written by Nancy Hall, boast an assortment of folk instrumentation, gliding across tempos and musical contexts.… the compositions always maintain an organic resonance, fused by the expressive vocals, and discerning musical coloration.” —Audiophile Audition
“The sound of Pillow Book is clean and crisp, with a classical flair added by bassist Jim Kerwin, and catchy rock/blues twists from the rest of the group. Hall’s vocal style could be compared to the likes of Norah Jones or KT Tunstall, but what makes her different is her ability to transcend normal vocal patterns. Finding as much fun in the space between the notes, her melodies divert from all typical paths and her voice runs through this uncharted territory with soul.” —Rose Fellom-Morris, Performer Magazine