Event

RICHARD SHINDELL

While Richard Shindell was playing his first Redding concert at the Vintage Wine Bar he was told about The Oaksong Society for Preservation of Way Cool Music. Intrigued by both the name an the possibility of playing in a Frank Lloyd Wright designed building (The Pilgrim Church), he asked if he could be considered by Oaksong for a slot in their next season's lineup. Little did he know, the Oaksong Music Society President, Pete Angwin, was a big fan and had been trying for years to book Richard. "For the last 20 years I've seen Richard Shindell in most of the top venues in Northern California and Oregon and have been trying to get him for an Oaksong concert. He's one of the best singer/songwriters around; right up there with John Gorka, Greg Brown and Chris Smither. Thanks to his appearance at the Vintage Wine Bar, it finally happened!", said Pete Angwin.

Richard Shindell is a writer whose songs paint pictures, tell stories, juxtapose ideas and images, and inhabit characters vividly evoking entire worlds along the way. He has a habit of putting himself right inside the minds of his different characters. In one song he is a Confederate drummer-boy, in another a power broker, today an Immigration and Naturalization Service officer, writing Mary Magdalene. For Shindell there is nothing too sacred and nothing too profane. The ability to make any character relatable is one of the hallmark's of his songwriting and speaks well of its mastery.

Born in New Jersey and raised on Long Island, Richard met John Gorga at Moravian College and they played together in the Razzy Dazzy Spasm Band. After some time in a Zen monastery and an interlude of busking in Paris, he attend the Union Theological Seminary in New York City - and started seriously writing songs. Shindell rose to prominence in 1997 after three of his songs (Fishing, Reunion Hill, and Money for Floods) were recorded by Joan Baez. He was subsequently asked to tour with her in 1998. Richard briefly collaborated with Lucy Kaplansky and Dar Williams to form Cry Cry Cry, earning his place in the forefront of American songwriting. During his career, Shindell has released 13 albums, including Reunion Hill, which won the award for Best Contemporary Folk Album from the American Association of Independent Music, Cry Cry Cry, Somewhere Near Paterson, which is probably his most popular album, Vuelta, recorded with the Argentine band Puente Celeste in Buenos Aires, where Richard now lives, and Careless, his most recent album. With each successive record he toured relentlessly, building a solid following of loyal fans.

Here's how the New York Times reviewed a show of his at The Bottom Line - "Occasionally an artist has a night that makes even skeptics think, 'OK, maybe he is the best.' Richard Shindell achieved this on Thursday." So yeah, maybe he is the best; or maybe he's just so good that you don't want to miss him when he comes to the Pilgrim Church. Either way come on down and see for yourself.

http://richardshindell.com/home/