Brydan Smith and Kayla Ringelheim
I had originally planned on laying low and staying in this Thursday night, but was enticed to head out once I heard the bill and realized the minute physical distance from my house of The Mediator (1.12 miles). As close and simple as the directions may have sounded, I still wound up shooting past the (unlabeled) street and circling the neighborhood for a good 20 minutes asking if people had heard of Rounds Ave before someone had a clue of what I was speaking. This month’s 4 Corners hosted by Don Tassone would feature Daniel Chase, Brydan Smith and Kayla Ringelheim. Always happy to catch a set from Daniel, I was excited to see his friend Brydan visiting from Ontario, over the previous months I’d listened to some of Brydan’s work and chatted a bit with him through myspace, and having the pleasure of meeting and hanging out with him the previous night, I was anxious to see his live performance. It also afforded me a great opportunity to enjoy Kayla’s songwriting with a bit more depth, and see be exposed to a long standing member of the Rhode Island Songwriter’s Association, Don Tassone for the first time. The format was very similar to Writers in the Round in that songwriters would play one song before handing the spotlight to the next, however 4 Corners used an intriguing gimmick in that the each round of songs had to adhere to a predetermined theme.
I arrived at the end of Don’s first number, and learned the first theme of the night was “Signature Song.” Daniel began introducing the song with a description and story, something carried on throughout the night, which reminded me quite a bit of early VH1 Story Tellers (am I dating myself here?) and made this hippie smile. A song garnered from a friends experience with two girls, one a romantic interest who just got up and left her life, and him behind, and another, a stranger who seemed to have a similar rushed look about her, to escape her life, Daniel played “Baby Slow Down:”
07.09.09 Daniel Chase performing “Baby Slow Down”
Kayla Ringelheim’s signature song came next, she chose an upbeat number “Two Suns:”
07.09.09 Kayla Ringelheim performing “Two Suns”
Kayla went on to describe herself a bit and mentioned being from Lexington MA, and recently calling Providence her home due to her attendance of Brown. Her voice was lovely, and complimented her piano work very well. The acoustics in the room were amazing and as Don pointed out, the addition of a piano driven songwriter helped to break the usual monotony of these types of nights (Acoustic, Acoustic and Harmonica, Acoustic…) Brydan was next to try his hand at the signature song, and chose what he called “the song that’s stuck around the longest,” “Whiskey Dreams:”
07.09.09 Brydan Smith performing “Whiskey Dreams”
It was a touching song of caution about addiction, sung tenderly and brought home by quick and precise finger pick work. Don Tassone returned to center stage to announce the next theme of “Newest Work.” “As The Pendulum Swings” was Don’s newest piece, said he had written it for the previous month’s theme, and had been inspired by the pendulum of a grandfather clock:
07.09.09 Don Tassone performing “As the Pendulum Swings”
It was a well written song by a seasoned songwriter, and I could envision the pendulum of the clock with the rhythm and stresses of his strumming. Daniel presented his newest song, “Where Did You Go?” with a brief description of his songwriting process:
07.09.09 Daniel Chase performing “Where Did You Go”
Showcasing his rhythmic guitar style throughout the song, Daniel sang with emotion and soul. “Where did you go” proved to be quite the catchy chorus with the timing of the song. Kayla turned to the crowd to discuss the inspiration for her newest song. Making tale of a friend who thrives on her frantic and stressed lifestyle, “Maggie Hates the Ground:”
07.09..09 Kayla Ringelheim performing “Maggie Hates The Ground”
I really enjoyed the opening piano riff, quickly paced and unique. The lyrics were sung beautifully and were quite humorous knowing the inspiration for the song. It was a great third person narrative and painted an entertaining picture of her friend Maggie. Brydan center stage again introduced his newest song, “Till the Morning Comes:”
07.09.09 Brydan Smith performing “Till the Morning Comes”
A soft song seemingly directed at someone in particular, it spoke of shelving an argument until the morning, once tensions and emotions have had a chance to settle. It had a great folk tone, Brydan was using more strumming then picking this time around, and put deep lyrics over the gentle tones.
Don took to the mic once again to introduce the overall theme of the month, Blue Bug Blues. The general theme each month is voted on and chosen by the audience in attendance the previous month, an the scheduled songwriters are alerted and tasked with writing a song encompassing the given theme. Don’s interpretation was probably the most standard blues, about returning home to Providence and seeing the Big Blue Bug:
07.09.09 Don Tassone “Blue Bug Blues”
Daniel said he has had a blues song kicking around for some time that’s never quite been finished, and with Blues in the title of the theme, he reworked his own Mr Rogers inspired “Stepping Stone” to match the “Blue Bug Blues” theme:
07.09.09 Daniel Chase performing “Blue Bug Blues”
Kayla showed off her range and great sense of humor again. The whole room burst out laughing at some of the lines, and bopping along with the tone of the song:
07.09.09 Kayla Ringelheim performing “Blue Bug Blues”
Not from the area, Brydan was unfamiliar with the Blue Bug landmark and had to google it to get an idea, reaizing it was a symbol of the Rhode Island border, he penned a song called “The Rhode Island State Line Blues,” about the sadness he feels whenever he leaves the state:
07.09.09 Brydan Smith performing “RI State Line Blues”
Don introduced the final theme of the evening A song of love or a song of hate, and provided one of the latter, presenting his frustrations with our country’s previous administration, “Thats My Story and I’m Stickin’ to It:”
07.09.09 Don Tassone “Thats My Story and Im Sticking to It”
Daniel followed with “Save You.” Touted as “a love song, or maybe a falling out of love song.” I would say it could share the bill as a signature song as well. He played it more up tempo with more aggressive chord changes than I’d previously heard:
07.09.09 Daniel Chase performing “Save You”
Kayla performed “Hahaha” next, “a happy love song”. She presented another upbeat, catchy tune, and did a fantastic job of catching the emotion of one’s heart while falling in love:
07.09.09 Kayla Ringelheim performing “Hahaha”
Brydan closed out the night with a love song, “Amy, Dear.” Claiming inspiration from Tom Waits and his character driven songwriting style, again he presented a lyrically deep and intricately strummed song:
07.09.09 Brydan Smith performing “Amy, Dear”
I certainly loved the night of music, and glad I dragged myself out for the evening. I’ll have to take the opportunity to catch Brydan again if he visits the area. Kayla’s quick wit and even quicker fingers made me smile, and I’ll be sure to keep my eye out for more of her local shows. As usual I’m sure I’ll be seeing plenty of Daniel Chase around town in the near future. The themed format was a welcome twist on a songwriter showcase and I hope to make it out to the Mediator for another of Don Tassone’s 4 Corners soon.
