GOOD DICTION

Regularly booking and promoting shows can sort of make one feel jaded at times--especially if the acts your working with are "developing" or "emerging" ones. Of course that is the mission or purpose of the shows I do with local non-profit DEMO. Great, organic moments can happen unexpectedly, but the opposite can occur just as frequently.... With that in mind, I must say that I'm continually astounded and delighted by the sheer talent and passion of the musicians that have seemingly come out of the woodwork to contact me about performing at my Driftless Music Showcases at Acadia Cafe on the third Friday of each month. DEMO serves an essential & vital role in the music scene; the DM shows simply attract a different crowd.

Local husband and wife folk blues duo Good Diction is a great example of the kind of group that reaffirms my commitment to independent music and provides an ever welcome source of inspiration. The pair describes their sound on their myspace page as "American potatoes churned up in a post-post-modernist hot dish at a Norwegian Lutheran pot-luck held in a African-American Baptist revival tent." After seeing them perform at the DM Showcase on March 19 and subsequently absorbing their five song EP Petulie, that description resonates with me.

The key to the blues (or any style really) is authenticity. Frontman Peter Bodurtha's lyrics have strong mythical and literary qualities to them. At the same time, songs like If I Were a British Man or I Just Want to Talk (the song in the video below) display an earnest sense of wit and cleverness that make their stories personal. Much like Meg White (and I mean that in the best way possible), Percussionist Julie Bodurtha's minimalist approach adds a certain amount innocence and playfulness to the music that really ropes the listener in and highlights the nuances. As the lengthy stomp-fest 1789 Broadway Ave N Blues demonstrates, all of the intangibles are present and Good Diction successfully accomplishes what all good blues bands must do: trick you into not realizing your hearing the blues. Wholehearted showmanship goes a long way and the overall effect is the temporary illusion of experiencing something new, raw, undiscovered, and--most importantly--real.