CORY CHISEL
Like many artists before him, Cory Chisel first connected with the power of song – and the spellbinding possibilities of live performance – through the music he heard in church. The gospel’s rich vernacular of loss and redemption also informed his innate poetic sense and lyrical range. “For most of my life,” he says, “my dad was a Baptist minister, so I learned a lot about being a showman, and I learned a lot about music. Many of the hymns from church still are the most beautiful songs I know. I'm thankful for growing up where stories and the pursuit of happiness were on everybody's mind. I think I’m still trying to achieve the same euphoria I felt at a very young age, when I would be completely t aken over by these rhythms and these sounds and these stories.” 
An equally potent influence on Chisel’s worldview and wellspring ofmusical storytelling is the American heartland from which he hails. Based in Appleton, WI, where he’s lived for almost twenty years. His family’s roots, on both sides, reach about 500 miles north and west to Babbitt, Minnesota and neighboring Ely, beside the pristine Boundary Waters, the largest wilderness preserve east of the Rockies. The vast, open spaces and clear, deep lakes of the wild north are ingrained in Chisel’s songs, which sound as if they come to him as naturally as breathing.
In an upbringing where he was largely sheltered from pop music, Chisel’s fluency with music comes in great measure from always having played it with his family, for as long as he can remember. One of his grandfathers had nine brothers and, he notes, “they’re all great guitar players, and half of them play harmonica too.” He also cites his Uncle Roger, a blues musician – whose epic record collection exposed him to Howlin’ Wolf, Sonny Boy Williamson, Sam Cooke, Aretha Franklin, Otis Redding, Robert Johnson, Johnny Cash, Tom Waits, Bob Dylan and countless others – as a chief source of inspiration. “He was a musical force,” says Cory. “I always felt like I possessed something similar, that I understood the exorcism I saw him receiving through music.”
PHOTOS OF CORY CHISEL @ PRESERVATION HALL BY ERIKA GOLDRINGTHE SONG:
"Some Cold Rainy Day"
(Traditional)
Cory Chisel - lead vocals
Adriel Harris - backing vocals
Mark Braud - trumpet
Rickie Monie - piano
Ben Jaffe - tuba
Clint Maedgen - slapstick / tambourine
Cory Chisel appears courtesy of Black Seal
As Performed by The Georgia Cotton Pickers in 1930:
"Born Again," by Cory Chisel:
CORY CHISEL - OFFICIAL WEBSITE
"Born Again," by Cory Chisel:
CORY CHISEL - OFFICIAL WEBSITE
No comments:
Post a Comment