Linda Bassick and Chuck Kelsey on 'Tazday Twilight Blues' 4/19/11
Taz, Shannon, Linda Bassick and Chuck Kelsey at Big Heavy World.
Words and Photos by Julie Jay Seger
The 'Tazday Twlight Blues' show hosted musicians Linda Bassick and Chuck Kelsey this past week on 105.9 FM The Radiator. Separate but equally talented entities, Linda and Chuck got cozy with us in The Radiator studio to play some music, chat about upcoming events and get a little silly.
Linda Bassick is a singer-songwriter also involved in Burlington based bands Mellow Yellow and The Dusty Jewels. After playing clarinet and the baritone, Linda picked up a guitar at age 19 and has been playing ever since. Finding inspiration for her music from anywhere, Linda uses her songs as an outlet: "I'm always trying to express myself. Sometimes it's personal and sometimes I'm just trying to say something about the world. I'll wake up with a song in my head and have to write it down before I lose it, or I'll be in the shower, or just fiddling around on my guitar. So my music comes from all over, but I always use it to express something." Linda played three original tunes for us: "One From Two," "Leave It Alone," and "Cryin."
As a member of Mellow Yellow, a 60s tribute band dedicated to recreating 60s songs to take audiences back to the good old days, Linda gets to be creative while paying homage to some of her favorite music. "For our first show, we focused on more of a psychedelic vibe and played songs we all really wanted to play. We toured at opera houses around the region and had a great time. Our new show is the Hit Parade Live, and for that we're focusing on top ten songs from the 60s. So it's exciting, challenging and makes me play a lot of different things." Hit Parade Live debuts this Saturday 4/23 at the Vergennes Opera House at 7 PM. Linda will also be performing with her other band, The Dusty Jewels, for their monthly show at 1/2 Lounge on 4/30 in Burlington.
Our other wonderful guest, singer-songwriter Chuck Kelsey joined the show all the way from the Lake George, New York region. After 31 years of playing music, Chuck got his musical start playing the trumpet back in his school boy days. Now he focuses on writing folk, Americana and acoustic rock tunes. We heard two songs from Chuck, the first a beautiful cover of the song "Bound" written by Robert Hazard, who wrote the classic "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun." Chuck had the opportunity to meet Hazard briefly before he passed away in 2008, and played "Bound" beautifully as a tribute to him.
We also heard "Red Sky Line," an original Chuck Kelsey tune about making moonshine in the Adirondack Mountains. Chuck wasn't lying when he described the song as "foot-stompin' good old Adirondack Mountain music." The song's bold guitar strumming and Chuck's energetic vocals had everyone in the studio eager for more. You can catch Chuck this Friday, 4/22 at the Adirondack Bar & Grill in Queensbury, New York or this Saturday, 4/23 at The Iron Lantern in Castleton, Vermont. For Chuck's music and more upcoming shows, be sure to check out his Reverbnation page.
Massive thanks to Linda and Chuck for sharing their music and good spirits on the 'Tazday Twilight Blues' show, every Tuesday from 8 to 9 P.M. on 105. 9 FM The Radiator, serving Burlington and beyond!