Posts Tagged ‘Matthew Costello’
May 2022 VOCAL Songwriters Showcase
Steve Nuckolls
The live portion began with a set from Steve who started with "Looking For a Rocky Top" which included a picturesque description of a small country town in mountainous Virginia of which the singer hoped he would find elsewhere in his travels. "Lines of Love" told the tale of the things that hold love together, Next song was "A Higher Bar" in which the singer holds up for esteem for the actions of two young boys who saved some classmates. In the next song, "Gibson Guitar" the singer takes the role of a young boy who visits his local furniture store that sells other items, one being a Gibson Guitar which is displayed on a wall. The singer hopes one day he can own such a desirable object. The following song by Steve was a new one entitled "When To Pray". the substance of which was we don't need a church or calendar to tell us when to pray, it should be spontaneous. "Week To Be Overtime" tell us about the drawback of work day to day. The last song in Steve's set was titled "A Future For Us" and it told the tale of giving and taking in love and that in true love the people work out their differences and continue in their relationship.
Matthew Costello
With the help of some backing tracks, Matthew began his set, with "Bound BY Walls Of the Past" . In it he describes a past relationship and how the memories of that still come back to haunt, which segues in "You and I" about a different relationship in which the participants are bound together. "All Things Pass" ( from 1978) sets out a laundry list of what we experience in life and how they come and go such as life, love, night and day etc. The centerpiece of Matthew's program tonight revolved around "The Artist Who Hung The Moon" a haunting tale of an artist and his struggle to paint, that which he observed, and the complications in his life that stymied his creation(s). A well woven tale in words and music. "Subway To Brooklyn" was presented as a recitation about a hook up in a stentorian tone much like a Guy Noir story heard on Prairie Home Companion. This was followed by a moving tribute to moms, (his, particularly) and how she was the backbone of the house and the reliance thereof by husband and family. The final song in Matthew's set "Life Is A Movie" outlined all the characters we meet and ourselves play in life; friends, strangers, lovers and others.
Another fine night of music from two accomplished songwriters.
April 2022 VOCAL Songwriters Showcase
David Atkins
David Atkins then took the Zoom stage, accompanied by his backing tracks, with some of his signature tunes, including the honky-tonk bar-related favorites. When a Woman Smiles is one of our favorites, and we all know those smiles are too hard to resist! Gray is one of his newer tunes and takes a realistic view of society where everything is not black or white. The House on Leaksville Road is a haunting number recounting a visit to the house where he once lived with a love of the past. Emancipated is a newer song reflecting the ignorance and misguided attitudes of certain people stuck in their ways and unwilling to accept the truth. Wishing You Were Here takes us back to the bar where he’s crying in his beer and licking his wounds after being left by his lover. Southern Pride is another new song and bears the “three chords and the truth” philosophy of songwriting. He’s remembering some of his field trips from school in his youth where they visited homes/museums of Civil War heroes whose reputation has become tarnished through the years, making Southern Pride a dubious phrase. He then delivered his signature tune and crowd favorite Sing Your Own Song, a tribute to all of us writers out there just trying to get our stories out make sure they’re heard. He ended the evening with One Drink in the Bottle, another bar/honky-tonk number that he crafts so well (can’t waste a drop!). Way to go, David!
This concluded yet another wonderful evening of songwriting performances by two of our stellar writers!
April 2020 Showcase
These immortal words about postmen
“Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds”
would seem to aptly applied to Tonight’s VOCAL showcase.
After all: It would seem the coronavirus, technical difficulties and just plain logistics might put the kibosh on our monthly showcase.
But, noooooooo, nothing could stop it. Thanks to Matthew Costello and his intrepid fortitude, and know how, the showcase made its first ever virtual appearance on Facebook.
After a short intro by him, the first performer to take the stage was our wonderful young lady, Keely Burn. She cranked up her ukulele, for a handful of original tunes, which included a sort of self imaged song titled “Cute girl with glasses’.
She was followed by Prof. Dean Broga, who on guitar, regaled the viewers with some tasty tunes about the road and ended with a bluesy number celebrating (?) the coronavirus or covid19.
Next up, David Atkins, a long time VOCAL member and music teacher, demonstrated his songwriting abilities with songs covering a wide range of subjects from haunted houses to barroom moroseness with “One Drink In The Bottle” .
Capping the evening, which was limited in time to 60 minutes by Facebook, our president Matthew Costello pulled out one of his signature songs “Elvis Blues” with the singalong chorus of “Diggin’ Diggin’ Diggin'” which every viewer participated in (maybe).
As for turnout, a standard showcase at O’Toole’s brings around 20 or so folks out for the night, by my calculation and the figure on the screen, we peaked at 25, which is great for this first attempt a live streaming event. Given the circumstances, that will most likely remain next month, we will be anxiously awaiting the next VOCAL showcase.
VOCAL Showcase December 2009
VOCAL’s holiday showcase was number 221 in the longest running continuous showcase in Central Virginia! It was much more than a typical showcase with 10 performers, a standing room only crowd and a festive atmosphere. The festivities were almost brought to a halt by a surprisingly large winter snow storm two days earlier, but with passable roads, the showcase went on without a hitch!
While the music is the reason for having a showcase, the December showcase was much more than a musical exhibition. The night came together because of the generosity of our supporters, the hard work of our performers, the spirit of our audience!
We were all glad to be back at O’Tooles restaurant at 4800 Forest Hill Avenue in Richmond for the second showcase at this great location. It’s a wonderful venue for music, food and to celebrate a festive time of the year.
Part of the evening’s festivities were giveaways for the audience. CD’s were donated by The Taters, Marna Bales, Dave Pollard, Norman Roscher, Cy Taggart, Gerry Laverty and Pops Walker. We cannot thank these folks enough for their generosity, wich added a lot to the evening’s excitement. During short intermissions spread across the evening, drawings were held for the audience members who received boxed sets of the donated CD’s. We also must pass along a huge thanks to Gary Shaver for bringing along the tickets for the drawing and generally helping with the giveaways. Matt Manion was invaluable in his assistance with the giveaways for the VOCAL members in attendance.
The music was the main point of the evening, but there was so much packed into this one evening, it would be impossible to fit it all into one article. Gary Shaver was on hand to play with fellow songwriters such as Bill Wellons and John Ellis as well as performing some of his own work. Rose Ann Robbins did a spoken word performance of one of her poems, adding a unique touch to the evening. Other performing songwriters included Steve Nuckolls, Norman Roscher, Matthew Costello, James Lester and Don Pinkleton with son Robbie.
The Taters wrapped the night up in a great big bow for the holidays, with a thirty minute set that included tried and true, tasty Tater tunes, as well as some cover songs including a grand jam of Feliz Navidad that included most of the performers from the night! It was such a great time. The night just flew by and everyone was in great spirits heading up to Christmas.
Thanks to Larry Cody for producing the evening’s flyers, to Matt Manion for his continued assistance with anything that is needed and to all the fans, listeners, members of the public and anyone within listening distance! We’ll see you in 2010!
