Spotlight On C. Daniel Boling At The Higley
Center For The Performing Arts In Gilbert, Arizona Photos by Glenda S. Paradee
C. Daniel Boling performed January 5, 2014 at the Higley
Center for The Performing Arts in Gilbert, Arizona. He is a
great performer. Boling told many stories of his experiences
with friends and other folk singers he has met during his
career. He is a fantastic guitar player. During his two
set show, Boling also played harmonica and a six string he calles a
banjitar.
Daniel Boling is a songwriter with a storyteller's ear for detail
and a balladeer's turn of phrase. His songs are inhabited by
interesting characters drawn from Daniel's life, family and friends:
the vagabond running off with a tiny circus to tour the West; an
aging Viet Nam veteran looking back with surprise at his departed
youth; a young rancher inheriting his grandfather's nearly worn out
rangeland and hoping he can hold on and live up to the family
legacy; a passenger on Flight 93 calling his wife to say goodbye;
and morons with a death wish proving Darwin's theory of evolution!
His finger-picked guitar and banjitar support a good, clear tenor
voice that evokes his characters' emotions perfectly.
More on C. Daniel Boling:
Sharing experiences from a life well-lived in places as far
ranging as Okinawa, Japan, and Padre Island, Texas, this
balladeer/songwriter with the friendly tenor brings his well-crafted
story songs to lucky audiences coast-to-coast in over one hundred
shows a year, from house concerts to festivals (Kerrville, Winfield,
Woody Guthrie Folk Festival). Born into a traveling Air Force
family, he later worked as a National Park Ranger (yes, the
gun-toting kind) and as a Criminal Investigator for the US Bureau of
Land Management, and he started touring at 50, an age when most guys
are planning their retirement. He's got six albums, including the
brand new Sleeping Dogs, produced by Jono Manson and released in
September 2013 on Berkalin Records.
Songs on his new CD include wonderful musicians and great stories
about a variety of characters, including himself. In "Moderation,"
he tells us, "One small step starts an ugly trend because moderation
is not my friend." Toward the end, even his mama is telling him
that. Whether your weakness is chocolate or soap operas, Daniel
empathizes with you and confides that he gets through with the help
of his friends and Bill W. He plays the banjitar here (a
banjo/guitar hybrid) and a guitar on other songs, with a deft
fingerpicking style that always enhances the stories.
The title cut is a story of self-discovery, first of
self-loathing about the "moments of the past that won't stay gone."
By the finish, though, he's telling us that "… no one can tell you
what your life should mean." He turns to the whimsical for "Hooked."
You think he's singing about fishing – "Stink bait dough squished on
a hook / You've got to know just how attractive that must look / To
an old catfish down in the mud" – but then you realize it's a love
song exemplifying that old adage, "The way to a man's heart is
through his stomach." The merry accompaniment includes a fun tuba
played by Freebo (Bonnie Raitt's longtime bassist). There's another
great tale in "Nobody's Business," but perhaps not one you'd expect
from a guy married to the same woman for 30 years. When he gets to
the chorus in this poignant story, it becomes clear: "Marriage is
two people in love / Marriage is two hearts holding hands." In a
tender and thoughtful way he links same-sex marriage to the bans in
the past on interracial marriages. In "Pontificating Paradox," we
hear from everyone from "the Holy Squirrel of Chapel Rock" to an old
agnostic troubadour. This song is presented simply, with only his
guitar and vocal – philosophy this poignant doesn't need a huge
band. "Someday" is a Pete Seeger-like call and response anthem that
starts out with only the banjitar and builds to a rousing room full
of voices. The album closes with beautiful harmonies and cello
accompanying the contemplative "Summer Sweetcorn," ostensibly about
the passing of the seasons, but really a metaphor for how we pass
through the years.
Daniel's personable stage presence and intriguing backstories
keep his performances engaging. There's a lot of Steve Goodman in
his delivery and storytelling. You can also hear other classic folk
singers like Tom Paxton and John Prine. It's no surprise that the
great Appalachian folk singer Jean Ritchie is a distant cousin. He's
had the pleasure to share the stage with Tom Chapin, Small Potatoes
and Jack Williams. He's won numerous songwriting awards including
the Walnut Valley Festival, Santa Fe bluegrass and Old Time
Festival, Albuquerque Folk Festival, and Woody Guthrie Folk Festival
and has played juried showcases at the Southeast, Northeast and
Midwest conferences of the International Folk Alliance.
There's a reason that Still on the Hill calls him "one of the
most talented songwriters on the circuit." Whether or not you've
walked the very same roads, you can't help but relate to these songs
– and no matter what your story, you'll love Daniel's.
Songwriting honors include:
*1st Place Songwriter - Santa Fe Bluegrass and Old Time Music
Festival 2012 *Winner - Love Songs - Walnut Valley Festival
2010 *Winner - Feeling Blue Songs - Walnut Valley Festival
2010 1st Place Songwriter, Woody Guthrie Folk Festival 2007 -
Okemah, OK *Winner - Songs for Children, Walnut Valley Festival
2005 - Winfield, KS *Alternate Winner - Love Songs, Walnut Valley
Festival 2005 *Daniel's song WELCOME HOME has been chosen as the
Festival Theme Song for the Albuquerque Folk Festival -
Albuquerque, NM
Check out C. Daniel Boling's website at www.danielboling.com
Thanks for the Music
Daniel! |