KATHY MATTEA DIGS DEEP FOR 'COAL'

In a telephone interview a few years ago, country-folk singer Kathy Mattea explained a difficult decision she had made.

"I began to realize that if I stayed, we would just be at war with each other," she said. "Life is too short to live that way - to stay because you're afraid of the unknown. I'd rather be free to go out there and see what else I can do. It was a very amicable parting."

No, Mattea was not relating the details of a marital break-up. She remains happily married to songwriter Jon Vezner, her husband of 21 years. She was speaking about a divorce of sorts, however – her decision to leave Mercury Records after 17 years as a recording artist with the label.

"When I recorded my last album [2000's The Innocent Years], I was trying to bring my own personal experience to my work on a new level," she says. "I felt really good about it and Mercury was thrilled when I turned it in."

Where Mattea’s and Mercury's views differed, however, was in how the album would be promoted and marketed. Despite receiving numerous critical accolades, the album fell short of reaching the audience and attaining the commercial success for which Mattea had hoped . She left Mercury without any future plans in mind.

"I was just willing to do the next right thing," she says. "If it was making records and selling them on the Internet, fine. If it was going to a smaller label, that would be fine too."Mattea signed with Narada Records for three albums – Roses (2002). Joy for Christmas Day (2003), and Right Out of Nowhere (2007). She took the independent route for her latest album, the Grammy nominated Coal, which was released last year on her own Captain Potato label.

Produced by Marty Stuart, Coal is a collection of classic mining and mountain songs in which Mattea pays tribute to the West Virginia coal-mining region where she was born. Notable guests on the album include Stewart, Patty Loveless, Fred Newell, and Tim and Mollie O'Brien. In a press release, Mattea says that she had first considered recording an album like Coal when she was 19 and heard the song “Dark as a Dungeon” for the first time.

Here's a video of Mattea performing a live version of "Coal Tattoo" from Coal:

The album remained an idea on the singer’s back-burner until the tragic Sago Mine Disaster, which killed twelve West Virginia miners in 2006, rekindled Mattea’s emotional and creative need to address the situation.

“Sago was the thing that brought it all back to the surface,” Mattea says. “When I was about nine, 78 miners were killed in the Farmington Disaster, near Fairmont in 1968. When Sago happened, I got catapulted back to that moment in my life and I thought, ‘I need to do something with this emotion, and maybe this album is the place to channel it’. And so I knew the time was right.”

Over the course of a career that began in 1984 with the release of her self-titled debut album, Mattea has enjoyed a fair share of commercial success. Of her 17 albums, six – including 1987's Untasted Honey, and 1993's Walking Away A Winner – have gone gold or platinum. Her number-one hits include "Goin' Gone," "Eighteen Wheels and a Dozen Roses," and "Burnin' Old Memories."

Despite her track record, the 49-year-old singer-songwriter says that her ultimate measure of success has little to do with the commercial aspects of the business.

"I made a conscious choice at a certain point in my career that instead of pursuing a career that had to do with feeding the machine of stardom, I really wanted to pursue a career that was centered more around the music," she says."I know that I'm not going to keep doing this forever. I really want to enjoy the time I choose to continue performing. Mostly, I just want to walk away with my heart full. That's how I can be on the road for over 25 years and still enjoy it. As long as I keep that as my criteria and my benchmark, the rest of it will fall into place."

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Kathy Mattea Tour Dates:

April
23 - College Park, MD - Clarice Smith PAC
24 - Princeton, WV - Chuck Mathena Center
25 - Clayton, NC - Clayton Center
27 - Madisonville, TN - Hiwassee College- Butcher Aud.

May
07 - Greenville, SC - The Handlebar
08 - Morganton, NC - Municipal Auditorium
09 - Frederick, MD - Weinberg Center
13 - Nashville, TN - Station Inn *Second Show Added!*
14 - Bowdon, GA - Copeland Hall
15 - Nashville, TN - Station Inn
*Private Show: Limited General Seating still available*
16 - Brookfield, WI - Wilson Center for the Arts
28 - (solo) Pittsburgh, PA- PA Presenters Conference- Keynote Speech

June
06 - Hammond, LA - Columbia Theater w/Marty Stuart
13 - (solo) Klamath Falls, OR - Oregon Institute of Technology
Commencement Speech
20 - Shakori Hills, NC- MountainAid Benefit Concert- Festival Grounds
25 - Arvada, CO - Arvada Center Amphitheater

July
04 - Ripley, WV 4th of July Celebration - Court House Square
11 - Harbor Springs, MI - Blissfest
18 - Ridgefield, CT - Ridgefield Playhouse
23 - Hillsdale, NY - Falcon Ridge Festival
26-31 - (solo) Swannanoa, NC - Warren Wilson College

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Carrie Underwood Does Motley Crue on 'American Idol'

My friends are usually very surprised to learn that I’ve never watched a full episode of “American Idol.” Knowing how much I love music and how I try to stay hip to new artists, they are astonished by my indifference to the show. Call me old-fashioned, but I still prefer musicians to work their way up the ladder – playing local clubs and bars and building their audience and reputation one fan at a time.

I’m sure the contestants who make it to the finalists round on the show have worked hard and are dedicated to their music. But by its very nature, the “American Idol” setup is flawed.

I’ve always maintained that being a music critic is much more time-consuming than reviewing theater, movies, television, or books. In every other case, only one viewing or reading is necessary to form an opinion. Music, on the other hand, must be listened to repeatedly before a valid opinion can be formed.

How many times has your opinion of an album changed the more you listened to it? Sometimes a CD that didn’t grab you for weeks ends up being one of your all-time favorites. On the other hand, music that has instant likability often loses its appeal and proves trite or shallow in the long run. But with “American Idol,” the whole point is to gauge the public’s instant, knee-jerk reaction.

Shouldn’t an artist’s songwriting ability also play a part when judging his or her overall talent? On “American Idol” it’s not even considered. Maybe the name of the show should be changed to “American Idol Cover Artist.”

There have been American idols chosen from the country and soul/R&B genres, but most are cast out of the same homogenous Top-40 pop-rock mold. If you are a fan of bluegrass, hip-hop, reggae, or jazz, don’t expect to see an “American Idol” winner representing your favorite style of music anytime soon.

All that being said, I did tune in the conclusion of the Wednesday, March 11 show. I wanted to hear how well country-pop ingénue Carrie Underwood could pull off a version of Mötley Crüe's “Home Sweet Home.” It was about what I expected - a country-rock-pop ballad that reminded me of Poison's "Every Rose Has Its Thorn."

The season-four winner recorded a cover of the metal band’s most famous power ballad to serve as the new swan song for voted-off contestants. If watched the show and you like what you heard, the song will be available as a digital single exclusively on iTunes through March 16. After that it will be released via other online music retail sites. A portion of the proceeds from sales of the single will benefit the Humane Society of the United States.

"American Idol" airs Tuesdays at 8 pm and Wednesdays at 9 pm on Fox.






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