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Ben Wakeman

  • Catch & Release
  • about
  • music
    • I'm Just the Same As I Was
    • Waiting for the Light to Change
    • Greener
    • The Overall Distance
    • Demos
    • A Quiet Place to Sit
  • Fiction
    • Rewind, Playback
    • The Memory of My Shadow
    • Harmony House
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CarolineHerring.jpg

Episode 11: Caroline Herring Surprises Us with Something Sweet

August 13, 2007

Caroline Herring has always known she has a gift, but she is not one to hit you over the head with it.  Her haunting voice is sweet and deep and carries her songs of the the South in a way that is beautiful and tender, but at the same time, very real. 

Caroline is a self-proclaimed "late bloomer" who did not start writing songs until her late twenties. She cut her musical teeth on the canon of bluegrass and old time songs during her stint hosting a live radio show where each week she had to perform a new set of material with artists like Peter Rowan who might be passing through.

After moving to Austin, she rose quickly through the ranks of the music scene and released two critically acclaimed CDs, "Twilight" and "Wellspring."  She has toured extensively in the U.S. and Europe with Dar Williams and has shared the stage with many legendary artists at some of the most important Folk Festivals.

You can hear hints of Gillian Welch, Iris Dement and Kate Wolf in her songs, but Caroline's style is distinctly her own. In this interview she performs beautiful renditions of Heart and Soul, Tacoma Blues andWhippoorwill.

← Episode 12: David Wilcox Feels His WayEpisode 10: Pierce Pettis is a Poet and A Gentleman →

SHORT STORIES

LONGER THAN A SONG, SHORTER THAN A NOVEL...

I've always been enamored by the short story. It is probably the most difficult form to master. How can you possibly transport someone into a fully realized world in just a few pages? Songs can cheat because the music does the heavy lifting. Novels have acres of open land to plant the seeds and allow them to grow, produce fruit and even die. But short stories must be dense, concentrated and focused with an engine powerful enough to tow a freight train but small enough to fit in a pocket watch.

This collection of stories represents my meager attempt to learn how the form works. There are moments I hope where I get close, but you can be the judge of that, dear reader.