When Josephine Foster sings, the world turns black and white, except for the little bluebirds that dart around her shoulders and whistle along to her wistful tunes. When Josephine Foster sings, carnivals appear along dusty roads, with friendly non-meth-addicted carnies and naughty (but basically PG-rated) dancing girls with pretty feathers and tinny records. When Josephine Foster sings, it’s like the Great Depression never ended, except this time around it’s a FUN Great Depression with nothing sadder than a lonely song and the fact that ya gotta go home when the crumpets are gone and the Tea Bazaar closes (this is a place Ms. Foster is playing in Charlottesville, not something I made up.) No dust storms! No casual bigotry! No people jumping out of skyscrapers because all their money is gone! None of that Grapes of Wrath shit.
So it’s a lucky thing for America that Josephine Foster is striking up a spring East Coast tour. And golly gee, if she isn’t reissuing the Record Store Day “exclusive” 10-inch vinyl re-release of her lovely 2001 EP Little Life on June 11 via Fire Records! Bees’ knees! Cat’s pajamas! 1920s slang! Little Life, released initially as a CD-R, was recorded by Foster when she was home alone with her ukelele. Josephine Foster, who is also one of those opera-trained fancy women, had worked as a children’s music teacher, and she wrote the album specifically to get the creative juices churning in the kiddies she devised it for. It works for adults, too, as well as tiny bluebirds and little people.
Dates:
05.10.13 - Lafayette, IN - TBA
05.25.13 - Nashville, TN - The Stone Fox
05.30.13 - Knoxville, TN - The Pilot Light
05.31.13 - Asheville, NC - The Apothecary
06.01.13 - Charlottesville, VA - Twisted Branch Tea Bazaar
06.06.13 - Pawtucket, RI - Machines With Magnets
06.07.13 - Turner Falls, MA - Rendezvous
06.13.13 - Brooklyn, NY - ISSUE Project Room
Little Life tracklisting:
01. Shay Shay
02. Stones in My Heavy Bag
03. Charles in the Park
04. Francie’s Song
05. Run Maroona
06. Three Day Days
07. Tom Peck, Neighbor Friend
08. Birdo
09. Warsong
10. Hell’s Bells Are Ringing
11. Little Life
• Josephine Foster: http://www.josephinefoster.info
• Fire: http://www.firerecords.com
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