About this episode
The episode features an interview with singer-songwriter George Usher discussing his illustrated song-cycle, Stevensonville.
Interview with singer songwriter George Usher ! Stevensonville is a 12-part illustrated song-cycle that delves into the myriad goings on in itsnamesake locale. Each song and illustration represents a different inhabitant of Stevensonville.They sometimes reference each other in the manner of Edgar Lee Masters’ Spoon RiverAnthology or Thornton Wilder’s Our Town. The characters who people dark, repressedStevensonville have their own very unusual and pressing issues to cope with, before they cangamble on leaving. George Usher’s poetic lyrics and folk-rock and chamber pop musical settingscombine with Laurie Webber’s colorful, magnetic illustrations for a stunning, uniquepresentation.George and illustrator Webber first conceived Stevensonville 30 years ago as a literate, artistic,musical project. However, Usher’s businesspeople were put off by the projected cost of recordingit and manufacturing album packaging that included the hefty booklet of illustrations in view ofits likely limited commercial prospects. The song cycle was performed live twice over the years,once at the Bowery Poetry Club in New York City to an enthusiastic audience. Then, it was setaside and forgotten…until now…
People in this episode
Host: Zig at the gig
Guest: George Usher
Topics covered
- interview
- music
- song-cycle
- illustration
- folk-rock
- chamber pop
Keywords
- George Usher
- Stevensonville
- illustrated song-cycle
- folk-rock
- chamber pop
- Laurie Webber
- music project
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Ahoy Larry Pursuits, Strothard Bulldog Productions, Tony Shanahan, Patti Smith Group, John Mellencamp
Places: Stevensonville, Bowery Poetry Club, New York City
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