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Global Initiatives
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This cd came about because I wanted to make a present for my two young nephews. With the remarkable technical expertise and creativity of Mark Nichols, I was able to expand upon the original concept and to choose songs that recreated a gallery of telling moments in the company of wonderful friends and great musicians throughout my life so far. This project was initially recorded in Mark's living room in four 5 hr. recording sessions from Nov 03 to Nov 04. It has since been added to as life and music progresses. Aural History is dedicated to everyone, and has manifested that by duplicating itself all over the place. It may find you yet. --Megan Haas ©2004-2007. Produced by Megan Haas and Mark Nichols. Megan - guitar and vocals, Mark - guitar, vocals, bottles, scissors, bass etc.... With special guests, Ian Moore, Jessica Logan and Ryan Hoffman. "Megan asked if we could "quickly" record a bunch of songs. So, we sat around and drank wine a few times, and this is what we did. I love Megan's unique, soothing voice, and since she knew just what she wanted it was really fun. For techno heads, the whole thing was recorded with two SM57s on a laptop" --Mark Nichols 1. Waltz Across Texas Some selections from Aural History for your listening pleasure. Waltz Across Texas - Earnest Tubb-I learned this song when I was 17 years old, from Duff Dorough, an old Mississippi, minstrel. If someone hands me a guitar, this is what I usually end up singing. Fly Away Baby - Anon. A woman who was going through an old trunk in the attic found a piece of paper on which her mother had written one line about each of her nine children. The woman put it to music, and eventually taught the song she create d to the woman I learned it from. Settle Down -Trad I heard this song on a lazy, summer day at an outdoor jam session in a beautiful, Pine Forest in Cape Cod. It was sung by five women, each playing a banjo and singing softly and in the sweetest harmony. I was fortunate enough to get one of them to teach this song to me, and I have since taught it to many others. Being in my early teens, I was so struck by the independent theme . Graveyard - I learned this from my friend, Loy McWhirter, illustrator of the Rise Up Singing Songbook, and wife of the fiddle player, Bruce Greene. Most of my favorite songs are about birth and death Reviews: "There are so many polished, insincere voices in music, and so much of the reaction against that comes off as phony "lo-fi" production or affected gruffness or other trappings of authenticity, without having the thing--authenticity--itself. Megan Haas, on the other hand, is really singing... start with the kind of rich, beautiful voice that most pop stars could never aspire to, add nuance, control...technique... that’s technique in the service of expression, not of vanity, and use it to tap into an expansive, determined, sometimes-stormy-but-always-rock-solid, torn-between-connection-and-solitude soul. And that, I don't have to tell you, sure can't be faked. I love Aural History because it's beautiful, it's alive and it's wonderfully executed. It makes me feel like I've had a hug from my mother, a pinch from my sister and a kiss from the love of my life, all rolled into one...like I want to fall in love, reconnect with lost friends, and set out on a long journey by myself, all at the same time. And, of course, it makes me want to listen again." - Tom Hayden, US News and World Report. "Is there a musician out there who is capable of producing smart, soulful music for children - and their adult companions? Yes, there is! Her name is Megan Haas. Aural History is a compilation of children's lullabies, (originally intended as a present for Megan's young nephews), that simultaneously soothes and engages four-year-old Dora while stimulating the brain cells of her 39 year old mama. Megan's voice is at once earthy and transcendent, despairing and hopeful, which reinforces the song's themes. Tracks like "Waltz Across Texas" (Ernest Tubb) and "Walk Right Back" (the Everly Brothers) have had me and Dora dancing and singing together in the living room. And others like "Fly Away Baby" and "Hungry Bird" (written by Michael Ondaatje) have made me weep while preparing dinner. Dora now asks for the CD daily, and I oblige - most willingly." -Nicole Chaison, Hausfrau Muthah-Zine
Musical Influences Possibly my favorite performer of all time - Strong, compelling, passionately intelligent, elegant and beautiful, and one hundred percent present on stage.
When I first heard Mary Ford's clear, sweet, swinging, singing voice, I knew immediately that I'd found a woman I wanted to relate to vocally. Her phrasing is wonderfully elastic, her intonation is impeccable--including her five-part harmonies and backups with herself via multiple recording. Mary Ford was THE most underrated singer of the 1950's, also, not many people realize that much of the rhythm guitar in her songs with Les Paul was played by Mary herself. |
