Tapestry

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WBHM Interviews

September 4, 2008...

• Singer-songwriter Teddy Thompson
• Musician Tift Merritt on Paris and getting away from it all
• The Penguin Cafe Orchestra resurfaces after 20 years

Being a second generation performer can be a challenge. There are the inevitable comparisons to mom or dad and making your own mark in their shadow can be tough, especially when your parents are famous folk-rockers Richard and Linda Thompson. But Teddy Thompson is doing just fine, thank you. While he has performed and recorded with both parents and co-wrote most of his mom's latest release, the thirty-something singer-songwriter could not be mistaken for either. He's currently touring with a band in support of his new CD, A Piece of What You Need. I asked Teddy Thompson about the difference in hitting the road solo compared with going out with a band.

Teddy Thompsom interview...

Teddy Thompson and his band appear Sunday night at WorkPlay.

Singer-songwriter Tift Merritt has faced her own performing challenges. She was burned out on touring -- for about a year she hadn't spent two weeks in the same place, much less see her friends. So she went to Paris with the goal of reconnecting herself to her life. One of the results of that reconnection is her new CD Another Country. WBHM's Michael Krall spoke with Tift Merritt about about her experience in Paris and her music...

Tift Merritt interview...

Singer-songwriter Tift Merritt, talking with WBHM's Michael Krall. Merritt lingered in the studio to play some more songs. Here's a sample. (click here) You can catch Tift Merritt on stage at Workplay Sunday night.

What to know what's going on around town? Activeculture.info is a one-stop source for finding out what's going on in the Birmingham metro area.

Twenty years after it was released, the quirky Penguin Cafe Orchestra's CDs have been re-released to a new audience. You may not know their name, but you know their music.

Tapestry is produced by Tanya Ott and Michael Krall, with help this week from Islara Vazquez. Next week on the program, a play about death - that's really about life. Tuesdays with Morrie on the next Tapestry. I'm Greg Bass, and we'll see you next week.