"We first came across the music of Stan Rogers around 1985 in
our local library in Park Forest, Illinois, a southern suburb
of Chicago. Steve Hall, my friend and musical
partner-in-crime, had found Between The Breaks…Live in the
small collection of LP's the library had. He thought it looked
interesting, checked it out and brought it home. He telephoned
me a short time later. 'You have to hear this record I found
at the library. This guy Stan Rogers is great.'
Over the years, the music of Stan Rogers has been a favorite
of my family on car trips. My four kids especially love
Barrett's Privateers. They love to sing and swear along with
that one, relishing the liberation of their vocabulary in the
presence of their parents.
What amazes me still about Stan's songs and recordings is their ability to
take us to another place spiritually and emotionally. When we began to
plan our CD, I knew we would have to record The Mary Ellen Carter. We
could go to any house party, campfire, song swap and gathering of acoustic
and folk musicians and find nearly everyone had heard that song. It was
like a common language. With our CD, we've tried to create a concert-like
listening event for people. The Mary Ellen Carter is our encore, our
choice for leaving people happy and renewed. I feel happier even now, just
writing about it."
Our CD started as an attempt to gather and preserve great songs. In this
case, they were the songs of a group of friends. Each session and the
accompanying visits by friends became an event and adventure. As we shared
the early recordings with others and they told us how much they enjoyed
the music, we became more ambitious. New songs were written as we became
inspired. Four years later we realized our vision. Today as a completed
CD, YOUR BIG NIGHT OUT is really a concert or event. It's a performance
art piece for the acoustically inclined. We wanted to put out a CD that
acoustic-folk music fans can listen to and feel completely entertained and
satisfied, like people do with a good live show.
