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About
If you happen to cling hopefully to the notion that songwriting isn’t a dying art, and that the era of prolifically creative artists like John Prine, Randy Newman and Neil Young can’t stay gone forever, NATHAN BELL might be your man. More than a pale imitation of his predecessors, Bell is a highly original voice steeped in tradition without being swallowed by it. He springs from a heritage rich in songwriting heroes but he also heralds a step forward. He demonstrates this convincingly on his latest CD, BLACK CROW BLUE.
As the son of Marvin Bell, first Poet Laureate of Iowa, Nathan has language in his bloodlines. Raised primarily in Iowa City, home of the University of Iowa Writer’s Workshop, he says his poet-father taught
him to write about “the beautiful flaws in our lives,” and that he grew up “with an understanding that every moment something was happening and all you had to do was open your eyes.” Bell cites his influences as including not only Young, Prine and Newman, but authors Jack London,
Robert Olmstead, Craig Leslie, Rick Bass, Larry Brown (who even gets a tribute song on BLACK CROW BLUE), and his father. He also claims some of his favorite writing comes from the pages of Sports Illustrated and the pens of writers like Gary Smith and Frank Deford. “If I can’t feel what’s in the song, or if it’s only about something I’ve read or heard, I won’t write it. At the end of the day I write about the people I admire — the people I still hope to live up to.”
Nathan Bell has not only tried to live up to, but embraced the people he writes about. He has known at their best and their worst, and they all speak eloquently through him on BLACK CROW BLUE.
Quotes
“This maverick walked away from the music biz at a time when his style of twangy alt-country could have ruled the world. Nearly two decades later he’s back with a new album of devastating import.” – Holly Gleason, Option
“Bell’s mature talent makes a good case for the argument that people shouldn’t start writing songs until they’ve been around long enough to know what the f#@k they’re talking about.”-John Conquest, Third Coast Music
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New Release: Black Crow Blue
* STONES THROW “Song of the Year” on Bay FM 99.9
* KBCS Best of 2011 recordings
* RUST Best Songs of 2011 on HEYCOOLKIDS
* KBCS Favorite album of the month
* Lonesome Drifters Album of the Year
* WTUF with Donna’s Americana – Best Male Artist of the Year
* John Conquest’s 3rd Coast Magazine – Best Songwriter of the Year
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