gove scrivenor
Clearwater, Florida, United States | INDIE
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Press
GOVE Scrivenor may not actually swagger sitting down, but he manages to dance quite convincingly to the beat of his own accompaniment in that position. In full flight his feet provide a stomping rhythm section, at other times they merely flutter and scissor in delight at what the fingers have just achieved.
It's hard to understand why this master American guitarist, singer and songwriter isn't better known. I'm not too familiar with his two record albums - but he is clearly a performer who bears closer scrutiny. On the night he came out of the blocks with a vigorous slide guitar treatment of Brownie McGhee and Sunny Terry's Stranger Blues and played and sung his way through an hour's worth of songs new and traditional.
Lovely songs like Eric Von Schmidt's Make My Love Come Rolling Down were contrasted with ebullient offerings like a children's song from Texas that was at once tough and whimsical. Old stand-byes were freshly presented. Cocaine Blues became again a believable saga of some self deprecating wit, warmth and an acceptance of despair as a matter of course.
Gove Scrivenor's voice is robust, flexible and beguiling, but for me the highlights of his performance were instrumental and came in two excerpts on the autoharp. His rendition of his own Two Rivers instrumental suite redefines the possibilities of this traditional Appalachian instrument with waves of carillon-like sound and beautifully articulated themes. Scrivenor's encore on autoharp also bears mentioning, if only for the effortless way he glided from leading a euphoric community sing-a-long of You Are My Sunshine into Jesu Joy of Man's Desiring laced with the odd quote from Beethoven.
Ted Robinson - THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD - Ted Robinson
GOVE Scrivenor may not actually swagger sitting down, but he manages to dance quite convincingly to the beat of his own accompaniment in that position. In full flight his feet provide a stomping rhythm section, at other times they merely flutter and scissor in delight at what the fingers have just achieved.
It's hard to understand why this master American guitarist, singer and songwriter isn't better known. I'm not too familiar with his two record albums - but he is clearly a performer who bears closer scrutiny. On the night he came out of the blocks with a vigorous slide guitar treatment of Brownie McGhee and Sunny Terry's Stranger Blues and played and sung his way through an hour's worth of songs new and traditional.
Lovely songs like Eric Von Schmidt's Make My Love Come Rolling Down were contrasted with ebullient offerings like a children's song from Texas that was at once tough and whimsical. Old stand-byes were freshly presented. Cocaine Blues became again a believable saga of some self deprecating wit, warmth and an acceptance of despair as a matter of course.
Gove Scrivenor's voice is robust, flexible and beguiling, but for me the highlights of his performance were instrumental and came in two excerpts on the autoharp. His rendition of his own Two Rivers instrumental suite redefines the possibilities of this traditional Appalachian instrument with waves of carillon-like sound and beautifully articulated themes. Scrivenor's encore on autoharp also bears mentioning, if only for the effortless way he glided from leading a euphoric community sing-a-long of You Are My Sunshine into Jesu Joy of Man's Desiring laced with the odd quote from Beethoven.
Ted Robinson - THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD - Ted Robinson
Thanks for opening up the skies on top of that mountain.
Burl Ives
Gove's first appearance on "Austin City Limits," with the Amazing Rhythm Aces, was such a success we had to bring him back the next year this time with Doc Watson. It was a great show.
Terry Lickona - AUSTIN CITY LIMITS, PBS TV
Gove got the best response and achieved a downhome relationship with the audience of 1500. His set was well chosen, full of fine blues, and he was obviously playing what the crowd wanted to hear.
Harry Eagar - NORFORK LEDGER STAR
Gove was the star of the evening.
THE VIRGINIAN PILOT
Gove is still relatively unknown in the world of music.
The world should listen a little closer.
Mark Seal - UNIVERSITY OF TENNESSEE, DAILY BEACON
Labeling the music that Gove shared with the audience is not easy. Country, folk, rock, heavy all these adjectives may be applied to his music. His singing reached all levels from soft ballads to rowdy rock, and he often seemed to be pulling the music from his guitar which he aptly said was his home.
Lynda Van Horn - LONGWOOD COLLEGE ROTUNDA
To see a performer like Gove single handedly entice and cajole and entertain an audience is unique. A visit to a Gove concert is like going to the theatre. His presence and audience rapport command attention. His picking is superb, and he sings these gut level Memphis Blues and Delta type things with a voice that's both beautiful and funky. There should be creativity in music, and emotion and soul, and Gove's got 'em all.
Harvey Magee - HANK MAGAZINE
Gove's performance was truly outstanding. His dedication and cooperation make him a pleasure to work with, and as a musician he's one of the finest.
Elianne Halbersberg - AUGUSTA COLLEGE
Gove's voice is dark and deep, yet ready, unusually expressive. He avoids the extremes, the rock singer's aggressive bellow and the folksinger's monotone. He has impressive control over his performance; he knows exactly what he wants, and he produces it flawlessly. Gove's Southern accent is the right blend of gentle slur, for the blues, and nasality, for country songs.
A. B. Thomas - RICHMOND TIMES DISPATCH
Gove, as always you came through with a five star performance.
John M. Lavery - Recording Division,
NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC SOCIETY
You made a great evening for all of us, and your talent and personality is so uniquely suited to excite and entertain a student body. Hope we attract you back someday.
H. C. Evans, Jr., President - LEES McRAE COLLEGE
Gove is all motion and sensual vigor.
He is a singer, he is a wit. Gove is a treat to see.
Amorese - NORFOLK VIRGINIAN PILOT - VARIOUS
Thanks for opening up the skies on top of that mountain.
Burl Ives
Gove's first appearance on "Austin City Limits," with the Amazing Rhythm Aces, was such a success we had to bring him back the next year this time with Doc Watson. It was a great show.
Terry Lickona - AUSTIN CITY LIMITS, PBS TV
Gove got the best response and achieved a downhome relationship with the audience of 1500. His set was well chosen, full of fine blues, and he was obviously playing what the crowd wanted to hear.
Harry Eagar - NORFORK LEDGER STAR
Gove was the star of the evening.
THE VIRGINIAN PILOT
Gove is still relatively unknown in the world of music.
The world should listen a little closer.
Mark Seal - UNIVERSITY OF TENNESSEE, DAILY BEACON
Labeling the music that Gove shared with the audience is not easy. Country, folk, rock, heavy all these adjectives may be applied to his music. His singing reached all levels from soft ballads to rowdy rock, and he often seemed to be pulling the music from his guitar which he aptly said was his home.
Lynda Van Horn - LONGWOOD COLLEGE ROTUNDA
To see a performer like Gove single handedly entice and cajole and entertain an audience is unique. A visit to a Gove concert is like going to the theatre. His presence and audience rapport command attention. His picking is superb, and he sings these gut level Memphis Blues and Delta type things with a voice that's both beautiful and funky. There should be creativity in music, and emotion and soul, and Gove's got 'em all.
Harvey Magee - HANK MAGAZINE
Gove's performance was truly outstanding. His dedication and cooperation make him a pleasure to work with, and as a musician he's one of the finest.
Elianne Halbersberg - AUGUSTA COLLEGE
Gove's voice is dark and deep, yet ready, unusually expressive. He avoids the extremes, the rock singer's aggressive bellow and the folksinger's monotone. He has impressive control over his performance; he knows exactly what he wants, and he produces it flawlessly. Gove's Southern accent is the right blend of gentle slur, for the blues, and nasality, for country songs.
A. B. Thomas - RICHMOND TIMES DISPATCH
Gove, as always you came through with a five star performance.
John M. Lavery - Recording Division,
NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC SOCIETY
You made a great evening for all of us, and your talent and personality is so uniquely suited to excite and entertain a student body. Hope we attract you back someday.
H. C. Evans, Jr., President - LEES McRAE COLLEGE
Gove is all motion and sensual vigor.
He is a singer, he is a wit. Gove is a treat to see.
Amorese - NORFOLK VIRGINIAN PILOT - VARIOUS
Discography
"HEAVY COWBOY" TRX RECORDS 1969
"SHADY GOVE " FLYING FISH RECORDS 1977
"COCONUT GOVE" FLYING FISH RECORDS 1979
"SHINE ON" COMPASS RECORDS 2000
"SOLIDGOVE" FLYING FISH RECORDS 2001
"MADE OF SAND" NO AGE RECORDS 2006
Photos
Bio
When looking for expressive and uncommon sounds, Dolly Parton, Neil Young, Dan Seals, Hank Williams, Jr., Iris Dement and Glen Campbell all turned to the evocative sound of Gove Scrivenor's autoharp. When Gove released early albums on Flying Fish Records, his friends, Doc Watson, John Hartford, Marty Stuart, and Buddy Emmons...all lined up to contribute to his recordings.
Now joined by John Prine, Nanci Griffith and Lari White for his first Compass Records release Shine On, Gove has created a collection of five self-penned and selected favorites of fellow artists. Gove, once again, introduces songs that are full of life and energy and his very personal, soulful sound.
Gove moved to Nashville in the early 70's after a four-year stint as a submarine sonar technician in the Navy. This move proved to be a wise one, as he was signed by the largest music publishing company in the world, Acuff-Rose. Wesley Rose saw in Gove the qualities that his struggling TRX record label needed, and Gove was soon signed to a recording contract as well as a songwriter agreement. Things began to happen. Scrivenor signed a management and booking deal with the Don Light Talent Agency in Nashville. During his years with Don Light, Gove toured with fellow agency artists Delbert McClinton and Jimmy Buffett and the Original Coral Reefer Band.
These successes opened doors for opportunities and he was soon performing on the popular PBS series Austin City Limits, where he appeared with The Amazing Rhythm Aces. His performance was splendid and he was asked to return again the following year for a show with Doc Watson. Bookings at colleges, festivals and clubs poured in and Gove soon found himself playing all over the US and Australia. Standing ovations and rave reviews were the order of the day, and then the bottom fell out of the Folk and Blues circuit with the advent of "alternative music" in the early '80s.
Not one to be brought down, Scrivenor kept his optimistic attitude alive and settled right into Nashville. He established himself as a highly sought after sessions player and he met with continued success by singing many jingles, including the early Opryland campaigns for TV and Busch Beer.
“Shine On” on Compass Records follows the success of Gove's two prior releases on Flying Fish Records. Shady Gove featured such masters as Doc Watson, John Hartford, Buddy Emmons and a host of others. It was the first of two highly regarded albums for the label. Coconut Gove, his second release, drew participation from such favorites as Marty Stuart, Ben Keith, and Dave Loggins. These two albums were re-issued by Rounder Records in 1999 as a compilation entitled “Solid Gove.”
Now we're provided with another unique opportunity to hear this master at work.
A new CD “Made Of Sand” was completed in the spring of 2006 and is available now.
Gove’s music has been described as "high energy folk blues," with inventive slide work and powerful vocals, tempered with singular work on the autoharp and beautiful ballads of his own writing. He's well known for his magical rapport with audiences of all ages.
Band Members
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