Dime Box
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Dime Box

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"Now I Miss What I Could Never See"

What a difference two decades makes. Twenty-plus years ago, Kristi Callan and her sister Kelly were part of an engaging pop-rock band called Wednesday week (their first elpee was subject to a recent much-needed reissue on the Noble Rot label). Today, WW's lead singer Kristi is fronting a five-woman country band called Dime Box for Kelly's indie label, Avebury Records. DB's debut disc, Five and Dime Waltz, has recently come out, and while it doesn't sound much like Wednesday Week, the songwriting smarts of both Callan sibs and former bandmate David Nolte continue to show through - as does Kristi's open-hearted straight-talking singing voice.__The band's sound is pure back porch country: acoustic guitar and bass, lightly brushed percussion plus omnipresent fiddle and/or mandolin; Kristi tackles the lead vocals, while three of her bandmates add warm, uncomplicated harmonies. There's not a trace of Nashvillian slickness to be found on this disc, which suits the music's honest lyrical approach. Where the younger Callan/Nolte/Callan songwriting triumvirate crafted tracks reflecting the angst and confusion of their songs' young heroines, the Dime Box juke proves more maturely rueful: songs about the aftermath of divorce, the travails of single motherhood, and just plain wishin' you knew then what you know now. If at times, the words get a little too homiletic (e.g., "honest work will see you through"), the energetic music (lotsa credit to guitar picker Yolande Ng and hoe-downy fiddler Edie Murphy here) lifts you past it.__The best tracks (nine originals, plus a dulcet Dolly Parton cover) contain plenty of telling detail and empathy: the goofy friend who repeats the same Dollar Store joke, the struggling mama buying day old bread, the well-behaved stick-in-the-mud who didn't smoke or drink - but "sure could complain." In "Mama," Kristy looks back at her My Mother, Myself relationship with more experienced eyes; in "Nobody," she describes just how wearing and rewarding it can be for two lovers to stick together; in the blue-grassy "Bone to Pick," she gives a no-nonsense kiss-off to a no-good lover. ("I want you up and gone by the end of this song.") This may be a critical cliché, but in this case, it appears to hold true: if rock 'n' roll is about adolescent possibility, country is about living with restrictions, about trying to find snatches of happiness within the struggles of the day-to-day.__Dime Box is about finding the music in those fleeting moments - and playing it in a pure, enjoyably unvarnished style.

- by Bill Sherman http://blogcritics.org/archives/2008/05/23/191745.php__ 5/23/08 - Blog Critics


"Dime Box Does Every Time"

"In what seems like a lifetime ago, the early '80s spawned a slew of bands in Southern California that all promised big pickings. Singer-guitarist Kristi Callan was in the middle of that scene in Wednesday Week, and seemed like one of the chosen ones to take the next step. Like a lot of sure things, it didn't quite work out that way. The good news is that Callan returns in new band Dime Box, and this time just might be in the right place at the right time. Her voice has become even more expressive, now that of a grown woman who knows exactly what she's singing about. Some might put the band in the long line of Los Angeles rockers gone country, but Dime Box is too original for such silliness. "Somehow Somewhere" shows how trying to typecast them is pointless anyway, because a song like that exists only as itself. Still have doubts? Listen to their version of Dolly Parton's "Do I Ever Cross Your Mind." Call it what you want, but know there aren't many others who can get to that spot where sound and spirit take flight so sweetly. Dime Box does every time."

- Bill Bentley 5/10/08 - Sherman Oaks Sun and sonicboomers.com


"For Twangfans"

" Independently-produced, pleasantly twangy, bluegrassy folk-rock-twang from Los Angeles... This all-gal five-piece ensemble wrote all but one of the songs on here, and their pride of ownership comes through loud and clear... They sing with pleasure and harmonize with joy, sort of like a 'grassier version of the Emmylou Harris/Dolly Parton/Linda Ronstadt Trio of yesteryear... The musicianship is solid, although you can hear the rough patches as well -- this doesn't sound like a big-budget Nashville album where every tic and quirk has been smoothed out in the studio... In short, this is real music made by real people: twangfans who cherish old-school folkies like the Any Old Time Stringband, Sally Van Meter or Laurie Lewis might wanna check these gals out as well. Nice to hear a little twang still coming out of SoCal." - Joe Sixpack slipcue.com


"Bluegrass Tuesday"

The truth is I’m not a huge fan of traditional bluegrass, although I do love what all these new groups are doing with its bones. Dime Box Band is an all woman bluegrass inspired outfit led by singer Kristi Callan."Betsy" is one of the 10 originals off of the bands upcoming record Five and Dime Waltz. "Betsy" features Kristi’s great vocals and some beautiful harmony vocals from the rest of the band. The music is sparse with the mandolin being the most noteworthy instrument in the mix. - songsillinois.net


"Attention Getter"

"An emerging country band that gets your attention with an all-woman lineup, and holds it with engaging songs complimented by inventive soloists." - Rob Fulcher - South Bay Easy Reader


"Sweetness on the Edge"

Long ago in Texas, a small town didn't have a post office. So the people left a dime in a box to get a letter delivered. And the town became known as Dime Box. Just a little while ago in California, a group of musical women got together on the singer's back porch and made some sounds that echoed small town Texas life. So they called themselves Dime Box. You don't need electricity to make the sounds Dime Box makes. You just need some strings for the mandolin, the fiddle and the guitars, and maybe some brushes for the drummer. And a fine country voice like Dolly or Patsy. Dime Box singer Kristi Callan has one of those voices. You know, the kind that floats effortlessly over the lyrics. The kind that yearns and reminds you of some faraway place where you always wanted to go. And the songs... Well, they've got ten heartfelt originals and a Dolly cover here. Bone to Pick is an old-fashioned country toe-tapper with tangy barbeque sauce poured all over it and great biting lyrics: 'I want you up and gone by the end of this song.' During 'High Road' the bass and brushed drums chase each other in a galloping rhythm. 'Mama' is surrounded by smooth harmonies and plaintive violin figures that echo the song's theme of regret. Some of the songs are about women escaping and coping. Take the kids post-divorce and start over. The title song is about living a life somewhere between homelessness and normal society. Collecting scraps and leftovers and making them work. But the song makes it more bearable by comparing it to a dance: 'doing the five and dime waltz.' The wistful 'Up to Here' is another post-divorce escape, but this time it's balanced by remembering the joys of being naive. My favorite song is 'Betsy,' which longs for the return of a much missed old friend. It has just the right touch of pensive mandolin playing and wondering lyrics. The best way to hear the music of Dime Box is to sit out on your back porch around dusk and listen. Or pick up this CD. Just be sure to leave a dime in the box for the postman. - Joe Beine's Dream Watcher Blog


Discography

"Five and Dime Waltz" Avebury Records 2008

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Bio

“Dime Box is Kristi Callan's (formerly of Wednesday Week) latest musical project. Picture the Flying Burrito "Sisters" and you'll get the idea. I like everything about this band, from their harmonies to the dresses which make them look like actresses performing a scene from a summer stock production of "The Grapes of Wrath." I am entirely sold on their high lonesome sound." Steve Thorne's blog