The GinSangers   Connie Townsend & Dave Parker
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The GinSangers Connie Townsend & Dave Parker

Elkins, West Virginia, United States | INDIE

Elkins, West Virginia, United States | INDIE
Band Americana Acoustic

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This band has not uploaded any videos

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"Fresh New Music From Out Of These Hills"

Thursday November 30, 2000

By Michael Shannon Friedman
FOR THE GAZETTE


"These Hills"


Connie Townsend grew up in western West Virginia but now lives, according to her liner notes, "in the heart of the West Virginia mountains," and her rustic, plaintive, lovely folk art reflects the rugged beauty of her chosen habitat.

Townsend's voice is a refreshing change of pace from most contemporary female singers. She sings in the reserved, stately style of a young Maybelle Carter, conveying emotion and passion with dignity and restraint rather than trying to force it. The music, in turn, (acoustic guitars, an occasional blues harp) has a pleasing rough-around-the edges, old-timey feel.

Townsend's song selection suggests both a sense of history (the traditional Irish ballads "He Moved Through The Fair" and "Foggy Dew") and a keen eye for contemporary classics (the appropriately chosen Iris Dement title track, Nanci Griffith's "Little Love Affairs," Mike Morningstar's anthemic "Mountaineers Are Always Free"). Her writing shows a fine range, from the pensive confessional "Like A Fool Again" to the jaunty "Old Cat Blues."

- The Charleston Gazette


"State's Own Townsend To Perform Originals"

State's own Townsend to perform originals
Thursday June 21, 2001

By Michael Shannon Friedman
FOR THE GAZETTE

"Gentle Graces"

The influences of Harris and Hartford are put to particularly fine use on Townsend's recording, "Gentle Graces." Throughout the record, her voice moves easily and forcefully between angelic, gospel-tinged high notes and twangy country inflections.

Like many Hartford recordings, "Gentle Graces" has a rustic, at times even old-time vibe. The album opens with "It's A Banjo Playin'," a delightful paeon to country life which features Townsend on "foot stomp" as well as vocals and guitar.

"Gentle Graces" includes some traditional songs ("Nothin' In Ramblin'," "Freight Train") and a gorgeous cover of Jesse Winchester's "Defying Gravity," but it centers on 10 original compositions written by Townsend along with her [husband] Dave Parker.

Townsend and Parker have a talent for revealing how personal relationships can draw strength from the rhythms of basic natural processes, as on the lovely and uplifting title track:

"We came into each other's lives/ like shadows mingling in the night/ now we're woven, tied together/ like the darkness and the light/ in this love we find sweet freedom/ moving like the river flows/ gently touching, lightly dancing/ ever growing as we grow" (from "Gentle Graces").

Though the songs on "Gentle Graces" are obviously the work of a seasoned artist, Townsend remains committed to learning more about her craft and herself.



Michael Shannon Friedman teaches English at WV State Community & Technical College and writes about music for No Depression and other publications. E-mail him at msf92165
- The Charleston Gazette


"STRAIGHT FROM NEW ORLEANS"

WILD GINSANG MUSIC
When WV musicians Connie Townsend and Dave Parker took the stage at Handsome Willy's, a strange thing happened. Amidst the rubble and the ruin of the CBD's dark heart, a kind of old-timey magic took place. Townsend has a voice, like June Carter or Allison Kraus, that carries with it all the beauty, sadness, and strength an Appalachian life conveys. Backed by Dave Parker's guitar and dobro work, it was hard to separate Townsend's originals and the band's traditional covers, so seamlessly do their tunes fit into the Old Timey canon. Sitting out underneath the stars, you got taken away from all the mess and suddenly realized that dignity that comes from maintaining in the face of adversity, the pride that comes from remembering while others forget. In short, you get a taste of what it's like to be an Appalachian. And if you've never seen sunlight catch a drop of dew on the petals of a mountain laurel or waited out the long, grey winter at the end of a red dog road, Wild Ginsang Music is as close as you can get.

Check out Wild GinSang on ginsangmusic.com.
A West Virginia original.
- wwww.nolafugees.com


Discography

These Hills (LP), Gentle Graces (LP), The Ginsangers Live (LP), and their newest release, The Weight of Light (LP). You can hear clips at www.ginsangmusic.com or their My Space site. With the release of Weight of Light, The Ginsangers have been a featured band on XM Radio and received strong reviews.

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Bio

Connie and Dave are award-winning songwriters. In 2003 they won the prestigious Chris Austin Songwriting Contest at MerleFest – considered by many to be the preeminent Americana festival in the United States. They were finalists at Mountain Stage New Song Fest and received an honorable mention in the John Lennon Songwriting Contest. Their songs--described as sweet and gritty, edgy and true. They have taught songwriting at Augusta Heritage Center. Connie and Dave made their debut on WEST VIRGINIA PUBLIC RADIO'S MOUNTAIN STAGE in August 2005. They shared the stagewith Kasey Chambers, The Greencards, Jedd Hughes, Tony Joe White, and the Mountain Stage band. The show has aired on NPR AND PRI a number of times. They regularly play a variety of clubs, theaters, festivals and other events. Their work is supported by the West Virginia Commission on the Arts and the NEA. Please visit www.theginsangers.com for more info and our calendar.