CD Review:

It’s Honky Tonk Time!

Girl Howdy

Girl Howdy's core--Betsy Dawn Williams, Paula Bradley, Rose Sinclair

and Emma O'Donnell--is rooted in bluegrass and old time music.  After

all, they've played with the likes of Lost Wages, Pioneer Valley

Bluegrass, Robin and Linda Williams, Jim and Jenny & The Pinetops and

Bruce Molsky.  But together they create a timeless, 1940s honky tonk

sound that never goes out of style.

Their EP length CD, It's Honky Tonk Time, reflects their love for the

music and the fun they have crafting their art.  It's recorded live and

captures the energy of their performance.  During each song you'll

forget it's live. The recording (Chris Cantwell, July 2005), mix, and

mastering (Joe Podlesney, Avocet Studios, Shelburne MA) excel and the

applause is unobtrusively faded between tracks.

Special guests June Drucker's driving bass and Paul McTaggert's drums

keep Howdy in the grove, whether they're swinging, rocking, or drowning

in a lonesome beer.  Paula 's piano rounds out the rhythm section.

Both Betsy Dawn (guitar) and Paula sing lead and take turns providing

mutually supporting harmonies.  As their voices waft through the

swinging doors and out into the dusty street, you could almost hear the

clinking of beer bottles inside.

Rose's steel and Emma's fiddle fit the music to a tee, further adding

to its authenticity.  These characteristics--sweet harmonies, sliding

steel and sawing fiddle--define Girl Howdy's genuine jukebox sound.

With a few exceptions, males dominated the post-war Honky Tonk scene. 

But in the 21st Century Girl Howdy rules--good for listening and for

dancing.

It's Honky Tonk Time contains just six songs, and as expected, leaves

you wanting more.  But, it's a bargain at just $10, available through

CD Baby linked to www. girlhowdyband.com.

Put this CD in your changer with some old Hank Williams, Ray Price and

Kitty Wells stuff.  It's all good!  Then, roll up the carpet and call

your friends for a dance.

So excuse them.  They'll take the blame, moanin' the knee-deep blues,

rockin' and swingin' with a rollicking sound that'll sweep you off your

feet.

--Hudson Valley Bluegrass Association Jamboree

The Audiophile Voice

Vol. 12, No. 1

Mike Driscoll

GIRL HOWDY IS made up of Betsy-Dawn Williams on rhythm guitar and doing the lead vocals, Paula Bradley on keyboards and helping out with the lead vocal chores, Rose Sinclair on steel guitar and singing back-up vocals, and Emma O'Donnell on fiddle and adding more vocals. Betsy hails from Chapel Hill, N.C., and possesses a voice just made for country music. Paula, who's from Huntington, W.Va., has a voice that is smoother and has less vibrato to it, sounding at times a bit like Patsy Cline. This is the group's first effort at producing a CD, and the effort was well worth it. It is a six song EP, and my only problem with it is that I wish it were longer. The four women, from all over the eastern part of the country, all somehow found each other and formed Girl Howdy.

Emma is from Cedar Rapids, lA, and learned to play classical violin at a young age, but soon found that country and bluegrass was calling her. She now lives in upstate NY. Along with Rose, who's from Midland, MI, the four together are far more than the sum of their individual parts. They play classic honky-tonk music, from Hank Williams to Buck Owens with a harmonious mix of their voices and instruments that is a real treat. The disc opens with "Knee Deep in the Blues," which fits Betsy-Dawn's vocal style to a "T." Her voice has a particular vibrato to it so that she sounds like a combination of Loretta Lynn and Stevie Nicks. Paula takes center stage with "You're Not Easy to Forget," at times seeming to channel the spirit of Patsy Cline. Paula's keyboard work is also worthy of note here, as is Emma's fiddle work. This band is tight, there are no miscues or slip-ups, each musician knowing what the others are capable of, and allowing the talents of the individuals to shine.

What really made me take notice of this disc was its sound quality. The sound is crisp and clear, the tinkle of Paula's keyboard extremely natural and extended in the high frequencies, yet with no digital "edge" as sometimes found on selfreleased recordings. On "Excuse Me, I Think I've Got A Heartache," an old Buck Owens song propelled in a swinging, jaunty style by Paula's keyboard and Rose's steel, a listener can easily separate out the individual voices and parts, a sign of a really first-rate recording. Another standout track is "Half as Much," which features both lead singers in harmony, and a fiddle-driven Bob Wills sound.

As this is a live recording, plenty of natural ambiance is present and the sense of being at a live performance is there in spades. June Drucker does a great job on bass, as does Paul McTaggart on drums. Since making this recording, the girls have had "guests" on stage with them doi ng bass and percussion during performances.

For fans of the honky tonk genre, this CD offers great performances and great sound, as well as the opportunity to help out an emerging group with the talent to go a long way in the business. Besides, I challenge anyone to listen to this recording and come away from it in a bad mood. The CD is available at their web site girlhowdyband.com or at cdbaby.com.