Ollabelle
Encyclopedia
Ollabelle is a New York based folk music
group named after the influential Appalachian songwriter Ola Belle Reed
. The group is composed of five singing multi-instrumentalists hailing from disparate parts of the United States
, Canada
and Australia
.
sessions humorously dubbed "Sunday School for Sinners" held in a small bar called 9C (so named for its location at the corner of East 9th Street and Avenue C on Manhattan
's Lower East Side
). Their individual talents and musical tastes fused together to provide a unique musical experience influenced by various genres such as gospel, traditional/folk, blues, bluegrass
, rock
, soul
, and even jazz
. The group was featured on the National Public Radio program All Things Considered
in a 2004 segment, and was part of bluegrass/country artist Alison Krauss
' national Great High Mountain Tour (2004) which in addition to Ms. Krauss also featured the revered American traditional artist Ralph Stanley
. The past several years have seen Ollabelle on the road touring many states including Alaska
, several Europe
an countries, and they have also played at the 2004 Newport Folk Festival
, the 2007 South By Southwest
music event held annually in Austin, Texas
, and North Carolina
's MerleFest
, (2008). More recently, Ollabelle toured as part of "The American Beauty Project" a live presentation of songs from the classic Grateful Dead
album American Beauty
in which Ollabelle do their interpretations of several songs including the beautiful "Brokedown Palace". The American Beauty Project released a 2-CD live recording in 2007 featuring Ollabelle, Jim Lauderdale, Larry Campbell, Teresa Williams, Catherine Russell & David Gans. Ollabelle served as the house band for the Simon & Garfunkel tribute show at New York's Central Park Summerstage on June 8, 2010.
Ollabelle's members continually add traditional and original material to their live performances. Ollabelle's first album (Ollabelle
) was produced by the legendary T-Bone Burnett
while their second album (Riverside Battle Songs
) was co-produced with former Bob Dylan
sideman Larry Campbell
. Several members of Ollabelle guest on the 2006 album by American folk-blues artist Chris Smither
entitled Leave the Light On
and 2009 has seen the release of Before This Time an album culled from live performances featuring both old and new material.
Two members of Ollabelle, mandola player Amy Helm and bassist/vocalist Byron Isaacs, are regular members of the Levon Helm Band
(Levon is Amy's father) and perform at Levon's Midnight Ramble concerts. Other Ollabelle members occasionally join up with the Levon Helm Band, including Tony Leone, who sometimes sits in on drums with the band while Levon steps out front and plays mandolin.
Ollabelle consists of (as pictured Left to Right):
Former member:
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
group named after the influential Appalachian songwriter Ola Belle Reed
Ola Belle Reed
Ola Belle Campbell Reed was an American folk singer, songwriter and banjo player. Born in Lansing, North Carolina, Reed's songs often speak of Appalachian life and traditions. Her best known songs have been recorded by mainstream bluegrass and country artists...
. The group is composed of five singing multi-instrumentalists hailing from disparate parts of the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
and Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
.
History
Ollabelle formed during the post 9/11 days of 2001 at Sunday night gospel musicGospel music
Gospel music is music that is written to express either personal, spiritual or a communal belief regarding Christian life, as well as to give a Christian alternative to mainstream secular music....
sessions humorously dubbed "Sunday School for Sinners" held in a small bar called 9C (so named for its location at the corner of East 9th Street and Avenue C on Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
's Lower East Side
Lower East Side
The Lower East Side, LES, is a neighborhood in the southeastern part of the New York City borough of Manhattan. It is roughly bounded by Allen Street, East Houston Street, Essex Street, Canal Street, Eldridge Street, East Broadway, and Grand Street....
). Their individual talents and musical tastes fused together to provide a unique musical experience influenced by various genres such as gospel, traditional/folk, blues, bluegrass
Bluegrass music
Bluegrass music is a form of American roots music, and a sub-genre of country music. It has mixed roots in Scottish, English, Welsh and Irish traditional music...
, rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
, soul
Soul music
Soul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of...
, and even jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
. The group was featured on the National Public Radio program All Things Considered
All Things Considered
All Things Considered is the flagship news program on the American network National Public Radio. It was the first news program on NPR, and is broadcast live worldwide through several outlets...
in a 2004 segment, and was part of bluegrass/country artist Alison Krauss
Alison Krauss
Alison Maria Krauss is an American bluegrass-country singer, songwriter and fiddler. She entered the music industry at an early age, winning local contests by the age of ten and recording for the first time at fourteen. She signed with Rounder Records in 1985 and released her first solo album in...
' national Great High Mountain Tour (2004) which in addition to Ms. Krauss also featured the revered American traditional artist Ralph Stanley
Ralph Stanley
Ralph Stanley , also known as Dr. Ralph Stanley, is an American bluegrass artist, known for his distinctive singing and banjo playing.-Biography:...
. The past several years have seen Ollabelle on the road touring many states including Alaska
Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
, several Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an countries, and they have also played at the 2004 Newport Folk Festival
Newport Folk Festival
The Newport Folk Festival is an American annual folk-oriented music festival in Newport, Rhode Island, which began in 1959 as a counterpart to the previously established Newport Jazz Festival...
, the 2007 South By Southwest
South by Southwest
South by Southwest is an Austin, Texas based company dedicated to planning conferences, trade shows, festivals and other events. Their current roster of annual events include: SXSW Music, SXSW Film, SXSW Interactive, SXSWedu, and SXSWeco and take place every spring in Austin, Texas, United States...
music event held annually in Austin, Texas
Austin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in...
, and North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
's MerleFest
MerleFest
MerleFest is an annual "traditional plus" music festival held in Wilkesboro, North Carolina on the campus of Wilkes Community College . The festival, which is held the last weekend in April, is hosted by Grammy Award winner Doc Watson and is named in memory and honor of his son, Eddy Merle Watson,...
, (2008). More recently, Ollabelle toured as part of "The American Beauty Project" a live presentation of songs from the classic Grateful Dead
Grateful Dead
The Grateful Dead was an American rock band formed in 1965 in the San Francisco Bay Area. The band was known for its unique and eclectic style, which fused elements of rock, folk, bluegrass, blues, reggae, country, improvisational jazz, psychedelia, and space rock, and for live performances of long...
album American Beauty
American Beauty (album)
American Beauty is the fifth album by the Grateful Dead. It was recorded between August and September 1970 and originally released in November 1970 by Warner Bros. Records...
in which Ollabelle do their interpretations of several songs including the beautiful "Brokedown Palace". The American Beauty Project released a 2-CD live recording in 2007 featuring Ollabelle, Jim Lauderdale, Larry Campbell, Teresa Williams, Catherine Russell & David Gans. Ollabelle served as the house band for the Simon & Garfunkel tribute show at New York's Central Park Summerstage on June 8, 2010.
Ollabelle's members continually add traditional and original material to their live performances. Ollabelle's first album (Ollabelle
Ollabelle (album)
Ollabelle is self-titled debut album from 2004 by New York act Ollabelle. It was produced by T-Bone Burnett.-Track listing:#"Before This Time"#"Soul Of A Man"#"Elijah Rock"#"Jesus On The Mainline"#"Get Back Temptation"#"I Am Waiting"#"Two Steps"...
) was produced by the legendary T-Bone Burnett
T-Bone Burnett
Joseph Henry Burnett , widely known as T-Bone Burnett, is an American musician, songwriter, and soundtrack and record producer.He was a guitarist in Bob Dylan's band on the Rolling Thunder Revue...
while their second album (Riverside Battle Songs
Riverside Battle Songs
Riverside Battle Songs is a 2006 album by Ollabelle. It was produced by Larry Campbell, best known for having played in Bob Dylan's band.-Track listing:#"See Line Woman"#"High On A Mountain"#"Heaven's Pearls"#"Fall Back"#"Dream The Fall"...
) was co-produced with former Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
sideman Larry Campbell
Larry Campbell (musician)
Larry Campbell is a multi-instrumentalist who plays many stringed instruments in genres including country, folk, blues, and rock...
. Several members of Ollabelle guest on the 2006 album by American folk-blues artist Chris Smither
Chris Smither
Chris Smither is an American folk/blues singer, guitarist, and songwriter. His music draws deeply from the blues, American folk music, modern poets and philosophers.-Early life, influences and education:...
entitled Leave the Light On
Leave the Light On (Chris Smither album)
Leave the Light On is an album by American singer/songwriter Chris Smither, released in 2006. It was released on Mighty Albert, a new imprint established for him on Signature...
and 2009 has seen the release of Before This Time an album culled from live performances featuring both old and new material.
Two members of Ollabelle, mandola player Amy Helm and bassist/vocalist Byron Isaacs, are regular members of the Levon Helm Band
Levon Helm
Mark Lavon "Levon" Helm , is an American rock multi-instrumentalist and actor who achieved fame as the drummer and frequent lead and backing vocalist for The Band....
(Levon is Amy's father) and perform at Levon's Midnight Ramble concerts. Other Ollabelle members occasionally join up with the Levon Helm Band, including Tony Leone, who sometimes sits in on drums with the band while Levon steps out front and plays mandolin.
Members
- Amy Helm — vocals, mandola
- Glenn Patscha — vocals, keyboards, accordion
- Byron Isaacs — vocals, bass, guitar, dobro
- Fiona McBain — vocals, acoustic and electric guitars, electric bass
- Tony Leone — vocals, drums, percussion, mandolin
Former member:
- Jimi Zhivago --- electric guitar, vocals
Discography
- OllabelleOllabelle (album)Ollabelle is self-titled debut album from 2004 by New York act Ollabelle. It was produced by T-Bone Burnett.-Track listing:#"Before This Time"#"Soul Of A Man"#"Elijah Rock"#"Jesus On The Mainline"#"Get Back Temptation"#"I Am Waiting"#"Two Steps"...
(2004) - Riverside Battle SongsRiverside Battle SongsRiverside Battle Songs is a 2006 album by Ollabelle. It was produced by Larry Campbell, best known for having played in Bob Dylan's band.-Track listing:#"See Line Woman"#"High On A Mountain"#"Heaven's Pearls"#"Fall Back"#"Dream The Fall"...
(2006) - Before This Time (2009)
- "Neon Blue Bird" (2011)
External links
- Ollabelle, Official web site
- Ollabelle at MySpaceMySpaceMyspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....
- Ollabelle, YouTubeYouTubeYouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
channel