Community Update

Caroline Doctorow and Russ Seeger Play at the Music in the Park Concert Series at Harborfront Park in Port Jefferson Village

It is said that opportunity knocks once. This is true “most of the time,” however, Port Jefferson residents, and fans of Americana, Folk, Country, and Bluegrass music will be pleased to know that it will be knocking at their door once again this coming Wednesday, the 21st of August, at 6:30 PM at he scenic Harborfront Park with a co-bill of Caroline Doctorow and Russ Seeger in concert.

When Caroline and the Steamrollers were here in August of 2011 they were exceptional, living up to their reputation of being one of the East Coast’s premiere Folk/Country bands. Since that time Ms. Doctorow has been traveling and playing her music in such places as Nashville Tennessee, Knoxville Tennessee, The Katherine Hepburn Theater Center in Old Saybrook Connecticut, Stephen Talkhouse in Amagansett, NY, Infinity Music Hall, in Norfolk Connecticut and in one of her favorite venues, The Guthrie Center in Great Barrington, Massachusetts.

Ms. Doctorow has played along side many venerable musicians including Richie Havens, Mary McCaslin and Hugh Prestwood, Nashville Songwriter’s Hall of Fame. She has just released her ninth studio recording entitiled Little Lovin’ Darling on the Narrow Lane label produced by Pete Kennedy. Her work both as a producer and a singer/songwriter has been acclaimed throughout the folk music industry for its clarity, harmony, and instrumental quality. She has received accolades and notes of gratitude from many artists in the music business for “introducing and reintroducing” folk-rooted music to her audiences at the varied and widely respected venues where she has played.

I recently spoke with Ms. Doctorow, at her Narrow Lane Studio in Bridge Hampton, New York. She is delightful, sincere, and passionate about her work as is shown in the interview that follows.

RM: Caroline, When do you first know you wanted to make music your career?

CD: I met some very influential folk artists when I was a young girl. As a result of a job my father had at The Dial Press in book publishing. For a period of time he worked closely with Joan Baez helping to publish her autobiography “Daybreak.” She ended up spending some more time at our house over the course of a year. Meeting her up close was thrilling. Also, my parents were big folk music enthusiasts and so we had all the popular records of the time, Pete Seeger Dylan, Richard and Mimi Farina, Mississippi John Hurt Doc Watson, and all the greats. I was hooked. I am not sure I had the word “career” in mind back then. It has just always felt like I had to play music. I somehow couldn’t help myself and this remains a constant.

RM: It sounds like you met your destiny early on. Who has influenced your work and why do they fit so prominently in your career?

CD: I was very interested in singers at first, as opposed to songwriters. I loved the voices of Maddy Prior (Steeleye Span), Mary McCaslin, Judy Collins, and Mimi Farina. I came to songwriting relatively late; took me forever. At first it was the voices that drew me in.

RM: I had the pleasure of seeing your performance with Mary McCaslin last year at the University Café. It was wonderful. Your renditions of Dust Devils, Prairie in the Sky and I Carry All I Own were just beautiful. What are some of the major challenges you have faced in your journey to pursue your passion for folk music?

CD: The challenges are numerous, as anyone in the arts knows. Over the years I have learned to stay on a steady course and follow my heart, not listening to the chatter of whatever the criticism may be. I am not in competition with anyone. I like operating alone more or less. It feels calmer to me.

RM: That is very important advice for anyone pursuing a dream. It reminds me of the poem Dreams by Langston Hughes where he writes:

Hold fast to dreams/For if dreams die/Life’s a broken winged bird/That cannot fly.

With that in mind what is one of your favorite memories concerning a venue or a concert you gave and why?

CD: I loved playing at the Guthrie Center in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, Arlo’s place. It is the true church of folk music. I can’t believe that I made it there with my music. The acoustics and the overall feel of the place are like heaven for a folk artist. I have played two shows there and each was a career highlight for sure.

RM: Thinking back over the past, what advice do you have for aspiring musicians?

CD: If music is your passion, my advice would be not to let any one person stop you. If your guitar player quits, for instance, just keep playing shows. You will find another guitar player down the line. Keep your momentum going.

RM: What are your latest achievements?

CD: My latest achievement is that I am still doing this, making a living in the music business, and still loving it.

RM: Are you working on any projects at the present time?

CD: I am working on writing a group of songs in a classic country music style. The subject matter of all the songs takes place in a fictitious small rural town. Each song takes on the groove, so to speak, of an already existing classic country recording. I hope to record the entire record live in a weekend with all the musicians together in one studio at one time.

RM: And lastly Caroline, a question that I am sure you are asked frequently: How do you balance family life and motherhood with your busy career?

CD: Friends often ask me this. I try and take it one day at a time.

Article written by

Robert Makofsky

Port Jefferson, NY

August 19, 2013