Speck in CMJ's top 200!

In the two months since its formal release, Speck is currently playing on over 85 college and AAA radio stations, and debuted at #186 in CMJ's top 200 charts.
Below are a few reviews of the album!



"Alexa Woodward is becoming more of a common name on the folk scene with the release of her sophomore record Speck. She sings flawlessly, as she strums her banjo to songs about loss and hope... Woodard is able to showcase her songwriting skills here as she not only displays how Americana should sound but backs it up with sheer substance!"
-The Fire Note
http://thefirenote.blogspot.com/2009/06/alexa-woodward-speck.html



Comparisons abound. She’s been likened to singers such as Neko Case, Joanna Newsom, and Gillian Welch, placing Alexa Woodward in very good company. However, despite the temptation to draft countless other musical similes to describe Alexa Woodward’s playing, suffice it to say this one time lawyer is penning beautiful songs sublimely set to comfortable banjo playing and graceful vocals. “Spoon” immediately demands attention with Woodward’s strong vocals tracing out an enticing melody, which is only lent strength by her simple banjo accompaniment. As “Spoon” unfolds, the listener is greeted by Woodward’s understated individuality, whether its her quirky lyrics drawing parallels between “the moon [. . .and] a spoon you can burn from the bottom”, or her deft instrumentation which prominently focuses upon a singing saw in the middle section of the track. Look for unique live shows from this one-time New York resident, and keep an eye peeled for Speck, out now on Constant Clip records.
-StereoSubversion:
http://www.stereosubversion.com/downloadable/alexa-woodward-spoon-05-27-2009/



"If you pay attention to the local music scene in NYC, there’s no doubt you’ve noticed a folk and roots-Americana revival. Banjos,ukuleles and mandolins are commonly strummed, plucked and hammered. Sadly, not all of these songsters shimmer. But when it’s done well, it’s great.

Armed with a banjo (that at times comes across more like a harp), a full, animated voice, instantly memorable lyrics and simply excellent songwriting, Alexa Woodward does it well. Each of Alexa’s songs is structured and unfolds as if spirited by an old soul, like a lost undiscovered classic. Her voice is commanding and present, colored by moderate vibrato, but maintaining the necessary clarity for imagery-heavy lyrical narratives to shine. Hers are the kind of cliché-less, sensible and immediately relatable words that sound as good advice or a great story spoken by a friend. Don’t be surprised if Alexa Woodward opens for Neko Case sometime in the near future."
-Resonance Review, Jezebel Music




"HIGHLY RECOMMENDED: ANOTHER GILLIAN WELCH."

"Someone We Think You Should Know: We are very proud to share the music of Alexa Woodward with you.Woodward, 27, has a gorgeous voice. With her banjo and voice alone, she is making some of the most elegant, soft and beautiful Americana/Urban Folk music we have heard in a good while. A New York native, she vows to release her new album Speck here in Boston. (Just another great reason to check her out!

Woodward is a banjo-playing folk maven! She received acclaim as a semifinalist in Jezebel Music's Williamsburg Live Songwriter Competition, NY's largest songwriting contest. She is also notably known for her beautiful live performances in the most unconventional places (most notably the Austin, TX sewer in January of this year. (300
brace underground attendees were politely "evacuated" through manholes by the local police.) That's giving it your all for your art!"
--Ryan's Smashing life (April 14, 2009):




"With the recent shuttering of the old Knitting Factory (which was actually the new Knitting Factory, relocated after the first one closed), I guess you officially, finally, can no longer refer to someone as a “downtown” musician. I’ve often heard that term in reference to New York musicians who aren’t from here and don’t sound like they live here now, so now that there’s no “downtown” music scene (formally anyway), what do you call someone like Alexa Woodward – from Virginia and sounding something like a cool breeze set to music? Woodward’s easygoing second album, Speck, sounds like a mildly psychedelic Gillian Welch in a self-imposed artist’s retreat.

Too many local artists get in a studio and, for the first time, can finally overpower their songs with too many guitars, too many drums, too many harmonies. The resulting albums manage to overpower the songwriting and somehow pale in comparison to a solo acoustic performance. I am thrilled to say that Speck is not one of those albums. Populated almost entirely by Woodward’s simple and compelling banjo and uniquely vibrating alto/soprano singing, the uncluttered arrangements complement the songs without burying the compelling elements of the live solo show. Opener “Speck” gets to about the two-minute mark with just voice and banjo, and then a single harmony, acoustic guitar, and singing saw unfold into the track out of nowhere. It’s a neat trick – before the other instruments come in, the listener is almost fooled into thinking he or she is listening to somebody’s paltry demo. Later, on “Jimmy,” Woodward’s banjo is accompanied by some super-tasteful mandolin and low-in-the-mix (like, Mazzy Star low-in-the-mix) string bass... In “Plants,” Woodward describes what it’s like to live in a house with twenty five roommates. The description of all the different roommates’ various activities, keeping things moving in the house much like things keep moving out in the city, is a near-perfect convergence of the country-raised girl with the city-based performer. The tune climaxes with a joyous sing-along chorus that sounds like all roommates present just bashed into the room and started harmonizing while the recording was going on. And this is where Alexa Woodward, and Speck, ultimately succeed. By making an album that sounds like an impromtu show in your living room, Woodward has united the relaxed feeling of sitting on the porch with the econo-necessities of making an album in the city."
by Brook Pridemore
-Jezebel Music



"Here are some of the better tracks that have made our ears sit up
and take notice this week...Alexa Woodward has given up a career in
law for the banjo! Her debut album Speck is out soon and Spoon is
the first single. To us it conjures images of rural families crowding
round a crackly old radio to tap their feet and hum along. We think we
could be hearing a lot more from this young lady."
-Mad Mackerel, Saturday, 23 May 2009

the Grand Canyon and the Mormons

After the van broke down in Colorado, we had to pick up Anders' brother Jakob in Salt Lake City. This could only be accomplished by renting a car and driving across Utah in one day, through heat and hail. So we set out early in the morning and we passed through a variety of landscapes, including:














In Utah, there are lots of Mormons. We went to the Temple in Salt Lake City.







On the way back from Salt Lake City, we stopped by Arches National Park:

















After we drove back from Salt Lake City, we got the van back. We drove the van from Durango to Flagstaff, which is not flat. It turns out flagstaff is at an elevation of 7,000 feet. When we arrived, we drove straight to a mechanic, where our coolant pipe exploded. We once again rented a car. Linky hung out in Flagstaff with the locals, and Jakob and Anders and I went to the Grand Canyon, which looks like this:











Oh, and Anders became a love child.

Death in Mesa Verde and Durango adventures

Alexa here. In the last two weeks Vwan Foodwink has broken down twice, once in Santa Rosa New Mexico (which left us in Taos for four days and out of an ungodly amount of money), and then in Colorado as we attempted to drive to our campsite in Mesa Verde national park. These pictures illustrate our most recent Vwan death march…








After Vwan died we spent a couple of days camping in Mesa Verde waiting for the mechanic to get back to us...





So now we’re in Durango, rescued once again by friends of friends. Our new pal uncle Matt hosted us for an incredible night of fire spinning, singing, and rib smoking in his backyard in downtown Durango. He drove all the way to Mesa Verde at the drop of a hat to pick us up, brought us back to his place where we walked to main street and busked for tourists. While downtown, Linky and I met Chris (gold broker, impromptu manager extraordinaire who made us a sign for CD sales), and Chelsea (a lovely girl traveling back to Fort Collins). We invited them back to Matt’s where Chris supplied us with cloves and we played music and drank Colorado beer (Modus Hoperandi).








As the night rolled on, a number of visitors stopped by. By far the highlight of these visitors was a fellow who introduced himself by slamming his body against the side of the 6-foot fence and lifting his fingers above it asking to be let in while wiggling them in the air. He eventually found the gate and wandered into the backyard so drunk that he could barely walk, and spoke to Anders for about ten minutes in Spanish. Linky and I began singing, and he sang along. His accompaniment consisted of long, loud sustained “AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA” noises and sporadic verses in Spanish on top of the already existing verses. Along with this accompaniment, he would strike dramatic poses and tell us dirty things in Spanish, and eventually told both me and Linky, “I want to be your boyfriend. Can I be your boyfriend?”





The last song we sang together was a new one, bowl of morning, which refers to Lot's wife being turned into a pillar of salt. When we reached that line, David began yelling “He turned her into salt!” and "Tax!!!!"



Today Anders and I are driving to Salt Lake City to pick up his brother Jakob, who is joining the tour for a few weeks from Denmark. We’re supposedly getting the van back on Monday… we’ll see what the damage is. We’ll be doing an in studio on the radio in Cortez on Monday afternoon, so maybe we can make a plea for help on the air that will encourage folks to buy CDs to support our ridiculous van expenses.

more pictures and thoughts to come....