Articles and Interviews:
6/20/2008 CD Review in The Frontiersman,
Palmer, Alaska
2/29/2008 Article
in Erie Times-News, Erie, PA
2/17/2008 Podcast
Interview with Ray Naylor on Fiddles and Frets (has digital skips, but good
content!)
2/12/2008 Article
in Knoxville Shopper-News Weekly
6/20/2008
CD Review in The Frontiersman, Palmer, Alaska
By Josh Cole
This past weekend, on a whim, I took a little spontaneous trip to Talkeetna with a brilliant artist friend of mine named Danell Yell. It was there I discovered a nearly untapped treasure of local music to be had by a local music junky, such as yours truly. If I had $15 for every local artist I saw on the shelves of the various shops and galleries along the beaten path, I would have had to forego lunch and gas to get us home. So on that day, I chose just one: Esther Golton’s “Unfinished Houses.”
Golton plays a unique stringed instrument not often featured these days in music, regional or otherwise, known as the mountain dulcimer It kind of looks like a cross between a violin and a very small acoustic guitar, though it has a long, thin shape with two holes on either side of the strings. In this case, the holes are in the shape of hearts, much like Golton’s music, which is full of heart. The instrument is either strummed or picked, making a rich and distinct sound all its own.
Golton’s vocals are silky smooth, precise and winsome, especially when accompanied by other voices. She has a fluency to her words that allow the listener to decipher every syllable uttered.
Golton has a way of telling her stories that make you feel as if you shared with her in her experiences personally.
In “Going to Shadu,” she sings, “We’re hiding in the bushes, not breathing, but we’re very much alive. Shadu’s gone back to grazing as the car pulls out the drive. We’re giggling at the sky.”
Golton writes some of the catchiest choruses I’ve ever heard, with these fantastic harmonies quite reminiscent of Crosby, Stills and Nash.
In “The Hoedown Philosopher,” the chorus is immediately imprinted in my mind like it was something I’ve heard before in a dream and now I realize that I am no longer dreaming, because this enchanting sound is for real. The chorus resonates with “Nobody promised us crystalline clarity. Nobody modeled us simple sincerity. There’s only one murky conclusion that I can see, life must be filtered.”
Golton’s music has such a rich vibe about it, the kind of sound that sends chills down my spine, because it is like I’ve discovered a secret that the rest of the world will soon find out about.
So in the meantime, I will savor in the idea that I found her first.
To give this fantastic artist a listen, stop by fabulous Talkeetna and it won’t take you long to find her.
Josh Cole is a local musician and CD connoisseur. For a possible review of a new released, e-mail Josh Cole at lettersfromthevoid@yahoo.com or at Myspace.com/familiarwalls.
2/29/2008
Article
in Erie Times-News, Erie, PA
Out of the wild - By Dave Richards
Like Christopher McCandless, Esther Golton and her partner, Jim Kloss, chucked everything and moved into the wild of Alaska.
Unlike McCandless, they're still going strong. Golton is a talented singer-songwriter who plays flute and mountain dulcimer. Kloss oversees Whole Wheat Radio, an Internet station that showcases unsung, deserving independent musicians, which he operates from their log cabin in Talkeetna, Alaska.
Golton and Kloss met while hiking the Appalachian Trail. She had grown up in Philadelphia and graduated from Pennsylvania State University with a music degree. While the flute is her specialty, in a fit of classical rebellion she bought a mountain dulcimer with high school graduation money from Grandma and discovered she loves that, too.
Kloss was a computer programmer from Columbus, Ohio, who -- like Golton -- tired of the mess of modern life. They set out for Alaska.
"We narrowed everything we had down to what fit in a pickup truck and drove up the Alaska Highway, not knowing where we'd end up," Golton said.
On a bulletin board they found an ad: A tiny cabin tucked away on a lake needed a caretaker. They lived there a year, with no indoor plumbing. They needed to flag down a train to reach civilization, 20 miles away.
That was Talkeetna, where they later moved.
"I got lonely and missed doing music," Golton said.
She built a 12-by-12-foot cabin in Talkeetna, which lies about 100 miles north of Anchorage. Cold snaps, she said, mean temperatures of 30 and 40 below. And it snows, a lot.
"There are two winters I experienced where we were surrounded by 10 feet of snow for a long period of time," Golton said.
Yet, they love it. "It's great to be in a place that's less crowded and so beautifully wild," she said.
Plus, a musical miracle began. Through Whole Wheat Radio, Golton developed a following for her folk-flavored songs that are wise, warm and often funny. "Life must be filtered," she sings in "The Hoedown Philosophy," one of the gems on her new CD, "Unfinished Houses."
Golton had enough fans to try a tour. Erie fan David Van Amburg suggested she play Erie and rounded up guests to accompany her. David Blaetz (bass), Phil Papotnik (horns), Julie Hamilton (vocals) and Van Amburg ( guitar) will join her Saturday at the Bel-Aire Clarion Hotel.
They'll play her originals but also the Beatles' "Norwegian Wood," which is perfect for dulcimer, and Van Morrison's "Moondance." Her voice, clear as a mountain stream, and flowing songs evoke the wonder and reward of living in the wilderness without ever sounding like a billboard or postcard.
Golton will share a few stories about her "Northern Exposure" lifestyle. Her cabin still has no running water. But she'd rather live in the wild than in the 'burbs.
Esther Golton will perform Saturday from 8 to 10 p.m. at Victor's in the Bel-Aire Clarion Hotel, 2800 W. Eighth St. Admission is free. For more on Golton, visit www.myspace.com/esthergolton.
DAVE RICHARDS can be reached at 870-1703 or by e-mail at dave.richards@timesnews.com.
2/12/2008
Article
in Knoxville Shopper-News Weekly
From Denali to the Smokies by Emily Schoen
Sometimes it’s the little things that make all the difference in your life’s direction.
Just ask Esther Golton. A serendipitous series of events will have brought this singersongwriter from the foothills of Denali Mountain in Alaska to the
foothills of the Smokies to perform Tuesday, Feb. 12.
It began when Fountain City resident Angela Hill was traveling through Alaska last summer and visited Whole Wheat Radio (www.wholewheatradio.com), an
interactive independent music webcast originating from a log cabin in tiny Talkeetna, Alaska. There she heard Esther Golton, a clear-voiced singer who
accompanies herself on the mountain dulcimer.
Impressed with Golton’s original handling of genres from folk to pop to jazz to blues, Angela returned to Knoxville wanting to hear more. She e-mailed
Esther, who just happened to be planning her fi rst East Coast tour, and helped her get booked at Fountain City café The Lost Savant 6:30 p.m. Feb. 12. A
stop in Knoxville would fi t in nicely in Esther’s itinerary – right between Maryland and Alabama!
More serendipity: after posting the confirmed date on her Web site,
www.esthergolton.com, Esther received an e-mail from another Knoxville fan who had visited her a
few years ago and had noted her tour schedule. The message suggested that as long as she was in
Knoxville, why not contact the folks who put together WDVX’s Blue Plate Special? Esther then
e-mailed host Matt Morelock, and lo and behold, they had a rare opening in their lineup and
invited her to be on the show at noon Feb. 12.
When things fall into place like this, you start to think it was meant to be. But Esther gives all
the credit to her network of fans and friends. “When you are a lesser-known independent musician,
this grass-roots method works incredibly well. ... I have fans all over the country who have been
hosting house concerts, helping me find venues and getting the word out to help gather an audience.
It’s amazing and I’m grateful.”
Unconventional gems
Golton is a Pennsylvania native and seasoned performer who’s hiked the Appalachian
Trail and traveled from Japan to Maine before settling in her self built cabin in Alaska. She had
been helping to present other musicians for four years when she answered an inner call to put
her own creativity back on the front burner.
The result was Golton’s 2007 CD Unfinished Houses, which includes some cover songs reflecting
her enduring commitment to her fellow songwriters.
“It was a thrill to breathe my own interpretation into those songs,” says Esther. “Other artists
I admire write so differently from the way I do. That can be freeing and tremendously fun to
arrange.”
Esther’s rich and varied life experience has infused her own songwriting with stories and humor,
and her dulcimer technique extends way beyond the old-time music tradition. She uses the instrument
to coax out interesting chords and textures, all the while anchoring her melodious songs
with heartfelt lyrics evocative of her varied life and the Alaskan wilderness. She’s a genuine
original, singing tunes that are quirky, poetic and thought-provoking. Folk artist Carrie Newcomer
has said of Esther, “It is an act of courage and bravery whenever we send our art out into the
world; but the world so needs works of honesty and truth and worth like these.”
Catch Esther at one of these local shows, and this rising star might even light up the stage
with some improv on her flute. You never know – you might get caught up in a serendipitous
event yourself!
- Tuesday, Feb. 12, noon: Blue Plate Special, Knoxville Visitors Center, 301 S. Gay Street
or listen online at www.wdvx.com.
- Tuesday, Feb. 12, 6:30 p.m.: Lost Savant, 5703 North Broadway. Call 689-9990 for
info or directions.