I first met Amanda Winterhalter through the Bushwick Book Club, so it’s fitting that her first song with Ball of Wax is a Bushwick song. In fact, the night I saw her play this song – we were both performing at an event featuring music inspired by the work of different writers from the group Seattle7Writers – was the night I said to myself “yes, let’s do a voices-only Ball of Wax, and let’s have that song be part of it.” (Of course I promptly forgot/waffled on that plan and didn’t decide on it again until four months later.) Thankfully Amanda graciously acceded to my request to include her beautiful, Appalachian-style ballad – inspired, appropriately enough, by the tale of the Carter Family as presented in Frank Young and David Lasky’s graphic novel The Carter Family: Don’t Forget This Song.
I know, I know, there were a lot of references in that paragraph. Bushwick? Seattle7? Carter Family? But truly, you don’t need any of that background info to appreciate the sad, unadorned beauty of Amanda’s tune, lamenting a life gone wrong and a useless cure. Just click play, and then go buy your tickets so you can experience the in-person version at the BoW 44 release show June 11th at the Fremont Abbey.