Editorial Reviews In April 2000, he was selected from hundreds to perform as one of eight finalists in the NC Songwriter’s Co-op competition in Carrboro. The show was Saturday night. On Thursday, his voice started cracking. By Friday afternoon, his voice was gone. There was no question in Jonathan Byrd’s mind about what he would do. Fake it. A few gallons of hot tea and a night’s rest later, Jonathan walked on stage, smiled, entertained, and croaked out some incredible songs. He took Grand prize and came back out to sing an encore. Jonathan grew up in the Southern Baptist tradition, singing hymns every Sunday morning and Wednesday night. His mother gave him piano lessons and his older brother taught him guitar. His uncles played guitar and his aunts sang together. As he matured musically, Byrd traveled throughout the southern highlands and even spent time in Ireland, actively seeking his artistic roots.
Music Review:
Music Review
David Oistrakh in Prague [Box set]
Music: Matador [CD-single] [Import]
Daltrey [Extra tracks] [Import]
Crush The Weak!! [Explicit Lyrics]
Britten: Peter Grimes [Import]
About the Artist
In January 2000, at the turn of the millennium, Jonathan Byrd quit his day job as a pizza delivery man to pursue music fulltime. Talk about your humble beginnings. Before that, he had stocked the dairy cooler at Weaver Street Market, the local co-op and social hub in Carrboro, NC. That’s where he learned to pursue his artistic dreams, encouraged by a friendly, creative community. Jonathan had previously served in the Navy for four years, where he learned how to cuss, paint and drink beer.
Album Description
The Waitress is dark, funny, moody songwriting. This music is born of the road, rife with characters like the diner waitress, Larry the veteran, and Rosie, the two-timing wife of a murderous mountain man. Nearly half of the CD is carried by Jonathan and his guitar- the minstrel and storyteller primeval. In the rest, you can feel the dust shake off the tops of old Martin guitars, fiddles, and the big dog-house bass. Overall, the feeling you get is of rummaging through the attic and rediscovering something very old and beautiful. "Oh, yeah, I'd almost forgotten..."