W.C. Beck

cury

"Sapling, Beck's delicate, country-flecked new album, draws directly from that tumultuous period—the wordless elegy "Blood Harmony," for instance, was literally written between funerals—it's not just about that one difficult year. In fact, it's made up of songs written over the course of three years. Beck thinks of the record as a chronicle of his own self-discovery, from coming to terms with the need to leave his hometown of Newton, Kan. (the lightly galloping "Rolling Hills"), to learning how to cope with loss (the wounded "Ticking Clocks"). Beyond the lyrical content, Sapling also represents Beck's journey as a songwriter. Influenced by his composer grandfather, Beck as a kid studied classical music and jazz. He absorbed his country influences mostly "by osmosis," he says. The turning point came at age 14, when he witnessed a performance by Portland-based string band Pig Iron. After that, Beck abandoned his formal training in favor of working less from the head and more from the heart. "It was really good to have the tools in the toolbox," he says. "But it was nice to divorce myself from thinking about it and just do it, and sing what's natural." Beck self-released three albums—his first recorded when he was 18—before graduating from the University of Kansas and moving to Portland in 2006. Sapling is a culmination of his growth as a musician since, to the point where writing songs is now not just a means of processing pain but a compulsion." - Matthew Singer, Willamette Week

"W.C. Beck and the Valiant Swains' Kansawyer is a gorgeously recorded disc. It sounds warm, lively and inviting, like a swell field recording of a particularly good back-porch country jam session. Beck puts thought and heart into his songwriting and occasionally haunts the listener by telling short stories of hope in a hopeless world." -Casey Jarman, Willamette Week

"You might have guessed from the title of his new album, Kansawyer, that songwriter W.C. Beck originally comes from Kansas, and although he lives in Portland now, Kansawyer doesn’t fit into any single corner of the map. Rather, it’s a rollicking record that covers the full American spectrum of country, twang, and folk balladry. Beck assembled a group of local pickers—including Lewi Longmire, Jesse Bates, Scott Hay, Morgan Geer, David Lipkind, and Matt Cadenelli—for a two-day marathon recording session at Type Foundry Studio back in April, dubbing the crew the Valiant Swains; they’re premiering the album at tonight’s show. With Beck’s unmasked, clean baritone at the front, expect a night of two-stepping with a few tear-in-the-beer slow numbers for good measure." -Ned Lannamann, Portland Mercury