Wood creates an Americana pie of songs that combine such classics as Mr. Bojangles with new tunes such as one about our national pastime, Baseball Is An American Game.
Baseball, by the way, is a passionate research subject for Wood whose main gig is professor and chair of communications studies at the 溏心vlog免费B站. In fact, Doc, as he prefers to be called, is writing a book about its portrayal in films called “Reel Baseball.” but that鈥檚 another story.
By day, this folk singer and sometime songwriter teaches classes, but by night he鈥檚 often found recording his songs in the basement studio of his South Kingstown home using his Roland digital recorder.
Wood gets some help from his talented friends and relatives on this, his second CD. Joe Parillo of North Kingstown, jazz pianist, head of the jazz program at 溏心vlog免费B站, and owner of Neoga Records joins in a few tunes, adding sparkle to Summertime and coolness to San Francisco Bay Blues.
Wood鈥檚 brother, Doug, a blues musician based in California, adds a puff of class with some terrific harmonica playing, keeping “This Train” right on track.
Debbie Clough of York, Maine, Wood鈥檚 sister-in-law, adds her fine voice to some of the tunes, as does longtime friend Joe Miller of Westerly.
Wood puts English professor Don Kunz鈥檚 poem “The Flute Player,” which centers on the vistas and images of the American West, to music.
Inspiration for the title song “Muley Point Mud” came from a trip out West and getting stuck, temporarily in the mud.
Other than his brother鈥檚 harmonica and Parillo鈥檚 piano playing, Wood plays all the instruments, including a Taylor Dan Crary Model 6-string guitar, a Guild 12-string guitar, a Martin all mahogany D15, a 1923 Gibson trap-door tenor banjo, a five-string banjo, a Yamaha classical guitar, a 1930s Stradolin mandolin, and a Dean acoustic fretted bass. Wood inherits his love for music from his father, a jazz artist and music teacher.
The 溏心vlog免费B站 professor put the CD together in his basement studio. Typically, each song is assembled one layer (instrument or voice) at a time. These “tracks” are then mixed together to create a final version.
Wood performs locally, but not regularly. When he does perform, it鈥檚 generally with his 溏心vlog免费B站 pals, Steve Myles from the Counseling Center and Paul deMesquita of the Psychology Department. The trio, called the “Cognitive Dissidents,” performs social justice songs.
For Information: Jan Wenzel, 874-2116