Friday November 30th, 2007 – $TBD

As a tunesmith, Kelly Joe Phelps already has a proven track record, with a catalogue of original songs infused with what The Washington Post calls “poignancy, passion and spirituality.” But on his sixth studio album, the Portland, Oregon-based musician still felt the need to retrofit new elements into his songwriting. “Part of it is shifting focus, away from music heavily driven by guitar to music that’s more driven by the song,” explains Phelps. “The record is stripped back in relation to the last two studio efforts, balancing combinations of solo, duo, trio and quartet and bridging the gap between my early solo recordings and later band outings.”

‘Tunesmith Retrofit’ offers a dozen compositional gems that show Phelps at the peak of his songwriting powers, tackling engaging story songs and soul-baring ballads with equal aplomb. Although his musical foundation remains country-blues and folk music, there’s nothing traditional or predictable about Phelps’ lyrical approach, which features distinctive images and refreshing turns of phrase. In the gentle ballad “Spanish Hands,” he describes a lover variously as “a gentle bell…a cat eye” and “a gold breath on a wire.” And the moody “Loud as Ears” paints a vivid portrait of a couple at odds with each other: “he’ll nod off and she will sing/he won’t dream while she won’t sew.”

Beyond the rich wordplay, Phelps latest album serves up several musical surprises, including the first original instrumentals he’s ever recorded. “MacDougal” is a spirited ragtime homage to folk legend Dave Van Ronk, who was known as the Mayor of Greenwich Village’s MacDougal Street. The other two tracks showcase instruments never featured before on Phelps’ albums. The carnival-like title track finds him playing the plaintive melodica, while “Scapegoat” has him picking a lightning-fast banjo, an instrument that Phelps abandoned at the age of 25. When a recent conversation with his girlfriend reminded him of his early love of the banjo, he rushed out that day and bought himself one. “I started sawing away and all these tunes just flowed,” recalls Phelps. “A month later, I bought another one.”

    The SJCC, Café Eleven, PaperRoot Clothing, the Closet, and Drift Magazine are uniquely uniting the city’s growing contingent of up-and-coming fashion designers under an official one-of-a-kind platform that brings fashion to the forefront of North Florida’s culture. It is an up-close and personal look at the areas fashion influencers with music from local DJs, a vintage clothing swap, $2 wines by the glass, Fashion Films and shopping featuring a range of jewelry, accessories and apparel from North Florida’s hottest designers.

This event is designed to put the spotlight on designers and the art of fashion. In recent years fashion design has become one of the most respected and personal forms of art. National media, movies, books, museums and television have embraced the art of fashion design. Fashion is no longer just about clothes. Its about artistic expression and personal inspiration.

To know that something was made by hand, by someone who cares that you like it, makes that object much more enjoyable. Over 20 local independent designers will be showcasing and selling their newest lines. Some are sharing their designs with the public for the very first time. Some are extremly skilled designers destined for commercial success. The Big Trunk Show encourages all new fashion designers by giving them a place to sell their work and create friendships and connections.

The Big Trunk Show & Vintage Swap is a St. Johns Cultural Council event. The SJCC creates strategic alliances to access and utilize existing resources that explore the artistic potential of our artists and community while creating a positive economic impact for the county, the artists, the community and the Cultural Council which reinvests into community programs, art education, cultural real estate, cultural tourism, art in public places.