Local Song Pick #1: Paul Callicoat- Mama's Grave

This is part of a series where I pick out a song from the Tri-State area and tell you as much as I can or feel like telling you about it. More importantly, I will only post something if I can in some way provide you with the means to hear it.

Paul Callicoat- Mama's Grave

Dying children, wasteful habits and relationships gone South are the usual fuel of heart-wrenching ballads, but Paul Callicoat offers something a little different.

"Mama's Grave" is a song about gathering the courage to visit the grave of a parent who has passed. Despite a vivid imagination of what the grave may look like from month to month, the narrator of the song just can't muster the courage to pay visit to the site his mother was buried.

The gently picked rhythm guitar work is overlayed with an out-west style lead effectively putting the listener right by the camp fire. Nothing is overwrought, it all seems very simple and delicate. The music complements the lyrical journey led by Callicoat without overpowering it. The mark of an excellent singer-songwriter.

The song is a folksy ballad with a lot of tension and emotion, you can hear it on Callicoat's MySpace page.

Paul Callicoat has played music in the Tri-State for more than 40 years. Paul also deals in musical instruments at Route 60 Music between Huntington and Barboursville. Callicoat will also be performing at a CD release party Monday at the Paramount Arts Center.

Send your own suggestions for songs/artists to me at rkuykendall@herald-dispatch.com