O.C. Weekly Likes Dime Box!
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Category: Music

[Locals Only] It's Country Time With Dime Box
BY DAVE SEGAL
Thursday, June 5, 2008 - 3:01 pm
Full disclosure: I've never cared much for country music. For one, it may be the least psychedelic music this side of ska (lack of psychedelic potential in a genre matters a lot to me). For another, as a godless, urban liberal, I can't abide most country music fans' political and religious views. Finally, the genre's conventions seem almost unbearably restrictive. Of course, all genres possess parameters, but country appears to have extraordinarily limited ones, with deviations from the norm firmly rebuked and scorned by hard-core aficionados.

All of that being said, I can appreciate well-crafted songs and deft musicianship, with which country abounds. A regional case in point: Dime Box, five femmes led by ex-Wednesday Week singer/guitarist Kristi Callan. Their new disc, Five and Dime Waltz (Avebury), consists of country-rock (maybe a 75/25 ratio) executed with vibrancy and verve. The band members—Callan, Pam Moore, Yolande Ng, Laura Ann Masura and Edie Murphy—show an affinity for Tammy Wynette and Dolly Parton (whose heart-stirring "Do I Ever Cross Your Mind" is lovingly covered here) as well as indie rockers like Lavender Diamond. Murphy's fiddle and mandolin embellish Dime Box's tight, artfully-crafted songs, which seem to flow out of the band with a natural ease. Callan's voice is smooth and honeyed, but not cloyingly so. She can deliver a somber croon or a mellifluous swoon with equal conviction.

Dime Box are country traditionalists who write instantly catchy tunes. Their album offers no surprises, but plenty of rewards for folks who consider Nashville their Mecca.

For more information, visit www.myspace.com/dimeboxband.

Dime Box perform at the Harp Inn, 130 E. 17th St., Costa Mesa, (949) 646-8855; www.harpinn.com. Sat., 3 p.m. Call for cover.

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The Big Takeover Reviews Dime Box
Current mood: busy
Category: Music

Jack Rabid reviewed "Five and Dime Waltz" is in his fabulous magazine and I don't want to type the whole thing over so here is a quick excerpt:

"Callan's voice and songs are of a familiar homespun quality; they're set to a genre that works particularly well, enlivened by colorful mandolin solos and fiddle from the sublime Edie Murphy."

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Another Great Review for Five and Dime Waltz
Category: Music

http://blogcritics.org/archives/2008/05/23/191745.php

Friday, May 23
( 5/23/2008 03:03:00 PM ) Bill Sherman

"NOW I MISS WHAT I COULD NEVER SEE." What a difference two decades makes. Twenty-plus years ago, Kristi Callan and her sister Kelly were part of an engaging pop-rock band called Wednesday week (their first elpee was subject to a recent much-needed reissue on the Noble Rot label). Today, WW's lead singer Kristi is fronting a five-woman country band called Dime Box for Kelly's indie label, Avebury Records. DB's debut disc, Five and Dime Waltz, has recently come out, and while it doesn't sound much like Wednesday Week, the songwriting smarts of both Callan sibs and former bandmate David Nolte continue to show through - as does Kristi's open-hearted straight-talking singing voice.

The band's sound is pure back porch country: acoustic guitar and bass, lightly brushed percussion plus omnipresent fiddle and/or mandolin; Kristi tackles the lead vocals, while three of her bandmates add warm, uncomplicated harmonies. There's not a trace of Nashvillian slickness to be found on this disc, which suits the music's honest lyrical approach. Where the younger Callan/Nolte/Callan songwriting triumvirate crafted tracks reflecting the angst and confusion of their songs' young heroines, the Dime Box juke proves more maturely rueful: songs about the aftermath of divorce, the travails of single motherhood, and just plain wishin' you knew then what you know now. If at times, the words get a little too homiletic (e.g., "honest work will see you through"), the energetic music (lotsa credit to guitar picker Yolande Ng and hoe-downy fiddler Edie Murphy here) lifts you past it.

The best tracks (nine originals, plus a dulcet Dolly Parton cover) contain plenty of telling detail and empathy: the goofy friend who repeats the same Dollar Store joke, the struggling mama buying day old bread, the well-behaved stick-in-the-mud who didn't smoke or drink - but "sure could complain." In "Mama," Kristy looks back at her My Mother, Myself relationship with more experienced eyes; in "Nobody," she describes just how wearing and rewarding it can be for two lovers to stick together; in the blue-grassy "Bone to Pick," she gives a no-nonsense kiss-off to a no-good lover. ("I want you up and gone by the end of this song.") This may be a critical cliché, but in this case, it appears to hold true: if rock 'n' roll is about adolescent possibility, country is about living with restrictions, about trying to find snatches of happiness within the struggles of the day-to-day.

Dime Box is about finding the music in those fleeting moments - and playing it in a pure, enjoyably unvarnished style.

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Bill Bentley Likes Dime Box!!
Current mood: accomplished
Category: Music

Dime Box,
Five And Dime Waltz
(Avebury)

In what seems like a lifetime ago, the early '80s spawned a slew of bands in Southern California that all promised big pickings. Singer-guitarist Kristi Callan was in the middle of that scene in Wednesday Week, and seemed like one of the chosen ones to take the next step. Like a lot of sure things, it didn't quite work out that way. The good news is that Callan returns in new band Dime Box, and this time just might be in the right place at the right time. Her voice has become even more expressive, now that of a grown woman who knows exactly what she's singing about. Some might put the band in the long line of Los Angeles rockers gone country, but Dime Box is too original for such silliness. "Somehow Somewhere" shows how trying to typecast them is pointless anyway, because a song like that exists only as itself. Still have doubts? Listen to their version of Dolly Parton's "Do I Ever Cross Your Mind." Call it what you want, but know there aren't many others who can get to that spot where sound and spirit take flight so sweetly. Dime Box does every time. - Bill Bentley

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Joe Six Pack Likes Our New CD!
Current mood: satisfied

Hooray!

Dime Box "Five And Dime Waltz" (Avebury Records, 2008)

Independently-produced, pleasantly twangy, bluegrassy folk-rock-twang from Los Angeles... This all-gal five-piece ensemble wrote all but one of the songs on here, and their pride of ownership comes through loud and clear... They sing with pleasure and harmonize with joy, sort of like a 'grassier version of the Emmylou Harris/Dolly Parton/Linda Ronstadt Trio of yesteryear... The musicianship is solid, although you can hear the rough patches as well -- this doesn't sound like a big-budget Nashville album where every tic and quirk has been smoothed out in the studio... In short, this is real music made by real people: twangfans who cherish old-school folkies like the Any Old Time Stringband, Sally Van Meter or Laurie Lewis might wanna check these gals out as well. Nice to hear a little twang still coming out of SoCal. (For more information, check out www.aveburyrecords.com )

http://www.slipcue.com/music/country/new/2008/reviews_04_april08.html

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www.songsillinois.net mentions our new CD!
Current mood: quiet

Dime Box got a mention on songs:illinois
(indie) folk, alt-country, americana, singer-songwriters and everything in-between


"Bluegrass Tuesday" With The Dime Box Band


I should probably have a "Bluegrass Tuesday" to go along with my occasional honky-tonk Friday, but I won’t. The truth is I’m not a huge fan of traditional bluegrass, although I do love what all these new groups are doing with its bones. Dime Box Band is an all woman bluegrass inspired outfit led by singer Kristi Callan.

"Betsy" is one of the 10 originals off of the bands upcoming record Five and Dime Waltz. "Betsy" features Kristi’s great vocals and some beautiful harmony vocals from the rest of the band. The music is sparse with the mandolin being the most noteworthy instrument in the mix. The band has a record release show at Taix in L.A. on April 5.

Betsy

http://www.songsillinois.net

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Review of Five and Dime Waltz by Joe Beine
Current mood: chipper
Category: Music

Long ago in Texas, a small town didn’t have a post office. So the people left a dime in a box to get a letter delivered. And the town became known as Dime Box. Just a little while ago in California, a group of musical women got together on the singer’s back porch and made some sweet sounds that echoed small town Texas life. So they called themselves Dime Box.You don’t need electricity to make the sounds Dime Box makes. You just need some strings for the mandolin, the fiddle and the guitars, and maybe some brushes for the drummer. And a fine country voice like Dolly or Patsy. Dime Box singer Kristi Callan has one of those voices. You know, the kind that floats effortlessly over the lyrics. The kind that yearns and reminds you of some faraway place where you always wanted to go. And the songs... Well, they’ve got ten heartfelt songs and a Dolly cover here."Bone to Pick" is an old fashioned country toe-tapper with tangy barbecue sauce poured all over it and great biting lyrics: "I want you up and gone by the end of this song." During "High Road" the bass and brushed drums chase each other in a galloping rhythm. "Mama" is surrounded by smooth harmonies and plaintive violin figures that echo the songs theme of regret.Some of the songs are about women escaping and coping. Take the kids post divorce and start over. The title song is about living a life somewhere between homelessness and normal society. Collecting scraps and leftovers and making them work. But the song makes it more bearable by comparing it to a dance: "doing the five and dime waltz." The wistful "Up to Here" is another post divorce escape, but this time it’s balanced by remembering the joys of being naive. My favorite song is "Betsy," which longs for the return of a much missed old friend. It has just the right touch of pensive mandolin playing and wondering lyrics.The best way to hear the music of Dime Box is to sit out on your back porch around dusk and listen. Or pick up this CD. Just be sure to leave a dime in the box for the postman.

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End of Year Update
Current mood: adventurous

December 2007

After many hours in the studio with the phenomenally talented Dennis Moody (Fur & Steve, Los Strait Jackets etc.) producing, we have at last completed our first full-length CD which will be out in January 2008 on Avebury Records at your local record store (if you can find one), on ITunes, CDBaby, or from us at shows.

One of the things the band enjoyed in 2007 was practicing at Laura Ann's house. We liked to call her Martha (as in Stewart) because she is always the perfect host with delicious hors d'oeuvres, interesting and tasty things to drink, and sometimes an outright meal, all gorgeously presented. So – I guess we should not have been surprised when she announced that she was giving up her wildly successful music career to attend culinary school. It's hard to believe there is anything they will be able to teach her because she seemed to be able to create anything and everything beautifully. Chef Gordon beware!

Madame Pamita knows all… and as she gazed into the future she could see that 2008 was going to be an exciting, hectic year for her musical musings and prognostications. Sadly she foresaw that there would not be enough time for her first love, singing and playing bass in Dime Box Band. She tearfully bid us farewell, but we know that although she will not be physically with us at shows anymore, her spirit remains strong within the band.

The core of the band, Kristi, Edie and Yolande, are continuing to play songs from the CD as well as a new batch of home-spun tunes and the band is enjoying the flexibility of a more spare set-up and the opportunities that provides. Heck, now we can even practice at Yolande's house!

Happy Holidays and we look forward to seeing all of you in 2008!

Kristi, Edie and Yolande
Dime Box Band

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How you can tell they really love you...

Just woke up the morning after our show down at the Blue Cafe in Long Beach, with Merle Jagger and the Henpeckers.

It's good when you have a show beleagured with problems (my Dorothea Lange dustbowl migrant worker hairdo falling down in the middle of the second song was only the beginning of my woes) and you still have folks sticking around late on a school night and down in Long Beach, no less! So many nice people, so enthusiastic and so many compliments on our backporch show.

However, the highlight for me was The Henpeckers who played "Hello Darlin'" by Loretta Lynn and Conway Twitty...and Brent (playing the role of Conway) sang it to Catherine (playing the role of Loretty) while her 8 months pregnant belly was sticking out and her guitar off to the side... which was just about the most brilliant thing I'd ever seen EVER! If you know that song, then you'll know what I mean. Folks, it just don't get better than that!

Currently listening : Honky Tonk Girl: The Loretta Lynn Collection By Loretta Lynn Release date: 13 September, 1994

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MySpace Genres – The Mystifying and Baffling World of Choosing your Genres.
Current mood: confused

Calling all Country bands - the Insurgent Country, the Alt.County, the Y’Allternative yearning to breathe free.  Did you go through the same sense of head-scratching frustration that I did trying to choose your Genres?

When I was setting up the genres for our band, I went to the pulldown menu... and there was a veritable smorgasbord to choose from.  Every micro-sub-sub-sub genre was represented, even down to something called IDM, which sounds more like a multi-national corporation than a genre (can anyone tell me what IDM is, by the way?), but okay… Some were even represented more than once, with Drum and Bass being listed an inexplicable three times!

So, when it came to country, I thought surely, SURELY, they’ll have all the great sub-genres of country.  But no – No Y’allternative. No Insurgent Country. No Roots. Not even the very mainstream Alt.Country is offered as an option. Either you're country or you're bluegrass...and that's about it.

I would love to reclaim the word "country", take it back from the likes of Travis Tritt and Gretchen Wilson. Give it back to Loretta and Chet, please. But, when you say country, the reality is that people assume that you're Faith Hill. That's just the way it is.

So, how do you define your sound when none of the choices that are offered fit you?

I ended up choosing the very weak combo of “Alternative” and then “Country”  - although we sound nothing like Jane’s Addiction or Shania Twain – and then “Indie”.  Does it fit? Does it work? I dunno.  How about you bands, did you feel the same level of disorientation and bewilderment by the lack of choices? 

I feel like MySpace is messin' with me, man! Like when someone fakes out their dog by pretending to throw the frisbee/tennis ball/toy but really they've just quickly hidden it behind their back. 

Maybe I'm just the dumb bassist. Ow! My head hurts.

Currently listening : Touch My Heart: A Tribute to Johnny Paycheck By Various Artists Release date: 10 August, 2004

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