Here’s a first view of a new video from Christine Oele who records as VanWyck. It’s taken from an appearance at TivoliVredenburg in Utrecht, The Netherlands during the current Epic Tale of the Stranded Man tour. It was a special occasion since it marked the first time that Christene’s daughter Cosima joined the band on stage adding backing vocals.
VanWyck told Americana UK that “I always play ‘Make of Me’ towards the end of the set. It’s like a comment on the variety of songs and emotions that we went through together with the audience. So often artist are expected to fit into one genre, to be one thing, to play the same kind of song again and again. Part of me wants to live up to people’s expectations and then another part simply refuses. It’s the kind of push and pull that I often find myself in. Singing it with my daughter gives it a whole new meaning. We are so much alike in our phrasing and in our movements that it’s sometimes uncanny. It’s that haunting aspect of blood harmony. But we are also so very different, we see things differently because of who we are and what we’ve experienced. It makes me so aware that there are always different sides to every story. And there should be. Too often we try to simplify things, but our world and our stories are complex. Making room for that complexity is what I often try to do in my songs. But then again, one of the things I love most is listening to my daughter sing John Prine songs with baffling clarity.”
VanWyck’s tour continues in September and December, the dates are here but sadly with no UK gigs but of course mainland Europe isn’t actually so very far away.
