Telling Stories began as the intersection between a hunch and a tarot card reading, resulting in a memorable collaboration between songwriters Julie Nolen and Terry Dossey.
Nolen rode into Austin on a Greyhound bus from Abilene, Texas a few years ago, with only an electric guitar (sans amplifier) and a gift for songwriting. “I scraped by for a year just to buy a pawn shop acoustic so I could finally hear what I was playing,” says Nolen.
With the usual vague plans, and after two years of p...
Telling Stories began as the intersection between a hunch and a tarot card reading, resulting in a memorable collaboration between songwriters Julie Nolen and Terry Dossey.
Nolen rode into Austin on a Greyhound bus from Abilene, Texas a few years ago, with only an electric guitar (sans amplifier) and a gift for songwriting. “I scraped by for a year just to buy a pawn shop acoustic so I could finally hear what I was playing,” says Nolen.
With the usual vague plans, and after two years of playing in small bars around Austin, a frustrated Nolen placed an ad in the Austin Chronicle’s musician referrals, encouraged by a tarot card reading in December 2001. “I take those things with a grain of salt,” Nolen says, “But basically it told me to take a chance on my career so I placed the ad.”
Meanwhile Dossey, a local producer and veteran of many female-fronted bands (Shelley King, Joanna DeJarnett, Natalie Zoe, Susan Colton, just to name a few) was looking for a singer to front his new project. He and DeJarnett had parted ways after forming the original Telling Stories but Dossey still felt the idea had promise. After fielding at least a dozen dead-end calls from his own Chronicle ad that morning, he called Nolen’s ad. For reasons he still can’t figure out, he waived the customary exchange of CDs and invited her over to a session in progress.
“Ordinarily, “ Dossey says, “I at least make them sing to me on the phone. If they won’t, I ask ‘em if it’s because they suck or because they’re shy, ‘cause neither one will do. Almost everybody sings after I tell ‘em that. But I had a hunch with her, which is strange, because I’m generally pretty cynical. I didn’t make her sing on the phone.”
Thirty minutes later, Nolen marched into the studio session with her trademark voice, confidence and charm. “I could see Terry was very concerned how the studio musicians would react if I sucked,” Nolen laughs, “but I knew there was no chance of that. In a few minutes they did too, smiles all around. I was in!”
Two of the veteran players at that session were Don Burns on bass and Daniel Jones on drums. “These two play so well together, everyone thinks they were separated at birth,” says Nolen. Dossey hastens to add that he’s worked with Burns and Jones in several other projects, and agrees that their instinctual feel for each others’ groove is reminiscent of more celebrated rhythm sections like Shannon and Layton of Double Trouble. Together, Burns and Jones lay down the infectious funk groove that is the foundation for Telling Stories.
They are by no means the most well known musicians in the band. Keyboardist David Webb (of Jimmy LaFave and Eliza Gilkyson) has added his signature style on most of the tracks, including a stunning grand piano accompaniment on “Rome”. “Rome began as a simple melody over acoustic guitar, but David put his soul into it and took it to another level,” says Nolen. His mastery of the B3 organ style graces most of the other tunes.
At the opposite end of the spectrum from “Rome,” Austin’s most famous horn section, The GrooveLine Horns (known from “The Scabs” and “La Tribu”) have created a masterpiece of brass and reed on “Stand There and Look Pretty,” in which Nolen wryly expresses her frustration with the limitations society attempts to place on young, attractive women.
Telling Stories started with blank tape and a blank piece of paper. The first things to hit the paper were a clear goal and a simple motto. The goal: danceable grooves under memorable pop melodies; great songwriting that works both in the coffeehouse and on the dance floor. The motto: something Dossey swears by as a producer, shared with Nolen after her audition – “Attitude is audible.”
While working on the debut CD, the band feels it’s important to stay playing out, so that the songs can grow naturally and the listeners’ reaction can be judged. Since it was formed, Telling Stories has played continually in various scenes around town, including the Saxon Pub, Momo's, Ego's, Mozart’s on Lake Austin, Graffiti’s and Le Privilege. Their debut album, Greyhound, debuted with critical acclaim.
"Telling Stories is a collaboration between songwriters Julie Nolen and Terry Dossey. If you haven't heard this great band yet, get out and give them a listen. Nolen has a great voice and she writes a good song." - Review from unlockaustin.com.
Their 2nd album, "Dirty Little Secrets" is due out soon.
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