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Review of New Rain from The Independent Music Newspaper
by Terry Prong
I first heard Gary Morris of New Rain play in around 1993 at a Pub in Gatlinburg called The Talk of the Town. The
owner had raved about his voice and his ability to tickle the twelve string guitar. She would always refer to him as a standard
of music that she would like to keep in the club.
Now after many years of playing clubs myself, I have met up again with
Gary and his wife Jane at the Bar-B-Q Garden located on hwy 321 in Cosby across from the Cosby School.
The twelve string is still being tickled and the voice is still as high quality as ever. But now there is more!
Jane Morris adds to the mix an impressive vocal herself. Slicing through tunes like “Walking After Midnight” with
the ease of a seasoned entertainer.
The combination of the both voices together create a seamless harmony that seems to
fit every song like a glove.
At first glance I was wondering where the big PA speakers were for I only saw both mics and
guitar plugged into one little amplifier. My questions were answered on the first note.”They don’t need no stinkin
big amps!”
The mix was perfect, with the guitar and vocals blending in like a painting having all the colors showing brightly.
Their choice of music was also unique as they do not use a song list.
Gary has stated that he has thousands of songs in
his head and picks them as he sees fit to the mood of the room. This in itself is an acrobatic feat that sometimes takes Jane
by surprise but never off guard.
New Rain has a very positive stage presence that includes a little banter with the crowd between songs. A
taste of tambourine can be heard along with the crowd munching on succulent ribs in time to the music.
They originally
were known as “One Eyed Jack and the Lady” This I assumed was because Gary wears a patch over one eye.
Gary's eye accident happened in Santa Cruz, CA in 1980 when he was lead singer for The Working Man's Band. He moved
to TN in 1981 and didn't move to Birmingham until the late 1980's. His Dad was in the military so he grew up on the move,
but considers Beaufort, SC home base because that's where his Grandmother Morris lived.
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Jane grew up in Montgomery, AL Her Sister was a "music major" in college and a music teacher. She began teaching
Jane piano and theory when she was five and was basically her first student.
“ Music was a big part of my growing
up and yes, the same old story of growing up singing in church. That's where I developed my "harmony" ear I guess.”
states Jane.
Gary and Jane went to Europe and spent the summer of 1995 in Spain. The couple ended up performing in places
like The Edinburgh Festival in Scotland.
I noticed that they had some Cd’s for sale. New Rain was gracious enough
to give me two of them. When I got back to the studio I loaded them up on my computer and sat back to enjoy a plethora of
great original tunes. This is what turns my crank. Independent Artists doing what they do the best, writing good songs.
After one of their original songs were played that night, a woman in the audience shouted out that Willie Nelson
should do that tune. I have to disagree with that as I believe that New Rain plays the tune better than Willie ever could.
The main thing that artists need to survive is exposure. There is no 401 K for musicians and they have a hard road
to pull just to pay the bills. I hope you will help me help them get this exposure by suggesting their act to any club that
carries entertainment.
New Rain can be reached at (865) 430-9840. Or by contacting this publication. I don’t have a complete calendar
of where they are going to be performing in the next few months but I’m sure they will be happy to take your call and
personally invite you to their next gig. As for my part I will be including them in my play list for the” Smoky Mountain
Showcase” radio hour on 90.7 Fm. Sundays from 7 till 8 pm. Hope you can join us there for great music from Independent
Artists. New Rain’s CD can be found at http://cdbaby.com/cd/newrain
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