About Those Shoes...

When I moved from New Jersey to Western North Carolina nearly 10 years ago, I was thrilled to find so many musicians, especially singer-songwriters, practicing their craft. One of the first of these that I connected with is my friend and musical sister, Melody Cox. (She and my other sister, Leah Wahl, along with yours truly, comprise the eclectic-acoustic trio, Sorella Jack. And in case you’re wondering, “sorella” means “sister” in Italian).

Melody (or Mel as we call her) is a pioneer among the singer-songwriters gigging at winery venues in WNC - this has grown into quite a thing with the ever-increasing number of wineries opening around here! And what impressed me about Mel, besides her subtly brilliant guitar work on her beloved Martin and her expressive voice, was her songwriting skills. WOW! At that time, I was still dreaming that one day I could sit down and maybe write and sing a song or two…  and Mel was living my dream!

Fast-forward to today, and Mel and I not only teamed up with Leah to form Sorella Jack, but we each have our own solo singer-songwriter careers, too. I still look up to Mel as one of my songwriting heroes, because now I know how much courage it takes to get up in front of a bunch of strangers and sing something you wrote. 

Mel has recorded a bunch of her songs (check her stuff out on the usual online music vendors), and one of my favorite of hers is one called Black Stilletos.

I love this song so much that I asked Mel a while ago if I could add it to my own solo set, and she graciously agreed. It’s now a favorite cover for me to perform. What makes this song work? Let’s see: the sassiness of the lyrics, the growling verses sung in lower registers, then the take-no-prisoners chorus soaring an octave above! The song is a vocal challenge but total worth the impact it has on the listener!

Thanks, Mel!