Mike Meier - Tallmansville

“We agreed to squeeze out gold from that anthracite coal. Live our lives down under, like coal-dusted trolls.” Tallmansville, West Virginia, is the site of a mining disaster on January 2, 2006. When is the last time you thought of it? Gotcha. That’s the power of folk music, and Mike Meier has written a folk tune that digs deep into the soul of each person listening and blasts holes into long-held beliefs and understandings. Those holes can, of course heal, but require deep meditation and self-awareness. Why does one live while twelve others die? Did they “fall from grace?” Does life have a purpose we are afraid to look deeply into? I love folk music because it doesn’t simply salvage the headlines for our mutual memories, but travels the fine line of self-discovery and purpose. The excellent players that Mike has assembled to bring his thoughts to life will turn this into a classic that will inspire many to look at their own times and stories for deeply hidden truths. Shoutouts for Meditation (Sutra For Prolonging Life) and Otoño. Mike Meier