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Kathy & Carol CAG 2005
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Carol McComb Audio Sample Gold Watch & Chain

Kathleen Larisch and Carol McComb both of whom sang and played guitar and autoharp began singing together in their high school years in Vista, California, about 40 miles north of San Diego.  As esteemed folklorist (and New Lost City Ramblers multi-instrumentalist) John Cohens liner notes on the original LF pointed out, Joan Baez was a major early influence on them.  McComb also cites folk musician Michael Cooney (for whom Kathy & Carol often opened) as an influence on her guitar style, and names Gene Autry, Pete Seeger, and Peggy Seeger as other early favorites.  Kathy adds Tex Ritter and The Everly Brothers to the list.   The two worked the Southern California folk circuit, opening for the likes of the New Lost City Ramblers, Bill Monroe, Taj Mahal, Phil Ochs, and Sonny Terry/Brownie McGee, often at the Ash Grove in Los Angeles.
 
The key step in getting them onto the Elektra music roster, however, took place when they drove up to the Berkeley Folk Festival in mid 1964, where Baez whom the pair had previously met ran into them after they played the Bears Lair on the Berkeley campus.  Baez introduced them to Elektra music producer Paul Rothchild, who invited them to do a demo session in Burbank on the way back to San Diego.  Soon Elektra president Jac Holzman confirmed that the label wanted to cut an album with them, and Larisch  and McComb went back into the studio with Rothchild in 1965 for the sessions that resulted in Kathy & Carol.
 
The album was released shortly before the 1965 Newport Folk Festival, where Kathy & Carol performed Richard Farinas A Swallow Song, a composition hed specifically sent them to consider.  The 20-year-olds also had a ringside view of the stage for Bob Dylans famous electric rock set at Newport that year, and took advantage of the trip back East to play a few gigs, including some at Cambridges fabled Club 47, where the lines stretched around the block.  It was one of the few times they played outside of California. Other than that Easter swing in the summer of 65, McComb only remembers traveling outside the state for gigs in Tucson, Arizona (where a young Linda Ronstadt opened for them) and Jackson Hole, Wyoming.
 
For reasons that do not remain entirely clear nearly 40 years later, however, the live Newport version of A Swallow Song, (eventually issued on the CD compilation Folk Music at Newport Part 1) would be the only other Kathy & Carol track ever released.

 
Kathy & Carol never recorded for Elektra again.  Some subsequent recording for the small Folk-Legacy label didnt result in a release, in part because the label was reluctant to let them step outside the traditional folk world with their new original material and some of the country songs they were covering (though they were continuing to add traditional material to their repertoire as well).
 
Kathy and Carol who never did play with electric instruments or other musicians on stage, went separate ways by the end of the 60s when Kathy decided to pursue a master of fine arts degree in the San Francisco Bay Area.  Kathleen Larisch is now Associate Professor at The California College of the Arts, teaching in the textile and printmaking departments.  In addition she maintains her studio practice and exhibits her work in painting.
 
Carol McComb has continued to be an active performer and recording artist to the present day, playing and touring with Mimi Farina in the early 70s, releasing several solo albums, scoring films, touring and recording with the Gryphon Quintet, and authoring a country and blues guitar instruction book (For more information on her work, check her website; www.carolmccomb.com).
 
With the re-release of the original Kathy & Carol album on CD with Collectors Choice Music in 2004, and the renewed outside interest it generated , Carol McComb and Kathleen Larisch are singing and performing again with great pleasure.  They are reworking old material, adding new songs, both traditional and contemporary, and experimenting with other acoustic instruments.   This is their second year at the California Autoharp Gathering, which staged their reunion concert in 2005.  This year has also included appearances at Freight and Salvage in Berkeley, CA and participation in the Adams Avenue Roots Festival in San Diego, CA. 

 

Kathy & Carol filled the Gathering with harmonies that soared on the various configurations of guitar and autoharp playing	Hall Weeks joins Kathy & Carol during a " Tribute to the Carter Family" at the 2005 Gathering
Kathy and Carol - A few years ago! (photo: David-Gahr)

The key step in getting them onto the Elektra music roster, however, took place when they drove up to the Berkeley Folk Festival in mid-1964, where Baez -- whom the pair had previously met -- ran into them after they played at the Bear's Lair on the Berkeley campus. Baez recommended them to Elektra music producer Paul Rothchild, who invited them to do a demo session in Burbank on the way back to San Diego. Soon Elektra president Jac Holzman confirmed that the label wanted to cut an album with them, and Larisch and McComb went back into the studio with Rothchild around late 1964 or early 1965 for the sessions that resulted in Kathy & Carol.

The album was released shortly before the 1965 Newport Folk Festival, where Kathy & Carol performed Richard Farina's "A Swallow Song," a composition he'd specifically sent them to do. The 20-year-olds also had a ringside view of the stage for Bob Dylan's famous electric rock set at Newport that year, and took advantage of the trip back East to play a few gigs, including some at Cambridge's fabled Club 47, where lines stretched around the block. It was one of the few times they played outside of California; other than that Eastern swing in the summer of '65, McComb only remembers traveling outside the state for gigs in Tucson, Arizona (where a young Linda Ronstadt opened for them) and Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

For reasons that do not remain entirely clear nearly 40 years later, however, the live Newport version of "A Swallow Song" (eventually issued on the CD compilation Folk Music at Newport Part 1) would be the only other Kathy & Carol track ever released.

Kathy & Carol never recorded for Elektra again. Some subsequent recording for the small Folk-Legacy label didn't result in a release, in part because the label was reluctant to let them step outside the traditional folk world with their new original material and some of the country songs they were covering (though they were continuing to add traditional material to their repertoire as well).

Kathy and Carol -- who never did play with electric instruments or other musicians on stage, -- went separate ways by the end of the '60s, when Larisch decided to pursue a master of fine arts degree in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Carol McComb has continued to be an active performer and recording artist to the present day, playing and touring with Mimi Farina in the early '70s; releasing several solo albums; scoring films; touring and recording with the Gryphon Quintet; and authoring a country and blues guitar instruction book (for more information on her work, check her website, www.carolmccomb.com).

Kathy Larisch retired from professional music, and is now associate professor at California College of the Arts, though she and Carol have sung together informally on occasion.

The California Autoharp Gathering marks Kathy & Carol’s reunion as performers together on stage. We welcome this historical event with our distinct pleasure.