Cut Yourself a Switch

Cut Yourself A Switch marks the first solo album by Catherine Irwin, perhaps best known for her work in Freakwater. Catherine's songs about death and dying and dying and death compliment the Emmylou-esque offering of Freakwater's other principle singer songwriter Janet Bean. With Freakwater on temporary hiatus, it seemed a perfect time to lay down a batch of songs. Cut Yourself a Switch was recorded this past Spring in scenic Asheville, North Carolina by Bill Reynolds and Aaron Price who have handled production for a number of area bluegrass and old-timey outfits. Stripping things down to bare essentials, Catherine steps out as the primary voice, singing, playing guitar, banjo and bottleneck-guitar. She does get a little help from longtime Freakwater member Dave Gay and a few of Asheville's finest musicians. Cut Yourself a Switch owes more in tone and timbre to the high lonesome sound of folks like the Carter Family, Hazel Dickens and Roscoe Holcomb then to any contemporary country movement. Catherine's vocals have been compared to Sarah Carter, Hazel Dickens, and Melba Montgomery, and her songwriting has been praised for it's mixture of dark humor and dark humorless-nessmovin g between "word-play" style and straight forward storytelling.