“What a wonderful album this is. I’m thinking Patti Griffin, Nanci Griffith and Iris DeMent. It’s spellbinding, from the opening track to ‘Gospel Song’ at the end, this is a real treat! ‘Questions about Angels’ made the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end.”
BBC Radio

CARRIE'S STORY IN SHORT
A troubadour in the most classic fashion, Elkin has ridden a Gypsy breeze of serendipity for the last ten years, landing for a time in Cleveland, Athens, Taos, Steamboat Springs, Colorado Springs and Boston, finally coming to settle in Austin, TX in the summer of 2007.

It's exactly this sort of openness to the people and places that pass through her life, and to the opportunities that might emerge in every new and particular circumstance, that grew to become the central theme of this new album . . . and the very process by which Elkin somehow managed to find herself in the midst of some of Austin's finest musicians and producers, literally, within days of arriving in town.

While already making quite a buzz around the Austin scene with her highly spirited and spontaneous performances, Elkin spends the majority of her time on the road still, touring nationally and in the UK and Europe.

ABOUT THE JEOPARDY OF CIRCUMSTANCE
"My life philosophy has been to remain open to experience," says Elkin. "I've somehow found myself in all sorts of oddball situations, and I've lived with a sort of blind faith that even the most precarious of circumstances lead to amazing experiences. The title of the record reflects that philosophy to me. Jeopardy implies a risk, the possibility of incurring loss. And that's the key to me. If you're not willing to risk anything, you won't be open to receiving the rewards, or treasures even, that each new circumstance might present."

Take, for instance, the time the engine on her VW campervan blew up in Ogallala, Nebraska. Two weeks later, Elkin had played seven concerts (including a Katrina benefit) and found herself adopted by a posse of adoring cowboys who fed her steaks and Budweisers every night, and threw her on a horse and had her driving cattle with them during the days. Or backtrack to the day Elkin showed up in Santa Fe looking for an apartment, and found instead a medicine man at a local market who gave her a talisman ring and unsolicited directions that her new home waited for her 60 miles north. Two hours later, Elkin was standing 60 miles north in Taos, NM, at what was to be her dream home for the next couple years, and among new people who were to become her lifelong best friends.

Down the street from that house, at the Historic Taos Inn, Elkin ventured out with her music to an open mic hosted by a nice guy named Colin Brooks, who took her under his wing. Ten years later, Brooks is a founding member of one of Austin's most popular bands, The Band of Heathens, and producing Elkin's latest album. You just never know. One strange day at a market might just reverberate for years and years in your life. It's the Jeopardy of Circumstance.

THE MAKING OF THE RECORD
So does the production reflect this inherent weightiness, this potential trepidation and triumph over situations and circumstances? "No, we went for pure joy!" says Elkin. "The records I"ve made in the past were all fearful processes of trying not to lose the songs" essences in the production process. This one we decided would be different. The very first thing (co-producer) Mark Addison told me was: We"re gonna have FUN making this record."

And that joy and enthusiasm and spontaneity shines brightly through in the recording. Recorded at the Aerie Studio in Austin, The Jeopardy of Circumstance was produced by committee, with venerable Austin fixture Mark Addison and long-time friend Colin Brooks (The Band of Heathens) combining with Elkin to play approximately 15 instruments, "plus a couple more, depending on if you want to count things like shaking ankle bells inside cowboy boots as an instrument."

Even amidst the darker tunes on the album, there"s an obvious joyful spirit that was captured during the making of the recording, giving it an infectious listenability.

 

“'The Jeopardy of Circumstance' resounds with a sense of warm, earthy poetry that combines a strong folk/soul framework, sweet-toned but characterful vocals, and quietly offbeat writing that never seems willfully eccentric."
Maverick Magazine UK

 

A BREAKDOWN OF THE SONGS

1. OBADIAH: is my own bible story. A story of questioning spirituality and religion and how this questioning affects our fate.

2. ROOTS & WINGS: a song about creating balance between leading a traditional life and a life with more freedom. And the relationship of that kind of life to falling in love. RECOMMENDED TRACK FOR RADIO

3. DID SHE DO HER BEST: a little story about feeling guilty for leaving a loved one and starting to smoke again all at the same time.

4. ODE TO OGALLALA: a tribute to the magnificent folks I met while stranded in Ogallala, Nebraska, when the engine in my VW bus blew up.

5. QUESTIONS ABOUT ANGELS: a story about a man who forgot how to live because of his focus on money money money. RECOMMENDED TRACK FOR RADIO

6. YEAR BEFORE THE WAR: a tale told in the first person from a grandfather to his granddaughter. The grandfather was a photographer and went blind from old age and with this blindness came almost a need to tell a
little part of his story.

7. SHELL OF A MAN: written from the male perspective, this is a tale of a man who had an unfortunate palm reading and led his life with no regard for women because of his short life line. RECOMMENDED FOR RADIO

8. BROKE TV: a quirky song about doing anything for love.

9. BLACK LUNG: a sad narrative about a daughter who lost her father to black lung.

10. GOSPEL SONG: my own version of a gospel tune. Swingy and sweet. It"s about simplicity in relationships, really. The need to feel connected in this crazy world of computers and cell phones and all the other gadgets we"ve managed to distract ourselves with.

“This album is an absolute treasure trove of riches. And her voice is fantastically expressive, with an actor's facility for making the lyric come alive."
John Davy,
Whisperin & Hollerin UK