Throughout her career, Ani DiFranco has credited singer, guitarist, and songwriter Michael Meldrum as an early and significant influence. He showed her the possibilities of the guitar and encouraged her to perform in public before she was even a teenager.
Now Ani returns the favor by performing on, mixing, and co-producing Meldrum's debut album, Open Ended Question. She is joined by a veritable Who's Who of Western New York musicians who lovingly shape and color songs culled from three decades of Meldrum's writing.
The album showcases Meldrum's rich musical background with tracks that range from jubilant New Orleans romps to somber folk ballads. Breezy summer tunes and gritty roadhouse blues become intriguing neighbors to Indian themes and meditative chants, while Meldrum's honest tales of bars and empty streets make for sincere, accessible songs filled with intimate emotion.
