from Marblehead on boston.com

On Friday, October 22, the me and thee coffeehouse features Slaid Cleaves. Slaid grew up in Maine, now lives in Texas, writes lots of songs, makes records and travels all over!   He says he “tries to be good” too!   Opening this show is Brendan Hogan who is a local singer-songwriter.  He believes that blues is at the core of all meaningful popular music. Doors open at 7:30 PM for this 8:00 PM show at the me&thee coffeehouse which is located at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Marblehead at 28 Mugford Street.

Born on June 9, 1964, in Berwick, Maine, Slaid Cleaves grew up amid dairy farms, abandoned sawmills and the ever-encroaching suburban strip malls. The first of four kids, Cleaves was picking though the family record collection at the age of three, beginning a lifelong fascination with the music of Hank Williams, Johnny Cash, The Beatles, The Everly Brothers and Woody Guthrie. He began his career as a "busker," singing on the streets of Cork, Ireland, while attending college there in 1985. Returning to the U.S., he formed the roots-rocking Moxie Men in 1989, playing extensively throughout New England and winning a semi-finalist slot in Musician Magazine's best unsigned band contest. Having outgrown the small but vital music scene in Portland, Maine, he landed in the roots-rock Mecca of Austin, Texas, in 1991. There, he rose swiftly through the ranks of the local singer-songwriter scene. In 1992, he won the prestigious Kerrville Folk Festival's New Folk competition, an award previously given to such striking talents as Lyle Lovett, Robert Earl Keen and Steve Earle. By 1996, he had signed to Rounder Records and released No Angel Knows, which attracted widespread critical acclaim. Broke Down, which followed in 2000, reached beyond the cult audience he had attracted and gave him a national following. The Austin Chronicle dubbed it "the first great Texas album of the 21st century," while the Chicago Sun-Times noted that he "has fashioned a timeless yet fresh sound rooted in the best storytelling tradition of the great singer-songwriters." Cleaves wrote most of the songs for 2004's Wishbones while hiding out in a country cabin. He also aimed to make more of a band album, one that rocked harder than his past efforts. In 2006 he released Unsung, a collection of songs written by other singer-songwriters including Graham Weber, J.J. Baron, Michael O'Connor (who often tours with

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