VOA标准英语2010年-Watermelon Slim Mixes Country, Blues,

Life as a blues¹ musician is often a balancing act between touring, recording² or working odd jobs just to make ends meet.   One such musician's days of driving trucks and selling firewood are far behind him.

 

It's been years since singer, songwriter and guitarist Watermelon Slim had to drive a truck for a living.  These days, you can find him in the recording studio working on a new album, on tour overseas or playing at a club near his home in Mississippi.

Slim, whose real name is Bill Homans, has come a long way from his job as a heavy equipment operator for the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War.  His follow-up stint³ as a watermelon farmer in Oklahoma earned him the nickname Watermelon Slim, a name he also gives to his own special brand of music.   

"I'm in the business of recombining and putting together genres⁴, and making it come out as Watermelon Slim music," he explains.  "I don't just write country, and I don't just write blues, and I don't just write rhythm and blues, and I don't just write rock and roll.  You can find all kinds of influences, [and] if you look hard enough you probably even hear the classical influences I had as a little, little boy."

Country, blues and rock dominate Watermelon Slim's latest release, Ringers.  Slim composed 12 songs for the album, and co-wrote two more with seasoned Nashville songwriter Gary Nicholson.

Slim recorded his most recent albums in Nashville, where, according to Slim, co-writing is a common, everyday practice.

"That's the way they do it down in Nashville.  At first, I kind of balked⁵ at it.  I said, 'Well, listen.  I've got two degrees in this," he says. "I can write as good as anybody down there.'  And they said, 'Yeah, we know.'  But, this is the way they do it in Nashville.  Everybody co-writes."

Watermelon Slim teams up with Gary Nicholson on "I Appreciate That."

Since 2004, Slim has been nominated for 17 Blues Music Awards.  In 2008, he won his first two awards with his band, The Workers, for Best Blues Album of the Year and Best Blues Band of the Year.

Slim enjoys being in the spotlight⁶ every once in awhile, but he says true happiness comes from making music day in and day out.

"Back before there were any awards of any kind for this kind of music, the reward for a blues man was a pocket full of change [coins], some bills [money] at the end of the night, and the knowledge that you've got a place to sleep out of the rain and the wind.  And, most of all, if you've got another gig [performance] the next day, you're making a living," he says.

Slim is currently performing on his "No Paid Holidays" tour across the U.S., Canada and Europe.  He's already at work on his next album, due out in October. 

 

1 blues   

n.抑郁，沮丧；布鲁斯音乐

参考例句：

• She was in the back of a smoky bar singing the blues.她在烟雾弥漫的酒吧深处唱着布鲁斯歌曲。
• He was in the blues on account of his failure in business.他因事业失败而意志消沉。

2 recording   

n.录音，记录

参考例句：

• How long will the recording of the song take?录下这首歌得花多少时间？
• I want to play you a recording of the rehearsal.我想给你放一下彩排的录像。

3 stint   

v.节省，限制，停止；n.舍不得化，节约，限制；连续不断的一段时间从事某件事

参考例句：

• He lavished money on his children without stint.他在孩子们身上花钱毫不吝惜。
• We hope that you will not stint your criticism.我们希望您不吝指教。

4 genres   

（文学、艺术等的）类型，体裁，风格( genre的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Novel and short story are different genres. 长篇小说和短篇小说是不同的类别。
• But confusions over the two genres have a long history. 但是类型的混淆，古已有之。 来自汉英文学 - 散文英译

5 balked   

v.畏缩不前，犹豫( balk的过去式和过去分词 )；（指马）不肯跑

参考例句：

• He balked in his speech. 他忽然中断讲演。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• They balked the robber's plan. 他们使强盗的计划受到挫败。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

6 spotlight   

n.公众注意的中心，聚光灯，探照灯，视听，注意，醒目

参考例句：

• This week the spotlight is on the world of fashion.本周引人瞩目的是时装界。
• The spotlight followed her round the stage.聚光灯的光圈随着她在舞台上转。