England returned to the
isolation of rural southern Illinois and recorded a project of
aggressive folk material under the name Tecumseh,
releasing the well-received "Bearings" (Union) in 1995. His next
musical adventure was with the alt/slasher/country-rock outfit
Jubilee Songbirds, which released the eclectic
"Birds of North America" (Western Front) in 1997. England released
his first solo record, "Peach Blossom Special" (Relay) in 1999,
garnering Release of the Year honors from Midwest music publication
Nightlife and other strong reviews. The driving power pop of his
2003 release, "Lovey Dovey ALL the Time" (Gnashville Sounds),
highlighted his extensive musical range and brought new fans into
the fold.
England's concept/historical
album "Greetings From Cairo, Illinois" was a culmination of five
years of research, hundreds of conversations and "countless hours of
general hanging around" in what he describes as "the most
fascinating town in America, bar none." The CD traces Cairo's
history from 1858 to the present through the Civil War, lynchings,
the blues years, civil rights struggles and spectacular decline.
England is joined on the CD by top musicians from southern Illinois,
Los Angeles and Nashville including alt-country legend Jason
Ringenberg of Jason and the Scorchers.
With 2007’s “Salt Sex
Slaves” England, along with his stellar core band The Salt
Kings tackled another bizarre slice of unknown US history
weaving true stories of brutal salt production, slave breeding,
kidnapped free blacks and murder in a supposed Free State, the Land
of Lincoln, into a volatile, provocative Exile On Main St.-ish
stew.
Stace England and
The Salt Kings have now set their sights on the amazing
life story of Metropolis, Illinois born filmmaker Oscar
Micheaux. After leaving Little Egypt he spent time as
a Pullman porter, traveling all over the US and as far as South
America. He then became the only African American to homestead
a farm near Gregory, South Dakota. In his isolation he began
to pen semi autobiographical novels, starting with The Conquest in
1913 and The Homesteader in 1917. A small, black owned movie
studio approached Micheaux about making the standard short film of
the period based on The Homesteader, he instead formed his own film
company and wrote, filmed, produced and directed the sprawling epic,
The Homesteader in 1919. It was a sensation in Chicago and
other cities. Then, in a direct challenge to D.W. Griffith's
racially charged Birth of a Nation Micheaux released his
masterpiece, Within Our Gates in 1920. Audiences were stunned.
The film remained lost for almost 60 years until a single copy was
discovered in Spain in 1990. His triumph was the equivalent of
making Citizen Kane without any financial backing from Hollywood or
other connected sources. Micheaux bested Orson Wells in
accomplishment, and by two plus decades, yet he is virtually unknown
to most Americans.
Their live Micheaux show
will feature multimedia including clips from eight of Micheaux’s
available films.