Tom Hanson w/ Merle Outlaw - $6

Art in the cafe...

Laurel Statz


"The Spectator"


December 2025



Laurel Statz is a painter and Madison area native. Her work, while figurative, is influenced by abstraction and minimalism. The paintings often have a quick and instinctual nature, capturing just what’s needed. While she often times herself to eliminate extra details and over-precision, she has ventured into more detailed works as well. Laurel does not attach narrative to her pieces. Rather, she thinks of them like a journaling process for her scatter-brained psyche. The figures in the pieces are meant to be processing tools for the artist and the viewer. She hopes that seeing these figures helps the...
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Friday, November 13, 2009

"From the very first bar to the very last, Everything Takes Forever mesmerizes its audience like catnip, never once letting go long enough for the listener to catch his breath. Take a little Tom Waits and Leonard Cohen but make them write dream pop, blend in Nick Drake but turn the dial towards lush atmospheric backdrops, plug in Cat Stevens-type vocal warmth and resonance then lift your eyes to a darker psych folk landscape ... Simply put, if you only buy one folk or rock album this month, this should be it."

from CD Baby-s "Top Editor-s Pick" review of Tom Hanson's Everything Takes Forever (2007)

Tom Hanson, recently dubbed Madison's "secret songwriter' by Isthmus, will play songs from his two self-released CDs-2001's Wake of the Moon and the recent Everything Takes Forever-as well as tunes from an upcoming new release. During the last year, in addition to receiving numerous critical accolades, Tom's dreamy acoustic music has been heard on two national TV shows (One Tree Hill, Ghost Whisperer).

Tom will be joined on stage this evening by longtime friend, guitar guru (and fellow Gomers-founder) Gordon Ranney.

Merle Outlaw - is two girls and a boy playing experimental roots/pop,
prominently featuring three part vocal harmony. Instrumentation includes
various combinations of guitar, bajo sexto, electric mbira, piano,
electronic loops and distorted keyboards.