This song, written by Edwin McCain and Maia Sharp, describes the opportunity for social justice beautifully:

I'm as flawed as any man could ever be

There were chances to be kind that slipped by me

When I finally drop my claims of innocence and face the blame

I can rise to my responsibility

To hold out a hand til it finds another and we begin to repair

Don't believe there's too much pain to ever recover

Just take care of each other

About Edwin McCain:

Blending equal parts folk, soul and rock, platinum-selling singer/songwriter Edwin McCain has signed with Vanguard Records and will release a new studio album next spring. Currently in the new OMG Studios, which he co-owns, in his hometown of Greenville, South Carolina, McCain is working with producer Noel Golden (Messenger, Scream and Whisper) and band members Craig Shields (keys, sax); Larry Chaney (lead guitar); Pete Riley (guitar, vocals); Dave Harrison (drums); and Lee Hendricks (bass).

Since his 1993 debut, McCain has garnered the attention of millions with the top 10 smash "I'll Be," and the Diane Warren-penned top 40 hit "I Could Not Ask For More," and as a tireless troubadour whose rapturous live performances regularly sell-out. In May 2005, McCain performed "I'll Be" on The Dr. Phil Show, which was voted the "Best Wedding Song" by over one million viewers.

The seeds for McCain's blend of southern soul and acoustic storytelling were planted in Greenville, South Carolina, where he was born and raised, and still resides. In 1993, he formed the Edwin McCain Band and released Solitude. A quartet of albums on Lava/Atlantic Records followed, starting with Honor Among Thieves (1995), the breakthrough album Misguided Roses (1997), which featured "I'll Be," and Messenger (1999), which included "I Could Not Ask for More," also featured in the film Message in a Bottle, that drove Messenger to RIAA Gold Certification. In 2001, Edwin's last recording for Lava/Atlantic, Far From Over, was released. In 2003, McCain teamed with ATC Records to release Austin Sessions, and in the summer of 2004, DRT Entertainment released Scream and Whisper.

Founded in 1950 by Maynard and Seymour Solomon, Vanguard Records became one of the world's most prestigious folk and blues labels of the '60s, releasing records by such legendary artists as Doc Watson, Joan Baez, The Weavers, Buddy Guy, and Mississippi John Hurt. Purchased by Welk Music Group in 1986, Vanguard continues today to pursue its vision of releasing classic recordings of the past while also signing an eclectic and impressive array of distinctive singer/songwriters.
 

About Maia Sharp:

 
"Maia is making some of the most innovative and soulful music around with songs that are head and shoulders above the rest.  She has become one of my favorite artists." 

- Bonnie Raitt

What do you do after scoring 2 top 10 Triple A singles on your latest release, headlining the country in support of that album, then taking off to tour with Bonnie Raitt on a 21 city run, all the while landing a cut on Trisha Yearwood’s CD, three songs on Bonnie Raitt’s latest, three tracks on Edwin McCain’s current album (lending your vocals to all three releases) and getting a song on Mindy Smith’s forthcoming record?   Well if you’re Maia Sharp you start your own label,  put out an acoustic album, tour behind it and then head back into the studio to make a full cd for a 2007 release.

Sharp’s last studio album, 2005’s Fine Upstanding Citizen (KOCH) garnered her critical raves and nationwide airplay on the singles “Something Wild”  and “Red Dress”. Now with 4 national label releases (3 critically acclaimed solo albums and a 4th collaborative effort with Art Garfunkel) to her credit she found herself in a position where most artists may have felt entitled to a small break.   Her next release being slotted for late ’07 would have presented the ideal time to stop and smell the roses rather than race past them in a flurry of tour bus exhaust. However, with a growing demand for the songstress to perform, including 3 months opening for and singing with Bonnie Raitt in addition to her own headline shows, Sharp found herself with fans wanting more music faster than a label’s pace would allow.

From that demand the idea for Eve & The Red Delicious was born.  “The tours just kept going and more and more people were emailing me through the website, through myspace, coming up to me at shows etc.  asking why I couldn’t do a record a year.”  Sharp explains, “I’ve been fortunate to always have a label doing the behind-the-scenes work while still giving me creative control but the drawback is that I’m at the mercy of their schedules.  With 4 album’s worth of label knowledge under my belt I thought, why not take advantage and do a cd that’s more reflective of the live show.  I’m writing enough to release new material more often and I’m lucky enough to have loyal fans that buy every record.  It quickly became a no brainer.”
It’s that relentless drive that led Sharp to record an acoustic album with 5 new songs and 2 new versions of fan favorites from previous albums (Hardly Glamour Ark 21 Records, 1998 and 2005’s Fine Upstanding Citizen on KOCH).  Eve & The Red Delicious (taken from a line from the impossibly hooky “Whole Flat World”) was done as a duo with bass player Darren Embry.  “If I was going to pull this off it needed to be as true to the live performances as possible and with Darren’s top shelf vocals and musicianship I feel we were able to accomplish that and have fun doing it.”  Sharp & Embry met while she and Jonatha Brooke were touring together.  “I’m a huge Jonatha fan and I fully appreciate how musically challenging playing with her could be, so when I saw Darren up there slaying those bass and vocal parts I knew I had to work with him.”

The album features Sharp on guitars, Rhodes, piano, saxophone (her first instrument) and percussion performing songs she wrote alone or co-wrote with, among others, acclaimed Americana songbird Kim Richey, Timbuk 3’s Pat MacDonald and Bonnie Raitt collaborator David Batteau. 

The Los Angeles-based multi-instrumentalist has seen about two dozen of her songs recorded by artists that run the genre gamut, from chart-topping pop acts to Rock and Roll Hall of Famers including Bonnie Raitt, Trisha Yearwood, Art Garfunkel, Edwin McCain, The Dixie Chicks, Paul Carrack, Cher and Mindy Smith to name a few. 

Maia has written with Carole King, Jules Shear, Timothy B. Schmitt, David Wilcox, Amanda Marshall, Edwin McCain, Lisa Loeb, Mindy Smith, Howard Jones, The Go Go’s, Billy Mann, Paul Carrack and many more.

In 1997, she signed with Miles Copeland’s Ark 21 label, on which her debut CD, Hardly Glamour, was released. It scored a Triple A radio hit with the rugged and haunting "I Need This to Be Love." Later that year, she was nominated for Triple-A radio's Artist of the Year and Cher recorded a version of one of the cd’s highlights, "Don't Come Around Tonight” on It’s a Man’s World.

Sharp then joined up with Art Garfunkel and Buddy Mondlock for their EMI/Blue Note trio project Everything Waits to Be Noticed co-writing several tracks, trading off lead vocals and harmonies with the legend and lending her saxophone chops to the project.  Summarizing his time with Maia, Garfunkel simply says, “In the tradition of great female artists, Karla Bonoff, Bonnie Raitt, Christine McVie, Shawn Colvin, Sarah McLachlan.....now enter Maia Sharp."
At the same time, Concord Records released her self titled second solo album Maia Sharp to critical acclaim. The singles “Willing to Burn” and “Crimes of the Witness” both landed in the top 10 in the Triple A radio format.  This was a very busy time for Sharp promoting both the Garfunkel project and her own simultaneously.  After almost a year of off and on touring Sharp was back in the studio to record what ultimately became ‘05’s Fine Upstanding Citzen on KOCH.

It looks like, for now, the only roses Sharp will be able to stop and smell will be the ones backstage in her dressing room. 

"Maia's CD is absolutely wonderful.  I'm so glad I got to write with her.  Maia is an old soul and a new friend."    - Carole King

"In the tradition of great female artists, Karla Bonoff, Bonnie Raitt, Christine McVie, Shawn Colvin, Sarah McLachlan....now enter Maia Sharp."   -Art Garfunkel