Americana is still a new direction for me and I accepted the offer to review Don Gallardo’s Hickory with interest. From the opening chords of “Down in The Valley” this album had me hooked to the point that it felt wrong to fill the silence left by the closing notes of the darkly complex “Pearls”. Having spent 45 minutes immersed in masterful melody, thoughtful lyrics, and honeyed vocals it would be sacrilegious to jump back to New Country no matter how good a playlist Chris Country Radio has! Thankfully, as this is Don Gallardo’s 4th album, it seems that there is a lot more for me to discover.
The Americana label can suggest an air of years gone by, but Gallardo’s sound and storytelling finds contemporary ground that has still it’s roots in American folk music but with added elements of 70’s rock, and some country twang all of which are threaded with a laid-back west coast vibe. Credit should be given to producer David Pinkston (who has worked with Marshall Tucker Band, Linda Ronstadt, Gretchen Peters to name but a few). Gallardo’s vocals are clean and instrumentation and production are light and well tended; the result is really quite exquisite.
Amongst influences Gallardo cites Neil Young, Gram Parsons and Tom Petty, and I can certainly hear their impact. Listening, I am also reminded of Simon and Garfunkel, The Eagles and at times the intensity of Jeff Buckley.
Hailing from Northern California and having spent years cultivating his career on the west coast, Gallardo moved to Nashville 8 years ago and whilst there are Country influences, Hickory resonates with a Californian sound, particularly in the opening tracks “Down in the Valley” and “Diamonds and Gold”. Both have that easy flowing vibe and both focus on Gallardo’s vocals with instrumentation given the lightest of touch by some of the best session musicians in the business.
Still maintaining the West Coast air, “Carousel” a song that is faster paced than the first two, takes on a slightly different feel that puts me in mind of Simon and Garfunkel.
“Midnight Sounds”, “When The World Wakes Up” and “Angel on the Dance Floor” create a more contemporary mood and I am reminded of UK-singer songwriter Badly Drawn Boy. With lyrics like “I can ride out the storm, I can steady the weather” and ‘I’m always losing my mind, sometimes I’m two steps behind”, I am drawn to the stories with their easy listening percussion. “When The World Wakes Up” includes a pleasing sound of steel and the saxophone in “Angel on the Dance Floor” is a welcome surprise.
Singer, songwriter, and curator of vintage Americana, Gill Landry has taken the Delta Land mystique of his native Louisiana with him throughout all of his travels. From his early jug band days in the Pacific Northwest to his later pursuits as a member of Nashville revivalists Old Crow Medicine Show, the humidity has followed from project to project, occasionally threatening to consume his identity. The two solo records he issued in 2007 and 2011 featured some strong material, but often felt a little too persona-heavy, like they were made by some sort of swampland/dust-bowl character who'd drifted in out of an old photo. There's a fine line between finding influence in the past and inhabiting it, but fortunately Landry has struck the right balance on his excellent self-titled third LP. Largely home-recorded at his Nashville apartment and hosting a variety of friends acquired through his many tours, everything about this album feels more understated and natural than his previous output. Worldweary and compassionate, the ten songs here still use the South as a sort of general sonic backdrop, but the sound is largely more rooted in light rock and country traditions. Standouts like the lead single "Just Like You" and the austere horn- (courtesy of Mumford & Sons' Nick Etwell) and string-laden "Lost Love" leave their warm imprint suggesting wide-open vistas and dusky two-lane roads where the ghosts of missed chances pepper the air with late summer melancholia. Landry's arrangements have also become more ambitious as evidenced on the mystical piano-pop midsection of the beguiling Laura Marling-assisted "Take This Body." Subtle, compellingly human, and bittersweet, this is easily Landry's best work.
Depending on which album you pick up, Peter Case can be a hard-edged rocker, a contemplative folkie, or a singer and songwriter with his heart in the blues, and there's a little bit of all three men on 2015's HWY 62, Case's first studio album since 2010's Wig. While HWY 62's arrangements are largely acoustic, this album is quiet like a 3 a.m. jam session, with a low decibel count but plenty of emotional intensity, and Case's vocals are all subtle fire on these sessions, passionate and with plenty to say even when he whispers. HWY 62 also finds Case with plenty on his mind about American life in the 21st century, and this album is full of tales of justice denied, from the tales of the American prison complex on "Pelican Bay" and one man's struggles against the judicial system on "All Dressed Up (For Trial)," to the stacked deck of income inequality of "Water from a Stone" and "Evicted," and Case is canny enough to sound fully committed without seeming like he's one more ranting protest singer. In his songs, Case makes his characters sound flawed but human, and he's more a vivid storyteller than someone mounting a soapbox, a guy who understands the ups and downs of human nature but has a hard time with needless cruelty even as he's trying to forgive. (His songs about love and various unusual folks he's encountered in his travels connect solidly, too.) Case and his producer Sheldon Gomberg have assembled a great band for these sessions, featuring Ben Harper on lead and slide guitar, David Carpenter on bass, and D.J. Bonebrake on the drums, and they give the music a rich, smoky feel that suits this material beautifully. And whoever persuaded Case to cover Bob Dylan's "Long Time Gone" deserves a free lunch with a large order of fries. HWY 62 finds Peter Case rockin' the blues a little bit and singing with serious heart, soul, and wisdom all the time, and nearly three decades into his solo career he remains one of our best and most compelling singer/songwriters, with this album as proof.
When Warren Haynes released the rocking soul and gospel set Man in Motion in 2011, it was the fulfillment of a dream, to write and record songs that reflected the early influence of those sounds on his musical development with an all-star band. Ashes & Dust is another side of his story. Growing up in Asheville, North Carolina, Haynes was equally exposed to bluegrass, mountain folk music, and country gospel. Their influence is plentiful here, on originals and covers alike. He's chosen New Jersey's endlessly inventive roots music ensemble Railroad Earth this time out. Haynes uses electric guitars here; they are part and parcel of a largely acoustic tapestry that can loosely be called Americana. He wrote or co-wrote eight of these 13 tunes. Among the highlights is "Company Man," a song that's been around for more than a decade in his own shows. It was inspired by his father's hard-wrought life and work experiences; though it is ultimately triumphant, the song's narrative poignantly details struggle. John Skehan's mandolin, Andy Goessling's banjo and strummed acoustic, and Tim Carbone's fiddle swirl around Haynes' stinging electric break, which adds drama to his lyric. The cover of Billy Edd Wheeler's classic "Coal Tattoo" (he's the songwriter and visual artist who wrote "Jackson" for Johnny Cash) weds Appalachian mountain music to the electric blues with Haynes slide cutting through the banjo and mandolin. Shawn Colvin and Mickey Raphael assist on the road-weary country-rock of "Wanderlust." "Stranded in Self-Pity" is a jazzy rag blues with a honky tonk piano underscoring Haynes' wily electric guitar, Carbone's fiddle, and Skehan's clarinet solo. One can hear the influences of Levon Helm and T-Bone Wolk on the track, which is only fitting. He planned this record seven years ago and they were both supposed to play on it. The only misstep here is the cover of Fleetwood Mac's "Gold Dust Woman," with Grace Potter almost mimicking songwriter Stevie Nicks' role. It's such a straight arrangement that it adds virtually nothing. "Spots of Time" is the set's longest cut at over eight minutes, co-written with Phil Lesh. It is one of two tracks here to feature drums and percussion by Marc Quiñones. It's a loping, breezy rocker with a gorgeous extended jazz guitar solo; it would have been right at home in the Grateful Dead's catalog. Closer "Word on the Wind" is an excellent update -- even reinvention -- of Southern rock; it exists in a space where Marshall Tucker, Crazy Horse, and the (Joe Walsh era) James Gang all melt into one another. While Ashes & Dust doesn't really add anything "new" to Haynes' musical profile -- fans already knew this was here -- there are some fine benchmarks: his singing has never used such a range of dynamics before; for once he lets the song dictate his expression. Others are tight songwriting and arranging craft -- especially when fleshed out by the almost limitless creativity of Railroad Earth. Ashes & Dust is a worthy and welcome addition to Haynes' catalog.
Martyn Joseph has gone back to the future - and a man he describes as "an amazing doctor of sound" - for his new album. Sanctuary, the Welsh singer-songwriter’s twenty first studio release in a prolific career spanning four decades, finds him reunited with Ben Wisch, the three time Grammy Award-winning producer who helmed 1992’s Being There. When the two originally got together, Joseph had signed to Sony Records and Wisch had masterminded Marc Cohn’s smash hit single, ’Walking In Memphis’. Joseph and Wisch convened at the latter’s house in Ridgewood, New Jersey, where they recorded the guts of Sanctuary with a stellar cast of musicians, including guitarist Kevin Barry (Mary Chapin Carpenter, Ray LaMontagne), bassist Zev Katz (Jeff Beck, James Brown, Bruce Springsteen) and drummer Ben Whittman (Paul Simon, Laurie Anderson, Rosanne Cash), providing "added vibe and nuance". His joy in recording Sanctuary is equalled by the joy of listening to the completed work, which musically pools myriad influences and is lyrically contemplative, honest and big-hearted. Sanctuary affirms Joseph’s reputation as the Welsh Springsteen, an amazing live performer, renowned craftsman and guitarist whose songs profoundly articulate the human condition.
When her contract with label Razor & Tie ran out, folk darling Dar Williams decided to try a D.I.Y. approach to her tenth studio album, Emerald, before signing with UK label Bread and Butter shortly before its release in the spring of 2015. It features an impressive lineup of guests, including British folk-rock legend Richard Thompson, country's Jim Lauderdale, alt-pop's Jill Sobule, and indie folksters the Milk Carton Kids, Lucy Wainwright Roche, and Angel Snow. Inspired by collaborations and long-term friendships, the album also features an unexpected and spirited cover of Joe Strummer & the Mescaleros' "Johnny Appleseed."
The third and last of the Pistol Annies to deliver her own solo record, Angaleena Presley operates on a more intimate scale than either Miranda Lambert or Ashley Monroe. Lambert trades on her bravado, Monroe on her savviness, but Presley relies on subtlety on American Middle Class, her long-awaited 2014 solo debut. Attitude isn't of paramount importance here, nor is the kind of flashy production that would send her into the country charts. With its measured arrangements and deliberate, detailed narratives, what American Middle Class most resembles is Brandy Clark's acclaimed 2013 album 12 Stories ("Drunk" sounds like an unofficial prelude to Clark's "Hungover") but Presley is a distinctive songwriter in her own right, possessing a knack for conveying the fraying dreams of a middle America with empathy and sly humor. Sometimes, the jokes are front and center, as they are on the shambling "Knocked Up," but the nifty thing about American Middle Class is how Presley often blurs the line between sobriety and satire on her sketches of lives lived on the fringe of America. Perhaps Presley isn't a powerhouse of a singer but her lazy gait means her barbed sensibility goes down smooth, so it's only after the record has concluded that the depth and variety of American Middle Class sink in. This is a rich, deceptively relaxed portrait of working-class life in America in 2014 and it will linger for some time to come.
If Kacey Musgraves didn't possess a sense of irony, there'd be a sense of triumph to Pageant Material, the title of her second album. Her first, 2013's Same Trailer Different Park,
caused a sensation in certain quarters, racking up accolades that
outweighed its sales -- a situation reflecting country radio's
systematic resistance to female artists more than the music itself.
Despite this conspicuous lack of hits, Pageant Material doesn't make concessions to commercial radio. It is of a piece with Same Trailer Different Park, partially because a chunk of it was written around the same time, partially because Musgraves
decides to move forward by harnessing the subtlety of "Merry Go 'Round"
and "Follow Your Arrow," using their understated folk as a touchstone
for her sophomore set. Despite the briskness of the near-novelty
"Biscuits" -- its chorus call of "Mind your own biscuits and life will
be gravy" revealing a taste for country corn somewhat at odds with a
progressive reputation based on the all-inclusive "Follow Your Arrow,"
not to mention her fondness for weed (a predilection that resurfaces
elsewhere here) -- Pageant Material
favors softness, sometimes nearly swooning in its slowness, especially
on the gorgeous keynote "High Time" and the closer "Fine," both so
deliberate and hazy they evoke memories of lazy high-school dances. This
lush sound is old-fashioned but, despite her stated rebellion and taste
for weed, much of Musgraves' sensibility is fairly traditional. She and her collaborators -- usually co-producers Shane McAnally and Luke Laird, but Brandy Clark, Josh Osborne, and Natalie Hemby
also bear credits -- concentrate on sculpting songs, tunes so subtle
they benefit from the pretty, shaded production. Not all of Pageant Material
sustains this delicately textured blend of song and sounds -- apart
from "Biscuits," she stumbles when she gets lighter, particularly on
"Family Is Family," where it seems like she can't wait to be rid of
those leeches -- but it's hardly enough to prevent the album from being a
rich, enchanting collection of stories, confessions, and the occasional
joke.
Sarah Pierce, the daughter of a cowboy, raised in a family of cattlemen, was born in Rockford, Illinois and raised in rural West Texas. In the 6th grade she was kicked out of the children’s choir because she sang too low...her incredible alto voice already making itself be known. She would later get on her mare and sing to the cattle in the fields, as Pierce says “They didn’t seem to mind”.
Sarah's dream of becoming a legitimate singer began to take shape at age 12, singing in her stepfathers band.
Always studying voice, after receiving her degree in medical science she began her musical journey. One that she is still traveling today.
Sarah has toured hundreds of thousands of miles - both domestic and foreign - receiving rave reviews at fairs, festivals, conventions, and concert dates from New York City to Los Angeles and Northern British Columbia to San Antonio, France, Italy, Germany, and Scandinavia. Her willingness to self-promote her music has included a driving tour of 250 NPR/AC/Country radio stations across the country, doing interviews and live on-air performances. In addition, she has been seen in performance on MTV and was heard as the singing voice of Calamity Jane on the Emmy-nominated Time-Life television mini-series, The Wild West.
With the release of her eighth album, Bring It On, and the first single, Butterfly Tattoo, going to #5 in the nation on Independent Country Charts, Sarah once again was able to show that she is an absolutely viable artist both commercially and more importantly creatively. Sarah is now releasing her 9th CD, Barbed Wire.
“Barbed Wire has been a long time coming. It definitely could be seen as a follow up to my autobiographical Cowboy’s Daughter CD. This one is absolutely ‘all cards on the table.’ That is what I love most about it...having the courage to not chase anything just write my songs. Tell the truth, and let the chips fall as they may!”
“Barbed Wire came to life after my husband, Merel Bregante, and I moved to the country. One day, while clearing pasture, I came across an old rusted barbed wire fence. I did some research and found that it was manufactured by hand in 1876. I held it in my hand and thought...this looks like me.”
Her lyrics daze with elegant poetry that carries the listener over wide musical vistas on each soul-bearing turn of her incomparable voice." - Los Angeles Times
"I love Sarah's music...she touches the heart and soul of every listener and she is a great addition to my national radio show anytime I get her into the mix" -Laney Goodman, Women In Music -WUMB Boston, MA
Rachael is currently in the process of mixing her latest collection, "Choreographic", which will be released via ILS/Caroline Distribution this Spring. The album marks a creative reunion for Rachael and her very first co-producer, Grammy® winner Andy Zulla (Rod Stewart, Idina Menzel), and was engineered by Zulla and longtime collaborator and 2-time Grammy® nominee John Shyloski (Johnny Winter, Diana Ross). The collection was inspired by Sage's roots in dance, beginning with her years at The School Of American Ballet and culminating in recent collaborations with the lyrical dance community. Keep up with news about the new album over at Rachael's website, and of course, by following her on her socials!
A soulful vocalist and innovative multi-instrumentalist, singer/songwriter and producer Rachael Sage has become one of the busiest touring artists in independent music, performing 100+ dates a year with her band The Sequins throughout the US, UK, Europe and Asia. She has earned a loyal following for her dynamic piano playing, delicate guitar work, soulful vocals. and improvisational audience interaction.
Sage has shared stages with Sarah McLachlan, A Great Big World, Judy Collins, Colin Hay, Shawn Colvin, Marc Cohn, The Animals and Ani DiFranco. She has performed at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and received numerous songwriting awards including The John Lennon Songwriting Contest (Grand Prize) and several Independent Music Awards. Her songs have appeared on MTV, HBO, the “Fame” soundtrack, and in the current season of Lifetime’s #1 reality series,"Dance Moms".
Sage's latest full-length album on MPress Records is "Blue Roses". Produced by Sage and Grammy® Nominee John Shyloski (Johnny Winter, Stephen Kellogg), the album features 13 brand new chamber-pop gems, and showcases the NYC-based multi-instrumentalist’s confident, sophisticated songwriting. Featuring members of Daft Punk, Patti Smith and Bruce Springsteen’s bands, the recording includes a duet with folk icon Judy Collins.
Earlier last year Will Varley walked out on stage at the Royal Albert Hall, shortly after signing a record deal with independent music champions Xtra Mile Recordings. His new album ‘Postcards From Ursa Minor’ was released on October 30th and recieved extensive national airplay, with The Independent describing it as ‘A gem of a record’.
For the 28 year old folk-singer however, the road to The Albert Hall began in the early 2000’s whilst aimlessly busking around London with a fake id, writting hundreds of songs and playing two or three open mics a week. Varley was a regular at numerous acoustic nights and folk clubs throughout South London from an early age, and spent most of his teens travelling around the capital looking for places that would let him play a few songs.
In his early 20’s Varley moved to Deal, Kent enticed by cheap rent and great pubs. There along with a number of musicians he helped set up Smugglers Records, a collective of like minded independent musicians who help eachother release their own music. Since it’s inception the collective has been instrumental in starting the careers of numerous artists as well as putting on their own sell out music festival deep in the Kent countryside, not far from the sea.
In 2011 Varley recorded his debut album ‘Advert Soundtracks’ with Smugglers, and then set out on the road and walked a hundred and thirty miles with a guitar and tent on his back. Starting the walking tour at London Bridge he headed south east, strolling through the rolling hills of the Kent wield and singing songs to whoever would listen. He slept in barns, camped at the side of canals and played gigs in the corner of crowded pubs. By the time he strolled back to deal, despite the blisters and the aching muscles, word of his album had begun to spread and he had many a story to tell.
Varley’s live performances have become more and more anarchic over the years. Audience interaction, surreal improvised comedy between songs and chaotic stunts like playing two songs at the same time are now more often than not included in his shows, though he will just as quickly deliver a melancholic and heartbreaking ballad or a fiery protest song as he will a shaggy dog story or an amusing talking blues.
After self-publishing his first novel ‘Sketch of A Last Day’ (Reaching No.1 in Kindle’s Political Fiction category) and almost two years of relentless gigging, including shows at the Occupy London protests & The Bank of Ideas, with the help of David Hatton Jnr. (of the band Cocos Lovers), 11 new songs were recorded in the basement of an old smugglers cottage in Deal. Outside the coastal wind rattled the doors and windows, fresh off the English Channel. In between sips of Glen Moray and glasses of red wine the pair drafted in a number of musicians to help record an album that was written partly on the road and partly in the smoking areas of Deal’s countless public houses.
Though still littered with his trademark humour, ‘As The Crow Flies’ was a darker, more mature album which saw Varley’s poetry take centre stage, from the brutal honesty of the album’s title track, to the swaying cynicism of ‘Weddings and Wars’ in which he attempts a history of the world in under four minutes.
A second walking tour followed the release of As The Crow Flies, which saw Varley travelling 500 miles along England’s south coast, with a guitar on his back, entirely on foot. After the tour Varley played a sold out show at London’s Bush Hall. A couple of extensive tours with Beans On Toast helped to introduce his music to a whole new audience whilst gigs in Ireland, Belgium and Switzerland also saw Will take his first steps outside of the UK.
On March 29th, the troubador stepped out on stage at The Royal Albert Hall. About an hour before this he’d signed a deal with Xtra Mile Recordings, who are behind the success of acts like Frank Turner, Beans On Toast and To Kill A King. Less than a month later a digital only EP was released which Varley recorded live at one of his favourite music venues. The resulting EP ‘Will Varley: Live at The Lighthouse’ peaked at number 14 in the iTunes Singer Songwriter charts.
The summer of 2015 saw Will supporting The Proclaimers on tour across the UK as well as performing at a long list of UK festivals including Secret Garden Party, Bestival and Green Man. He also spent much of this summer recording his third studio album with Tristan Ivemy producing. The album was released on October 30th to much critical acclaim and radio play. Soon after the release Will set off on a huge tour opening for Frank Turner, culminating in show at London’s Alexandra Palace.
Dave Wilson is now recognised as one of the UK’s best contemporary, acoustic songwriters. A great wordsmith, his songs are sometimes challenging, often lyrical, but always poetic and have been widely covered, including “Storm Around Tumbledown” recorded by Vin Garbutt, amongst many others.
Kip Winter has simply one of the best voices in the business, delivering power and emotion in equal measure. In the past she has sung everything from opera to soul and jazz, but is at her best (and happiest) singing folk and blues.
After becoming full-time, professional musicians in 2012, Winter Wilson have gone on to be one of the hardest-working duos on the UK acoustic music scene. Their sixth album “Cutting Free” was selected as one of the Daily Telegraph’s top 10 Folk albums for summer 2014, but it is above all their live performances which have continued to delight audiences across the UK.
Their previous recording ‘Cutting rightly propelled their music towards a
larger audience, and the CD featured in the
Daily Telegraph’s ‘10 Fine Folk Albums For The Summer’ while the entertainments website axs.com
included the twosome in its list of ‘Top 10 Most Underrated Folk Artists’ (alongside the likes of First Aid Kit, Bella Hardy, among others; see www.axs.com/the-10-most-underrated-artists-in-folk-music-65431).
The duo’s brand new, seventh album ‘Ashes & Dust’ builds on those successes. This time, Dave writes all the songs (previously, all but one) – and, again, they are exceptionally good ones. “We think it’s a very relevant album for our times” says Kip. “Last summer, we were discussing the current state of the protest song with Artisan’s Brian Bedford at the Gate to Southwell Festival. Fittingly, this album has a few protest songs. It wasn't deliberate, but the state of the world we live in just seems to demand protest, whether in song or otherwise. We've aimed for it not to sound preachy, but there are some strong messages in there”.
Dave is a prolific songwriter. ”Every time we start recording a new album”, Kip confirms ”we already have a list of songs as long as your arm and yet Dave begins to write more. It must be something about the recording process that sets him off! Of the thirteen songs on Ashes & Dust, eight were written this year.”’To Hell With Monday Morning’ was written on holiday in February, while we were preparing to go out. By the time I’d finished my nails, Dave had written the song! ’Going Back Home’ was simply built round a ukulele riff one afternoon during the recording process
itself. ”’I'd Rather Be Ashes Than Dust’, came from listening to Great Lives, about the author Jack London, on BBC Radio 4, while we were travelling back from a gig. The quote was London’s, in reply to a comment that his lifestyle would burn him out before his time. We genuinely looked at each other and both said "there's a song!"
”’Gallows Hill’ is based on a location in my home town of Stornoway” she continues. ”Sundays could be pretty bleak when I was a kid, with no playing, singing or reading (except The Bible) allowed in my grandmother's house. The escape route was a walk up Gallows Hill, to the viewpoint over the town pictured in so many postcards. It's a beautiful view, but for those hanged there it was their last. The scarf in the song is based on my late Mum's old headscarf, which still sits in a drawer in our house.”We're lucky to have a recording set-up at home, which gives us the flexibility to fit recording in amongst what has been a pretty hectic touring schedule. That said, Dave was happy to hand over mixing duties to our good friend Alistair Russell (ex Battlefield Band). Ali's a very experienced sound engineer and knows our sound inside out, having worked with us at many festivals over recent years, so it was a pleasure to have him on board for ’Ashes & Dust’”.
Since their first collaboration together in the 1990s, as one half of folk-rock outfit Ragtrade, Kip Winter and Dave Wilson have both been recognised as great natural entertainers. Nowadays, their show is enhanced by a superb stage presence, and the ability to really engage with audiences from the festival main stage to the intimate house concert. Whatever the setting, these two provide contemporary acoustic folk music at its very best.
The "Ashes & Dust" tour starts in March and goes on and on and on. They will cover most of the UK as well as dates in Germany, the Netherlands and Ireland.
check out their web site for dates Dave Wilson
Born & Raised: Sleaford, Lincolnshire (although he did briefly move next door, to Nottinghamshire!).
Music: Bought his first (Yamaha) guitar aged 17 and taught himself to play from the David Bowie song book. He started writing songs regularly when he began attending Boston Folk Club in the early 1980s (to make up for not knowing any folk songs) and hasn't looked back since.
Dave's songs have been covered by musicians all over the UK and beyond, the best known being Storm Around Tumbledown, which has been recorded by Vin Garbutt and Anthony John Clarke amongst others.
Today Dave plays mainly Martin guitars, plus a handmade Nick Benjamin.
Occasionally he has a "rock god moment", when he gets the chance to play his Fender Strat.
He also enjoys practising banjo.....loudly... ...at home.
Influences:
Bob Dylan, Richard Thompson, Nic Jones, Steve Earlt, Martin Simpson, Townes Van Zandt, Tom Waits, John Tams, we could go on.......................
"It's the words that matter"During 17 years of part-time touring, Kip Winter (vocals, accordion, guitar, flute) and Dave Wilson (vocals, guitar, banjo) built a reputation for fine songs, stunning harmonies and spontaneous, (occasionally outrageous!) off-the-wall humour.
Kip Winter
Born: West Germany (although her family lived in Holland at the time - bad day out!), but fiercely Scottish.
Raised: Holland, Germany, England, Scotland....also lived in France for a while - a bit of a nomad. But music always featured. Kip learned to sing harmonies on long family car journeys back to the Outer Hebrides every summer. "It was usually a two day journey, in a Morris Minor with no radio, so singing was the natural way to pass the time."
Music: Learned piano from age 9. Bought a second-hand flute for Fr400 when living in France in 1980 and has subsequently "pootled" on guitar, tenor guitar, bass, piano accordion and tenor ukulele.
But mainly she loves to sing - anything from classical and jazz to soul, but especially folk and blues.
Influences:
"My Dad - a great singer and musician and I learned so many songs from him."
In his early career, Jim Chesnut thrilled music industry insiders and audiences across the nation with his songwriting and vocal talent. Wesley Rose, President of Acuff-Rose Music, Inc., signed him, in part, because Roy Acuff was willing to allow Jim to take his place on the full roster at Hickory Records (distributed at the time by MGM).
When Charley Pride endorsed Chesnut's first album (Let Me Love You Now on ABC/Hickory Records) he said, "He has a tremendous talent for writing, and as you can see from this album for delivering a good country song, also."
Pride was the first major artist to record and release a Chesnut song (Oklahoma Morning) shortly before Jim was signed as an exclusive staff writer for Acuff-Rose, the firm that produced such songwriting greats as Hank Williams, Mickey Newbury, Eddy Raven, Don Gibson, Roy Orbison and The Everly Brothers.
From that point, Chesnut, in what proved to be an unwise career decision, reserved all of his material for his own use as a recording artist. He wrote most of the songs for the 10 top-100 singles and two albums he released in the late 1970s and early 1980s. One of those songs, Show Me a Sign, was nominated for a Grammy by his label in 1979.
Chesnut, represented by Bob Neal (Elvis Presley's first manager) and the venerable William Morris Agency, performed in nightclubs and concerts, appearing with such folks as Willie Nelson, Charley Pride, Rodney Crowell, Mickey Newbury, Tom T. Hall, Bobby Bare, Con Hunley, Danny Davis & the Nashville Brass, Sammi Smith, Don Williams, Ed Bruce, Gene Watson, Moe Bandy, Don Everly, Eddie Raven, Larry Gatlin, Dottie West, Reba McEntire, Janie Fricke, Lorrie Morgan, B.J. Thomas, Pat and Debby Boone, Ernest Tubb, Grandpa Jones, Jan Howard, Helen Cornelius and a number of other Grand Ole Opry stars.
Chesnut's emerging career was muted in the early 1980s. After charting ten songs in a five-year period in Billboard Magazine’s Top-100 Country Chart, Chesnut left Nashville and returned to Texas to deal with alcohol addiction. Now, almost 35-years-sober and a successful career in marketing communications, he is writing and recording like never before.
In the past two years, Jim Chesnut has established himself as an up-and-coming re-discovered country singer/songwriter in national secondary market radio music playlists.
For example, in December 2013, his single, Get Aboard a Catamaran, reached #12 in the New Music Weekly indie and country charts. In 2014, Chesnut’s CD, Troubadours and Dreamers, was listed as a top-30 album for the year in the Roots Music Report (RMR) True Country Album Chart, with the single, Oklahoma Morning, reaching #6 in RMR’s True Country Singles Chart and #10 in the New Music Weekly Country Singles Chart. In 2015, his Another Day in the Life of a Fool debuted at #1 in RMR’s True Country Singles Chart and remained in the top five for several weeks.
His 2016 album, This Guy Sings!, is his fourth self-produced CD since 2008. He has found his place as a true country artist in the spectrum of country music performers that exists today. The first single from the new album, Lost and Found Love, is an example of what true country music is. It is a song about two people finding love with new partners and is sung to a two-step dance beat with a memorable melody.
According to the American Psychological Association 40 to 50 percent of American first marriages end in divorce, and the divorce rates for subsequent marriages are even higher. As a songwriter, Chesnut is focused on telling the human story . . . a story that includes marriage, divorce, infidelity, death, faith gained and lost, joy, sadness, hope, despair, etc. He believes that a good story is essential to building a loyal audience.
For Treetop Flyers, the last few years have been a case of needing to fall apart, in order to rebuild, and come back stronger. Two and a half years on from their acclaimed debut album ‘The Mountain Moves’, fate showed its macabre sense of humour in dramatically shifting the ground beneath the London five-piece. The grief for lost parents, broken marriages, the near-death of a close friend, the departure of long-time bassist Matthew Starritt, the loss of numerous behind-the-scenes personnel (as well as an accountancy bill that they say “would make the government weep”) led to a prolonged period of upheaval and an unsettled and anxious camp. It was perhaps natural that Palomino was to become an honest, raw, and reflective record. As vocalist / guitarist Reid Morrison puts it; “We'd been through a lot individually and collectively. Coming together to make this record was very therapeutic for us, in a sense. It brought us closer and allowed us to let go of a lot of the bullshit that we'd had to endure and negotiate in the past.”
With an out-of-sorts band slowly coming to terms with their own situations, self-reliance and a gang mentality showed itself to be the route ahead. Locking themselves away at their own Soup Studios in London, self-producing along with the help of some friends - and then mixed by Jonathan Wilson (Father John Misty, Conor Oberst, Elvis Costello) - their new outlook was to embrace the unknown, and begin experimenting. New synths, new pedals and new techniques helped them to unravel their own sound, as well as conceptions of the classic qualities laid down by their forebears, ultimately uniting them with a purposely accentuated groove and unfathomably tight vocal harmonies - all threaded together by Reid’s own soulful melancholy. Treetop Flyers are a fluid band, affected by, and absorbing everything, for better or worse. Drummer / vocalist Tomer Danan says; “It was important for us to free ourselves from some of the ideas we had about ourselves and maybe a bit of what people seemed to think about us from an outside perspective, which was largely based on one song, letting in more of our influences from 70's Nigerian psych rock/pop to jazz and a whole lot in between. How that all gets filtered through us as individuals and as a group is what you are hearing, and that's still changing all the time.”
In 2015, after everything, instead of uncovering a lost and haphazard band, their caution-to-the-wind experimentalism sees a group dragging themselves to their feet once more. Sticking together extended far beyond just getting in a room and recording. Palomino is a wholly collaborative affair – no single songwriter is solely credited on any of the record - and you sense it had to be this way. Setting the tone for the album, opener 'You, Darling You' is a reflection on the old saying "sometimes loving someone means letting them go”. In this case it's over a failed marriage, but the record picks up on some of the themes of death and departure that made up The Mountain Moves. It’s a subject the band still find, understandably, difficult to shake, as Palomino flirts with many ideas of finality. 31 Years tracks a goodbye to a friend who passed away during the recording of their debut, and St Andrew’s Cross is a lament to the passing of Reid’s father, used almost in therapy by the band as a way to reconcile the past and the unknown ahead, all at once. Interestingly, it’s the band’s own smart production (as well as tracks like Dance Through The Night and Falling Back) that injects real life into Palomino. Hope permeates above all else, which is nothing less than they should allow themselves after everything they’ve been through. Treetop Flyers emerge triumphant from the most turbulent of times.
DYLAN LEBLANC KNOWS SECOND CHANCES DON’T COME AROUND OFTEN. BUT, NEITHER DO VOICES LIKE HIS.
Overwhelmed by the speed at which his gift took him from Applebee’s server to “the new Neil Young” in a matter of months, he walked away from an unlikely major label deal after releasing two critically acclaimed albums. He slipped into a blur of booze and self-doubt. Exhausted and damaged at just 23-years-old, Dylan came home to Muscle Shoals, Alabama to write a new life for himself.
In between the moments of clarity and a few familiar falls, he also wrote a new album, Cautionary Tale: a collection of shimmering, arresting songs with the same haunting vocals that caught the attention of Lucinda Williams and Bruce Springsteen, now with a sharpened edge honed by hastened maturity.
“THIS RECORD IS ABOUT ME GETTING HONEST WITH MYSELF,” SAYS DYLAN. “I HAD TO LET THE GUILT ABOUT THE PAST GO AND FIND A NEW TRUTH WITHIN MYSELF. THIS TIME, I FELT LIKE I REALLY HAD SOMETHING TO SAY.”
To help him say it, he sought out long-time friend Ben Tanner, the same guy who had secretly helped Dylan record his first songs after hours while working at fabled FAME Studios. (He also introduced a 16-year-old Dylan to Wilco, George Harrison, and Ryan Adams by way of an external hard drive). In between touring with Alabama Shakes, Ben was beginning to engineer records again at the label he started with another friend of Dylan’s, Grammy Award-winning musician John Paul White, formerly of the Civil Wars. The two both produced and played on Cautionary Tale.
“They prevented me from burying my words,” says Dylan. “Doubt can often be my first instinct, and I’ll try to cover things up with more elements to hide my voice, but I made up my mind to trust them. I heard Merle Haggard say once that the singer is secondary to the song, and they both helped me build a strong foundation for the emotions I was feeling.”
The stripped down aesthetic that John Paul and Ben have made their label’s calling card sets Dylan’s voice in a light bright enough to see the patina the last few years has left behind.
“I SPENT A LOT OF TIME WRITING ABOUT PROGRAMMING AND CONDITIONING AND THE IDEA OF EGO,” SAYS DYLAN. “I DON’T WANT TO RELY ON MY CIRCUMSTANCES OR THE PAST TO SAY WHY I AM THE WAY I AM ANYMORE. A LOT OF MY SONGS LIKE ‘CAUTIONARY TALE’ AND ‘LOOK HOW FAR WE’VE COME’ ARE ABOUT TRYING TO BREAK OUT OF A VICIOUS CYCLE. I WAS WONDERING IF I COULD FIND MY SOLUTIONS FROM WITHIN—IF I COULD BELIEVE IN SOMETHING BEYOND THE PRESENT.”
If Dylan was wandering through a cemetery with his first album Paupers Field (“Songs are like headstones to me,” he told The Guardian), Cautionary Tale is an abandoned desert town. He reflects on what once was, and if anything could be again. At times, he wonders if the signs of life he sees on the horizon are real or just a mirage. Phantasmic, warbling voices in the background rise to meet his own and fade into the ether; ghostly guitar riffs echo in the emptiness around him.
Finding the right arrangement and words was a more deliberate effort for Dylan this time. After feeling lost in the “mania” of recording his first two albums, he relied on Ben and John Paul to help him collect the pieces of his vision.
“I’ve definitely become more disciplined. I don’t count on things like inspiration anymore,” says Dylan. “I learned so much from putting songs together with John Paul. Anything he does, it’s always going to be well-thought-out and well-placed. I’m naturally an improv guy, but now I see how that can be more limiting than planning your next move.”
That new-found discipline shows. Never one to write out parts, Dylan methodically scored the stunning string sections with violinist Kimi Samson and cellist Caleb Elliot. To form the polished rhythm section he wanted to drive songs like “The Easy Way Out” and “Beyond the Veil,” he paired drummer Jeremy Gibson with Alabama Shakes bassist Zac Cockrell (“I wanted it to feel like a Bill Withers record or Al Green—soulful, but tight.”)
While Dylan will be the first to admit he wasn’t ready to stand on the stages he played early in his career, there’s no doubting he is now. With a recalibrated compass, he’s back on the road opening sold-out shows for British singer-songwriter George Ezra, another artist praised for a wisened voice beyond his years.
Dylan will continue to support George through September 2015, including a show at Nashville’s legendary Ryman Auditorium. Next, he’ll embark on his solo tour with dates throughout the South, Midwest, and New England.
“AFTER EVERYTHING I’VE GONE THROUGH, I STILL LOVE PUTTING RECORDS OUT AND SINGING FOR PEOPLE, NO MATTER HOW BIG OR SMALL THE CROWD,” SAYS DYLAN. “IT’S THE ONLY THING I WANT TO DO, AND NOW I GET TO KEEP DOING IT AS A MORE WELL-ROUNDED PERSON. I GUESS I’M BLESSED... OR WHATEVER THE HELL YOU WANT TO CALL IT.”
Brennen Leigh is a songwriter, guitar player, mandolin player and singer whose to-the-point storytelling style has elevated her to cult status in Europe, Scandinavia, across the United States, South America and most notably in her home of Austin, Texas. It's easy to see why she's caught the ear of greats like legendary Lubbock fiddler Tommy Hancock (widely regarded as the godfather of West Texas music), who was quoted as saying of Leigh's work; "It's great to hear music that affects you on an intellectual level as well as makes you want to dance".
All musical and performing prowess aside, the thing Brennen has become most famous for is her whip-smart songwriting. Her songs have been recorded by the likes of Sunny Sweeney, Austin's the Carper Family, Norway's Liv Marit Wedvik, and American country legend, Grammy winner Lee Ann Womack. She has collaborated with songwriting greats such as Jim Lauderdale, John Scott Sherrill and David Olney. Fans flock to hear her perform whatever new composition she has added to her eclectic and substantial catalogue of songs.
Brennen is a founding member of Austin string band High Plains Jamboree, along with her frequent writing and touring partner, guitarist Noel McKay, bass player Simon Flory, and her long time friend, fiddler Beth Chrisman. Brennen is also a member of Nashville group Antique Persuasion, along with Jenee Fleenor (fiddler, harmony singer and guitarist for Blake Shelton, Martina McBride and Larry Cordle) and Brandon Rickman (singer, mandolin player and guitarist in bluegrass' popular Lonesome River Band), who released their debut album on Voxhall Records, Don't Forget Me Little Darling, Remembering the Carter Family, in Spring 2015.
When she is not on tour, Brennen can be heard singing and playing her vintage arch top guitar (affectionately named "The Blonde") in many of the vibrant honky tonks and dance halls of Texas, often accompanied by Noel McKay on harmony vocals and telecaster, and world class rhythm section; bassist Brad Fordham and drummer Lisa Pankratz, delighting two-steppers and discerning listeners with a sound that is fresh, classic... and unapologetically country.
Born out of a long-term residency gig at L.A.'s popular nightclub Largo, Watkins Family Hour is a sort of variety show and spontaneous jam session hosted by multi-instrumentalist siblings Sean and Sara Watkins, formerly of the progressive bluegrass group Nickel Creek. Since 2002, the Watkins siblings have been offered the Largo stage for one night a month to showcase new songs, collaborate with friends, play random covers, and essentially let their hair down in any way that pleases them. A hotspot for an eclectic swath of musicians and comics, Largo has generated a wide variety of unscripted Family Hour guest spots from people like Jackson Browne, John C. Reilly, Booker T., and Pete Holmes. Over the years the Watkins' show has taken on a loose structure with L.A. veterans Benmont Tench (piano), Greg Leisz (pedal steel, Dobro), Sebastian Steinberg (bass), and Don Heffington (drums) setting up shop as the Family Hour house band. Coming from a roots music background of folk, country, and bluegrass, it's the type of venture that would be right at home in Nashville, but is a bit of an anomaly in L.A., where they're more likely to bump elbows with Largo regulars like Aimee Mann, Michael Penn, and Fiona Apple, the latter of whom joins them on their first studio venture. With the idea of taking the Family Hour on the road, producer Sheldon Gomberg brought Sean and Sara into the studio along with their house band to record a diverse set of covers that captures the casual attitude and frequently stunning musicianship of their monthly live shows. Perhaps the best thing about Watkins Family Hour's debut is the communal feeling of a group of seasoned musicians playing to their collective strengths. In this band no one is a star and, at one point or another, nearly everyone takes a turn at the mic. Sean Watkins' easygoing rendition of Roger Miller's "Not in Nottingham" and Sara's heart-rending version of the Grateful Dead's 1970 classic "Brokedown Palace" are immediate highlights, as is the spunky Harlan Howard-penned "Where I Ought to Be," in which Sara and guest singer Fiona Apple trade verses in between some tasty pedal steel work from Leisz. The album's most inventive arrangement is the wonderful "Hop High," a traditional Appalachian song that segues from a darkly intimate folk-blues intro by Sara into a fiery showstopper that is as strong a showcase for the band as you'll find outside of seeing them live. As a stage experiment, Watkins Family Hour
has thrived for 13 years, and now with a fine record to document their efforts, they've hit on a format that could offer boundless possibilities for years to come.
A roots man of integrity with a predilection for truly vintage vibes, Minnesota's Charlie Parr
has made his career hollering, picking, and stomping his way through
the Midwest and beyond, leaving a trail of fine records that feel just a
shade away from the great rural folk and blues songs of Harry Smith's epic Anthology of American Folk Music.
Eschewing proper studios whenever possible, his lo-fi releases have
been captured in storefronts, warehouses, and garages or live on-stage
in several cases. Now 13 years into his recording career and with more
than a dozen albums either self-released or scattered across the globe
on tiny indies, Parr has settled in with St. Paul's Grammy-winning folk label Red House Records (Greg Brown, Loudon Wainwright III),
just a couple of hours away from his Duluth home. While signing with
Red House might feel like a sort of Midwestern homecoming, Stumpjumper, his debut for the label, is a bit of a departure. Recorded in North Carolina with producer Phil Cook of the psych-folk group Megafaun, the album is Parr's first solo effort to feature a full backing band. A sort of hybrid of his previous production styles, Stumpjumper
(the title is a Jeep culture reference to off-roading), is as live and
red-blooded as anything in his catalog, but the added thump of drums,
electric bass, fiddle, and additional guitars gives songs like the
excellent "Falcon" and "Frank Miller Blues" a vibrancy that suits his
woolly, homespun style. The wild buzz of loose strings, the ramshackle
percussion, the occasional fuzzed-out guitar, and Parr's
own National steel, banjo, and 12-string playing create a joyful noise
that can just as quickly turn dark, as on the haunting "Resurrection" or
the wistful "Over the Red Cedar," a lovely ode to the unwavering
passage of time. Parr
has only gotten better as a songwriter, and his spirited performances
here are augmented well by this strong group effort.
Growing up in the rich literary and religious environment of Mississippi, and then moving straight into the country-soaked musical world of Nashville, Trent Dabbs has many stories to tell. Like Flannery O’Connor with her short story collection, A Good Man Is Hard To Find, Dabbs pieces his own spiritual and relational questions into well crafted folk-pop albums. The ghosts of Johnny Cash, old gospel-choirs, Neil Young, and Nick Drake are heard roaming the halls of Trent’s songs.
With many stories comes many different sounds. Dabbs is the kind of artist that is able to reinvent himself and his sound with every record. His newest collection of stories, The Way We Look At Horses, his eighth full length release, is more reminiscent of his 2011 release, Southerner. Which American Songwriter observed 'Here, he subtly taps into his roots, in a loosely conceptual album about his southern origins.'
Dabbs says the concept for 'The Way We Look At Horses' came from the idea of Equine Therapy (horse assisted therapy). “It is said that horses help us connect with buried feelings from the past and provide healing. Many of the themes throughout this album deal with death, love, making a change and the patterns that we've adopted to help us deal with difficult times. I love the image of the horse, being strong and steady and using them as a formidable metaphor to get us through.”
Trent’s desire is that his audience will take the time to listen to 'The Way We Look At Horses'' as a whole. Though many of the tracks stand on their own, and will surely find their way as snippets into scripts and onto screens, it is the story that concerns Trent the most. Our generation is one of ADD and instant gratification. Maybe what we need is to shut out the rest of the world, sit on the porch with a glass of tea, take a deep breath in, and just listen.
The final chapters of Glen Campbell's life have played out like something from an old movie -- just as Campbell was re-launching his career with the albums Meet Glen Campbell and Ghost on the Canvas, he was diagnosed with Alzheimer's Disease, and since then, the great singer and instrumentalist has been saying a long goodbye to his audience, trying to make music as long as he possibly can. And now that story is a movie -- filmmaker James Keach and a camera crew tagged along for Campbell's farewell concert tour, and the footage provides the backdrop for Glen Campbell: I'll Be Me, a documentary about Campbell and his family as he struggles to hold on to himself while Alzheimer's takes its toll. The film's soundtrack album certainly reflects Campbell's condition, as he takes the lead on only six of its ten tracks, two of which are slightly different versions of the same recording. Elsewhere, Campbell's daughter Ashley performs "Home Again" and "Remembering" with skill and poignancy, while the Band Perry contribute two versions of their polished but rootsy cover of "Gentle on my Mind." As for Campbell, his live performances at Nashville Ryman Auditorium and the single "I'm Not Gonna Miss You" are powerful stuff -- his voice isn't as strong as it once was, and one can hear a faint uncertainty in his phrasing, but it's obvious how much this music means to him, and there's an undercurrent of passion and gratitude that's unavoidable. Music was Glen Campbell's life, and the obvious if unstated theme of I'll Be Me Soundtrack is his desire to keep music in his life in spite of his battle with time and illness; the album is something of a patchwork with its various vocalists and multiple versions, but there's something extraordinary in Campbell's performances that will make this a deeply moving experience for his fans.
Pick, Keller Williams’ 18th album and his debut with the first family
of bluegrass, The Travelin’ McCourys, is a wonderful mixture of
Keller’s easy-going Americana style and the Travelin’ McCourys’ precise
mastery of Bluegrass. It is string picking rooted in Americana’s heart;
exploding with energy and passion.
Recorded at Nashville’s famed Butcher’s Shoppe Recording Studio in
early 2012, Pick is comprised of 12 originals and covers that are sure
to not just get your toes a tappin’ and knees a slappin’, but also put
some groove in your step and a shake to your bake. Here’s what member’s
of the band have to say about the project:
“Playing with The Travelin’ McCourys brings great joy to me. It’s
like being naked on a mountain with a peppermint patty. It just feels
good. The taste is sweet yet minty and I’m left wanting more.” – Keller
Williams
“Playing with Keller is like being in a 2 car chase on a mountain
road. Trying to catch him only to find that as you round the corner…
he’s already gone! When you finally get to the top of the mountain you
can go no further and you think you’ve caught up with him… you realize
he’s going higher yet ascending into the clouds and you want to catch up
but you can’t! He’s an inspirational Musician/Songwriter and Thinker!
It is so satisfying to try keep up with him….and you can’t stop smiling
along the way!”
Americana stand-outs have assembled a new band and, as was the case with their last one, The Mammals, fans and critics alike are showing a lot of love. Their debut album, Bright as You Can, was released in June 2015 and top critics had this to say: "One of the year's standout Americana albums" (Boston Globe), "In the vanguard of today's vibrant folk revival" (Pop Matters), "honoring the great musical traditions of the past while at the same time welcoming, with open arms, the future of what music can be” (Folk Alley), and much, much more. They play with jubilation--as exciting and powerful as any quintet out there, mixing up fiddle and banjo with drums, bass, pedal steel and organ.Their concerts dance from Americana ho-downs to sassy blues, Motown soul, old-timey harmonies, rock-n-roll energy and infectious, inspired songwriting.
Mike + Ruthy met in NYC in 1998 and never looked back. He's a poet considered "one of the best songwriters of his generation" (LA Weekly). She's a chanteuse who grew up in the American roots underground, the daughter of GRAMMY-winning fiddler and educator, Jay Ungar. These two believe in the transformative power of a great live concert. They write top-tier songs, tour with their kids and peerless five-piece band, and perform for audiences worldwide. Folk music at it’s core, the band is amplified by rock elements - a sound they’ve taken to calling rural rock. Their latest release Bright As You Can (Thirty Tigers) brought them to new heights in 2015, spending 15 consecutive weeks in the Americana Radio top 40, with accolades from the likes of the Boston Globe ("One of the year's standout Americana albums”) and Wall Street Journal ("The 14-song collection spans folk, bluegrass, vintage country and just about everything else that falls under the catch-all heading of ‘Americana.’”) This fall Mike + Ruthy are supporting Ani DiFranco throughout the Northeast and in 2016 they’ll be debuting the new band at Scotland’s Celtic Connections festival with a tour of US festivals to follow.
* Praise for Bright As You Can *
“'One of the year’s standout Americana albums."
- Boston Globe
"In the vanguard of today’s vibrant folk revival." - Pop Matters
"The 14-song collection spans folk, bluegrass, vintage country and just about everything else that falls under the catch-all heading of 'Americana.'”
- Wall Street Journal
"Everything is masterfully performed as Mike Merenda and Ruthy Ungar sing about the charms of hard work, homemade wine and free parking. Amid the barn dance reverie created by fiddle, pedal steel, horns and more, Ruthy's versatile alto is the most glorious instrument of all."
Many of us roll through life gaining a scar here and there. Some very obvious and others much deeper and hidden from sight. TJ Broscoff, like the rest of us, has rolled through his life gaining those scars but has chosen to make sure that those inner scars are as obvious, to those that listen, as the ones we all parade with.
We all skin knees, suffer minor cuts, and skin our noses and we all know the pain of a busted heart. That is a part of life and TJ was right there with us. However TJ brings deeper scars to the table as he went through a period that has touched us all in one way or another: Addiction.
TJ was raised in the suburbs of a major metropolitan area in Texas that afforded him the opportunity to be surrounded by tons of music and tons of friends. Along with those came influences that masqueraded themselves as a good thing. Turns out that became an issue. TJ went years deep into a situation that no one plans on doing. An Arizona desert brought TJ to the realization that enough was enough and he has never looked back.
The one thing that TJ clung to that provided fulfillment and joy in his life that he had complete control of was his music. He spent hours and hours perfecting his playing and developing a style that would include everything from alternative to country influences. There are many guitar players that are good and there are many that are functional but there are very few that can iron out a style of their very own. TJ has done just that.
With his demons buried and his path laid out before him, TJ started writing. Knowing that he had a story that was common with so many, he decided to expose those inner scars and share his journey. Opening shows and getting on stage at every venue that would give him time, TJ gave it all he had. His music landed on some ears that understood what a true talent he was and it landed him in a San Antonio studio in what would turn out to be one of the most important meetings of his new life. From that meeting his first new album of biopic tunes sprang forth in his “Ready To Fly” release.
“Ready To Fly” flourished on Texas radio with five singles reaching well inside the top 30 on the Texas Music charts. Most established artists would love to see that much success on any release, especially their first. The stories on the album were true and described his struggle with his demons and his readiness to put it all behind him and move forward. To everyone’s delight, his life and his determination to be a class artist ran parallel on a road to success. TJ was ready to fly.
The album also captured the attention of Troubadour Texas, a national television project, that showcased his story and music as well. This proved that TJ was a triple threat as he was able to shine on the radio, on television, and especially the stage.
The stage is the place that TJ feels most comfortable with his ability to shine as both a top notch player and a singer with a very distinct voice. Couple that with the stories and a main character that he knows all too well and you have yourself a show with determination and conviction that most national acts would kill to possess.
After the success of “Ready to Fly”, TJ was ready with a whole new set of stories and observations that he knew he was ready to share. “The Break” was recorded and produced in the same studio that had brought forth his last project with Bill Green at the board and is as solid as a rock. With broader instrumentation and intelligent lyrics, “The Break” stands as a natural successor to its freshman counterpart, “Ready To Fly”.
Both of these projects are proof that musical ideas can be new and fresh and can also be coupled with lyrical content that does not insult the listener’s ability to understand more than a backroad and a tailgate. In two words you can describe TJ and his music: smart and talented.
TJ Broscoff is a true Texas Music phoenix. He rose up from one of the worst possible situations that he could have been in to succeed in his own uncompromising terms. Playing his music in nearly 200 shows a year proves that he was ready to fly and that all he needed was the break. Enjoy TJ Broscoff if for no other reason, he is smart and talented.
