Showing posts with label Bruce Springsteen. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bruce Springsteen. Show all posts

Jan 26, 2023

Country Twitter Fails: January '23

Some of these are Facebook comments. We've had quite a week over at the Farce page.



This comment is about Waylon Jennings. Yes, I'm serious.
















Mar 28, 2022

Truth and Love Will Be My Standard: A Conversation With The Wilder Blue


By Kevin Broughton


Sharp storytelling. Gripping and gorgeous five-part harmonies. Arrangements that can swing between fun, engaging, and lively one moment and stirring, booming, and chill-inducing the next. These are the essential elements that make up the sound of The Wilder Blue, the Texas five-piece who put their own spin on rock-influenced country with their eponymous sophomore album.


Recorded at Echo Lab Studios in Denton, Texas, the band self-produced The Wilder Blue with experienced engineer Matt Pence (Paul Cauthen, Shakey Graves). A true collaborative effort, The Wilder Blue is a genuine democracy where ideas, constructive criticism, and value is demanded by all parties.


Built around the keen storytelling voice of primary frontman Zane Williams, Paul Eason’s salient lead guitar, the imaginative tandem of drummer Lyndon Hughes and bassist Sean Rodriguez, and the striking, compelling mind of multi-instrumentalist Andy Rogers, The Wilder Blue are only beginning to scratch the surface of their potential.


In addition to implementing a lone studio for a cohesive sound, the months between studio sessions was an added luxury. This allowed songs and ideas to marinate and work themselves out over the course of band practices, soundchecks, and shows.


The band’s 2020 debut (Hill Country – more on that in a bit) was an under-the-radar gem that cracked this correspondent’s top five albums of the year. The Wilder Blue have raised their own bar in 2022, improving on every aspect of their musicianship, writing and vocals. The self-titled sophomore offering will remind you of the best of The Eagles, Alabama, and so much more. It’s a strong contender for album of the year through just one quarter. 


We caught up not only with Williams, but 80 percent of the total band as bassist Sean Rodriguez, drummer Lyndon Hughes and multi-instrumentalist Andy Rogers joined the conversational jam.


Clear up some confusion for me. In 2020 I got an advance copy of y’all’s first album. The name of the band at that moment was Hill Country, but by the official release date that had become the name of the record, and the band became The Wilder Blue, seemingly from lyrics in the song “Dixie Darlin’.” What was the deal with that little double-clutch?


(Group laughter) Zane: Well, what had happened was…When we named the band Hill Country, obviously we were just going for something general, like “Alabama” or “Eagles” or whatever. And I did some searching around to see if there was another band called just “Hill Country.” And there wasn’t. But what I missed was that there was a restaurant somewhere out in the world, and it has the trademark on the term “Hill Country” not just in food services, but in recorded music and live music as well. 


And I didn’t realize that until after we released our album, but once we realized, I contacted them. We tried to work out an arrangement, but they had plans for that name in the future, they had the trademark, and that’s what trademarks are for. So we did the old switcheroo and went with our second choice, which I think has worked out well…and it’s kind of a better name, anyway. 


Except that I had to go into my iTunes and physically change it…


Ha! At least you did. I was listening to the radio the other day and the DJ said, “That was the latest from Hill Country!”


You had six or seven albums of your own and a very productive career as a songwriter before putting this band together. What made you want to stretch your creative legs and start a harmony-based group, and how long did it take you to assemble the lineup?


This is really the band that I’ve always wanted to have, but it never fell into my lap. A few years ago, I read Bruce Springsteen’s autobiography, Born To Run, which is amazing. And I read some other books that were really good, and they inspired me not just to make another record or write another song, but to make really iconic music that will stand the test of time; really shoot for the moon, musically, and not ever settle.


And that’s what it took for me to think to myself, “Well, just because I’ve never had this certain time of band in the past, why does that mean that I can’t do it now?” I know a lot more people now than I did when I was younger, and that inspired me to give some people a call and see what I can put together. And it was a year-long process, I guess, finding the right people and making that transition. It hasn’t been easy, but every time we get on stage together I’m happy I took the leap. 


The band paid for its studio time via crowdfunding. How did that impact the strategy and structure of recording this album?


Zane: Lyndon, you wanna take that one, brother?


Lyndon: Sure. This is really kind of the ultimate for us. We were in a lot of debt after our first album and had made a lot of it back with streaming and record sales, but it can take quite a bit. At our website, thewilderblue.com, we have a thing called The Hideout, where you can sign up for five or ten bucks a month or so. And we used every single dollar of that to go to our record budget, and basically have no debt because of it. 


And not only that, we’re not beholden to a label that can tell us what we can record, how long we can record; we’re the producers and the executive producers are our fans. We’ve actually been able to release one song every single month for the last year or so. And we did that every month until we had our second album done. 


It’s pretty incredible and the fans get it right away, even before the official release date. It’s freed us up quite a bit. 


Quick follow-up. If you’re releasing one cut a month, I assume you’re not going into the studio once a month. Is there some continuity?


Lyndon: That’s a really good question. Basically we’ll go in the studio every few months, and stay there for three or four days and record two or three songs. But sometimes…like on “Feeling The Miles,” it took us three and a half days to do one song. (Chuckles.) We did the whole thing, start to finish, on a tape machine, so it can take a lot of time. So yeah, we didn’t go in with 12 songs, but we could go in with two or three at a time. We went four or five times total, I guess, to the same studio. And we need to get back and do more. 


I’d like to touch on some specific songs and the influences that went into their writing. “Feelin’ The Miles” stands out distinctively, I think, from most of the rest of the album. There’s an intense-yet-mellow vibe that evokes the late 1970s…maybe a hint of James Taylor or Jerry Rafferty. How did that song come into being, and what’s the division of labor when it comes to songwriting?


Zane: I guess I’ll take that one. I wrote that song and I write most of them right now, though that was never my intention. We’re always working on co-writing more as a band, as well as guys bringing in outside songs. Those are things like The Eagles did and The Beatles did, and a lot of other bands that we respect. So we’ve got some exploring to do. But since we’re all in different towns, a lot of it ends up, “I wrote this song and brought it to the band.” 


With “Feelin’ The Miles,” the original arrangement and feel was very folky and singer/songwriter-y, but we already had a couple songs like that; “Birds of Youth” and “Okie Soldier” are kind of in that vein. So for that reason, the song was just “sitting around,” and I wasn’t sure we could do it or not. And then one day I thought about taking it in a different groove, with a tasty bass line that Sean could get down on; a groovy drum part…then I would definitely want to do the song. I didn’t want to give up on it. 


So I came up with that new direction – at least in the broad strokes – and then rewrote the melody of the song and some of the lyrics. So it’s really “Feelin’ The Miles 2.0.” And that’s another really cool thing about our band’s subscriptions, because it’s not public and we can just stick songs up there. The original version is there, too, so our fans and subscribers can see how that song evolved over time. 



“Wave Dancer” manages to evoke a Baptist hymn and channel the Eagles’ “Seven Bridges Road” at the same time, with its tight harmonies. It’s got such a big, determined sound to it. I’m guessing it wasn’t a first-taker, with all those vocal layers?


(Laughs) Zane: How many times do you guys think we sang that chorus in the studio? 


Sean: Well, we tried it like a million different ways: “Should we record this in a stairwell?” Finally we just did it standing around a bunch of microphones. (Laughs) 


Zane: We definitely experimented around on that one.  


Zane, you’ve said that life is about the ups and downs, and you don’t want just to write about the ups. This is a generally uplifting album, but it has its moments. “Build Your Wings” is one of Paul’s songs – I’m sorry he’s not here to comment on it – has a line that literally made me stop what I was doing: “It’s hard staying sober with your mattress on the floor.” Dang, dude. Strong stuff.


Sean: Poor Paul was going through a rough time while he was writing that song, and it came across in the lyrics, obviously. 


Zane: Yeah, Paul’s had a rough couple of years…been through a divorce.  He was speaking to his uncle about this stuff, and his uncle told him that line: “Man, sometimes you build your wings on the way down.” Paul wrote that song and his girlfriend Bree Bagwell contributed some stuff as well. It’s a personal one for Paul.


“The Ghost of Lincoln” closes out the album but it was the first release, complete with a fancy animated video. I think it’s the perfect bookend to “Picket Fences,” and turns into a jam you might here from Bella Fleck. Have y’all had a chance to road test these cuts yet? 


Zane: Oh, yeah. Almost all of them by now. 


Sean: And it’s also a really good bookend to the show, because Andy really gets cooking at the end. 


I bet!



Zane: He really turns it on on the banjo, so I bet he’s good with the Bella Fleck comparison.


Andy: Ha! Yeah, I was trying to keep myself calm when you said that!


That you on the dobro, too?


Andy: Yeah, I play dobro, banjo, some acoustic guitar…a little mandolin on this record. But yeah, I play a little bit of everything. 


And on tour dates: I’ve checked your site, and boys, you’ve got the states of Texas and Montana covered up. Would some gigs East of the Mississippi be too much to ask?


(Group laughter.) Zane: Yeah, we definitely have big plans – nationwide and beyond – for the band. I know we’ll be all over the West coast this summer…we’re playing the Alaska State Fair! East is definitely on the menu. We did some shows with The Steel Woods East of the Mississippi last year, and we’re comparing schedules and stuff now. 


But it’s our job to come to you. 


-------


The Wilder Blue is available wherever you consume music, but here’s a great place to grab the album. 

Oct 22, 2021

Sports Writer Fired for Not Liking Jason Isbell, Sturgill Simpson

Sports writer Brandon Culpepper, a beloved character in the Twittersphere and podcasting world was let go from the Fourth & Twenty-Five Sports network this week in a move that shocked many fans and readers. Most assumed 4th&25 was simply having cutbacks, as many media outlets are prone to do from time to time, but the actual reasons for Culpepper’s firing were oddly specific.

“They said I didn’t tweet about Sturgill Simpson enough,” laughed Culpepper in a recent phone interview. “I mean, he’s fine but I’m more into jam bands and indie hip-hop.”

Culpepper, or Cully as he’s affectionately known, went on to say that his indifference to Jason Isbell, professional wrestling, and the show Ted Lasso had also been brought up as reasons for his dismissal at the exit interview. “I thought I was supposed to be a sports personality, not a paradigm of culture,” said Culpepper. “But they said my values and preferences did not align with what is commonly expected of a social media sports bro.”

“I thought the whole ’30 to 50 feral hogs’ thing was hilarious, but that’s as much as I’ve ever gotten into Isbell,” he went on. “And what’s the likelihood of every young to middle-aged sports writer, black or white, male, female, or otherwise, being into Dusty Rhodes and the New Day? It’s like they all graduated from Florida or something.”

Despite winning several awards for his writing, drawing respectable numbers to his college basketball podcast, and being a great brand ambassador, it was made clear that Culpepper’s personal interests were a detriment to his employment at 4th&25.

“I was given every opportunity to adapt to their expectations along the way, so this is fair I guess,” said Cully. “But I just couldn’t bring myself to care about Marriott points, arguing over who makes the best barbecue, Lane Kiffin memes, complaining about flight delays, Bruce Springsteen, Bioshock, soccer, or Dogecoin.”

At press time, Culpepper had returned to school to learn to code.

Jul 16, 2021

What is Aaron Lewis Doing in This Picture?


Maybe....

Scanning the south Texas horizon for immigrants


Remembering how bad he f***ed up the National Anthem


Hunting relevance


Being on the outside, but he’s looking in


Looking for Fred Durst’s career


On training mission for a militia he just joined, but he’s pretty sure they just dumped in him the wilderness


Thinking of a line to rhyme with “Biden ain’t my President”


Taking a short rest because it’s hard work carrying around all that anger


Pondering what a collaboration with Ricky Skaggs would sound like


Searching for missing Arizona ballots


Testing out his new pattern called Qamouflage


Looking for the missing “e” in his band’s name


Hiding out from hitmen hired by Bruce Springsteen


Ticking off another box on his “country cred” card



Jan 7, 2021

Travis' Top 10 Albums of 2020

 Last one... till December.

----------

~Travis Erwin

1. Ward Davis - Black Cats & Crows

The title track was the first track I heard here and was strong enough to have me digging in for more. “Sounds of Chains” keeps the murder ballad alive and in gritty capable hands. The fourteen tracks here take you for an emotional ride and the collection feels traditional, without ever coming across as cliché. even on the Alabama cover, “Lady Down on Love.”


2. Bruce Springsteen - Letter to You

The now 71-year-old Springsteen has spent the better part of 50 years writing about characters as frayed as the cuffs of a well-worn denim jacket. Selling a idea of nostalgia has always been a big part of Springsteen, but here on this album, those sentiments feel more like affirmations than mystical ideals that maybe never were. ThetTitle track along with “Burnin’ Train,” “Janey Needs a Shooter,” and “I’ll See You In My Dreams.” Stood out for me.


3. Waylon Payne - Blue Eyes, The Harlot, The Queer, The Pusher & Me

Seventeen years is a long time to wait for a follow up album, and beyond that, Payne has a lot to live up given his royal lineage and ties to Outlaw hierarchy. This album lived up to all of it and perhaps even exceeded expectations.


4. Marcus KingEl Dorado 

With a bit of 70s funk throwback, King offers a unique vocal style. “One Day She’s Here,” and “Beautiful Stranger” were my favorite cuts.


5. Ruthie CollinCold Comfort

The album’s opening track, "Joshua Tree," might be my favorite cut of the year. It was inspired by the relationship of Gram Parsons and Emmylou Harris. Other favorites of mine were “Dang Dallas,” “Wish You Were Here,” and “You Can’t Remember.”


6. Swamp Dogg - Sorry You Couldn’t Make It 

A few years back, I had the pleasure of witnessing Swamp Dogg join John Prine on stage a few years back, and this album again showcases their friendship as it includes a couple of Prine covers, but the richness of this album is in the soulful passion of the vocals even more than it is the song selection. Not traditional country by any stretch but soulful and meaningful as god music should be.


7. Thieving BirdsAmerican Savage 

After a long seven year wait between album releases these birds came back with a thieving vengeance in 2020. “Ruin,” “My Sweet Baby,” “Somewhere to Run,” “Sweet War,” and “Pockets of Gold” are all tracks that spoke to me.


8. American Aquarium – Lamentations 

No one speaks their mind like B.J. Barham and that is why his music tends to be so provocative.


9. John Baumann - Country Shade 

More of a singer/songwriter, than a natural showman, Baumann’s sounds isn’t exactly traditional country, but it always feels pure and true. So it is ironic that the lead track, “The Country Doesn’t Sound The Same,” is about the old sound disappearing. “If You Really Love Someone,” “Sunday Morning Going Up,” and “I Don’t Know” also spoke to me.


10. Stephanie LambringAutonomy 

“Joy To Jesus” is as powerful of a track as I heard in 2020, but Lambring’s talent goes well beyond this one track. The writing is powerful and the delivery emotional throughout the album.



Mar 26, 2019

Live Review / Charles Wesley Godwin / The Vinyl Lounge / 3/14/19



By Matthew Martin

West Virginia ends up being the butt of a lot of jokes. There's poverty.  There's wide-reported drug abuse.  And there's a sense of this almost pride that you're NOT from West Virginia.  But, on the other side of that coin are the people from West Virginia.  If you actually meet folks from West Virginia, they're nothing like those silly caricatures you read/hear/joke about.  They're proud.  They're proud of what the state stood for during the Civil War. They're proud of what the state provided to the country with the mining industry.  They're proud of the unions that began in that same mining industry.  And over the years some of the best Appalachian music has come out of those hills and hollers.

Charles Wesley Godwin is someone I believe will become a household name very soon.  There's nothing but authenticity dripping from every word and chord that pours out of him.  And he has the voice to carry these sincere, heartfelt songs of growing up in West Virginia.  Songs that are so specific to the Appalachian region that you almost feel you're there as you listen to him sing.  This all comes through on his fantastic debut album Seneca.  I was pleased to find out that in a stripped-down, solo live show, nothing was lost.

We went to see Charles at The Vinyl Lounge which is part of the Gypsy Sally's venue in D.C.  We had once seen Sturgill Simpson play solo at this place to about 50 people.  So, this felt similar- like I needed to see Charles Wesley Godwin before he started making it to venues where the crowds were growing.  He began the show around 10PM.  

The first couple of songs were new songs as far as I was concerned ("Jesse" and "Bones").  I don't believe they were from his previous band, either.  These songs were incredibly well-written and true to CWG's young, but quite impressive career.  CWG would then go on to play a great mix of songs from his debut album ("Coal Country", "Strawberry Queen", and "Shrinks and Pills") as well as songs from his previous band's (Union Sound Treaty) output ("Peaked" and "Hazelton").  He threw in a couple of covers as well from folks like Bruce Springsteen and Jimmy Martin.

CWG played for those of us there for around an hour and a half.  It was an intimate affair and one that I am incredibly glad I got to witness.  The songs of CWG are smart and emotional.  West Virginia pride is rich in the tradition of the songs.  He wants you to know that WV is still here.  With songs like "Here In Eden" he calls his WV brothers to arms.  You get the idea that CWG would never apologize for where he's from.  And, that's what makes his songs so relatable and so damn irresistible.  We all want that sense of pride of our home.  CWG has it damn spades.

To drive this point home, CWG pulled a barstool out from the bar for his last song.  He stepped away from his mic.  He unplugged his guitar.  And he sang with all of his heart and soul the WV standard: "Country Roads".  We all sang along.  We felt connected.  And, we walked away from the show feeling like we'd just watched something pretty special.

If you are anywhere near CWG, go see him.  It is special.  He's building something.  He will be someone we all will say we remember when he was still building that something.  Until he comes to your place, go buy his music; his solo album and his previous band's album.  You won't be disappointed. 




Jan 24, 2019

Live Video Premiere / Graham Stone / "Little White Lines"

Photo by Ross Wright
Today we've got an exclusive premiere of a live video from Virginia-based singer-songwriter Graham Stone, who is set to release his sophomore LP Bad News on April 12th. 

"Little White Lines," a song too new to have made the cut for Bad News, is a rootsy, upbeat folk song about the life of a troubadour--living life on the road, with no pass-time beyond staring at the "little white lines" in between the lanes. The live video shows Stone performing solo acoustic at beloved Richmond, Va. club The Camel, allowing the lyrics to shine through in a stripped-down setting. 

Graham has an expressive, open-throated delivery that brings the emotion and the story to life. The song itself has a quickly delivered, almost talk-singing verse that brings to mind other road tunes like Cash's "I've Been Everywhere." It's a memorable tune and a great introduction to anyone who hasn't heard Stone's music before.  RIYL: Tyler Childers, Bruce Springsteen, Johnny Cash, Brent Cobb, Chuck Ragan, John Moreland, John Prine

From Stone: "This is a highway song for sure, a tune from the road. I wrote this one while driving the Pennsylvania Turnpike up to Michigan through a blizzard to see my daughter. This song was written during and about a specific trip, but it's also somehow kind of about all the other trips just like that one that I had done before. Usually alone but sometimes with friends or one of my brothers. Staying in hotels, listening to Ray Charles, drinking bourbon in dive bars, smoking cigarettes to stay awake. I just remember feeling like it would never end. Like I'd always be doing it this way even though I didn't really want to. The chorus of the song talks about the highway just sort of running on forever but by the very end I'm swearing it all off again. No more hotels, motels and little white lines."

You'll find a bio and more information below the player.


Graham Stone - Bad News

You can’t turn on the television or flick through your social feeds without being bombarded with bad news. “It’s like the whole world’s got the blues,” Americana singer-songwriter Graham Stone feels that lyric in his bones, it’s an apt summation of his new album, Bad News (out April 12th). Still, somehow he manages to provide hope and spread compassion through warm guitar chords and a voice as smooth as your favorite whiskey, but that doesn’t mean he won't raise a little hell along the way. 

Drawing heartfelt lines through the American South, Stone is a razor-sharp firebrand. He plants his feet at the center of the raging storm and accepts the elements in order to engage the humanity and tragedy buried beneath. That common thread echoes in every corner of the record, from the cautionary tale of “Oh Hell,” to the quaking bristle of “Celebrate.”

Stone doesn’t carry a chip on his shoulder, but there is an unmistakable air of honesty and determination in his lyrics. “Nobody knows what this life holds / But I guess maybe it’s better that way,” he sings on the urgent, enveloping “Fighting For,” a song with a driving force that sees Graham singing to his infant son. He doesn’t take his responsibility of parenthood lightly and his teachings of kindness and strength soak each moment to the core.  

His ripened wisdom is owed in large part to his humble beginnings. Born in Virginia in 1987, his fondest childhood memories are from the years his family spent living in Newport, NC, before eventually moving back home and settling down in Sudley, Virginia, on the banks of the Bull Run tributary near Manassas in Prince William County. He comes from a large family -- he’s one of seven children -- and a culture of loving music. His father often plucked out blues tunes on guitar or bluegrass numbers on the banjo and equipped Graham with an appreciation for instrumentation. “I also think I may have accidentally crushed his banjo by sitting on it as a kid,” he reminisces with a smirk. “I still kind of feel bad about that.”

By the time he entered his teens, Graham had developed an affinity for playing on his grandmother’s guitar. “I don’t know if she ever even really played it,” he corrects, noting his grandfather bought it "for her" really so he could try and do some finger-picking of his own. “But I think because my dad was the most serious guitar player in the family, somehow it ended up at our house.”

Through the years, Graham has played in various musical collectives. After a few unnamed punk bands in high school, he played in a collective in Washington, DC with friends called The Storytellers and then in a family band called Karla and the Brotherhood with his sister and a couple brothers. After moving to Richmond in 2014, Graham began to play out at local watering holes alongside his wife and fellow music-maker Aubrey (who predominantly plays the mandolin) as a duo called The Whiskey Wells.

But it wasn't until 2017, with his 30th birthday looming that Graham gathered up a collection of original songs for his debut solo record, Until the Day. “It was really just a bucket list thing I wanted to do at the time,” he says of the album, which arrived to astounding regional success and launched him headlong into the local music community just six months before the birth of his son. Afterwards, his life came into clearer focus and setting one foot in front of the other, he embarked more seriously on a path towards making music full time.

Now, armed with a clear vision and a brand new record in Bad News, Stone seeks to encourage the world-weary and reaches new levels of rumbling, gritty and plain-as-day Americana glory along the way. “This is also the first album I’ve recorded with what felt more like a cohesive band,” he says. Following a gig at FloydFest last summer, the troupe of musicians headed into the studio, already wearing the songs on their sleeves. "That gives the record a really cool cohesion, moving us closer towards what I imagine a totally live studio album might feel like,” he explains of the process, which began with Graham laying down guitar and vocals before bringing in the rest of the band for a live session together to capture the backbone instrumentation before adding the final sonic layers.

Bad News, which feels as earthy as it does polished, gives the listener plenty of room to breathe and allows each song to flourish on its own. Between crashing waves of rock & roll, the blues, folk storytelling and the telltale twang of the dobro--this record captures the best of everything Stone has to offer. He puts his all into his craft and unleashes onto the world an astute and necessary reflection of how we, as human beings, might engage with this world in a more honest and hopeful way. If we listen closely enough, we might come to understand more about who we are and perhaps in so doing, find out more of who we are meant to become together.


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