Song Premiere: The Way Down Wanderers - Changing

Photo Credit: Andre Velez

We're premiering a new song today, "Changing," from The Way Down Wanderers. It's from their forthcoming self-titled album, due July 15th. 

The album was recorded at Sonic Ranch in Texas, produced by The Avett Brothers' Mike Marsh, engineered by Grammy Award winning Jerry Ordonez and mixed by multiple-Grammy winner Neil Cappellino, and also includes appearances by Michael Duchette (accordion on "Silver Days") and Old Crow Medicine Show's Critter Fuqua.

You can read more about them below the player.

The Way Down Wanderers Elicit Memories of Old-Time Troubadours

Band's self-titled album weaves tales of love, loss and hope amongst rollicking arrangements

 

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- May 3, 2016 -- In the few short years since banding together in 2013, The Way Down Wanderers have combined to create something special. The band's infectious lyrics and soulful voices reach far beyond their years, creating commanding tones and insistent harmonies, next on display on their new full-length, self-titled album on July 15, 2016.

 

Recorded at Sonic Ranch in Texas, produced by The Avett Brothers' Mike Marsh, engineered by Grammy Award winning Jerry Ordonez and mixed by multiple-Grammy winner Neil Cappellino, the album also features appearances by Michael Duchette (accordion on "Silver Days") and Old Crow Medicine Show's Critter Fuqua. The collection contains 12 vibrant songs ranging from ballads with a surprise twist -"The Way I Love You"- to driving bluegrass reels -"Dead Birds"- and folk rock stories of the road -"Blacktop Highway." The band quickly hits its stride in the rollicking blend of fiddle, mandolin, guitar, banjo, and drum, creating folky-bluegrass blends reminiscent of Nickel Creek or Old Crow Medicine Show.

 

Natives of Peoria, Illinois, Austin Thompson and Collin Krause, affectionately dubbed "baby Dylan" and "baby Neil Young," respectively by their producer, met up first, and the rest of the band - John Williams on bass and vocals, John Merikoski on drums and percussion, Travis Kowalsky on banjo - would follow. They've gathered a large and dedicated fan base, selling more than 15,000 copies of their first two EPs, with more than 200,000 live streams.

 

There's a wisdom in the songs that extends beyond the writers' youth, that fans and critics alike are noticing - the band is already a finalist in the International Song Writing Competition, 2015, for "Dead Birds" - they expertly craft tales of the joys and sorrows of love, the losses and hopes of life, and the anxious uncertainty of anticipation. It's the closeness to their fans that is a large part of what keeps them writing and making music.

 

"Somebody on the road will tell us that a song or some lyrics got them through a life situation, or helped them in some way," Merikoski said. What's really exciting and gratifying, Williams points out, is that at "lots of our shows the crowd is singing back to us.  The first time I heard it I was overwhelmed; they know our songs."

 

The Way Down Wanderers take their connection to fans a step further with roadside shows they affectionately call restSTOMPS. Traveling in an RV, they are able to stop along tour routes and play acoustic sets. They announce the mile marker, exit number and meeting time on social media and their fans are usually there waiting when the RV pulls in.

 

"For our first rest stop show, a bunch of supporters showed up; they brought their kids and danced in the parking lot; one guy even brought us produce," Thompson said.

 

The band will tour extensively to support the new album - with restSTOMPs along the way.

Song Premiere: Tommy Womack - When Country Singers Were Ugly

Namaste cover photo by Anthony Scarlati

 Here's a brand new song from Nashville singer-songwriter Tommy Womack that fits pretty well into what we do around here. "When Country Singers Were Ugly" appears on Womack's forthcoming album Namaste, due June 24th. Tommy is formerly of the band Government Cheese, and, per Conqueroo, wrote what many consider to be the best "under the radar” music autobiography, Cheese Chronicles. You can read more about Tommy in the bio/article below, and listen to the song right here.

Photo by Gregg Roth

SURVIVING TWO NEAR-DEATH EXPERIENCES
INFORMS REAL-LIFE MOMENTS
TOMMY WOMACK CAPTURES ON NAMASTE, RELEASING JUNE 24

Beloved singer-songwriter invokes God, Beatles and other icons

as he examines approaching “the back nine”

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — It’s true, every picture does tell a story. But the photo gracing the cover of Tommy Womack’s new album, Namaste, releasing June 24, 2016, silently hints at a lifetime of stories. Stories Womack is glad he’s still here to tell. 

The black-and-white image, by Anthony Scarlati, depicts Womack in profile, head bowed toward pressed-together palms. He is, unquestionably, giving thanks. Thanks to those who showed up to support him that particular night, a fundraiser to help him through recovery from a devastating 2015 car accident. Thanks to whatever powers kept him alive long enough to get clean in 2012 after years of addiction. And thanks for life itself — which he no longer takes for granted, not even for a minute. 

But there’s something else the photo conveys, too, in the suggestion of a smile and the crinkled crows’ feet almost hidden behind the frames of his glasses. As only the best singer-songwriters can, Womack has always managed to navigate us through his world with a deft balance of humor and pathos, snarky cynicism and occasionally, sweet, unabashed optimism. Like John Prine and Womack’s pal Todd Snider, he’s the rare artist who can regale us with songs such as Namaste’s “Comb-over Blues,” “Hot Flash Woman” and “When Country Singers Were Ugly” (not to mention such semi-classics as “Play That Cheap Trick, Cheap Trick Play” and the existential rant “Alpha Male & the Canine Mystery Blood”), then hit us with the anvil of “I Almost Died,” a harrowing recounting of the time in 2007 when he woke up in an ambulance after his meth- and coke-stressed heart apparently stopped.

Womack had just released his fourth solo album, There, I Said It!, which was supposed to be his music-career swan song after years of frustration, but instead elevated his profile higher. Two weeks after his collapse, he recalls, “I was on the cover of the Nashville Scene and I was the toast of the town. And nobody knew.”

It would take another five years before he felt ready to tackle his addictions, through rehab, AA and the higher power he addresses via a “fuzzy Buddhist Methodist” belief system formed from the vestiges of his preacher’s-kid upbringing in Kentucky. 

In fact, death and religion would seem to be two of Namaste’s recurring themes — except that Womack, who’s fascinated by the topic of Jesus the historical figure, not the biblical one, doesn’t exactly embrace the Christian notion of worship. In “God Part III,” he sings, “He’s Jesus with a J now, Lord, Christ The King/A best selling author with advice on everything. He never wrote a word, never started no religion/Maybe never dreamed he’d ever be in this position. My Daddy was a preacher and so am I/I believe in God but now and then I wonder why/I choose to picture Jesus in the clouds up above/I believe in Beatles. I believe in love.”

Oh yeah, Womack makes more worshipful references to the members of that band and other musical touchstones than he does traditional saviors — whether in that song’s outright declaration (and its title, which harks back to the original John Lennon tune and infamous lyric, and U2’s one-upped take), or in slyer twists of lyrical phrase such as “Plasticine porters with looking glass bolo ties” (from the Beat-poetry-styled “Nashville,” his love-hate letter to Music City). In “Darling Let Your Free Bird Fly,” he name-checks assorted icons, including Sting, Geraldo and Chevy Chase, who “were all considered cool at one time.” 

Womack himself has always been considered cool, from his days in Bowling Green, Ky.’s next-generation punk-rock band Government Cheese to the Bis-Quits, his first Nashville outing with musical brother and Daddy co-founder Will Kimbrough, who plays guitar on Namaste. Womack built further cool cred with his book, The Cheese Chronicles: The True Story of a Rock ’n’ Roll Band You’ve Never Heard Of.

Along the way, he honed his folky twang and Replacements-influenced rock edge into a sound that’s all Americana, filling seven solo albums and writing songs recorded by Jimmy Buffett, Jason Ringenberg and others, including sometime co-writer Snider. He’s also earned two “Best Song” awards in the Nashville Scene critics’ poll, and entertained the community with his Clash cover band, Tommy Gun, and an occasional event he and co-conspirator Bill Lloyd called the Alphabetical Kinks.

If the tables were ever turned and Ray Davies did a Womack tribute, he’d likely get a particular kick out of ”End of the Line.” Co-written with Rich McCully — and technically, by album producer Brad Jones, who didn’t want a credit — Womack says, “That song is about pursuit of your dream, and I’ve been pursuing mine for 31 years. It’s been like Ahab chasin’ the whale ever since — and knowing that the end of the line is comin’; I’m on the back nine, as a golfer would say.”

Yes, he looks at life differently now that he knows how quickly it could end. And that it’s going to someday, even if he manages to continue avoiding a hastened demise. That’s why the album’s benediction, “It’s a Beautiful Morning,” co-written with John Hadley, sounds so much sweeter. In it, he sings, “I once had the devil hold on to me so/I asked him to free me. He wouldn’t let go/But miracles happen, is all I can say/It’s a beautiful morning. It’s a beautiful day.” 

“It’s a song of gratitude,” Womack explains. “God likes prayers that are basically like a thank-you note, being grateful for what you’ve got. A lot of prayers I’ve offered in my years were more like obscene phone calls or ransom notes.”

As Allmusic.com’s Mark Deming once noted, “Womack writes rock ’n’ roll songs about everyday stuff — falling in love, trying to stay in love, life’s ups and downs of all shapes and sizes — with good humor, a strong dose of common sense, and the smarts to understand when this stuff is funny and when it isn't.”

That’s why his friends turned out that night at Music City Roots in Franklin, Tenn. That’s why his head is bowed in a prayerful pose of thanks. And that’s why he titled the album — completed in six days, coincidentally — with that spiritual Sanskrit greeting. 

As he sings in the closing tune, “I don’t know what’s coming this afternoon/If I think about it, it’ll get here too soon/Why worry what’s coming, it’ll come any way/It’s a beautiful morning. It’s a beautiful day.”

Exclusive Hellbound Glory/Excavators Song Premiere "Going Poaching" + Some Memes

Here's a new Excavators (ft. members of Hellbound Glory) song Leroy sent me to post on the site.
He also requested I post a Blake/Miranda meme with it. Not sure what he was getting at, but I'm not gonna argue, so here's the new single entitled "Going Poaching" along with a few Blake/Miranda memes (one borrowed from a Ric Flair Facebook page), so hopefully I covered the angle he was aiming for.

By the way, Hellbound Glory has a newish EP/Single

out called The Black Mass, along with The Excavators first album. 

Both are excellent!

Update: Here's one Leroy sent in.

Song Premiere: Sara Rachele "Strong As My Hands (Delilah)"

FTM doesn't usually post this sort of thing (and we get quite a few requests), but I really like this tune and the sounds of the record it's on. Sara Rachele (pronounced Ra-kelly) is a singer-songwriter in the vein of Lydia Loveless, Lucinda Williams, and Neko Case. There's also an atmospheric, indie quality to her approach a la Mazzy Star. You can read some quotes and her bio below and check out the premiere of her song "Strong As My Hands (Delilah)" right here. It's also available to download for free! I think you'll dig it.

Sara's forthcoming album, Diamond Street, is out September 2




“A must-have album that follows no road map but Rachele’s heart and soul.” - No Depression

"'Bristling with an incisive edge floating aside picturesque melodies courtesy of a voice that has just enough twang to rope you in for an extended visit." - Glide Magazine

“From the moment I heard Sara Rachele’s voice and words I knew I was in the presence of truth. She is a fearless artist with a desire to lyrically explore the nuances of her experiences in, around and against life.” – Melissa Ferrick

"When sound hits tape you get something back that you know is true and honest, listening to Diamond Street there is an undeniable realness and truth in these songs" – Art Decade

SARA RACHELE / DIAMOND STREET

Release Date: Sept. 2, 2014

Label: Angrygal Records

Recorded in her hometown of Atlanta, the NYC-based Sara Rachele's debut, Diamond Street, rides out slow and dark as a jet-black 1960s Chrysler New Yorker. The live-to-tape LP—produced by Kristofer Sampson (B-52s, Balkans, Coathangers)—was recorded in just two days, and captures the East Village nightlife of a young songwriter in a timeless, vibrant rock ’n’ roll statement. Diamond Street's sparkling lo-fi charms span the decades, Rachele channeling everything from classic Fleetwood Mac and Petty's Heartbreakers to Lucinda Williams and David Lynch muse Julee Cruise.

On recording with producer Sampson (who plays in New West Records band Ponderosa), Rachele says, "Kris really challenged me on this album. Even though we were working quickly, he had patience with the songs, and   he took the sound to a new place for me without it seeming disingenuous."

The daughter of a baby-boomer painter and Italian/Slovak immigrant, Rachele (pronounced ra-kelly) grew up a studio rat and folk child. Working for free cleaning out the cupboards at famed Atlanta acoustic hotspot Eddie’s Attic, she met countless musicians and writers and fell into bands as a side-player before she even knew how to write a song. While still a teenager, she became backing vocalist and keyboard player for The Love Willows, who promptly signed to Decca/Universal, writing and recording with producer Mike Daly (Whiskeytown, Lana Del Ray, Grace Potter).

Eventually, though, Rachele decided to leave behind The Love Willows' bubblegum pop sound, moved to Boston and enrolled for a time at Berklee College of Music, before dropping out to live in her newly adopted home of New York City. Inspired by its long history of seedy bohemian songwriters and poets, and by the energy of the city itself, Rachele filled up journals with her ramblings and penned ballad after ballad as she roamed the coffeehouses & nightclubs of the East Village, trading innocence for experience. Word spread quickly about her passionate delivery, her honest, unadorned lyrics and her uniquely Southern sound. Along with sidekick and fellow Atlanta expat Charlotte Kemp Muhl (with Sean Lennon, half of Ghost of the Saber Tooth Tiger), Rachele found a home—musical and otherwise—in New York.

"For such a big city, New York can be a pretty small town," Rachele says. "I saw an ex across Houston Street once—he was playing a show I think, everyone always is, you lose track. But I remember running across four lanes of traffic—just seeing him, turning, and running through the East Village. No one ever leaves you in New York. You still have to learn how to know them. It's the continuousness of it all—nothing every really ends. And the cabbies just know to get out of the way… 'cause at any moment some heartbroken woman might run out into the street."

While in New York, she befriended veteran music photographer Perry Julien, who was intrigued by Rachele and shot portraits of her at The Chelsea Hotel, that sacred place of rock lore. Her session with Julien was one of the haunt’s final photo shoots before it closed its doors to guests. Rachele's images from The Chelsea Hotel—once home to Dylan Thomas, Bob Dylan, Patti Smith & The Sex Pistols—have been featured in SXSE photomag, Creative Loafing, and art galleries up and down the East Coast. She and Julien’s collaborations were also published in Julien’s book Secrets (2013), and forthcoming Chelsea Hotel photo book Guests. Rachele is a photographer herself, her work having appeared in Pitchfork, Brooklyn Vegan, Creative Loafing and Stereogum.

In addition to producer Sampson, Rachele's new debut Diamond Street features the musical contributions of budding folk hound J. Thomas Hall (New West imprint Normaltown Records) as well as a cast of Atlanta-based heavy hitters including Lightnin’ Ray Jackson (Washed Out, Gringo Star), Spencer Pope (Ocha La Rocha), Spencer Garn (Ruby Velle & the Soulphonics) and Snowden's Chandler Rentz. Diamond Street represents the gorgeous clash of Rachele's folk-centric upbringing and her beat rock & roll adventures in New York City. With five years of stories under her belt, she has created a moody musical pulp, resounding with smoky memories of ambling city nights.

"I think the strangeness of my work is what makes people get it," Rachele says. "We all have these stories, but where I grew up, we were always throwing furniture around the house, emotionally. Like a lot of people, I got intensified in New York, so I just started writing—to keep sane."