Tag: Austin

LISTEN: Carla Olson, “A Child’s Claim to Fame” (Feat. Timothy B. Schmit and Rusty Young)

Posted on by Editor

Artist: Carla Olson
Hometown: Austin, Texas
Song: “A Child’s Claim to Fame”
Album: Have Harmony, Will Travel 2
Release Date: March 20, 2020
Label: Sunset Blvd. Records

In Their Words: “Buffalo Springfield was as clever, inventive and multi talented as the Beatles. They had three songwriters, three voices, and a palette as varied as any band American or British. ‘A Child’s Claim to Fame’ is one of many examples of their unique genius and it’s a song I have always loved. It’s sophisticated as well as catchy, out of left field for a rock band, but a hit-in-waiting. When I decided to record it, Timothy B. Schmit’s voice almost called out to me, it seemed like such a natural harmony or duet choice. And when he said ‘yes’ — even better. If that wasn’t enough, creatively and historically, when Rusty Young agreed to play banjo, dobro, and guitar I knew we had a gem in the making if I do say so myself. Could I have imagined as a teen, when I saw the Springfield in concert, later recording Richie Furay’s Buffalo Springfield song with members of Poco and the Eagles? Uh, no. My thanks to both of them.” — Carla Olson

Photo credit: Markus Cuff

LISTEN: Sasha K.A, “Tall Grass”

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Artist: Sasha K.A
Hometown: Austin, Texas
Song: “Tall Grass”
Album: Family
Release Date: February 21

In Their Words: “‘Tall Grass’ is about a musician friend of mine who got on the wrong path with drugs and alcohol. The ‘tall grass’ is a metaphor for hanging with the wrong crowd and making the wrong decisions. This guy is so naturally talented and so rich in spirit, but was snagged by the vices that haunt the music industry. Really fun experience bringing this song to life with Eric Harrison and Michael Ingber at Studio 601. Eric played bass, Michael played drums, we all produced the song. Incredibly collaborative and creative process.” — Sasha K.A.

Photo credit: Kush Mody

BGS 5+5: Micky & the Motorcars

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Artist: Micky & the Motorcars
Hometown: Austin, Texas
Latest album: Long Time Comin’

Answers provided by Micky Braun

Which artist has influenced you the most … and how?

It’s hard to say which artist was most influential, but I’d say John Prine, my dad Muzzie Braun, and Pinto Bennett. They are my favorite songwriters. Always a great story in every song.

What’s your favorite memory from being on stage?

I think my favorite times on stage are every year when we play the Braun Brothers Reunion in Challis, Idaho. At the end of every night we always end up on stage with our friend’s bands and family bands singing and having a blast.

Since food and music go so well together, what is your dream pairing of a meal and a musician?

I’d say you can’t go wrong with putting on John Prine’s The Missing Years record, opening a bottle of red wine and cooking a good pasta.

How often do you hide behind a character in a song or use “you” when it’s actually “me”?

I tend to write a lot about personal experiences as well as stories I hear from friends or read. So I’d say about 50/50.

What was the first moment that you knew you wanted to be a musician?

I’m not sure I ever had that big moment when I knew this was what I wanted to do forever. I just started playing music at a young age and started really enjoying writing songs, learning how to play different instruments and performing on stage. I’d say I really knew I was a lifer when I was about 20 years old. That’s when the band moved to Austin and we threw our hat in the ring. We haven’t turned back since.

Photo credit: Kat Smith

LISTEN: Wood & Wire, “Left My Girl Behind”

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Artist: Wood & Wire
Hometown: Austin, Texas
Single: “Left My Girl Behind”
Release Date: November 15, 2019
Label: The Next Waltz

In Their Words: “This is a traditional tune that we learned from Levon Helm — one of our favorite artists of all time. It’s also called ‘The Girl I Left Behind.’ Outside of bluegrass, we all have different (maybe even more prominent) musical influences. It’s those collective outside influences that really drive our sound. The result is us writing and playing tunes with grooves and feels that people wouldn’t expect from an ensemble like ours. The way Levon did this tune, with a funky backbeat groove, really speaks to us and it’s just a blast to play.

“It’s always our preference to record as organically as possible, working on vibes and performance. We don’t use a click track and we like to move with each other musically. Out at the bunker with Bruce [Robison], the team, and no computers, that’s the only way it goes down. We’ve been performing this one for a while so it was pretty simple — get in there and play the song like we’ve always played it.”

Photo credit: Spencer Peeples

The Show On The Road – Robert Ellis

Posted on by Chris Jacobs

This week, Z. Lupetin speaks with Robert Ellis, the restless, tuxedoed, Texas piano-man who has paired his fleet-fingered, high-humored, “jazz in an Austin roadhouse” keys playing with machete-sharp lyrical turns of phrase — all backed up with his smile-through-the-apocalypse country-rock band.

LISTEN: APPLE PODCASTS • MP3

Ellis has gained a beloved international following all the while creating a persona that is half the tender brilliance of early Billy Joel, and half high-hatted, Southern huckster who might tell you a story that will make you cry one minute, and then steal your watch when you’re not looking the next.

Z. met up with Robert Ellis on the road together in the Netherlands.

LISTEN: Raina Rose, “One One Thousand”

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Artist: Raina Rose
Hometown: Austin, Texas
song: “One One Thousand”
Album: Vesta
Release Date: January 31, 2020
Label: Folk Potions

In Their Words: “I woke with a start at midnight, mid-fall in south Austin, Texas; I forgot to take the garbage to the curb. My husband and our two boys were long since asleep, muttering the proof of their dreams. I walked outside to a bright full moon, a soft but constant wind moving the leaves, and an electrical storm on the horizon. I stood out there in the glistening night until the storm moved into our neighborhood. I walked back inside and wrote this song in bed.

“My sixth studio album, Vesta, will be released January 31, 2020. This collection of 10 songs written during the past six years explore the common miracle of matrescence. Vesta, the Roman goddess of the Hearth, is the keeper of the flame as well as the embodiment of the flame itself. She is the knowledge that sex, motherhood, and family are one and the same.” — Raina Rose

Photo credit: Hunter Paye

WATCH: Carrie Rodriguez with Wood & Wire, “Edge of the Colorado”

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Artist: Carrie Rodriguez with Wood & Wire
Hometown: Austin, Texas
Song: “Edge of the Colorado”
Label: The Next Waltz

In Their Words: “I love the idea of making something out of nothing. That’s the magic of songwriting. I came to Bruce [Robison] one morning with some phrases and melodies that had been bouncing around my head, and by the end of an hour we had written ‘Edge of the Colorado.’ It’s a song about a yearning for a bygone era; an era when personal connections ran deeper because we weren’t so damn CONNECTED every minute of the day!

“After listening to our demo a few times, the song seemed to be begging for some high lonesome harmony vocals and bluegrass instrumentation. I had recently seen the Grammy-nominated bluegrass band, Wood & Wire, perform at The Next Waltz SXSW party and was completely blown away. So Bruce called the guys up and before I knew it we were all in the bunker together recording the song live to tape. What a gift to get to see the creative process fully realized …from some words and melodies stuck in my head to this track which I’m thrilled to be sharing with you!” — Carrie Rodriguez

Photo provided by The Next Waltz

The Show On The Road – Matt the Electrician

Posted on by Chris Jacobs

This week, Matt the Electrician — a kind-hearted songwriter and cunning craftsman of smile-inducing folk songs that retain the one thing we might need most in our jackknifed new century: hope.

LISTEN: APPLE PODCASTS • MP3

While the artist not known as Matt Sever may still be able to fix the sparking wires behind your walls with his nimble bear hands, he found a line of work even more daring, dangerous, and financially precarious. What did he set his sights on back in the 1990s? Being a roving folk singer.

Matt’s been at this a while, he looks more like your cool tatted shop teacher than the next big arena money maker for the major labels. So, letting the people who have put him up in their houses and cooked him a warm meal on the road support the music their own way? It’s kind of beautiful. In fact, his sturdy fanbase just lovingly funded his next record, for which he’ll be working with a producer for the very first time, and that producer is none other than Tucker Martine. He’ll be heading up to Tucker’s studio in Portland, Oregon to start the project in October.

LISTEN: Hot Club of Cowtown, “My Candy”

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Artist: Hot Club of Cowtown
Hometown: Austin, Texas
Song: “My Candy”
Album: Wild Kingdom
Release Date: September 27, 2019
Label: Gold Strike

In Their Words: “‘My Candy’ was inspired by a Coleman Hawkins chord progression that we adapted. I wrote a melody to it that was originally meant for a slower, more sentimental song idea. We cut a rough version and I realized we were not going to be thrilled to play it live, because it was too slow and I wanted something more upbeat. So we picked up the tempo and I wrote a twin part on it. We do it on guitar and violin live, but for the album I twinned it myself on fiddle.

“As for the words, I just assumed this song already existed — an expression of love and appreciation through a candy vocabulary. But in researching different vintage candies, I found that there in fact was no such song that I could find, which was a thrilling discovery. So the idea was to combine these vintage candies, bring them to life as distinct characters, and blend them into this Tin Pan Alley-style melody and changes.

“After I wrote the words I later found out later that ‘jelly bean’ is an actual term that, according to Wikipedia, in the United States “during the 1910s and early 1920s, a “Jellybean” or “Jelly-Bean” was a young man who dressed stylishly but had little else to recommend him, similar to the older terms dandy and fop. F. Scott Fitzgerald published a story about such a character, “The Jelly-Bean,” during 1920.’ Perfect!” — Elana James (singer/songwriter/fiddle player)

Photo credit: Ryan Saul

LISTEN: Seth James, “The Time I Love You the Most”

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Artist: Seth James
Hometown: Austin, Texas
Song: “The Time I Love You the Most”
Album: Good Life
Release Date: August 23, 2019
Label: Cherry Bomb Records

In Their Words: “Dobie Gray has always been one of my favorite singers of all time. When I was young I learned every song on the Drift Away album. ‘The Time I Love You the Most’ was the one that stuck with me after all of these years. In recording ‘The Time I Love You the Most,’ we really made an effort to stay true to the original while also leaving room for our stamp. We made sure to lean forward with the tempo to keep the same sense of urgency as the original. Between [drummer] Lynn Williams’ groove, Kevin McKendree’s driving piano and Bob Britt’s rhythm, the track had no choice but to move like a freight train. It is still one of my favorite songs to play live, especially when we add in the horn section.” — Seth James

Photo credit: Todd Purifoy