Tag: bruce springsteen

MIXTAPE: Lowland Hum’s Songs for Dusk

Posted on by Editor

We’ve put together a group of songs that feel related to dusk: the transition moments between day and night. Included in our thinking about dusk are the days in between each season.. winter to spring, spring to summer, summer to fall and fall to winter days. We all need help in our times of transition, as we are being stretched, strained, or pressed between what was and what is to come. The songs that assist us in these travels seem to have an unplaceable quality, both disorienting and comforting like a sweet, warm drink with salt scattered on its surface.

The unique combination of anticipation and farewell allows these songs to occupy paradoxical thematic and sonic space. We need songs like these so we can bring more of ourselves into the present. So, we humbly offer this grouping of songs to accompany you in transitions of all kinds, whether they be literal dusks, the days between seasons, or simply moments where this particular tone may be soothing, cathartic, comforting or augmenting. To paraphrase something we read on The Milk Carton Kids’ Mixtape… “we include our songs aspirationally and for self-promotion here.” — Lowland Hum 

Aldous Harding – “Zoo Eyes”

We love Aldous Harding’s ability to shapeshift, morph, and play in her music while remaining vulnerable and human. It reminds us that those are all options we can choose as well when creating. Her most recent album, Designer, is delicious.

Bob Dylan – “He Was a Friend of Mine”

This song has always stood out to us as a deeply compassionate and humanizing song that packs so much into its few and deceptively simple words. It reminds me of the wordlessness that comes with deep grief. At the anniversary of George Floyd’s death I think of the great losses our nation has experienced this year and the way all words felt clumsy and insufficiently small in the face of such dumbfounding, dark and evil things.

Big Thief – “Open Desert”

We’re having a hard time finding what’s not to like about anything and everything coming from Adrianne Lenker (and her band) these days.

The Beatles – “Julia”

This melody is so wistful, dreamlike, sad, and lovely. “When I cannot sing my heart I can only speak my mind, Julia, sleeping sand, silent cloud, touch me so I sing a song of love, Julia.”

Radiohead – “You and Whose Army?”

The beginning of this song makes us feel like we are suspended in shimmering stardust thick enough to hold a person’s weight. The arrangement blooms so patiently until you suddenly tumble down a flight of stairs. That a recording can do that is one of the main reasons we organize our life around music.

Antonio Carlos Jobim – “Look to the Sky”

I mean, are you not slow dancing by yourself on a terra cotta tile patio, barefoot, with a cocktail in hand when you hear this?

Labi Siffre – “Cannock Chase”

The combination of this picked guitar and gently shuffling percussion sounds like being in the car at dusk with the windows down, scenery flying by.

The Zombies – “Beechwood Park”

We’ve listened to this album so much in the past few years, but somehow only really noticed this song and its magnificence in the past week. Now we are obsessed.

Nick Drake – “Free Ride”

To us Nick Drake always sounds like sunlight filtering through the leaves of trees. Although this one carries a bit more urgency and pep than some of his other songs, this one is no exception.

Myriam Gendron – “Solace”

This song comes from an album of Dorothy Parker poems put to music by Myriam Gendron. The whole album is like a friend sitting silently beside you when you’re feeling a lot. You probably need it in your life.

Keur Mossa – “Quand le fils de l’homme viendra”

This song comes from an album that has been an immense comfort to us in times of transition. When far from home, while working on building our studio in early morning light, while in labor with our first child… It’s a beautiful treasure of humanity reaching toward divinity.

Tiny Ruins – “One Million Flowers (solo)”

This album is all solo guitar and voice versions of Tiny Ruins’ full-band album Olympic Girls. Hearing these songs stripped to their skeletons showcases how strong her songwriting and voice are. Though we were fans of the full-band album first, we prefer these versions hands down. We aspire to make songs that can stand on their own naked or dressed up.

Lowland Hum –”We Do What We’re Told (Milgram’s 37)”

This is our cover of Peter Gabriel’s “We Do What We’re Told (Milgram’s 37)” from his album, So. We covered that album in its entirety, calling our version So Low. Our version came out on the 35th anniversary of the original’s release.

Lou Reed – “Perfect Day”

This song is a cocktail of equal parts bummed-out and triumphant. How he does it we don’t know, but we love it.

Frank Sinatra – “Mood Indigo”

The strings and reeds in this song are like sitting on a fire escape in the warm balmy breeze of a summer evening. Sinatra’s delivery is so subtle and masterful. You can’t go wrong with any song on In the Wee Small Hours.

The Weather Station – “Trust”

We have long been fans of Tamara Lindeman. Her songwriting is like a window into the unspoken dialogue of real relationships.

Arthur Russell – “Close My Eyes”

This song is so visual to me (Lauren). It reads in the mind like a bedtime story complete with dark oil pastel illustrations. I dare you to close your eyes and not see it all.

Gold Connections –”Confession”

Will Marsh of Gold Connections is a dear friend of ours but we promise we aren’t biased. They just released this single and we can’t get enough of it. This song has it all: city and desert; neon signage and the kind of starry sky that can only be seen when you are far from civilization.

Bruce Springsteen – “Nebraska”

Tragic, startling, beautiful. Daniel always says he believes in this album because it gave him compassion for a mass murderer. That’s some power right there.

Paul Simon – “Night Game”

What a stunning and mournful number. Who knew a song about baseball could feel so mystical? Hold out for the otherworldly harmonica solo by Jean-Baptiste Frédéric Isidor. This one has comforted us on many a late-night drive.

Adrianne Lenker – “forwards beckon rebound”

This whole album is a treasure. This song has such a great momentum while remaining quiet.

Martin Denny – “Trade Winds”

This exotica album is a staple in our household during our newborn son’s bathtimes. But we find it perfectly appropriate for listeners of all ages and stages. It is perfectly campy and yet transportive.

Lowland Hum – “Waite”

We felt that we needed to include at least one original Lowland Hum song, so here’s our duskiest. This song was written while on tour in Europe in 2017. We were playing a house concert in a landscape painter’s home studio and gallery (Andy Waite is the name of the painter and now friend) and the guitar part mysteriously came to Daniel while we were setting up in the space. Something about being in a home so steeped in one person’s creative life and flow was magical. There was a very real substance in the air that mysteriously found its way into Daniel’s fingertips as he was messing around on guitar.

Photo credit: Tristan Williams

BGS 5+5: Them Coulee Boys

Posted on by Editor

Artist name: Them Coulee Boys
Hometown: Eau Claire, Wisconsin
Latest album: Namesake (available August 6, 2021 on Some Fun Records)
Personal nicknames (or rejected band names): For better or worse, we’ve always been Them Coulee Boys.

(All answers from Soren Staff)

What’s the toughest time you ever had writing a song?

For me, it’s never about how tough it is writing a song, but rather when to move on from one. I generally build songs from a line or two that I’m excited about, whatever makes my stomach burn and rush to write more. Sometimes they come in minutes, but sometimes those lines can ruminate in my head for weeks or months, caught in limbo. When I try to force them out, it often isn’t something I’m proud of. The hardest part of writing for me is realizing when to take a step back and let songs breathe. That line is still going to be there when I come back, and maybe this time there’s more to the story. “Given Up” worked that way, and space let me fill out the story in a way not possible if I forced that out.

Which artist has influenced you the most … and how?

I feel like this is an answer that changes, but one artist that has loomed large in his influence on our work is Bruce Springsteen. It might not be sonically obvious, but I think every small town kid has looked at him and seen some of their story in his. The lesson I always come back to is that the intensely personal details can feel universal. On this next record particularly, I was more comfortable using characters that weren’t me. Just because you haven’t specifically lived it doesn’t mean someone you know and love hasn’t. We model so much of what we do off his example, be it in our powerful live performances, our evolving sound, or intimate style of writing. He’s a master at so many things, and I feel like I’m continually learning.

What’s your favorite memory from being on stage?

Right before COVID hit, we were on the biggest tour of our young careers, opening up for our friends in Trampled By Turtles at The Sylvee in Madison, Wisconsin. Being the closest show on the run to home, so many family and friends were in the audience, but in particular was the family of my dear friend Phil Marks. We lost Phil the year before, and this was the first time that his family could make a show. Every night when we play our song “I Won’t Be Defined” I talk about mental health, and that night I talked about Phil. When you get a crowd of 3,000 to go from joyfully dancing, to a complete silence, and then back to dancing, you feel the power in what you can do through song. I miss making people feel something, be it joy or sorrow. I’m so grateful to have that chance again very soon.

If you had to write a mission statement for your career, what would it be?

We are a band of family and friends that seek to create community through joy, energy, and sincerity in their work and performances. We learned very early how people respond to genuine expression, and we’ve made it our mission to be the absolute most authentic version of ourselves. We love what we do, and we hope you do too. One part bear hug, one part gut punch, and one part steadying hand. That’s what we want our listeners to feel when they listen to us.

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

Well, we are dreaming here, so I’m going all out! It’s tempting to think I’d be able to soak up some advice, but I love good food and I think I’d get distracted. First, I’d start with brunch with Joni Mitchell and my mother and let them do the talking. I’ve learned so much from them both and I know they’d hit it off. Then I’m headed over to LC’s, my favorite BBQ joint in Kansas City with Bob Dylan and the rest of Them Coulee Boys, if only to see how he handles the literal gallons of BBQ sauce in front of us. Finally, I’m ending the night drinking Handsome Johnnys with John Prine at my hometown Eau Claire, Wisconsin, dive The Joynt. I feel like he wouldn’t mind me picking his brain a bit with a few glasses of vodka and ginger ale.

Photo credit: Nathaniel Nelson

BGS 5+5: Sam Filiatreau

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Artist: Sam Filiatreau
Hometown: Louisville, Kentucky
Latest Album: Sam Filiatreau

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

I was around 10 years old sitting in the basement with my dad and brother watching this Bruce Springsteen concert. I remember my dad saying something like, “Look at how much fun he’s having and that’s his job.” I had never really thought about being able to do something you loved and getting paid for it.

What’s your favorite memory from being on stage?

Maybe five years ago we threw a big concert on the day of The Kentucky Derby. My friends, The Nude Party, were on the bill too and we had a few days of debauchery leading into it. For the encore, all the bands got on stage to sing “Dead Flowers” and it was the first time for me where everything felt right.

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

Most of the time when I’m writing songs, they start with me just singing over some chords until a good line sticks out. Most of the time I’m usually writing outside of my own experiences, but there are many moments where I look down and realize that I was accidentally writing about myself.

Which artist has influenced you the most … and how?

John Prine. Aside from being one of the best songwriters ever he’s just been so consistently cool and compassionate throughout his career. I feel like from the moment he started that his success never affected who he was. We didn’t deserve John Prine, but I’m glad we got him.

Which elements of nature do you spend the most time with and how do those impact your work?

I spend a lot of time fishing with friends and on my own. I don’t think it necessarily inspires my music, but there’s something about fishing by yourself and playing music that go hand in hand. It becomes meditative at some point just listening to the water and finding some sort of rhythm. And when you finally catch a fish it’s just as exciting as pulling a lyric out of thin air and holding it close for a moment.

Photo credit: Maggie Halfman

LISTEN: The Rose Petals, “They Say You Loved a Good Man”

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Artist: The Rose Petals
Hometown: Nashville / Seattle
Song: “They Say You Loved a Good Man”
Album: American Grenadine
Release Date: April 23, 2021
Label: Envoy Records

In Their Words: “This song is about Calvin Coolidge, who served as president from 1923 to 1929, apologizing to his wife, Grace, for his shortcomings as a husband. Grace and Cal were an unlikely pair, and her friends found the match quite unbelievable. She was warm, friendly, outgoing, gregarious, and cheerful. He was quiet, austere, deliberate, uncommunicative, and sometimes glum. The Coolidges lived happily together for twenty-eight years, but when Grace was asked, toward the end of her life, how she had come to marry her husband, she said, ‘Well, I thought I would get him to enjoy life and have fun, but he was not very easy to instruct in that way.’

“So, really this song is about regret. It’s about living your life with the best intentions yet still falling short of expectations. Musically we wanted to tap into that wistful vibe, so we borrowed a bunch of tricks from some of our older influences – acoustic 12-string from The Byrds, synthesizer from the ’80s records of Bruce Springsteen, and some Beach Boys harmonies to top it off at the end.” — Peter Donovan, The Rose Petals

Photo credit: Dan Destiny

BGS 5+5: The Bones of J.R. Jones

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Artist name: The Bones of J.R. Jones
Hometown: Manlius, New York
Latest Album: A Celebration
Personal nicknames (or rejected band names): J.R./ Jonny, Jon Jon.

What’s your favorite memory from being on stage?

My favorite memories are the unexpected ones and I mean that in the most literal sense. Most nights on tour I take the stage exhausted and it takes a song or two for me to fall in rhythm. I remember one night in while on tour in England I took the stage after a 8-hour drive, traveling across three different countries, going through customs and after getting a speeding ticket… my mood was sour, to say the least. The first song I played knocked me over. The crowd knew every word and sang as loud as my guitar was ringing. It turned out to be one of the best shows on that tour. That’s the magic of the stage, for that hour or so… reality disappears.

What other art forms — literature, film, dance, painting, etc. — inform your music?

I think I am most moved and inspired by dancing. I am always in awe of the control and discipline dancers have… something I like to strive for in my music, but feel I never truly achieve because I let my emotions take the song away from me, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but not always where I want to go with my music. The beautiful thing about art is that one discipline often informs and adds to others. I often think about this while watching a dancer and how the music chosen or written for the piece is just as important as the choreography. The same goes for film and the visual arts.

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

I don’t think I knew it at the time, but I remember listening to Springsteen’s Born in the USA when I was young and feeling so completely invested and overwhelmed by the songs. It struck me deep and resonates with me till this day. The heartbreak, the hurt, the feeling like you are being left behind and the drive for recognition… all the while you are just doing the best you can with the hand you are dealt. Every time I step into a studio that album subconsciously shows up in the strangest ways in my production.

What’s the toughest time you ever had writing a song?

Every song is tough. I mean it, every damn song. I have never been fortunate enough to have a song just flow through me. And truthfully the only reason a song is ever done is because I have to record it, ha ha. I try to tell myself that a recording is a song at that one moment. That a song is a living thing and tomorrow it will change on me again and we will have to find a new balance between each other.

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

Every time. I mean you have to. How else can you make anything feel relatable? You need to live it to a degree. It doesn’t need to be autobiographical, but it does need to be true.

Photo credit: Christian Harder

The Show on the Road – Low Cut Connie

Posted on by Shelby Williamson

This week, we call in to Philadelphia for a conversation with the highly-theatrical pianist and tireless, much-adored performer Adam Weiner, who for the last decade has gained a cult following around the world fronting his soulful bizarro-rock outfit, Low Cut Connie.


LISTEN: APPLE PODCASTS • SPOTIFY • STITCHER
Some artists have retreated into obscurity during the pandemic shut-down, some have turned lemons into personalized, livestream lemonade. But Adam Weiner took it to another level when he launched his often twice-weekly vaudevillian interactive web show “Tough Cookies” in March. Charging around his small home stage like a schvitzing piano preacher, often losing clothing along the way, Adam has learned nearly six hundred covers in the last eight months alone — from Barry Manilow to Cardi B’s “WAP” to Macho Man to an entire Little Richard set, which he performed to honor his hero after his passing. He then interviews anyone from Beyonce’s dad to members of Sly and the Family Stone. In short, it’s a rollercoaster every week — one that you kind of have to watch to believe.

Alongside his 2020 LP Private Lives, Low Cut Connie’s heartfelt and sweat-dripping sets have gained Weiner some famous supporters: Elton John for one, fellow New Jersey-born hero Bruce Springsteen for another. Up-and-coming playlist presenter Barack Obama unexpectedly placed Low Cut Connie’s defiant cabaret rocker, “Boozophilia,” on his must-listen list. Indeed, this taping, which often showed Adam jumping from his piano to his guitar to play favorites (like the Kinks-esque, “Revolution Rock N Roll”) initially had to be delayed so he could play an inauguration event for new president and Philly-piano lover Joe Biden.

While Weiner is basking in some much-earned attention, it hasn’t always been an easy road. He readily admits to scraping by on side jobs into his mid-thirties, for years playing around dim New York City piano bars as his sequined alter-ego, Ladyfingers. If Low Cut Connie has learned anything during this strange era, it’s that people desperately still need live music. In all its spur-of-the-moment, sweaty glory. One of the more moving stories he tells is seeing groups of nurses in beleaguered hospitals taking a much needed break to watch his livestreams. Much like his role model and patron Elton John, Low Cut Connie’s songs can leap from intimate folk-rock to greasy soul to bombastic musical theater and back with ease and his relentless spontaneity keeps fans waiting for that he will do next.

Photo credit: Skylar Watkins

MIXTAPE: Blue Water Highway’s Space Ship in a Barn

Posted on by Editor

We are a four-piece Americana/indie rock and roll band from Austin, Texas, combining our love of singing and harmony (Catherine and Zack were both opera majors in college) with thoughtful songwriting, musicianship, and arranging (Greg and Kyle are multi-instrumentalists, also with college degrees in music). Being from Texas, we are rooted in its southern/western traditions, but love to musically and lyrically explore the contrasts in culture between rural and urban life, and the way that technology has affected both. This was one of the concepts — what we kept calling “building a space ship in a barn” — that was at the heart of our upcoming album, Paper Airplanes, produced by Cason Cooley, and it is the theme of our mixtape.

These “space ship in a barn” songs are a huge inspiration to us, often using acoustic instruments and natural vocals/harmonies mixed with analog synthesizers and electric guitars. Essentially mixing the organic sounds of the country with those of the urbanized, modern world. They also show a contrast between material things, and emotions that can sometimes best be expressed by otherworldly-type sounds. — Blue Water Highway

Bruce Springsteen – “I’m on Fire”

We find ourselves constantly referencing the Boss and his Born in the U.S.A. album, and this track specifically, as a great example of how classic rock and roll and rockabilly crossed with an analog CS-80 synth somehow works so well.

Sandra McCracken – “Reciprocate”

There is something about this track, and whole album really, that uses the roots vs. digital mix to maximum effect. The foundation is the fragility of the vocal and the acoustic guitar, but the “space” sounds peek through, like little slivers of light coming down through the dark clouds. Produced by Cason Cooley, this is one of the initial influences for our album.

The National – “Quiet Light”

The National’s 2019 release, I Am Easy to Find, has some of the best vibe in piano tones and “Quiet Light” is no exception. The soundscapes and drumming on this tune were just so innovative yet familiar.

Matthew Perryman Jones – “Waking the Dead”

The atmosphere kicks in right from the start and supports this upbeat rocker, which happens to be the only non-ballad on this record, is also produced by Cason Cooley, and admittedly is one of the few non-ballads that MPJ writes. The whole record is a rootsy trip through outer space.

Hozier – “Almost (Sweet Music)”

This song combines three things we love: good songwriting, good groove, and jazz. Hozier weaves titles from famous jazz songs throughout the lyrics of this song, and if you didn’t know the jazz songs he mentions you’d have no idea. Hozier is a great example of an artist who uses rootsy sounds with very modern, pop-oriented production techniques.

Phoebe Bridgers – “Motion Sickness”

Is it a country song or not? At least that is the argument we’ve been having in our band since the song came out. The soundscape is obviously a great example of vibey, modern, groovy, indie-rock production, and the lyrics have a very 21st century suburban-kid perspective. But still, there is something in the mood and the lyrics that doesn’t seem too far from Hank Williams… or Dolly Parton… anyone?

Elbow –”lippy kids”

Our producer introduced us to this band and this track, which is not only a perfect example of our theme sonically, but also lyrically. The refrain of “build a rocket boys” exactly conveys the sense of childhood wonder we wanted to evoke on our album.

Taylor Swift – “peace”

We’re big Taylor Swift fans in this band, always have been. Then she released folklore and evermore in 2020, which somehow fit perfectly with sounds of our album, even though we had already recorded it. Catherine never turned these albums off… ever. Taylor Swift is not given nearly enough credit as a songwriter and this is one of those perfectly produced tracks that makes her shine.

Blue Water Highway – “Grateful”

Definitely leaning more on the “barn,” or rootsy, side of things, this is our tongue-in-cheek take on thankfulness, and we still manage to put enough stardust sounds in the mix that it fits with the rest of the album.

Big Red Machine – “Hymnostic”

This song sounds like sunlight shining through the windows of an old white wooden church. Aaron Dessner (The National) and Justin Vernon (Bon Iver) combine to create the ultimate “spaceship in a barn” vibe. Big Red Machine, The National, and Bon Iver have all accompanied us many many times on late-night drives from state to state.

John Moreland – “When My Fever Breaks”

When an amazing songwriter gets a hold of a drum machine, this is the result. Great songs, and vibey drum production, complete with other synths make this album one to keep revisiting.

Brandon Flowers – “Between Me And You”

Brandon Flowers is one of the core artists we reference. Combining a indie synth rock aesthetic with heartland songwriting, he represents one of the many examples of bringing roots rock into a modern era.

Counting Crows – “Amy Hit The Atmosphere”

If this came out in 2021, it would probably be called Americana, but we love how these guys were a mainstream rock band with just the right balance between raw and polished. That’s never truer than on this song from This Desert Life, with the way the band uses atmospheric sounds to support the lyrics.

Maggie Rogers – “Overnight”

This song is a perfect example of how ambient electronic sounds that you can’t really put your finger on really round out and enhance a song that has organic vocals and drums.

Dawes – “Don’t Send Me Away”

One of the under appreciated elements of ’70s Americana will always be the impeccable groove of the rhythm section. Dawes carries this same torch, along with subtle but innovative guitar work, and brilliant songwriting, to become one of our bands favorite bands.

The War on Drugs – “Pain”

Adam Granduciel’s guitar work and songwriting harkens back to the way the ’80s musicians blended the rootsy style before them with modern instrumentation. The War on Drugs unashamed use of drum machine sounds and reverb rich guitar tone creates a cool and nostalgic sonic landscape.

Blue Water Highway – “All Will Be Well”

This is a song about the true meaning of hope, and it uses the synth/acoustic dichotomy as a way to contrast the spiritual with the material, how those realities both rub up against each other and work together. At times it feels like a rickety old space ship, and is one of our favorite examples of this sound in our original music.

Blue Water Highway – “Sign Language”

This is our original song about finding communication, calm, and understanding in the midst of chaos and confusion. The soundscape has many “space ship” elements that evoke communication, i.e. synthesizer and drum machine, which are contrasted with the organic sounds of the harmony vocals, guitar, and drum set.

Photo credit: Cal & Aly

MIXTAPE: David Starr’s Road Trip Touchstones

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“The idea of a road trip Mixtape really appealed to me after so many months off the road. While I truly enjoy playing in front of an audience, there is easily as much anticipation around just ‘getting on the road’ in this business. Most of my travels have been in a small motorhome over the past five years. The whole process of loading the gear, packing up merch, and stocking the fridge is something I really miss during this prolonged pandemic pause. Music is always an integral part of that process. One of my favorite memories from a road trip into Utah was listening to Bruce Springsteen’s Western Stars album as the desert road stretched out before us. Something truly American about the whole experience.” — David Starr

Jackson Browne – “These Days”

This Jackson Browne classic has always been a favorite of mine. He wrote it when he was only 16 years old and it shows a maturity and depth rarely expressed so well by a young songwriter. It speaks of self-reflection, looking back and moving forward all at the same time.

Bruce Springsteen – “Western Stars”

The title cut from Bruce Springsteen’s recent record is an epic road trip song. I loved the song when I first heard it. But when I listened to it while cruising across the Utah desert in our motorhome, the song really moved me. The whole album passes that same test, by the way.

Don Henley – “Boys of Summer”

Don Henley and Mike Campbell really captured the essence of lost romance and the change of seasons in this one. I can’t help turning the radio way up when this one comes on!

The Cars – “Drive”

My favorite Cars song. Ben Orr’s vocal is so moving here. And the music video released for it at the time, directed by Timothy Hutton, added context to the meaning of the song.

Joni Mitchell – “Coyote”

Joni Mitchell is always road trip favorite. Plenty of time to absorb the intricacies of the songs. “Coyote” physically moves us down the road with a cast of characters. This song from her 1976 album Hejira rocks along with a killer Jaco Pastorius bass line fueling the ride.

The Rolling Stones – “Brown Sugar”

Stones? Of course! I played this song a couple hundred times as a singing cover band drummer in my youth. Always fun to watch the dance floor fill up immediately upon kicking it off. Something about that intro and the feel just propels a road trip playlist!

The Tubes – “Talk To Ya Later”

This classic Tubes song is another one with a power intro that just cannot be denied. Fee Waybill wails and Toto’s Steve Lukather kills it on guitar. Watch your right foot on this one; you might just pick up speed!

Melissa Etheridge – “You Can Sleep While I Drive”

Melissa Etheridge sings of true love and tenderness on a true road trip. This one works especially well as the sun sets on a long Texas straightaway at about 55 mile per hour. Slow down and soak it in.

Daryl Hall and John Oates – “You Make My Dreams (Come True)”

This Daryl Hall and John Oates classic hit is good for the star of any road trip! Full of energy and another intro that simply cannot be denied. Great background vocal parts for that front seat sing-along, too!

Little Feat – “Dixie Chicken/Tripe Face Boogie”

It’s gotta be Little Feat’s live Waiting for Columbus version with this one. It literally chugs along in the funky slow lane until the pace picks up and takes off into the second tune. Good for getting you through Waco traffic and back out onto the four-lane!

Toto – “Running Out of Time”

The opening track from Toto XIV will put the pedal to the metal without fail. I put this song on coming out of LA into the desert headed for Vegas and was stunned at my speedometer reading. A slamming good road song!

Jackson Browne – “Running on Empty”

Another Jackson Browne classic that simply has to be on a road trip playlist. The whole record was recorded on the road and the immediacy can be felt on the song. David Lindley’s lap steel soars on this one. Highly recommended!

Eagles – “Take It Easy”

The Eagles version of the Glenn Frey/Jackson Browne hit is a must. This one has launched a thousand road trips. And the chorus and outro are top-down, Ray-Ban naturals for a summer sing-along!

Joni Mitchell – “Help Me”

Joni Mitchell nostalgia pick here. This song was on the radio every morning when I worked a grueling summer construction job back in the day. We’d rise up after a long night gigging in the bars and this song would set us on our way for the 30-minute drive to the site. Help me indeed!

The Band – “The Weight”

No playlist is complete without a Band song on it. Having known Levon personally, it’s always bittersweet to hear “The Weight.” This song is all about a pilgrim’s journey and seeking something; isn’t that what all road trips are about in some way? Enjoy the ride.

Photo credit: Jeff Fasano

BGS 5+5: L.A. Edwards

Posted on by Editor

Artist: L.A. Edwards
Hometown: Julian, California
Latest album: Blessings From Home: Volume 1
Personal nicknames (or rejected band names): Lord Edward, Lorcey, Lorkis, Dad, El Drunko Supreme after some gin

What’s your favorite memory from being on stage?

We were playing a holiday show at this real dive a few years back and they had jerry-rigged a stage out of a pool table, milk crates, empty kegs, and plywood. The six of us were shoulder to shoulder and just cracking up at the whole thing and on the last song I tripped and fell off the stage. I was unconscious for a minute and I woke up with huge gash in my back on the barroom floor. Maybe not my favorite memory but thinking of that stage dive makes me laugh whenever we’re playing nicer rooms. I still have an impressive scar to show for it.

What other art forms — literature, film, dance, painting, etc. — inform your music?

I’d really like to have a bitchin’ painting collection one day. My grandma was an avid art collector and even owned a Monet at one point. I inherited a few of my favorites from her house. I love reading, especially when I’m in a lyrical rut.

Which elements of nature do you spend the most time with and how do those impact your work?

I spend a lot of time in the water. Surfing, fishing, and boats have always been part of my life. It clears my head to watch the horizon for waves or my line for a bite. Lots of good ideas come when I have a clear mind and I’m not trying to force it.

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

Van Morrison and Italian or Springsteen and a hot dog.

What rituals do you have, either in the studio or before a show?

I don’t eat before shows. I like to go onstage hungry like the wolf, like Duran Duran.

Photo credit: Miller Hawkins

BGS 5+5: Northcote

Posted on by Editor

Artist name: Northcote (Matt Goud)
Hometown: Carlyle, Saskatchewan, Canada
Latest album: Let Me Roar (out October 23, 2020)
Personal nicknames (or rejected band names): Matt, Big Cat, Coat

Which artist has influenced you the most … and how?

I was playing solo shows in cafes while in a full-time hardcore band, that’s how it started for me. When the band broke up I moved out west and during that first year of playing solo I would cover Gillian Welch, Chuck Ragan/Hot Water Music and Brian Fallon/The Gaslight Anthem songs in my set. I remember learning Petty and Springsteen songs to fill my set for when I was singing in tourist bars. You can play “The Waiting” and “Dancing in the Dark” for a long time on a Monday night to help nudge along a three-hour set. The artist that has influenced me the most in the last ten years is Dave Hause. He has taken me on the road many times and I have got to see his energy and passion for the job. He plays with the urgency and respect that it could all go away and I admired that because he was/is right. Gillian Welch is the songwriter I come back to the most often and whose records I feel most at home with. John Moreland in the last bunch of years is like that for me as well. Finally, I was in grade 5 or 6 when Shania Twain’s hit songs began to come out and I did perform them lip-synching in school.

What’s your favorite memory from being on stage?

It must have been 2010 or so, maybe earlier. I was playing on my first release as Northcote and was out east in Saint John, New Brunswick. It is a small city and I think I’ve only been back once since. It’s near Fredericton where we usually stop on tour. The venue that day had an alley entrance with brick walls on either side of the alley. The room had a low ceiling and seemed like a small abandoned store. I remember there were things left behind on the floor like folks had left in a hurry. The walls were white and blue like sky. I don’t remember if there was a PA or not. We were packed in the place about 25 of us singing along as I played through my first EP and the singalongs were quite loud. I was surprised and I felt lost and at home all at once. At that time everyone present was a beginner and we were all just giving it an honest try and that is a very sacred place to be in my opinion.

What other art forms — literature, film, dance, painting, etc. — inform your music?

Before bringing my attention to working as a musician I was studying at a religious college training to be a minister. Over the years the sense of poetry from scripture has stuck with me. I’ve gone from the poems of Thomas Merton to Rumi to listening to Ram Dass then back full circle now. In my twenties I explored more angular and art house influences which are still refreshing at times, but less influential these days. I think my answer is religious devotional writing? My god. For more context, my recent influences are Lovecraft Country (TV), Anderson .Paak’s album Ventura, and Miley Cyrus’ “Slide Away.” The two books open on my desk are Teachings of the Christian Mystics and Thich Nhat Hanh’s How to Connect.

What rituals do you have, either in the studio or before a show?

When we were making Let Me Roar, each morning before I took a shower I would put on the album Trance Friendz by Ólafur Arnalds and Nils Frahm. After that I went to the yoga mat to do some work then made coffee and had a few cigarettes. We had boiled eggs most mornings with bagels. After the work day we made dinner together in the kitchenette and watched the hockey playoffs or a lesser-known horror film. During one film the lead character ate a chicken wing out of the fridge after finding a deceased person. The character said, “Honey garlic, I love it.” From then on in the studio, after describing something we would say, “I love it” in honor of the horror film character.

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

I was invited to perform at the Alianait Arts Festival in Iqaluit, Nunavut, a few years back. I wasn’t feeling very good those days and the opportunity to go up North was a bright light for me and is a precious memory that I will never forget. One night up North there was a dinner party hosted by folks in the community. There was a spread of local food and I can’t remember what all was served, but I tried some and enjoyed the warmth and hospitality. There was boxed wine on the rocks and we saw the evening sun. One of those nights some people from the festival invited me to a hall where musicians from the festival were sitting in a circle singing and laughing and telling stories. Since that trip up to play the festival, my wife and I have moved, I quit drinking, we made the new Northcote record and I found meaningful work at my day job in Victoria.

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6Ha8VdD55SEGNJcKWiUAhM?si=IkUWvU1GR6OGDOnMt8ul1g

Photo credit: Matt Postal