Blitzen Trapper Head All Across This Land

Since they came on the scene 15 years ago, Blitzen Trapper have made music that blends country and folk ideas with an arena rock attitude. Their newest album, All Across This Land, cuts a broad musical swath through American music, from Springsteen's Jersey to Michael Stanley's Midwest (with even a bit of Jolly Old England in the mix, too). 

You and the band are on road as we speak, right? Somewhere between Austin and Alabama?

Yep, that’s right.

Is it still fun being on the road?

Yeah, the shows are fun.

People are reacting enthusiastically?

Yeah, definitely.

I guess you could say you’re all across this land to promote All Across This Land. [Laughs]

Yeah, pretty much. [Laughs]

Did some of these songs get worked out on the road before they were recorded?

No, no. I wrote them all during a spell when we weren’t touring at all. I’m always trying to write songs, here and there. This is just the kind of group that I came up with, I liked, and they all kind of went together. It just kind of seemed like a record.

Are there bands that have influenced you over the years that were in the back of your mind when you were writing the songs?

I guess I wanted to give more of a kind of classic Americana approach. Older Americana, like Springsteen and Neil Young. Just kind of that eclectic guitar, rock, folk mixture.

“Let the Cards Fall” reminds me of Wilco. Tell me how that song came about.

That one is sort of hard to remember, honestly. I think I had the chorus first. That one has a very personal creative ethos to it. The chorus is kind of just me talking, you know? The verses are images from Oregon — all the wildness. The whole song just kind of came one day.

That one has images of Oregon, but it feels like you’re headed down the road somewhere in this lush, green part of Tennessee or something. That’s the way it sounds to me.

Lyrically, that whole first verse is about a forest fire coming your way.

I love the guitar and vocal textures in “Mystery and Wonder.” Tell me about that one, from a recording standpoint. How was it put together?

That one was initially acoustic guitar, bass, and drums. Then we layered on other guitars. The guitars in that one are pretty ambient. It’s straightforward, as far as that goes. There are keyboards and piano that comes in here and there. It wanted it to sound really lush and full.

I think the whole second side of the record has that sort of feel to it. The first side has got some nice textures; it kind of teases you. The second side gets real big and wall-of-sound-ish. “Nights Were Made for Love” reminds me of listening to the radio when I was a kid. Kid Leo on WMMS used to play Michael Stanley all the time, it kind of reminds me of that sort of thing.

Yeah, for sure.

The title cut has a glam-rock-ish edge to it. It reminds me a little bit of Edgar Winter during the 1970s, when he was really, really popular. [Laughs] How does that sound to you?

That one is more Thin Lizzy.

Thin Lizzy?

The guitar on it, yeah. The riffs and guitar on that are pretty great. I think that Joe Walsh was a big influence on that one.

Well, if you put Thin Lizzy and Joe Walsh together, you kind of have Edgar Winter. [Laughs]

Right, yeah.

At least when he was doing “Frankenstein” and when he was a popular artist, as opposed to when he was doing “Tobacco Road” and [Edgar Winter’s] White Trash and all that sort of business. Which songs, of the new ones, are the most fun to play on the road right now and why?

I think “Cadillac Road” and “Love Grow Cold” are pretty great live. And “Nights Were Made for Love,” those three are probably my favorites to play live.

Are you working in a lot of the older stuff with the newer stuff?

Oh, yeah.

Well, you’re coming to Portland at the end of November. Is that kind of a homecoming show for you?

Yeah, that’s the last show of the tour.

Are you going to go back out in the Spring and hit up other parts of the country?

Yeah, I think we’re going overseas in the Spring. We might do some smaller market stuff in the Spring, as well.


Photo by Jason Quigley

BGS Class of 2016: Books

Yes, indeed, this was a great year for music (just check out our stacked 2016 albums list) and, luckily for all the bibliophiles out there, it was also a great year for music books. Because there's nothing better than reading a good book while your favorite music plays, we've rounded up a few of our favorite books from the past year. From Whisperin' Bill Anderson's life story to a memoir from the one and only Bruce Springsteen, there's something here for everyone.

Just Around Midnight: Rock and Roll and the Racial Imagination by Jack Hamilton

Slate writer and University of Virginia at Arlington professor Jack Hamilton tackles the complex relationship between race and rock 'n' roll in the 1960s in this new book. It's an essential addition to the rock 'n' roll history canon that covers new, much-needed ground.

Slim Harpo: Blues King Bee of Baton Rouge by Martin Hawkins

Slim Harpo forever altered the culture of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, with his own take on blues music. The only available biography about Harpo, this book preserves the legacy of one of the genre's most important artists.

Whisperin' Bill Anderson: An Unprecedented Life in Country Music by Bill Anderson and Peter Cooper

Whisperin' Bill Anderson is one of the most celebrated songwriters in country music, with hits for everyone from Ray Price to Eddy Arnold. In this autobiography — written in tandem with music writer Peter Cooper — Anderson offers a behind-the-scenes look at Music Row, his storied career, and the difficulties he faced as the music industry evolved.

Born to Run by Bruce Springsteen

An autobiography from the Boss … need we say more? 

Anatomy of a Song: the Oral History of 45 Iconic Hits That Changed Rock, R&B, and Pop by Marc Myers

"Proud Mary," "Carey," "Mercedes Benz," and 42 other legendary songs get the oral history treatment in this anthology from Wall Street Journal columnist Marc Myers. It's a fascinating read for anyone, but should be especially so for anyone hoping to write the next classic song.


Photo credit: Abee5 via Foter.com / CC BY.

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Squared Roots: BJ Barham on the Brilliance of Bruce Springsteen

Bruce Springsteen. What, really, is there to write about him that hasn't been written thousands of times? (Although this ranking of all his songs is awfully cool!) He's a working-class hero, a thinking-man's poet, an activist-artist, a national treasure, and a songwriter's songwriter with 18 albums and millions of record sales to his credit. Over the past five decades, Springsteen has witnessed and documented in song the American dream — its promise, its realization, and its demise. For that, he can also be credited as an oral historian.

To American Aquarium's BJ Barham, Springsteen is also the greatest ever. Full stop. On his recent solo debut, Rockingham, Barham puts that admiration and influence on full display, working through an Americana song cycle about small-town living with a gruff voice and a simple message.

What is it, for you, that makes Springsteen so great?

Springsteen, for me — and I've argued this with plenty of people — he's simply the greatest American songwriter we've ever seen. [Bob] Dylan's good. I really like Dylan a lot. I really like Tom Petty a lot. Dylan wrote a lot of artsy, abstract stuff, too. Springsteen always writes to the core of America. Springsteen writes songs that 21-year-old hipsters in East Nashville can relate to or, you can play them for my father, and he relates to the same exact verbiage, same exact song. It's timeless. You play Thunder Road, you play Born to Run … you play anything from Born to Run and it could've happened today; it could've happened in the '60s.

There aren't many songwriters that we come across in this business that have that ability. And I'm one of the countless songwriters who spent my entire 20s at the “Church of Springsteen” and am, really, sometimes just doing a pale imitation. Everybody who writes songs about small-town living that comes out and says Springsteen didn't influence their music are liars. [Laughs]

He taught me that you can have a guitar and three chords and tell people stories about where you're from and people will relate to it. There's no greater lesson that I have learned than from Springsteen: Write what you know. He made New Jersey sound romantic. That's how good Bruce Springsteen is. New Jersey is a terrible place. Springsteen is the only guy who can make New Jersey sound appealing or romantic or nice or not a shithole. I can say this because my bass player and my guitar player are both from New Jersey.

Having never been to New Jersey, on my first tour, I made sure to book a gig in Asbury Park. On the way up, I was like, “Man, this is going to be a game-changer. This is going to be life-altering!” Then, you pull up to Asbury Park, New Jersey, and you're like, “What the hell?!” [Laughs] “Did they do nuclear testing here after the Springsteen records came out?! Maybe this is the desolate wasteland that came after the vibrant city he painted picture of …” Then you realize, that's how good Springsteen is. He's such a good writer, he can make New Jersey sound like a hotspot tourist destination.

Being a guy from a small town that's not really desirable in too many different ways, it taught me that you can sing about what you know — sing about things that are close to you — in a way that made it relatable to the rest of the world. On my new record, Rockingham, all of these songs are about my hometown. They are all about a very specific time and place. And I attempted to make these songs so that somebody in Anchorage, Alaska, or somebody in Wichita, Kansas, can hear these songs and put themselves in these characters' shoes. That's what Springsteen taught me, that most of us have the same perspective.

It's interesting what you said about how his old records are still just as relevant today. That's great for him — that he's able to write such timeless pieces. But it's also a little bit sad for us — that there's been very little progress.

Very much so. If Springsteen came around today, he wouldn't exist as Bruce Springsteen. He would've put out his first record, Greetings from Asbury Park, and he would've been dropped from his label immediately because he only sold 100,000 copies. And he might live in obscurity. If Springsteen came out today, he'd be one of the guys who're on the road 200 days a year playing in empty bars singing songs about common people. It was the right place, right time for Springsteen. Luckily, Columbia Records gave him three shots. That's unheard of today.

Well, he was a critical favorite, right out of the gate, some 43 years ago. But, you're right, the big sales didn't come along until later.

Don't get me wrong, by '84 or '85, that man was playing football stadiums — a level of fame, arguably, nobody today really understands … unless you're BeyoncĂ©.

Right. A singer/songwriter doesn't do that.

Nobody walks into Giants Stadium and plays, at the root of it, folk music. Don't get me wrong: He had the bombastic band and, in the '80s, he made the horrible decision to add synthesizers to everything; but, at the base of everything, those are three-chord folk songs. Nebraska is a great example of what Springsteen sounds like in his room just playing an acoustic guitar.

I was just listening to Nebraska and Tom Joad. That's John Moreland. That's Jason Isbell. That's Lori McKenna. Those are the artists making that kind of music today. But, yeah, they are, at best, playing a nice theatre or maybe a small shed.

If you look at some of the outtakes from Nebraska … “Born in the U.S.A.” was supposed to be on Nebraska and there are acoustic versions floating around of demos he did for “Born in the U.S.A.” It's a haunting folk song about the reality of the Vietnam War and what it did to the American psyche. But, if you talk to anybody my age about “Born in the U.S.A.,” it's, “Oh, that's that cheesy Springsteen song.” It's all because of that synth line that makes it danceable and pop-py and sellable. But, when you strip everything away from any of his songs, they're John Moreland, they're Jason Isbell. They're everybody that we look up to today in the Americana scene. Springsteen just put 20 instruments over the top of it to sell it.

But he was a product of his environment. That's what was going on in New Jersey. If you wanted to play on the beach, you had to have a band that made people dance. He learned that, as long as he had the band to make people move, he can sell it mainstream. And he got to sneak in all these amazing poems. The best part about it was, America thought, “This is really catchy.” But they were listening to, in my opinion, the greatest American songwriter ever to write songs.

It's interesting because, I think, those are the people — much like Ronald Reagan trying to use it for a campaign song — they weren't listening. They're listening on the surface to the riff and the chorus, but they weren't actually tuning into it.

And it blows my mind because the first line of that song is such an epic line: “Born down in a dead man's town. The first kick I took was when I hit the ground.” WHAT?! [Laughs]

[Laughs] So do you have a favorite era or album? Or can you not pick?

For me, it's Born to Run. It's eight songs. It's perfect. A 47-minute record. It's funny that my debut is an eight-song, 45-minute record.

[Laughs] Hmmm. That is interesting.

[Laughs] Springsteen taught me that, nowadays, everybody wants to put out 16-song records with a five-song bonus disc, if you get the deluxe edition. Born to Run, arguably one of the best records that will ever be made, in my opinion … eight songs. It's the perfect four songs on each side of vinyl. I can't even get started. “Jungleland” … I still cry.

Every generation has great songwriters. For my generation, Isbell is that … for me. He's playing big theatres. Let's be generous and say he's playing for 3,000 people per theatre. That's one-tenth of what Springsteen was playing. We'll never see anything like what Springsteen was. It was a cultural phenomenon, the fact that America rallied around a songwriter. BeyoncĂ© is lucky to sell out a football stadium now and she had 16 ghostwriters on every one of her songs. Springsteen was a guaranteed sell-out. So, if he booked a football stadium, he might have to book two or three nights because it sold out so quickly. I don't think we'll ever see that again, in our lifetime. It was such a perfect storm.

Looking back, I don't understand how it happened. It's like if John Moreland got famous, or someone you loved in your record collection that you wondered why nobody else knew about them got extraordinarily famous. The closest we have, to me, is Isbell. Knowing him pre-Southeastern and going to one of his shows now and seeing how big it is, it's still not even a speck on what Springsteen was, which is hard to wrap your head around.

For more songwriters admiring songwriters, read our Squared Roots interview with Lori McKenna.


Photo of BJ Barham by Joshua Black Wilkins. Photo of Bruce Springsteen courtesy of the artist.

3×3: The Outdoor Type on Nag Champa, Weird Feet, and Economical Footwear

Artist: The Outdoor Type
Hometown: Melbourne, Australia
Latest Album: On My Mind (single) & self-titled EP (out now via Nettwerk)
Personal Nicknames (or Rejected Band Names): I’ve never had a nickname — that I’m aware of — but I’ve had my fair share questionable band names: Cacophony, Skirvy Jack, Radio Star. Those aren’t rejected names either.

If Jesus, Buddha, Krishna, and Mohammed were in a band together, who would play what?
Mohammed – lead vocals
Buddha – bass guitar
Krishna – lead guitar
Jesus – drums

If you were a candle, what scent would you be?
Nag Champa. Best scent. 

What literary character or story do you most relate to? 
Probably Rob Fleming from Nick Hornby’s book, High Fidelity

How many pairs of shoes do you own? 
Three pairs, I think — I’m pretty economical with my footwear. I spend 90 percent of my time in my boots.

What's your best physical attribute? 
Definitely not my feet — I have weird feet.

Who is your favorite Bruce: Willis, Springsteen, or Lee? 
The Boss, of course.

Animal, mineral, or vegetable? 
Vegetable

Rain or shine?
Sunshine

Mild, medium, or spicy?
Spicy


Photo credit: An Architect Photographed My Undies
 

3×3: The Suitcase Junket on Mint Chip, Movie Songs, and the Merits of Moonshine

Artist:​ The Suitcase Junket​ (That's not my given name.)
Hometown:​ Cavendish, VT​
Latest Album:​ Dying Star​
Personal Nicknames:​ Someone called me Lenny for a few years. Never knew why. ​(I'm not a Leonard.) My nickname for myself is Tony Stones. ​

 

Sprang.

A photo posted by Matt Lorenz (@suitcasejunket) on

What was the first record you ever bought with your own money?​ 
Ace of Bass​ ​

How many unread emails or texts currently fill your inbox?​
666 unread emails. Not kidding. Should I be worried? Wait, where am I? ​

If your life were a movie, which songs would be on the soundtrack?​
Hmmm … That would a be a very long soundtrack. I guess most of it would be me singing nonsense really loud in the car. (Also, the album Nebraska by Springsteen and all of Wildflowers by Petty.) ​

 

Whoa! @brooklynbowl might be the coolest venue ever… Hitting at 8 w/ @wildadriatic and @sistersparrowdb Woot!

A photo posted by Matt Lorenz (@suitcasejunket) on

What brand of jeans do you wear?​
Salvation Army ​​

What's your go-to karaoke tune?​
I only sing karaoke in Albuquerque (this is true) which means I've only done karaoke twice. That being said, I'd definitely do "Heart of Glass" again. ​

If you were a liquor, what would you be?​
Ooh, tough one! I'd like to say moonshine, but if I'm honest with myself, it's probably something not as strong — like schnapps or maybe bottom-shelf bourbon. ​

Poehler or Schumer?​
Radner

Chocolate or vanilla?​
Mint Chip​

Blues or bluegrass?​
Swampyankee


Photo credit: Andrew Rinkhy

Counsel of Elders: Peter Case on Doing the Work

Peter Case’s musical path covers a lot of terrain. He was born in upstate New York and hitchhiked to the West Coast in his teens. He busked on the streets of San Francisco and founded seminal Los Angeles punk band the Nerves in the mid-'70s. Though their small catalog holds up remarkably well, Case is perhaps best known from the influential rock 'n’ roll band the Plimsouls. They were a top draw in California and featured in the cult film Valley Girl. In 1986, Case released his first solo record, which marked a return to roots-based music, and he’s been mining this rich vein ever since.

Case has worked with luminaries like T Bone Burnett, Van Dyke Parks, and Sir George Martin. He’s a favorite of Bruce Springsteen's and John Prine's. There is a grit and honesty to Case’s music that is paired with an unparalleled sense of melody. Basically, his music is equal parts Sleepy John Estes and the Beatles. In 2015, Case released HWY 62 — another fantastic collection that features Ben Harper on lead guitar and DJ Bonebrake from X on the drums.

You were instrumental in the early L.A. punk scene, have worked with major labels and smaller boutique labels like Vanguard, and managed to release excellent albums year after year without slowing down. So I can’t think of an artist more appropriate than yourself to offer up some life lessons to the younger generation.

I asked my seven-year-old daughter what she’d learned at school that day. “Dad, we don’t learn things at school!” was her reply.

I’ve rarely learned any lessons in my life, but the lessons I remember most are the ones I’ve learned hundreds of times: "Don’t rush. Everything comes to the one who waits. Be patient. Don’t judge others until you’ve judged yourself. The love you take is equal to the love you make. A stitch in time saves nine."

One of the most important lessons for a songwriter is, “You never know when you’re doing the work.” That’s how I put it to myself, so let’s see if I can explain it.

The song you labor over for months may get a lot better and still not make the album. But one of its lines could get pulled out and used in a song you worked on for five minutes, and that tune could turn out to be among the best you’ll ever do.

Who knows? Not me — never, when I set out, do I know where the road will end. So the work itself is always some kind of an adventure.

That’s the good news: “You never know when you’re doing the work.” All you can do is be ready to throw yourself in. And it doesn’t necessarily matter if the song is a hit, or grist later, or a Frankenstein monster. Songs are magic birds and they’ll land in your tree if they feel like it. You can’t force ‘em. You suit up and show up. You can write phrases on scraps of paper, do lyrical portraits of friends and strangers, write off the top of your head, imitate your favorites, or invent a new way of walking. But you never know when you’ll be doing the work.

Is there a story behind these lessons? Can you expand on how you learned this?

There are a lot of problems with the idea of me passing along “lessons learned” to other musicians. One is, the lessons I’ve had to learn involve knowledge that many other people may take for granted.

Here are a few:

1) Don’t be in a hurry to marry someone who is always mad at you. (This is self-evident for most.)
2) Check your driver's license before traveling far from home and assuming you can rent a car. The license may expire on your birthday. I was stranded in Colorado with two weeks of gigs I almost missed. Ended up hitching a ride with Robbie Fulks.
3) Know who’s in the room before you start talking. (This, too, is self-evident for most.)
4) File and pay your income tax. I learned this one the very hard way in the mid-'80s. I thought it was all taken care of by somebody else.
5) Always pay attention.

Get Off Your Ass: It’s St. Patrick’s Day!

St. Patrick's Day is a polarizing holiday. Either you love donning green, downing beer, and doing kegstands with a thousand of your favorite rowdy frat boys, or you, well, don't. If you fall into the second of those two camps, we feel you, so we put together a list of several great shows happening across the country tonight. From BGS presenting the Infamous Stringdusters in Nashville to Bruce Springsteen rocking Los Angeles, there's a little something for everyone here. Aren't you lucky you have us?

Nashville, TN // BGS Presents the Infamous Stringdusters // Exit/In

We've presented a number of shows on the Infamous Stringdusters' most recent tour, and it's because we love those dudes so darn much. You'll be hard-pressed to find a better live band, and lucky to see them in as intimate a setting as Exit/In. 

Los Angeles, CA // Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band // Los Angeles Sports Arena

This one's a no-brainer: What better way to celebrate Irish heritage than with the quintessential American rocker? Maybe he'll wear green; maybe he won't. Who gives a damn? He's the Boss!

New York City, NY // Lucinda Williams // City Winery

Lucinda Williams' roots run Southern, but her affinity for deeply personal songwriting is something she shares with her Irish brothers and sisters in song. Look for tunes from her excellent new album, The Ghosts of Highway 20.

Denver, CO // Darlingside // Swallow Hill Music (Daniels Hall)

Darlingside are one of our favorite new acts in roots today, and their live shows do not disappoint. With a new album under their belt, they put on a dynamic show that highlights both their classically trained chops and their knack for pop-inflected harmonies.

Chicago, IL // Devil in a Woodpile // Hideout

A lot of people like to get a little devilish on St. Patrick's Day, so why not do it with Devil in a Woodpile, a Bloodshot Records band that blends blues, jazz, hillbilly, and ragtime with such ease that you might swear they sold their souls?


Photo credit: sebastien.barre via Foter.comCC BY-NC-SA

Watch Jason Isbell and Sturgill Simpson Cover “Amarillo Highway”

If you've ever dreamed of seeing Jason Isbell and Sturgill Simpson perform together, you're in luck. The two took the stage together in Tuscaloosa last night for a cover of Terry Allen's "Amarillo Highway," and the results are pretty rad. Watch the performance below.

Other Roots Music News:

Rolling Stone talks to Tom Hiddleston about becoming Hank Williams. 

• Preview a new track from Flatt Lonesome at Bluegrass Today

• Oh Pep! stopped by NPR for a Tiny Desk Concert

• Bruce Springsteen's The River is getting the ultimate box set treatment

• Father John Misty performed a couple tunes on Jimmy Kimmel Live!

• Natalie Prass covered a Slayer song for A.V. Undercover

Between the Lines: ‘Easy Money’

I never would have guessed in a million years we'd be caught up in this way of surviving.

She put on her coat. I put on my hat.

I looked at myself in the bathroom mirror, glazing over my eyes, only seeing the outlines of who I'd become. A thief. A thief in unassuming demeanor.

She put out the dog. I put out the cat. I lit my last cigarette and threw the empty pack on the kitchen table.

“I see you put on your red dress for me tonight honey,” I said to my partner in life and crime, attempting to add what little warmth I could to an otherwise cold-blooded way to live. Despite any attempt to romanticize the night, I am left with only the comfort of a pull from my last cigarette.

“We’re going on the town now,” she said while opening the garage door. “Looking for that easy money.” Offering me that stone cold tone of confidence and of manifest destiny … a tone one could only hope for coming from your accomplice.

The last patron had stumbled out of the saloon, and I knew the only one left in there was “the boss.” At least that's what they call him. I’ve been staking the place out for about a month, and I know if he escorts the last person out and locks the door, the next scene is he's counting the profits — not only from his liquor sales, but from the dirty deals he's doing out the back door. Twenty minutes later he's headed home with a bottle and a briefcase.

The last light inside the saloon is shut off. We walk arm-in-arm giving illusion that we are merely a couple arriving a little too late for their night cap. She reaches her hand into mine and whispers close, “There’s nothing to it, mister. He won’t hear a sound when his whole world comes tumbling down. And all them fat cats, they’ll just think it’s funny.”

With the last boost of confidence and blood in my stare, I watch him step outside and lock the door behind him. Clockwork … a bottle and a briefcase.

“Oh hey, any chance we could …” I say only to be interrupted by him now facing toward us half-annoyed,

“Closed for the night, come back tomorrow.”

We walk closer to him with one arm still in each other's and my other hand in my jacket pocket.

“Mister … sir. I don’t think you understand. I got a Smith & Wesson .38. I got a hellfire burning and I got me a date. Got me a date on the far shore where it’s bright and sunny.”

With my .38 pointed at him, and my other hand now free, I finish where I left off: “Dirty money stays dirty. Now hand over the briefcase. You can keep the bottle. We're going on the town tonight, looking for easy money.”

Story by Daniel Rodriguez of Elephant Revival based on "Easy Money" by Bruce Springsteen. Photo credit: Vince_Ander / Foter / CC BY.

Ryan Adams Is Gonna Party Like It’s ‘1989’

There's never a dull moment in the career of Ryan Adams, but he may have just topped himself with his latest move: covering Taylor Swift's chart-topping 2014 release 1989 start to finish… in the style of the Smiths. He's already shared a clip or two, and it sounds pretty epic.

Read more at Rolling Stone.

Other Roots Music News:

• Go behind the scenes of the making of Indigo Girls' "One Lost Day."

• Ashley Monroe covered John Mellencamp's "Pink Houses."

• Bruce Springsteen earned the distinct honor of serving as Jon Stewart's last Moment of Zen. [Consequence of Sound

• Laura Marling performed "I Feel Your Love" on The Late Late Show with James Corden.

• IBMA announced their film festival selections. [Bluegrass Today

Ryan Adams photo by Alice Baxley, courtesy of Nasty Little Man