Artist:Kate Prascher Hometown: Hudson Valley, New York Latest Album:Shake The Dust (out August 30, 2024) Personal Nicknames (or Rejected Band Names): Kate or Katie. I go by my middle name, which I have always thought of as a Southern thing. Growing up in Tennessee, it was not uncommon to go by a middle name or even a family nickname and it has taken some explaining over the years. Especially when I moved to New York.
What rituals do you have in the studio or before a show?
I like to move some way or other, I will often practice yoga and try to get out of my head a little bit. I also warm up my voice and hands, drink tea, and run through whichever songs are new or have parts that need attention. I try to practice the week before a show and avoid day-of practicing whenever that’s possible, especially when there is new material. I have also started working with visualization this year. It is a thing I’m trying, so that I can see the audience in my mind before I meet them and give my brain a roadmap for how the next performance will go.
What other art forms – literature, film, dance, painting – inform your music?
Books are a huge part of my life and a big part of my songwriting practice. I read all the time, all different kinds of things. I think of reading as stuffing my brain with words that are then (hopefully) at my fingertips when I sit down to write. Reading so much has given me a clearer picture of what good storytelling can be, the moves a writer can make to hide, to expose, and to captivate. And it has taught me about characters. I do the same kind of gathering with music, I pack my mind with good songwriting – or bad – and try to name the things that work or don’t work, things that I find interesting, and ideas or themes I would like to filter through my own voice. Also, I find myself asking: What’s fun and intriguing? Why do I love this song so much?
Which elements of nature do you spend the most time with and how do those impact your work?
I am lucky to live in the Hudson Valley now. This after years of city living. I see the mountains every day; a privilege that I do not take for granted. There is something about this area, the Shawangunk Ridge and the Catskills, that cradles a person and whispers of things I’ve never known. I go walking or for a hike and usually return with a more rounded perspective. These old beings, these mountains, offer some kind of magic to us who live around here. They have seen things that they keep secret, but maybe also transmit in some silent way. I know at least one song of mine has come from a walk through the mountains, over a railroad trestle near my house.
What is a genre, album, artist, musician, or song you adore that would surprise people?
I love the Cranberries. Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can’t We? was on heavy rotation in my preteen years. I love Dolores O’Riordan’s voice and the intensity that she could hammer across, but then release to tenderness. Love and love. Also, who doesn’t adore Snoop Dogg? Watching him at the Super Bowl in 2022, the charisma he threw out in that giant arena, surrounded by other huge stars, reached past the fireworks and through the screen. He. Is. So. Good. But you didn’t need me to tell you this.
If I didn’t work in music, what would you do instead?
I would very likely be a writer. I am word nerd at heart and not sure I could ever really let go of that part of myself. Maybe an actor? I thought I was going to be an actor for a while, even majored in theater. I am sure the actors and writers who have worked tirelessly and sacrificed daily to master their craft just love hearing this casual statement from me!
I do have a day job, as an elementary school teacher, love the kids, love the work, I learn something every day from teaching. It is a part of my life I am very proud of.
This week, it’s a tale of two Mothers in our premiere round-up! First, Gangstagrass bring us their latest single, “Mother,” ahead of their full album release next week, then Portland, Oregon-based string band Never Come Down bring us their own track, “Mother,” performed live at Ear Trumpet Labs. The serendipitously themed selections couldn’t be more distinct and unique, relative to the other, demonstrating the depth and breadth of these roots genres.
Plus, elsewhere in our collection of new music, hear fresh tracks from Jaelee Roberts, Kate Prascher, Karen Jonas, and Eddy Lee Ryder – a taste of bluegrass, a dash of singer-songwriter, a heaping helping of reckless abandon, and so much more.
It’s all right here on BGS and, honestly, You Gotta Hear This!
Gangstagrass, “Mother”
Artist:Gangstagrass Hometown: All over the USA! Rench: Brooklyn with Oklahoma roots; Dolio the Sleuth: Pensacola, Florida; R-SON the Voice of Reason: Philly; Danjo: Washington, D.C.; Farrow: Omaha; Sleevs: Baltimore. Song: “Mother” Album:The Blackest Thing on the Menu Release Date: June 7, 2024 (single); June 14, 2024 (album) Label: Rench Audio
In Their Words: “It started as a poem I wrote one day on tour. We were in the north of France, and just as described, I was sitting under a tree looking around me thinking about the world, our place in it, and what major changes we’d have to make in order to ensure the survival of humanity. My younger brother was actively deployed at the time and since my family has generations of men who’ve served, including my father, grandfather, great-grandfather, and numerous uncles and aunts and cousins, there is always real concern about why the country is involved in active aggression, especially when that same country is obsessed with committing violence against its own citizens, my community in particular. I shared it with the crew, and Rench cooked up a haunting oeuvre.” – Dolio the Sleuth
Karen Jonas, “Gold in the Sand”
Artist:Karen Jonas Hometown: Fredericksburg, Virginia Song: “Gold in the Sand” Album:The Rise and Fall of American Kitsch Release Date: June 7, 2024 (single); August 9, 2024 (album) Label: Yellow Brick Records
In Their Words: “My dreamy Las Vegas wedding song; it’s an against-all-odds love story, a starry-eyed late-night wedding, the sweet optimism of love at first sight. I pictured a very zoomed-out and very zoomed-in Vegas as I wrote this, a drone image of a city rising from the desert and her hand tightly in his as they walk down the neon-lit midnight strip. We stumbled into Benji Porecki’s bittersweet piano intro during our live-in-the-studio recording session, with fiddle by Bobby Hawk and a tearing solo by guitarist Tim Bray capturing the intimacy and boldness of this love story. The monochromatic gold-washed video by videographer Ryan Poe feels like a retro dream sequence, pairing performance with delicate details.” – Karen Jonas
Track Credits: Written by Karen Jonas. Karen Jonas – Vocals, acoustic guitar Tim Bray – Electric guitar Benji Porecki – Piano Bobby Hawk – Fiddle Seth Morrissey – Bass Ben Tufts – Drums Ahren Buchheister – Pedal steel
Video Credit: Ryan Poe at Oddbox Studios in Fredericksburg, Virginia
Never Come Down, “Mother”
Artist:Never Come Down Hometown: Portland, Oregon Song: “Mother” Album:Greener Pastures Release Date: June 7, 2024
In Their Words: “I wrote ‘Mother’ after finding myself living back at home, at my Mom’s house, and with my sister there, too. I had just left an emotionally turbulent relationship and was kind of broke and starting over at 29, but also extremely hopeful and grateful that I had my life back and could decide what I wanted to do with it. Having my sister and my mother around was really important for me at that time, to get me back to a place of feeling unconditionally loved and safe. The song came out of my subconscious need for those women to tell me what to do and to be there for me as I figured out what to do.
“I feel like it’s a really simple song, actually. I think most of us can relate to needing a parent or a mother figure or somebody that’s not family that’s a mother figure to be guided by. In this day and age, we all need mentors and guides more than ever and the age old wisdom of women, of mothers, of nurturers, of ‘kissing it to make it better’ and softness and the divine feminine.
“I hope all that comes through in this song. Because when I was writing it I wasn’t thinking about all those things, I was just singing my own little mantras out of my head, things that were just making me feel safe and loved. I hope this song makes people feel safe and loved. I hope people relate to it in all the ways that we relate to our mothers. Sometimes it’s hard, sometimes it’s lovely. I think if we all lived like our mothers were still watching over us or were in their presence, we’d all be happier and kinder human beings.” — Crystal Lariza
Video Credit: Ear Trumpet Labs
Kate Prascher, “Mary Ellen”
Artist:Kate Prascher Hometown: Hudson Valley, New York Song: “Mary Ellen” Album:Shake The Dust Release Date: August 30, 2024
In Their Words: “This song names the sensations of a summer’s day when she decides to leave, a taxi ride and the cigarette smoke that both soothes her and sets her free. Banjo and drums and the steady rhythm of driving wheels.” – Kate Prascher
Jaelee Roberts, “Georgia Rain”
Artist:Jaelee Roberts Hometown: Nashville, Tennessee Song: “Georgia Rain” Release Date: June 7, 2024 Label: Mountain Home Music Company
In Their Words: “I wrote ‘Georgia Rain’ after experiencing my first breakup/heartbreak when I was 16 years old. Interestingly enough, I had the melody come to me first and then the lyrics, which isn’t the normal songwriting process for me. I really do love this melody and the little twist in the chord structure. If you know me or have followed my musical journey so far, you know that I absolutely love a good ole heartbreak song and having rain be part of the scenario makes a heartbreak song even more lonesome and sad! When I wrote ‘Georgia Rain’ it really came to me like a movie and the words are really visual and I hope that y’all will be able to hear it and see it along with me when you listen.” – Jaelee Roberts
Track Credits: Jaelee Roberts – Vocals Stephen Mougin – Harmony vocal Byron House – Bass Cody Kilby – Acoustic guitar Andy Leftwitch – Mandolin Stuart Duncan – Fiddle Ron Block – Banjo John Gardner – Drums
Eddie Lee Ryder, “Bad Decisions”
Artist:Eddy Lee Ryder Hometown: Woodstock, New York (current); Irvington, New York (hometown) Song: “Bad Decisions” Album:Sweet Delusions Release Date: June 6, 2024 (single); July 19, 2024 (album)
In Their Words: “The song is a collection of fragments from a story marked by a string of bad decisions, beginning with falling for someone who misled me about their relationship status. However, the song sat in the dust-bin for a long time until I knew it would ultimately be a story about crashing and burning. I began noticing his intense jealousy, which you will find in lines woven into the song like, ‘Don’t ask me how I know those guys you wouldn’t like to know.’ The song is about being reckless and wild, which is the state we were in when we fell for each other. But when I was ready to move past being reckless and wild, to just stay home and watch crime shows together, that’s when he left. So anyways, I’m back to making ‘Bad Decisions’ and it’s going great.” – Eddy Lee Ryder
Track Credits: Written by Eddy Lee Ryder. Produced, Engineered, mixed by Dave Cerminara. Mastered by Adam Ayan.
Daniel Chae – Bass, guitar Dan Bailey – Drums Eddy Lee Ryder – Vocals Rich Hinan – Pedal steel Todd Caldwell – Organs
Photo Credit: Gangstagrass by Melodie Yvonne; Jaelee Roberts by Eric Ahlgrim.
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