Artist:Portair Hometown: Los Angeles via Australia Song: “Alaska” Album:The Ice That Breaks Release Date: December 3, 2021 Label: Nettwerk
In Their Words: “The opening lyric is ‘I’ve never seen an Alaskan sky, I want to see it before I die.’ This song is written about my desire to be with nature, to be disconnected from the insane distractions and terrible habits of the modern world, and to be connected to the real world, which is nature. It’s about pursuing your dreams and truly living a life that is fulfilling. Sometimes we need to get away from the city and deal with our trauma in a way that comes naturally. It’s about living the best life you can, before you die.” — Portair
Artist:Carrie Biell Hometown: Seattle, Washington Song: “California Baby” Album:We Get Along Release Date: February 11, 2022
In Their Words: “This is my pandemic song about feeling cooped up and isolated. I was missing travel and being around loved ones. I wanted to write a song that would feel good to listen to on a road trip in hopes it would give me a sense of traveling. I’m from California and had been feeling a lot of nostalgia for the state and missing my friends and family down there. I’ve always wanted to write a tribute to California and this was a fun one to write during a pandemic.” — Carrie Biell
Artist:The Whitmore Sisters Hometown: residing in Austin, Texas, and Los Angeles, California; from Denton, Texas Song: “The Ballad of Sissy & Porter” Album:Ghost Stories Release Date: January 21, 2022 Label: Red House Records
In Their Words: “Several of the songs on Ghost Stories were inspired from the loss of friends. I penned this tune with Bonnie Montgomery via The House of Songs and it was inspired by the love and close friendship of Chris Porter, a singer-songwriter who died tragically on tour in 2016. Porter was many things to a lot of people, but his humor and his ability to spin a yarn was pretty remarkable. Even when you were present in the events of the story, Porter had a way of telling it that always seemed more interesting than what my mind could recall. The tall tales of Porter live on in the song that is dressed in Cajun fiddle from my sister Eleanor and accordion from Dirk Powell.” – Bonnie Whitmore
Artist:Trousdale Hometown: Los Angeles BUT we’re all originally from different places (Georgia from Los Angeles; Lauren from Bay City, Michigan; Quinn from Saratoga Springs, New York) Song: “Always, Joni” Album:What Happiness Is Release Date: November 12, 2021
In Their Words: “For me, ‘Always, Joni’ is about how a great song at the right time can break your heart in the best kind of way. I always sing it with a bit of joy mixed amongst the sadness, because Joni [Mitchell]’s music truly does break my heart and I can’t help but love it every time.” — Lauren
“I was going through a terrible heartbreak when we wrote this song. The thought of knowing that this person was going on living their life without the thought of me filled me with such a complicated emotion, I couldn’t see outside the pain. To me, ‘Always, Joni’ is a the release of suffering through the strength of honesty.” — Georgia
“When you have a band with three songwriters, you end up having certain songs that pull from an experience you yourself haven’t gone through. ‘Always, Joni’ feels like a song that doesn’t quite belong to me, but I can feel the pain that the three of us have collectively shared about, as well as all the joy and love and loss and pain that bleed out of Joni’s songs. To me, this song is a dedication to both Lauren and Georgia, and to Joni.” — Quinn
This week, we bring you an in-depth dive with vintage roots-n-soul excavator and beloved Illinois-born songwriter Pokey LaFarge. With his trusty guitar on his lap during the talk, taped in his LA breakfast nook, we go through the making of his funky and cheerful new LP, In the Blossom of Their Shade.
For the last decade and change, Pokey LaFarge (born Andrew Heissler in Bloomington-Normal) has crisscrossed the globe making his own brand of historic-minded, literary-tinged folk blues. Europe, especially, has become a second home. From his fashion sense, to his high-cutting delivery, LaFarge seems like he could have stepped out of a road show with Hank Williams and Sister Rosetta Tharpe, and yet, rock luminaries like Jack White saw something deeper than just a player of old-time covers.
Out on his own from a young age, Pokey began busking to get by and soon teamed up with the South City Three to create his first run of albums in 2009. Opening for White got LaFarge in front of huge crowds, and standout records like the danceable Something In The Water (2015) and the darker Rock Bottom Rhapsody (2020) saw him transition from front-porch country folk to muscular jangly rock-n-soul.
If there are a few things that helped the new release In The Blossom of Their Shade come to be, they may have been falling in love again, rediscovering his faith in a higher power, and taking plenty of power naps during his songwriting sessions. During the pandemic, Pokey also began helping the local homeless community in LA.
Stick around to hear an exclusive acoustic performance of his single, “Get It ’Fore It’s Gone.”
Artist:Katie Cole Hometown: Melbourne, Australia, and lives in Nashville, Tennessee Song: “Short Story Long” Release Date: October 15, 2021
In Their Words: “I wrote this song hoping to channel some old school Aretha and Otis, but applying a little more rootsy instrumentation. Honestly, it’s the first song I’ve penned where I take back my power in a relationship and call a spade a spade. I’ve had my share of relationships where I have tolerated too much for too long. So being familiar with the phrase of making a long story short, where you cut to the chase, I started thinking, ‘What if I could flip that to a short story long?’ where things get dragged out. Right then I knew this would have to be a fun and sassy song that really contrasts with my more acoustic and sparse songs. Luckily when my producer Howard Willing and I started tracking, he managed to bring in Cheap Trick’s bass player Tom Petersson to play on this song. I am really proud of this one!” — Katie Cole
Artist:Moot Davis Hometown: Los Angeles, California Song: “Hey Hey” Album:Seven Cities of Gold Release Date: October 22, 2021 Label: Boot Knife Records
In Their Words: “I wrote this song in Nashville in 2002 just before I got signed to Pete Anderson’s Little Dog Records label. It’s a song that I’ve had in my back pocket for a long time, but when I was gathering tunes for this album I took it back out. The song was pretty close to being done, but the chorus needed to be reworked. My girlfriend Katie actually came up with the chorus while she was busy painting one of the large pictures that hangs in our little house.
“The making of the Seven Cities of Gold album was the most fun I’ve ever had in the studio and I think it really comes across on tracks like ‘Hey Hey.’ I was making music with my friends who I’ve known and worked with for years, with no pressure or financial constraints. We recorded it at my drummer Blake Oswald’s home studio and it was very relaxed and heavy on the vodka. I think we were all shocked when it turned out so well, because it was the first time we had ever produced anything on our own. Along with Oswald and myself, we had our past tour manager and studio engineer, Jody Sappington, help us produce and play bass. My longtime guitarist Bill Corvino really gave the album some sharp teeth with his playing while Skip Edwards and Gary Morse added beautiful parts on B3 and pedal steel. Our buddy Al Backstrom (Angela’s husband) did an awesome job mixing the album and laying down some killer harmonies.
“Sometimes projects just come together and it would be really hard to recreate it at any other time. We decided to put the album out now because we are already starting pre-production on the next album, so we felt it was time to get it out of the gate and share it. It’s hard to move forward with a brand new project until the current one is released. Like bullets in a sonic gun, baby!” — Moot Davis
Artist:Jeremy Pinnell Hometown: Southgate, Kentucky Song: “Goodbye L.A.” Album:Goodbye L.A. Release Date: October 1, 2021 Label: SofaBurn Records
In Their Words: “Goodbye L.A. was a special situation. I was introduced to Jonathan Tyler through a mutual friend and I was a little nervous about making a record with Jonathan. But we took a leap of faith and and found out it was the best thing we could’ve done. The feeling of excitement was present in the studio. New songs, new ideas flowing in and then hearing the playback was such a positive experience. I’m excited for people to hear these songs we wrote mostly from being on the road and I hope they enjoy it as much as we enjoyed making it. We’ve worked really hard to make this album. Long hours, hardly any pay, and many nights away from home make this album what it is.” — Jeremy Pinnell
Artist:Jackson+Sellers (Jade Jackson and Aubrie Sellers) Hometown: Los Angeles, CA and Nashville, TN Song: “Hush” Album:Breaking Point Release Date: October 22, 2021 Label: ANTI-
In Their Words: “I really loved [Aubrie Sellers’] voice and asked if she’d be interested in doing a co-write / duet. I wasn’t expecting a response but moments after I sent the message she responded with she’d love to. I knew the song would benefit from heavy female vocal harmonies, but working with Aubrie was such a boost. Collaborating with someone who’s so energetically strong, it gives you even more creativity and license to explore.” — Jade Jackson
Artist:Single Girl, Married Girl Hometown: Los Angeles, California Song: “Wreck Cut Loose” Album:Three Generations of Leaving Release Date: November 19, 2021 Label: Head Bitch Music
In Their Words: “I’ve always loved torch songs and big weepy ballads, especially country ones. ‘Wreck Cut Loose’ lets me belt and sing like the incomparable voices I grew up listening to and have tried to emulate countless times — Ella Fitzgerald, Judy Garland, Tammy Wynette, and Patsy Cline, but in a contemporary musical setting. We didn’t want to sound like an old country or pop vocal song, but the lineage should be obvious.
“Lyrically, it’s about something most people have gone through in their lives — a breakup, but Dan Morosi, our friend and former drummer, who wrote the song, manages to portray the emotional intensity we feel in the aftermath of being dumped through simple, direct language. It sort of fixates on mundane elements that belie the complex feelings being expressed and examined, all the while building to this heartbreaking crescendo.
“For the music video, we wanted a concept that was not gimmicky but a little tongue-in-cheek. It’s literally one shot once the music starts; I’m walking home from being dumped and encounter multiple friends along the way who try to cheer me up, when all I want to do is go home, be alone, and have a really good cry. It’s all to say that we need a little support in our lives during hard times, that we are stronger together. We hope the video feels like a big group hug.” — Chelsey Coy, Single Girl, Married Girl
Photo credit: Anna Azarov
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