Tag: premiere

STREAM: Dravus House, ‘Dravus House’

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Artist: Dravus House
Hometown: Seattle, Washington
Album: Dravus House
Release Date: April 19, 2019

In Their Words: “We recorded this record on Bainbridge Island, just across Puget Sound from Seattle. In some of the songs you can hear the hints of the island forest. We would pause after recording each song, and we could hear the sounds of the rain and the wind in the trees. It’s in the spirit of the recording. This is our debut album, and it feels really special to share with the world. These songs are reflections on the lifelong journey of finding wholeness within yourself, of thinking of yourself as more than the sum of your parts. I feel closer to feeling whole when I get to play and sing the songs I’ve written on this record with Cooper. His sensitive tone and melodic style that weave through the songs compound the feelings of joy I feel when singing and playing. I hope that this record helps people find a sort of a self-acceptance from any perceived shortcomings or feelings of unworthiness, and that they’ll have a moment’s peace and reflection.” — Elena Loper

“There’s a melancholic feeling, and the sense of introspection on the record, yet is comes with a silver lining. I hope that people who meditate on the record will feel that and find it comforting.” — Cooper Stouli

Photo credit: Kendall Rock

LISTEN: Grizzly Goat, “Time”

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Artist: Grizzly Goat
Hometown: Provo, Utah
Song: “Time”
Release Date: April 19, 2019

In Their Words: “Too often we overload ourselves with tasks, reducing relationships to checklist items, and wearing our business like a badge of honor. We excuse our behaviors with phrases like ‘I don’t have time’ and never allow ourselves to be still, scrolling on our phones whenever there is a momentary pause. Our culture has sold us on the lie that the more we work and the more we own, the happier we will be; and we say, ‘To hell with that.’ When we recorded this song, we we made a purpose-driven decision not to rush but to take as much time as necessary to perfect the recording. How else could we have claimed the song was a genuine reflection of our values?” — Grizzly Goat

Photo Credit: Ryan Carter

LISTEN: Andy Hedges, “Song of the Cuckoo”

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Artist: Andy Hedges
Hometown: Lubbock, Texas
Song: “Song of the Cuckoo”
Album: Shadow of a Cowboy
Release Date: April 16, 2019

In Their Words: “I first heard the name Billy Faier in Ramblin’ Jack Elliott’s song ‘912 Greens’ about an epic road trip he and some friends made across the Southern United States. I met Billy after playing a show in Alpine, Texas, immediately recognizing his name from ‘912 Greens.’ Billy was born in Brooklyn, spent most of his life based in Woodstock, but always wanted to live in the desert so as an old man he moved to Marathon, Texas. Billy had traveled with Ramblin’ Jack and Woody Guthrie on Woody’s last trip across the US. He was the first person to interview Dylan on the radio. He taught a song to Dave Van Ronk and Pete Seeger once said that he was the best banjo player he had ever heard. Billy and I became fast friends and had some great adventures together. When he passed a few years ago, I ended up with his beautiful old guitar. I played Billy’s guitar on this recording of his song and it seemed fitting to tag it with a line from ‘912 Greens,’ the song that connected me to Billy in the first place: ‘Did you ever stand and shiver just because you were lookin’ at a river?'” — Andy Hedges

Photo credit: David Tau

LISTEN: Jontavious Willis, “Take Me to the Country”

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Artist: Jontavious Willis
Hometown: Greenville, Georgia
Song: “Take Me to the Country”
Album: Spectacular Class
Release Date: April 5, 2019
Label: Kind of Blue Music

In Their Words: “The past 22 years of my life and the places I’ve seen are what inspired this song. No matter where I go in the world, I can’t wait to go back to the country. For me, that special place is a rural southern town in Georgia where I grew up. It’s such a quiet and calm place, and somewhere I crave when I’m far from it. I hope you enjoy and follow me to to the country.” –Jontavious Willis

Photo credit: Jeremy Cowart

LISTEN: Pinto Bennett, “I Needed a Lot”

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Artist: Pinto Bennett
Hometown: Boise, Idaho
Song: “I Needed a Lot”
Album: The Last Saturday Night
Release Date: April 5, 2019

In Their Words: “I was the man so I needed a lot. I needed a lot of women. A lot of booze. A lot of everything. It’s a happy way to say you messed up.” — Pinto Bennett

LISTEN: David Quinn, “Grassy Trails”

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Artist: David Quinn
Hometown: Chicago, Illinois
Song: “Grassy Trails”
Album: Wanderin’ Fool
Release Date: April 5, 2019

In Their Words: “‘Grassy Trails’ was a lot of fun to record. It was right in everyone’s wheelhouse stylistically. Dave Roe and Jimmy Lester really were the perfect guys for this track. They set the pace for the rhythm and Jon Estes came in and laid down some nice pedal steel. If you listen close, Jimmy Lester plays my favorite bell pattern in that second chorus. This song has taken a few different shapes since I wrote it but it is one I always play at every show. I know it’s cliché to say this but I have loved trains since I was a kid and always dreamt about riding the rails. I use to go out and sit next to the tracks when I was younger and just watch the trains go by up close. That’s really where the song came from. I grew up reading Jack Kerouac and other beat writers and hearing about their adventures on trains. Those stories always stuck with me and created a feeling I have been chasing ever since. It seemed fit to put it on this record, Wanderin’ Fool.” — David Quinn

Photo credit: Jess Myers

WATCH: Mike Robinson, “Can’t Come Home”

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Artist: Mike Robinson
Hometown: Brooklyn, New York
Song: “Can’t Come Home”
Album: Clevidence

In Their Words: “‘Can’t Come Home’ was written in hotels across the country. Moving from place to place both exciting and isolating for me. This seems pretty obvious and of course I was expecting to feel homesick while touring, but I was still taken by surprise by how profound loneliness can get. I turned to songwriting to try and detail the specific feelings. Luckily enough for me, the low points were infrequent enough that I could just feel them pass over me and come out unscathed.” — Mike Robinson

Photo credit: Justin Camerer

LISTEN: Kelly Augustine, “Seeds of Hope”

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Artist: Kelly Augustine
Hometown: Denver, Colorado
Song: “Seeds of Hope”
Album: Light in the Lowlands
Release Date: April 5, 2019

In Their Words: “I was under the gun! When I got to the studio, my producer, Wes Sharon, dropped one of the songs I thought we were going to put on the record. I was playing him a bunch of other stuff I’d been working on, and when I played this one for him — I had a verse and chorus — he stopped me and said, ‘I like it — go finish it.’ So, that’s what I did. I’d been struggling with the song for a while and wasn’t sure where it wanted to go. I was surprised at how much I liked it when it finally came together.

“Some people we meet change us. I met somebody like that. We walked the road together for a time, holding each other up. I am who I am today in large part because of him. As [it] happens, we went our separate ways. But that doesn’t lessen the beauty or strength of his impact on my life. He planted seeds in my life that have bloomed into flowers, and, for that, I am forever grateful.” — Kelly Augustine

Photo credit: Scott McCormick

LISTEN: Tyler Ramsey, “Evening Country”

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Artist: Tyler Ramsey
Hometown: Asheville, North Carolina
Song: “Evening Country”
Album: For the Morning
Release Date: April 5, 2019
Label: Fantasy Records

In Their Words: “A couple of years ago my band and I started messing around with some of my older and more pared-down songs and trying to bring them into a band setting. ‘Evening Kitchen’ was a song that I had written for the Band of Horses record Infinite Arms and when we did that record it stood out because it was in contrast with the rest of the album and really bare bones. A lot of that album was lushly produced and I thought having the song recorded with a single acoustic guitar and vocals would help balance things. It worked well in the sequence of that album and led to a lot of the more intimate moments in our live shows and the direction we headed in for the live Ryman acoustic album.

“This version, called ‘Evening Country,’ was a way to reimagine the song and a chance to put it into a new frame with some truly amazing musicians. It was recorded in Louisville, Kentucky, with Seth Kauffman (Floating Action), Kevin Ratterman (Lalaland Studio, My Morning Jacket, Ray Lamontagne), and I doing the basic tracking. Seth had worked with pedal steel guitarist Russ Pahl before and we were able to get him to play on it (I still jump up and down when I hear his playing!). And the goosebump-inducing harmony vocals were sung by Molly Parden and Thad Cockrell and recorded at the Fleetwood Shack in Nashville by my old friend Bill Reynolds (former Band of Horses bassist). The opportunity to revisit this song in the way that we did has given it a new energy for me as well as new meaning.

“A wild memory of this song: years ago we were playing at Bonnaroo after Infinite Arms had been released. We finished our set and climbed down off the stage and our manager came up and told us to go back up and play a couple more songs because Bruce Springsteen had come onto our side stage to watch us play just as we were walking off. We ran back up and ended up playing ‘Evening Kitchen’ last, and all I could think about the whole time was that there was Bruce Springsteen standing fifteen feet away from me and watching us play this song I’d written — don’t f*ck it up! We made it through and headed back down off the stage and there he was with that Bruce Springsteen smile and handshakes all around. Our monitor man Jon Cronin told me afterwards that he heard Bruce say ‘That’s a good song!’ That’s enough for me!” — Tyler Ramsey

Photo credit: Jameykay and Arlie

WATCH: Jordie Lane, “The Winner” (Feat. Clare Reynolds)

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Artist: Jordie Lane feat. Clare Reynolds
Hometown: Melbourne, Australia (Based in Nashville, Tennessee)
Song: “The Winner” – Live from Cobargo Folk Festival, NSW
Album: Lost EP
EP Release Date: June 7, 2019
Label: Blood Thinner Records / Tone Tree Music

In Their Words: “I started writing this song feeling sorry for myself, eating tacos and drinkin’ beers in a motel room in Joshua Tree, California. But when Clare Reynolds turned it into a duet with me, the whole thing took on a new perspective. It became less about self-pity and more about how to feel alive, and how to love. We were lucky enough to play recently in this rural town of 700 people, at the Cobargo Folk Festival in New South Wales, Australia, just a 12,500km stone’s throw southwest of California. And the good people at Yuin Folk Club & Pegleg Productions captured this live video in the local hall as the first of a series they are doing called the Cobargo Sessions.” — Jordie Lane

Photo credit: Tajette O’Halloran