Tag: premiere

WATCH: The Ghost of Paul Revere, “Diving Bell”

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Artist: The Ghost of Paul Revere
Hometown: Portland, Maine
Song: “Diving Bell”
Album: Good at Losing Everything
Release Date: August 28, 2020
Label: GOPR Records

In Their Words: “‘Diving Bell’ was written to process a painful decision made with best intent. At the time I was struggling with partnership, and more honestly, the general concept of connectivity. It was around this period that I heard Nate DiMeo’s historical narrative on the construction of the Brooklyn Bridge called “Below, From Above.” His piece, inspired by David McCullough’s The Great Bridge, put a humanistic element on the lengths we can go to, physically and metaphorically, to bridge gaps. I became fixated on the idea that the most grueling and necessary work to complete that connection, was done in a vacuum, at the bottom of the East River.” — Max Davis, The Ghost of Paul Revere

Photo credit: Lauryn Hottinger

LISTEN: John Fullbright, “Crossing Over”

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Artist: John Fullbright
Hometown: Born in Bearden, Oklahoma; lives in Tulsa, Oklahoma
Song: “Crossing Over” (written by Steve Ripley)
Album: Back to Paradise: A Tulsa Tribute to Okie Music
Release Date: August 28, 2020
Label: Horton Records

In Their Words: “I played various keyboards and acoustic guitar, percussion, and sang a bunch of stuff — I was all over the map on the record. I picked out ‘If the Shoe Fits’ by Leon Russell because I’m pretty sure that song was recorded at Paradise Studio and it’s about that place. I did an audible at the last minute and recorded a Hoyt Axton song called ‘Jealous Man.’ We wound up doing it in one take, which always feels nice. I thought the selection was great — we went from the obscure to stuff that everybody knows.

“I also recorded a song called ‘Crossing Over’ by Steve Ripley. Yeah, it’s my buddy, Steve. It’s literally a song about him going on to the next thing, and right after, he went on to the next thing. There was a tape glitch sound when we were recording it that was just subtle enough that everyone just turned and looked at each other. It was so subtle that it wouldn’t mess up everything else. It was just a little ‘Hey guys,’ ‘Hey kids.’ That was Steve.

“I’d heard about Leon’s Grand Lake Studio for a long time. It was a lot cooler and vibier than I had expected. I didn’t know that so many of the records that I really like were recorded there. So, walking around the place, and just kinda feeling it out, it was almost as good as being there back in the day. This is a snapshot in time of the Tulsa music scene that is very eclectic and very talented. And it’s a city that obviously doesn’t forget its roots, its past, and celebrates it and builds on it.” — John Fullbright

Photo credit: Phil Clarkin

WATCH: James Lee Baker, “100 Summers”

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Artist: James Lee Baker
Hometown: Amarillo, Texas. Currently living in Denver, Colorado.
Song: “100 Summers”
Album: 100 Summers
Release Date: September 4, 2020

In Their Words: “The last few years of my life I have been on a personal journey to discover my place in existence. In this infinitely expanding and massive, hostile universe, my perspective has changed from one of fear to one of acceptance. In all of the chaos surrounding us, we are capable through our own free will of creating our own paradise and sharing it with others. It is in this life that we should strive to find happiness, not defer such joy of existence until after our inevitable deaths.

“All the things I own are temporary — my house, the money in my bank account, my car, my guitars. All of it will cease to matter at some point and … was it ever mine to begin with anyways? I am just trading one thing for another in the end. All I really have right now is the present moment and in a flash that could be taken from me, so why should I spend that time daydreaming about being somewhere else or wanting something I don’t have?

“I could ask for so many things but I’ve been there and I know that I will not be fulfilled. ‘If I could have one wish, it would be to live a life full of meaning and wonder for 100 Summers.’ It would be a life spent investing into the most important thing in existence — being alive and enjoying the tender moments of it with those that I love.” — James Lee Baker

Photo credit: Delaney Gibson

LISTEN: Dianne Davidson, “Sounds of the City”

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Artist: Dianne Davidson
Hometown: Nashville, Tennessee
Song: “Sounds Of The City”
Album: Perigon: Full Circle
Release Date: August 28, 2020
Label: Perigon Music

In Their Words: “I was 19 or 20. I was already being a bit beaten up by the business. I spent two weeks on the road with The Moody Blues as opening act while I was touring my third album, Mountain Mama. Sometimes on those quick one-nighter tours, you can lose your bearings and realize you don’t quite know where you are. I was in a high-rise hotel, down below was traffic and noise and people milling about. I felt like a lost soul and wrote the song to center myself again. As fate would have it, I never recorded it until now. I was fortunate enough to have it recorded by Tracy Nelson on her Homemade Songs album in 1978. I was so grateful for her version of it. I knew I needed to do it on this record. It just belonged. The feeling just poured out and I was blessed with the beauty of my friends who played and sang on it. The B3 player, Austin Wireman, wasn’t even born when I wrote it. Full Circle.” — Dianne Davidson

Photo provided by the artist.

WATCH: Bruce Robison & Kelly Willis, “Tennessee Blues”

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Artist: Bruce Robison & Kelly Willis
Hometown: Austin, Texas
Song: “Tennessee Blues”
Release Date: August 27, 2020
Label: The Next Waltz

In Their Words: “Nikki Lane mentioned ‘Tennessee Blues’ to me probably four years ago and that was the first time I heard of Bobby Charles. I realized I had heard the song by Doug Sahm over the years. It is one of those tunes that after first listen you know it would be incredible for harmonies, and it is. I think the greatest songs are effortless to play and even easier to sing. ‘Tennessee Blues’ is that. Bobby Charles is an artist that should be much better known, but occasionally discovering those artists and songs is about my second favorite thing in life.” — Bruce Robison

Photo credit: Todd V. Wolfson

LISTEN: The Sea The Sea, “Rainstorm”

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Artist: The Sea The Sea (Mira & Chuck e. Costa)
Hometown: Troy, New York
Song: “Rainstorm”
Album: Stumbling Home
Release Date: August 28, 2020
Label: AntiFragile Music

In Their Words: “There is a love story in this song — about trying to find your person in the world, yourself in the world, your way in the world. The first time Chuck and I sang together, a storm rolled in. And it’s taken me awhile to find how to write about it in a way that felt right, but there’s something about how it physically feels before a storm that feels akin to some deep level of knowing — something is about to happen, or it’s already happening. This song is also about what it feels like to turn away from or be lost in that instinct, and then find your way back to it again. Chuck and I lost touch for a few years after we met; I wasn’t playing music almost at all during that time. So this is also a love song to the thousands of times we have to lose our way sometimes to find our way back.” — Mira, The Sea The Sea

Photo credit: Kiki Vassilakis

LISTEN: Decoration Day, “Harry Goes to War”

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Artist: Decoration Day
Hometown: Toronto, Ontario
Song: “Harry Goes to War”
Album: Makeshift Future
Release Date: September 18, 2020

In Their Words: “A few months before he died, my grandpa sent me a typewritten letter in the mail with the title ‘Anti-Dementia Memoir #4.’ Every one of the grandkids had gotten one — it was just his charming way of preserving his memories and keeping his mind sharp until the end. The letter recounts his times as a soldier in the Canadian Army during World War II. There is quite a range in the two short pages; he writes about a joyous weekend playing hooky from the army camp, and also about the weight of being forced to burn the instruments of prisoners of war, who would later go on to open their own businesses in Canada. The story flowed in such a natural, folk-like way that I knew it had to be adapted into a song. When I hear it back now, it doesn’t feel like anything I’ve written, but instead like a piece of family lore that’s always existed.” — Justin Orok, Decoration Day

Photo credit: Brianna Roye

WATCH: Adam Chaffins, “Who I Am” (Live)

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Artist: Adam Chaffins
Hometown: 10 years+ Nashvillian (Eastern Kentucky native, from Louisa, Kentucky)
Song: “Who I Am” (Live)
Album: Some Things Won’t Last
Label: Chaffins Music

In Their Words: “A lot of my influence as a songwriter comes from torch songs. Keith Whitley sang a lot of them, like ‘I’ll Be Your Stepping Stone’ with J.D. Crowe & the New South. Songs of eternal pining for a love. ‘Who I Am’ is a torch song with a lot more brutal honesty to the torcheé. I started playing this version supporting John Hiatt on the road in 2019. It’s as bare-bones as a song can get.” — Adam Chaffins

Photo credit: Melissa Stillwell

LISTEN: The Texicana Mamas, “Lo Siento Mi Vida”

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Artist: The Texicana Mamas (Tish Hinojosa, Stephanie Urbina Jones, and Patricia Vonne)
Hometown: San Antonio, Texas
Song: “Lo Siento Mi Vida”
Album: The Texicana Mamas
Release Date: August 21, 2020
Label: The Texicana Mamas

In Their Words: “I was hooked on Linda Ronstadt’s music from the first time I heard ‘Different Drum’ in 1967 when I was 12 years old. When I heard her sing ‘Lo Siento Mi Vida’ for the first time in 1976; as a fledgling folk singer myself at that time, I grew a whole new admiration for her artistry as a writer, as a sister, as a Latina. This poignant, tender song sung in Spanish captured the perfect essence of the romanticism of the beautiful Spanish language and sentiment. I am so pleased that our group, The Texicana Mamas, had the opportunity to pay tribute to Linda though recording her song.” — Tish Hinojosa, The Texicana Mamas

Photo credit: Emma Trejo

LISTEN: Adam Wright, “Darlene”

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Artist: Adam Wright
Hometown: Newnan, Georgia
Song: “Darlene”
Album: I Win
Release Date: October 9, 2020
Label: De Casa

In Their Words: I don’t really remember how this song started. Most of my character songs come from something I see or hear and then develop in the notebook later. My grandfather was a mechanic and I guess I have a bit of an affinity for them. I have several songs where the character works on cars. I just like this guy’s attitude. He badly needs this girl to make him feel better. He’s just had it with everything. I can relate. ” — Adam Wright

Photo credit: Shannon Wright