Tag: roots rock

LISTEN: Great Peacock, ‘Rattlesnake’

Posted on by Editor

Artist: Great Peacock
Hometown: Nashville, TN
Song: “Rattlesnake ”
Album: Gran Pavo Real
Release Date: March 30, 2018
Label: Rope-a-dope

In Their Words: “‘Rattlesnake,’ put simply, is about addiction, The ‘rattlesnake, lion, and apple’ is the demon that one wrestles, whatever it may be. You can feel helpless in the situation.

This song has one of my favorite lyric passages we’ve ever had — the second verse starts with ‘There is a Lion, lyin’ ’round, lying through his teeth,’ the alliteration and how it rolls out, kind of like a tongue twister … I just fell in love with. Recording wise, the bass line that Tom [Blankenship from My Morning Jacket] came up with just floored me. It’s so him but on one of our songs. It was definitely a moment of everything coming together.” — Blount Floyd

Photo credit: Kris Skoda

LISTEN: Fairbanks & the Lonesome Light, ‘Pieces’

Posted on by Editor

Artist: Fairbanks & the Lonesome Light
Hometown: Austin, TX
Song: “Pieces”
Album: Nothing to Escape
Release Date: August 25, 2017

In Their Words: “‘Pieces’ is one of those songs that kind of wrote itself in a very short amount of time. I was just at the beginning of my decision to try and steer away from drinking and was wrestling with the two versions of my drinking reality: The romanticized freedom and beautiful chaos that was undoubtedly real, on one hand, and the terrifying ugliness and fairly un-poetic destruction that was becoming undeniable, on the other.

This little place that I describe in the song seems to still have both elements floating around in it — an identifiable romantic notion of throwing caution to the wind and embracing the visceral gamble and a sort of self-awareness that the dream is starting to show frayed edges and is coming apart at the seams, letting the light of a painful reality peek through. At the end of the song is a declaration that, in both worlds, at my best, and at my very worst, the single unwavering thing was my love for everyone — even the ones I hurt along the way — and the unlikely hope that maybe they saw that love, despite all my behavior to the contrary. It’s a dangerously vulnerable song and I considered not recording it, but Amelia gave me the assurance I needed to put it out there.” — Erik Flores

Photo credit: Barbara Frigiere

WATCH: The Deadmen, ’55 Days’

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Artist: The Deadmen
Hometown: Washington, DC
Song: “55 Days”
Album: The Deadmen
Release Date: June 9, 2017
Label: 8 Gang Switch

In Their Words: “’55 Days’ is a 21st-century murder ballad about a man adrift in New Orleans on a current of moral ambiguity. It serves as a soundtrack to filmmaker Patrick Mason’s short about an escaped convict attempting to return to a past that no longer wants him.” — Justin Hoben

The Mastersons, ‘Don’t Tell Me to Smile’

Posted on by Editor

“You should smile more.”

Any woman who’s ever walked around with less than a permanent, pageant-ready, toothy grin has heard this many times: Smile more, and you’ll look more beautiful. Smile more, don’t be so serious. Smile more, and you could be president. Yes, even Hillary Clinton wasn’t immune, constantly told by pundits and politicians to turn her frown upside down (and then, when she did, she was told she smiled too much). But really, it’s bigger than the appearance of a happy face. There’s a universal discomfort with intelligent, strong women, and, in so many ways, telling one to “smile more” is a nicer way to say that we should focus on being pretty, not smart. Pretty, and not powerful.

“Don’t Tell Me to Smile” from husband-wife duo the Mastersons was written by Eleanor Whitmore after a woman — yes, another woman — yelled at her to smile more from the crowd. From their new record, Transient Lullaby, it’s about being sick of hearing others tell you how to appear or act when they really should be listening instead of looking. Here, Whitmore’s talking about life on the stage, but it’s a universal experience she shares, told with a bit of Liz Phair sass in a rich, roots-rock package and a lush hook. “Don’t tell me to smile. I will if I want,” Whitmore sings alongside backing from her partner Chris Masterson. Pretty, and powerful.  

STREAM: The Whiskey Gentry, ‘Dead Ringer’

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Artist: The Whiskey Gentry
Hometown: Atlanta, GA
Album: Dead Ringer
Release Date: April 7, 2017
Label: Pitch-a Tent Records

In Their Words: “Everyone says ‘You write what you know,’ and I definitely think the songs on Dead Ringer tell stories of the people we’ve met, experiences we’ve had (both good and bad), and challenges we’ve faced during the last decade of being in this band. Musically and lyrically, we took bigger risks on this record: There’s more of an edge and sass to it. We stopped caring if we said a curse word or if the guitars were too loud or if a note wasn’t executed perfectly. If we wanted to try something different, we did — no matter if it fit in our ‘genre’ or not. Ultimately, I think Dead Ringer has a vibe and a sound that finally seems to truly reflect who we are as people and musicians. We’re immensely happy with the outcome.” — Lauren Staley

Ha Ha Tonka, ‘Height of My Fears’

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Let’s face it: We’re all getting older. Even in the second it took you to read this, you’re one second closer to the inevitable end. It’s a fact, as much as it is a burden, that can be made a little lighter depending on how you view things: We’re either busy being born or busy dying, as Bob Dylan once said. You certainly can’t be both.

Missouri-based Ha Ha Tonka has been a band for over a decade now, and 10 years in rock years is more like 40 to us regular humans. They’ve gone through all the trappings of adulthood — marriage, birth, death — while realizing that none of these things are anything remotely similar to how you imagine them, coming out with the set of songs on their most recent release, Heart-Shaped Mountain. It’s on “Height of My Fears” where we realize that this mountain — cased in lush keys, their signature rich, rootsy harmonies, and powerful percussion — is not an easy one to climb. “Canyons carved out by rivers of tears,” sings Brian Roberts, “mountains rise up to the height of my fears.” Music sometimes makes us feel invincible, but not even the best melody can cheat death. Roberts feels this weight, as we all do, with insecurities and the unsettling reality of destiny pulling hard. But we can scale that mountain and face down what terrifies us most, or we can tumble down. Ha Ha Tonka shows us a way to keep climbing. Our feet may drag, the air may thin, and the future be nothing if not uncertain, but it’s always possible to keep being born, from our first breath to our last.

‘Back to Birth’

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On this Steve Berlin-produced longplayer, Jackie Greene adeptly inhabits the same neighborhood of fashionable yet forthright pop and roll that was built 40 years ago by Andrew Gold and Stephen Bishop and has been regularly reinhabited by the likes of Matt Nathanson and Howie Day.

Greene’s somewhat more soulful, though — more a mix of Daryl Hall with Amos Lee — and that adds considerable strength to tunes like the opener, “Silver Lining.” Southern Cali oohs-and-aahs anchor the song’s semi-funky harp as well as its Hall and Oates hand-me-down groove, as Greene bids goodbye to Bowling Green. “Now I Can See for Miles” is a head bopper and toe tapper that rings with the same sunny ocean shimmer as Robbie Dupree did when he stole away. “A Face Among the Crowd” is a pretty ballad, albeit with some platitude-packed poetry, while “Light Up Your Window” settles into a nice backbeat. “Trust Somebody” draws on the Philly soul ballad with considerable strength, while “Motorhome,” one of the rootsiest songs of the set, takes to the road with an easy attitude. One of the most beautiful songs on the record, his rendition of “Hallelujah,” features Greene singing softly in his upper register to start and then breaking into the full-on gospel clap and praise at the finish. He gets the blues on “Where the Downhearted Go” — a touch of Memphis contained therein — then balances the ballad against the beach on the ebb and tide of “You Can’t Have Bad Luck All the Time.”

Though the words sometimes hang on the precipice of prosaic — and the band members seems a little gentile about their intentions at times — this is a nice record that mixes well with many of the aforementioned musos. If he’s half as good live as Amos Lee, this’ll be a fun record to hear in concert.

 

3×3: Wayne Hancock on Steel Guitars, Thunderstorms, and Toking while Touring

Posted on by Amy Reitnouer

Artist: Wayne Hancock
Hometown: Denton, TX
Latest Album: Slingin’ Rhythm 
Personal Nicknames: The Train

Your house is burning down and you can grab only one thing — what would you save?
My guitar.

If you weren't a musician, what would you be?
A convict.

If a song started playing every time you entered the room, what would you want it to be?
“Seven Nights to Rock” by Moon Mullican

What is the one thing you can’t survive without on tour?
Weed. And that’s the truth.

If you were an instrument, which one would you be?
Steel guitar. When they’re played right, they’re extremely loud.

Who is your favorite superhero?
I guess Mighty Mouse. 

Vinyl or digital?
Vinyl. I just swing that way.

Which primary color is the best — blue, yellow, or red?
Blue. Let’s go with that. There’s something nice about blue.

Summer or Winter?
Summer. I like thunderstorms. I like lightning and severe weather. I like the excitement.

LISTEN: Michigan Rattlers, ‘Sweet Diane’

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Artist: Michigan Rattlers
Hometown: Petoskey, MI
Song: “Sweet Diane”
Album: Michigan Rattlers
Release Date: Fall 2016

In Their Words: “The story of ‘Sweet Diane,’ as a whole, is fictional, but there's a lot of real stuff tied up in there. It’s the story of a woman who has experienced love and then loss in her life — something most all of us have felt, at some point. And it's about the struggle of her trying to move forward and her really coming to terms with the fact that life does go on. The past is always going to be with you, but it doesn't have to stop you from having new experiences. Ultimately, it's a hopeful song.” — Adam Reed

Photo credit: Shelby Goldstein

LISTEN: Waiting for Henry, ‘Town Called Patience’

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Artist: Waiting for Henry
Hometown: New York, NY
Song: "Town Called Patience"
Album: Town Called Patience
Release Date: August 26
Label: Mighty Hudson Music

In Their Words: "'Town Called Patience' is our big protest song about not forgetting the small things … like listening to each other. I feel like we’ve got ourselves bound into such an incredibly powerful 'me' culture, that we end up creating all this traffic of insanely high expectations for everything and everyone. Then we get stuck in that traffic. Then we miss all the exits. Can’t miss those exits." — David Slomin

Photo credit: Mitch Easter