Tag: Song Premiere

LISTEN: Jeremy Pinnell, “Goodbye L.A.”

Posted on by Editor

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

Photo credit: Melissa Fields

WATCH: Digging Roots, “Cut My Hair”

Posted on by Editor

Artist: Digging Roots
Hometown: Barrie, Ontario, Canada
Song: “Cut My Hair”
Album: Zhawenim
Release Date: 2022
Label: Ishkōdé Records

In Their Words: “‘Cut My Hair’ is a mishkiki (medicine) song about the Indian Residential School experience which is directly linked to genocide, colonialism, oppression, and the actions that this country is built upon. While our families were taken from their homes and sent to these horrible Canadian institutions, we were the last generation to not attend, but consequently suffer from over 100 years of generational effects. With the growing present findings of over 6,000 buried children at Residential Schools across Canada this song was written as an attempt to focus our energies in a positive and grounded direction. Where does one go when one’s people have suffered this much? It gets funnelled into belting out lyrics that feel meaningful and playing slide guitar until my bellbottoms quiver because the amplifier is cranked. We believe in the transformative power of music and its healing effects, this is our offering.” — Raven Kanatakta, Digging Roots

Photo credit: Ratul Debnath

LISTEN: Fireside Collective, “And the Rain Came Down”

Posted on by Editor

Artist: Fireside Collective
Hometown: Asheville, North Carolina
Song: “And the Rain Came Down”
Release Date: September 24, 2021
Label: Mountain Home Music Company

In Their Words: “A few years back, I was listening to a story on NPR about some of the intensifying storms that had been hitting the coastal regions of the Southeast. At one point, the host said ‘the rain came down, and the rain came down…’ and for some reason it stuck with me. I jotted it down in my notebook and started thinking of ways to use it in a song. It didn’t hit me until about a month into COVID, when there was still so much uncertainty and nobody really knew what was going to happen. It just so happened that I had recently begun reading the Old Testament from a historical/analytical perspective and the story of the Great Flood in Genesis seemed to resonate with our current times. I started thinking of the whole experience as a paradigm shifting event, much like the events of Genesis. There were so many parallels between the never-ending storms of Noah’s time and the sociopolitical events that took place during the first few months of the pandemic.

“Despite the song’s somber overtones and the uncertainty of the story, there is still a message of hope. The sailor in the song seems to understand that despite the endless storms and the rising waters, behind the clouds the light still shines. He keeps pushing on despite the challenges he faces with hopes of a brighter day. Many people in the music industry were forced to find silver linings and to push through the storms in the last year and a half. Fireside Collective has found many ways to reinvent ourselves and to use the situation to better ourselves. Even though we still face unprecedented challenges, we are fortunate to be able to still create music and find ways to share our art with the world. We are beyond thrilled to release ‘And the Rain Came Down’ and we are so delighted to be able to record new music. We know there are brighter days ahead and we have never appreciated the ability to play music for a living as much as we do right now.” — Jesse Iaquinto, Fireside Collective

Photo credit: Jace Kartye

LISTEN: Tammy Rogers & Thomm Jutz, “I Surely Will Be Singing”

Posted on by Editor

Artist: Tammy Rogers & Thomm Jutz
Hometown: Nashville, Tennessee
Song: “I Surely Will Be Singing”
Album: Surely Will Be Singing
Release Date: September 21, 2021
Label: Mountain Fever Records

In their Words: “We wrote this song at the beginning of the pandemic. We both noticed how much more we paid attention to bird life when everything slowed down. We also talked about the fact that while music is a career choice, it is important to continuously find joy in making music, without the need for outside approval — like a bird that sings to himself, with no regard for applause. This is a hymn to nature, and to the spirit of human resilience in the face of adversity.” — Tammy Rogers & Thomm Jutz

Photo credit: Anthony Scarlatti

LISTEN: Rod Gator, “Out Here in Echo Park”

Posted on by Editor

Artist: Rod Gator (aka Rod Melancon)
Hometown: Wright, Louisiana
Song: “Out Here in Echo Park”
Album: For Louisiana
Release Date: September 17, 2021
Label: Blue Élan Records

In Their Words: “I wrote ‘Out Here in Echo Park’ during my last year living in Echo Park. Every evening I’d walk five miles down to the L.A. River and sit along the bank. It was one of the most peaceful times of my life. During the walk I’d hear Spanish music playing from windows and watch the sun slowly set. East L.A. means a lot to me. It’s where I go in my mind when I feel overwhelmed. I picture myself sitting along the L.A. River. I miss Echo Park everyday. It’s the place where I finally began to feel comfortable in my own skin.” — Rod Gator

Photo credit: David McClister

LISTEN: Tommy Castro, “I Caught a Break”

Posted on by Editor

Artist: Tommy Castro
Hometown: San Jose, California
Song: “I Caught a Break”
Album: Tommy Castro Presents A Bluesman Came To Town
Release Date: September 17, 2021
Label: Alligator Records

In Their Words: “‘I Caught a Break’ is part of the story that is A Bluesman Came to Town. It came out of a writing session with Tom Hambridge and Richard Fleming. After much hard work and few setbacks the young man in the story finally has some success. It’s a classic rock ‘n’ roll tune. I can hear the influence of cats like Chuck Berry, Keith Richards, and maybe even a little Jimmy Vaughan on this. This was a fun track to play guitar and sing. It comes along in the story right when we needed a shift in tempo and groove.” — Tommy Castro

Photo credit: Victoria Smith

LISTEN: Alisa Amador, “Burnt and Broken”

Posted on by Editor

Artist: Alisa Amador
Hometown: Boston, Massachusetts
Song: “Burnt and Broken”
Album: Narratives EP
Release Date: September 17, 2021

In Their Words: “This song is about rape culture and toxic masculinity: ‘What a world we live in with its endless charms / Blinded lies keep winning over open arms / Sticks and stones and systems built to cause you harm.’ However, this song can be used as a lens with which to examine myriad systems of oppression. Violence stems from fear, and fear grows from a lack of understanding. ‘The bruise of words unspoken’ illustrates the pain caused by an absence of conversation around these violences. Systematic violence is designed to trick you and distract you (‘a ruse, a plume of smoke’) from the reality: ‘the truth is burnt and broken.’

“The arrangement of this song is intentionally spare, like the exposed framework of a house after a fire. It is a fitting metaphor for this song: a hard look at the violence of misogyny, as Kaiti Jones, Hayley Sabella, and I stand among the wreckage, singing with broken hearts, and hot anger pulsing through us. We had to record our vocals apart from one another, but every time I hear this song, I feel stronger and broken open at the same time. Their voices are so poignant on this song.” — Alisa Amador

Photo credit: Jacquelyn Marie

LISTEN: The Barefoot Movement, “Back Behind the Wheel”

Posted on by Editor

Artist: The Barefoot Movement
Hometown: Nashville, Tennessee
Song: “Back Behind the Wheel”
Album: Pressing Onward
Release Date: September 17, 2021
Label: Bonfire Music Group

In Their Words: “‘Back Behind the Wheel’ is basically a dialogue with myself where I’m expressing my fears and then bolstering myself up. This is a theme in a lot of my songs, and especially on this album. I am by nature a pretty hopeful person; even when I allow myself to feel the full weight of whatever I’m despairing over, somehow I just can’t let that part of me be the ultimate winner. So it’s that idea of letting yourself feel what you need to feel, but not allowing that to be the end of the journey. Because unless you just give up, the only way to move is forward. I wrote the song about my experiences in the music industry, but I think it’s a universal concept. The chorus says, ‘When it comes to this, I don’t know what it means to quit.’ The listener can allow the ‘this’ in the line to represent whatever matters to them!” — Noah Wall, The Barefoot Movement

Photo credit: Workshop Media

LISTEN: Chris Robley, “Love Is a Four-Letter Word”

Posted on by Editor

Artist: Chris Robley
Hometown: Lewiston, Maine
Song: “Love Is a Four-Letter Word”
Album: A Filament in the Wilderness of What Comes Next
Release Date: September 14, 2021
Label: Cutthroat Pop Records

In Their Words: “Bob Dylan wrote a song called ‘Love Is a Four-Letter Word.’ I didn’t know that until I was on stage announcing my new song and someone shouted, ‘I LOVE Dylan!’ Anyway, you can’t copyright titles and I didn’t borrow any other lyrics — so we’re not in Darius Rucker or Old Crow Medicine Show territory here. It’s all mine, Bob! I don’t know if there’s much to explain except the obvious: love can be a double-edged sword. We can build beautiful things inspired by love. Or we can build walls, reactionary political movements, or just act like selfish shitheads, all because of the same basic force. One word, different outcomes.” — Chris Robley

Photo credit: Lauren Breau

LISTEN: Skillet Licorice, “3-in-1 2-Step”

Posted on by Editor

Artist: Skillet Licorice
Hometown: San Francisco, California
Song: “3-in-1 2-Step”
Album: Allsorts Orchestra
Release Date: September 10, 2021
Label: Tiki Parlour Recordings

In Their Words: “‘3-in-1 2-Step’ was one of the first East Texas Serenaders tunes that we learned. One listen and you feel transported 100 years into the past. It is so named because it borrows its melody from three other tunes: ‘Dill Pickle Rag,’ ‘The Entertainer’ and ‘I Don’t Love Nobody.’ As such, it’s perfectly emblematic of the ETS. They weren’t jazz players and they weren’t classical players, but these talented Texans were able to seamlessly incorporate elements from disparate genres to create something new, something their own, yet somehow familiar. Our version features a driving yet elegant banjo-mando harmony part played by San Diego old-time wunderkind Clinton Davis.” — Elise Engelberg and Matt Knoth, Skillet Licorice

Photo credit: Sean Kelly.
Skillet Licorice Allsorts Orchestra Illustration by ‘The Simpsons’ artist Joe Wack