Tag: Song Premiere

LISTEN: Margo Cilker, “Tehachapi”

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Artist: Margo Cilker
Hometown: Enterprise, Oregon
Song: “Tehachapi”
Album: Pohorylle (produced by Sera Cahoone)
Release Date: November 5, 2021
Label: Fluff and Gravy Records / Loose Music

In Their Words: “‘Tehachapi’ wasn’t born an exuberant song, but it certainly became one. In my live shows it’s the ace up my sleeve — the song I’m careful not to play too early in the set, lest the audience wait all night expecting another like it. At some point during recording Sera called me, laughing into her phone, saying she put a wild sound on ‘Tehachapi’ and that I was gonna love it. She was right on both counts. Tracking accordion as the foundation of the song just made it too easy to go full Crescent City. One of the most vivid memories I have of making Pohorylle is the memory of watching Sera overdub floor toms to make that instrumental of ‘Tehachapi’ really pop. I can genuinely say it seemed like she was having fun, and as a singer-songwriter, that’s all you can ask for. When I cover a song it’s because for a moment in time, that song is the most sacred thing in my life. ‘Willin” was that to me, so I guess it lives in my soul and came out to play on this number.” — Margo Cilker

Photo credit: Matthew W. Kennelly

LISTEN: Tylor & the Train Robbers, “Lemonade”

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Artist: Tylor & the Train Robbers
Hometown: Boise, Idaho
Song: “Lemonade”
Album: Non-Typical Find (produced by Cody Braun of Reckless Kelly)
Release Date: July 9, 2021

In Their Words: “Everyone has heard the saying ‘When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.’ I wanted to use that sentiment as the theme of this song without actually saying it and dig into the idea that when you don’t find a way to bring some good out of the bad, you’re just stuck with the same old lemons. When I’m writing about characters, I like to try to make them feel as real as possible, so I often end up using people I know as inspiration. This one started with the first character that the protagonist encounters, who was based on my grandfather (The Storyteller from our last album). He was a hard-working man who spent his weekends hunting in the hills with his hound dogs and was back at work in the mill come Monday. He was also very fond of bluegrass music so as an additional nod to him we brought in a little of the bluegrass sound featuring a banjo solo.” — Tylor Ketchum, Tylor & the Train Robbers

Photo credit: Maggie Grace Photography

LISTEN: Pat Byrne, “I Woulda Done It for You”

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Artist: Pat Byrne
Hometown: Borris, County Carlow, Ireland
Song: “I Woulda Done It for You”
Album: Into the Light
Release Date: July 9, 2021

In Their Words: “‘I Woulda Done It for You’ is fun, quirky and upbeat, belying the tragic lyrics. The central character is dealing with the immediate aftermath of a breakup, listing all the crazy things he would have done for his recently estranged partner — and a final plea for one more chance. This song is a co-write with Miles Zuniga of the band Fastball. We met shortly after I moved to Austin and immediately hit it off. Like most songwriters, I was guarded about my work and tended to think none of it was good enough. I had written like ten or eleven verses, too many. After having the song in my notebook for years, it took Miles five minutes to hone the verses and gift me with a chorus. I learned a lot from the experience and am so lucky to have mentors like Miles.” — Pat Byrne

Photo credit: Samantha Della Fave

LISTEN: Joe Troop, “Purdy Little Rainbows”

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Artist: Joe Troop
Hometown: Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Song: “Purdy Little Rainbows”
Album: Borrowed Time
Release Date: August 20, 2021
Label: Free Dirt Records

In Their Words: “What we now know as ‘Pride’ began at Stonewall in an uprising of New York City LGBTQ people of color demanding the acknowledgement of their human dignity. But in today’s woke rat race for clout, middle-class theatrics flood the echo chamber, and marginalization has become a precious commodity for the privileged. The movement has been convoluted by capitalism to the benefit of corporations and the middle-class opportunist.

“Bourgeois antics coupled with McPride have glorified the contemporary queer, urban experience. Where does this leave rural queers — the groundhogs? In rural areas, LGBTQ people are still duking it out in the arena of backcountry politics, where anonymity is impossible and pride isn’t an asset that gets you ahead in life.

“Pork chop queens and pawn shop trash are down in the trenches. They don’t get to live in a wealthy hyperwoke bubble. They aren’t lauded for virtue signaling on social media. And many times they have to hide their identities just to exist. I wrote this song for them, all the little groundhogs, valiantly waddling far and wide amongst the trappers. For all the purdy little rainbows shining in dark places.” — Joe Troop

Photo credit: Kendall Atwater

LISTEN: The Brothers Comatose, “Too Many Places”

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Artist: The Brothers Comatose
Hometown: San Francisco, California
Song: “Too Many Places”
Release Date: July 2, 2021
Label: Swamp Jam Records

In Their Words: “This song was a big collaboration with the whole band. It started with a set of lyrics from our tour manager, Joe Pacini, and morphed into a story of a man fighting an internal battle between the road he believed he was destined for and a more domestic life with a woman he loves. It’s a constant push and pull and a common thread with most touring musicians we know. How does one balance a home life and life on the road? It’s a delicate dance that requires a lot of give and take in a relationship and for those that have figured it out, we applaud you! Tell us your secrets!” — The Brothers Comatose

Photo credit: Giant Eye

LISTEN: Lake and Lyndale, “Crooked Path”

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Artist: Lake and Lyndale
Hometown: Nashville, Tennessee
Song: “Crooked Path”
Album: In the Nude Vol. 1
Release Date: June 25, 2021

In Their Words: “‘Crooked Path’ came to me during a period where I was holding onto a lot of guilt and self-doubt. While I don’t think that your past is something to run from, I also know it’s not healthy to live there. We had just moved to Nashville and this new chapter of life beginning made me realize how important it was to let go of the missteps from the last chapter — so I put them into a song. ‘I took a crooked path to get to the sun / it’s my crooked path that straightened me up.’ This song is for anyone who may need a reminder to embrace every part of the journey.” — Channing Marie, Lake and Lyndale

Photo credit: Kallyn Lagro

LISTEN: Andy Falco, “The Edge”

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Artist: Andy Falco
Hometown: Sayville, New York
Song: “The Edge”
Album: The Will of the Way
Release Date: July 16, 2021
Label: Americana Vibes

In Their Words: “‘The Edge’ is one of the few songs on my forthcoming album that was written prior to 2020. The lyrics were co-written with Travis McKeveny, also from Long Island, who I’ve written with several times now including ‘2001: A Canyon Odyssey’ off the Dusters’ album Laws of Gravity. ‘The Edge’ is one of the few that I’m playing everything on the track except the drums/percussion (Dave Butler) and the harmony vocals (Jon Preddice and Erica Leigh). I recorded it as a demo, but I felt like the track had a certain magic to it, particularly in the end jam so I left most parts as they were, blemishes and all, including the end lead guitar which was done with just that one take. It’s a song about giving yourself to someone, and hoping they will accept you with all your faults, so I thought the little ‘flaws’ here and there represent the sentiment of the song.” — Andy Falco

Photo credit: Jay Strausser

LISTEN: Lara Hope & The Ark-Tones, “Stop, Drop & Roll”

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Artist: Lara Hope & The Ark-Tones
Hometown: Kingston, New York
Song: “Stop, Drop & Roll”
Album: Here to Tell the Tale
Release Date: June 25, 2021
Label: Sower Records

In Their Words: “‘Stop, Drop & Roll’ tells the tale of two folks who are living their best lives. Everyone wants to hang out with them, folks line up to hear them play music, their style is impeccable, and they just can’t lose. They are doing so well, in fact, that they are “on fire!” I wish this song was written from personal experience, but hey… a girl can dream! It’s about the people we aspire to be! Musically, I was listening to a lot of ’60s girl group music at the time I wrote this, and was trying to channel some of the sass and killer vocal harmonies of groups like The Orlons. Songs are supposed to evoke a certain feeling, this one is supposed to make you dance!” — Lara Hope

Photo credit: Franco Vogt

LISTEN: Jon Byrd, “I’ll Be Her Only One” (Feat. Paul Niehaus)

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Artist: Jon Byrd (Feat. Paul Niehaus)
Hometown: Nashville, Tennessee
Song: “I’ll Be Her Only One”
Album: Me and Paul
Release Date: July 16, 2021

In Their Words: “Me and Paul is dedicated to and a reflection of the people that came to see me and Paul over the years in little watering holes and honky-tonks here in Music City. They are small but mighty, as Billy Block used to say. It’s also dedicated to venues that let us take over their ‘happy hour’ to play the saddest, darkest, most pitiful and tragic songs ever penned. This co-write with Kevin Gordon put me in mind of his longtime music collaborator Joe McMahan. While known mostly as a guitarist/sideman, he’s had a studio for years and produced great work with Kevin and many others. He and Kevin are more on the rockin’ side of things but I was very keen to know what he’d bring to a project like this, so stripped down. And so country. But the Kevin connection is what sent me down this road.” — Jon Byrd

Photo credit: Susan English

LISTEN: Phil Leadbetter, “I Will Always Love You”

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Artist: Phil Leadbetter
Hometown: Knoxville, Tennessee
Song: “I Will Always Love You”
Album: Masters of Slide: Spider Sessions (Various Artists)
Release Date: June 25, 2021
Label: Mountain Home Music Company

In Their Words: “I always loved this tune. I remember the first time I heard Dolly sing this live, it just killed me! Not only her voice, but the lyrics to the song were so heart-wrenching. I saw her many times telling the story about how the song came about. The story is a very sad one. I used to drive around and listen to that song from several of Dolly’s compilation albums, and it always had such a great melody that I kept hearing in my head over and over. I started messing with it, and liked the direction it was going. In 2010, I got a brand new Scheerhorn guitar. I was at a friend of mine’s home, and I was curious to see how the guitar sounded. I started noodling around and playing different songs to see how the new guitar sounded. My friend told me that I should seriously think about keeping the track. The track got lost over the years, but one day while looking through a bunch of files, I found it!! Me and my engineer worked on it, and I had thought about using it a few years back. So happy I saved it so it could be part of the Masters of Slide album.” — Phil Leadbetter

Photo courtesy of Phil Leadbetter