Tag: Song Premiere

LISTEN: Hayes Carll, “Beaumont” (Acoustic)

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Artist: Hayes Carll
Hometown: Woodlands, Texas; currently resides in Nashville, Tennessee
Song: “Beaumont” (Acoustic)
Album: Alone Together Sessions
Release Date: September 4, 2020
Label: Dualtone

In Their Words: “I started out singing on the southeast coast of Texas. Beaumont was just an hour up the road from where I was living. I had a few gigs there. A few friends too. The town just kept finding its way into my work. Its physical proximity to Houston, combined with the cultural differences, made it an interesting origin point for the narrator in this song. He’s in the city but the perspective comes from a simpler place. I’m thinking about all the folks down there right now dealing with yet another hurricane.” — Hayes Carll

Photo credit: David McClister

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.

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

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

LISTEN: Carley Arrowood, “Goin’ Home Comin’ On”

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Artist: Carley Arrowood
Hometown: Union Mills, North Carolina
Song: “Goin’ Home Comin’ On”
Release Date: August 21, 2020
Label: Mountain Home Music Company

In Their Words: “’Goin’ Home Comin’ On’ is one of those sweet, nostalgic tunes that I think a lot of people are going to relate to very easily. I love it because of the happiness and pure joy that overflows from the uptempo and rhythm of it as it talks about getting back to the place where you’ll always belong, and where the love of family will always be. During this time of being at home, it’s so important to remember that. Yes, sometimes it’s hard, but we’re a family and we’re blessed to all be together at this place that makes us complete. It is a precious time and I’m thankful for it, and for all the new memories, laughs, meals, and hugs that have been shared. I’ve missed being on the road playing music and very much look forward to the day that I can do that once again, but there’s still nothing quite like the feeling of a ‘Goin’ Home Comin’ On.'” — Carley Arrowood

Photo credit: Carley Arrowood

LISTEN: Bella White, “All I Gave to You”

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Artist: Bella White
Hometown: Calgary, Alberta, Canada; now living in Nashville
Song: “All I Gave to You”
Album: Just Like Leaving
Release Date: September 25, 2020

In Their Words: “‘All I Gave To You’ feels explicitly gentle to me. However, underneath all that sweetness, there is definitely a tinge of heat. A little fire burning in 18-year-old Bella. I wrote it about being far away from something that I wanted so badly and for all I know, irrationally. A puppy love interest. It talks about wanting to be wanted, or better yet wondering if you’re wanted… a common theme in songwriting. Something I believe to be extremely human. Wanting to feel revered and liked. Especially by those that you’re fond of. In retrospect, I wrote ‘All I Gave To You’ when I was 18 and liked a boy, wasn’t sure if he liked me back, and then tried to be a poet about it.” — Bella White

Photo credit: Sheena Zillinski