Tag: Song Premiere

LISTEN: Dietrich Strause, “Last Man Standing on the Sun”

Posted on by Editor

Artist: Dietrich Strause
Hometown: Boston, Massachusetts
Song: “Last Man Standing on the Sun”
Album: Last Man Standing on the Sun
Release Date: March 13, 2020

In Their Words: “I once asked my 92-year-old grandfather what he knows now that he wishes he had known when he was my age. He said, ‘I wish I had known that everything is in constant motion and that the fundamental shape of the universe is a wave.’ With that as an impression, I wrote ‘Last Man Standing on the Sun’ looking up at the stars and sky from an island in the middle of a lake, in the middle of the mountains in New Hampshire, thinking about the constant decay and renewal of love, purpose, and nature. I wanted to record this song in particular for this album because it seemed fitting for the constant motion and physical limitations of working on a reel-to-reel tape machine.” — Dietrich Strause

Photo credit: Rose Cousins

LISTEN: Jack Grelle, “Mess of Love”

Posted on by Editor

Artist: Jack Grelle
Hometown: St. Louis, Missouri
Song: “Mess of Love”
Album: If Not Forever
Release Date: April 17, 2020
Label: Jack Grelle Music

In Their Words: “This is a breakup song without any finger-pointing… where two people are both coming to grips with a change in life and trying to adjust to new chapters. I was listening to a lot of Elvis Costello’s early records when I wrote this tune. I wanted to blend classic honky-tonk with power pop elements. Devin Frank, who played bass on the album, came up with the harmony guitar parts on the chorus along with the lead guitar player, Josh Cochran. It added an overall feel that brought all those elements together and really made the song.” — Jack Grelle

Photo credit: Nate Burrell

LISTEN: Alicia Viani, “Tomten Farm”

Posted on by Editor

Artist: Alicia Viani
Hometown: Bend, Oregon
Song: “Tomten Farm”
Album: Alicia Viani
Release Date: April 3, 2020

In Their Words: “I was sitting in my living room on a cold winter morning in Bend with the barely-warm sunlight shining through the windows. It was a home I would soon lose following the breakup with a partner. I didn’t know it at the time but I had a strong intuitive despairing sense about our future as a couple. My partner, a close friend, and I were sitting there in the sunlight and it was a happy peaceful morning, which was becoming rarer.

“I was noodling in the background on my guitar and my friend was talking to my partner about memories from a summer on a farm in Telluride. Her descriptions and imagery were beautiful to me and I just started writing this song live based on the words coming out of her mouth about her time there. Threading the imagery together ‘North of Telluride,’ ‘sunflower mesa,’ ‘the well ran dry.’ I’ve never been to Tomten Farm. I’ve spent a lot of time in Telluride, so I already had a connection to the place. I think the song was sort of an escape fantasy during a difficult, dark time. I took artistic ownership over her story!

“When we did separate, losing him, the home, and my sense of family left me reeling from abrupt changes in day-to-day reality but also reeling from the gut punch of realizing my dreams we worked together on were gone too. What did I believe in building now? Navigating these losses put me at a crossroads. Do I let this devour me? Or do I attempt to stay open to changes and get rocked and hopefully find new solid ground and direction? This song came from my attempt to do the latter. I wrote it over time as I found my way again, found joy in a relationship again with a new lover, and pieced my dreams back together again based on my own desires and beliefs about how I wanted to live. — Alicia Viani

Photo credit: Laura Schneider

LISTEN: Gabe Lee, “Piece of Your Heart”

Posted on by Editor

Artist: Gabe Lee
Hometown: Nashville, Tennessee
Song: “Piece of Your Heart”
Album: Honky Tonk Hell
Release Date: March 13, 2020
Label: Torrez Music Group

In Their Words: “‘Piece of Your Heart’ is a painfully honest goodbye song. The character is backhandedly apologizing to an ex-love, trying to play off a broken heart as something you can simply pawn away. He makes lists of memories, places, and mementos of their relationship serving as pieces of the heartbreak that need to be thrown out in order for them to move on. In the second verse, the ex-lover deals her own way through various forms of coping, and by the third verse the narrator finds himself almost missing what they once had, saying, ‘And I thought you should know that I’ve stitched up my soul and framed it in gold on the wall, so when the train come to town and they tear this place down there’ll be something still left to hang on.’ But sometimes you just have to sell the farm and start over.” — Gabe Lee

Photo credit: Brooke Stevens

LISTEN: Kristy Cox, “Finger Picking Good”

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Artist: Kristy Cox
Hometown: Adelaide, Australia originally (now Nashville, TN)
Song: “Finger Picking Good”
Album: No Headlights
Release Date: February 28, 2020
Label: Mountain Fever Records

In Their Words: “Since I was a girl, I have been a huge fan of Tommy Emmanuel. When my co-writers Jerry Salley, Bill Wythe, and I were writing this song we spoke about how great it would be if we could feature Tommy on the different fingerpicking tunes throughout the track, I was so incredibly excited when he said yes. I love this song; it was so much fun to write and even more fun to perform.” — Kristy Cox

Photo credit: Billy Joe and Clockwork Photography

WATCH: Mark Erelli, “Blindsided”

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Artist: Mark Erelli
Hometown: Boston, Massachusetts
Song: “Blindsided”
Album: Blindsided
Release Date: February 21, 2020 (single); March 27, 2020 (album)
Label: Soundly Music

In Their Words: “The word has negative connotations, but I thought it would be interesting to use it in the context of a love song. Sure, you can be blindsided by an attack or caught unprepared by stormy weather. But love also has a funny way of finding you when you least expect it, regardless of whether you’re looking for it or not. With its soaring vocal harmonies, majestic strings and the band firing on all cylinders, this track really embodies and hints at all the sonic elements to come on the album.” — Mark Erelli

Photo credit: Joe Navas

LISTEN: Luke Wallace, “Pale Kids”

Posted on by Editor

Artist: Luke Wallace
Hometown: Vancouver, Canada – Coast Salish Territory
Song: “Pale Kids”
Album: What on Earth
Release Date: March 6, 2020
Label: Come To Life Music

In Their Words: “It’s hard to write songs about privilege without losing people in criticism or preaching. ‘Pale Kids’ is rooted in the truth that non-white communities have been fighting and dying for their rights, and all human rights, for a long time. This song is about calling in my fellow Pale folks into action, recognizing that our voices carry a lot of power when directed at the governments and institutions that maintain our privilege. I’m seeing more and more people from all backgrounds rising to the occasion and using their voices for justice, and I have a hunch that if thousands of privileged, middle-class white folks started showing up in the same way that our non-white counterparts are, we’d see rapid, sweeping changes to the way our governments treat non-white communities. It’s the old ‘with great privilege comes great responsibility.’ This song goes right to the heart of what that means, calling those who can to use their privilege for the liberation of all people.” — Luke Wallace

Photo credit: Alex Harris

LISTEN: Love Me in the Dark, “Old Soul”

Posted on by Editor

Artist: Love Me in the Dark
Hometown: Venice, California
Song: “Old Soul”
Album: Love Me in the Dark
Release Date: February 14, 2020

In Their Words: “‘Old Soul’ was written in Nashville, in our friend Keb’ Mo’s home studio. Steve had been messing around in a new guitar tuning (borrowed from Ry Cooder) and the song flowed from there. The lyrics are inspired by several of our hallowed places, the North Woods of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, and other forests that still contain ‘old growth.’ The language was chosen to sound hymn-like and spiritual. It was also important that the recording be authentic and traditional sounding, while still fresh. It starts with a capella vocals, the signature Love Me in the Dark interwoven harmony, sparse and vulnerable, and grew gradually with the addition of elements like steel guitar, upright bass, harmonium and piano, a treatment that made it the perfect opening track for this debut album.” — Heather Donovan, Love Me in the Dark

Photo credit: Thomas Brodahl

LISTEN: Erin Lunsford, “How Many Birds”

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

Artist: Erin Lunsford
Hometown: Fincastle, Virginia
Song: “How Many Birds”
Album: The Damsel
Release Date: February 14, 2020 (single); April 3, 2020 (album)

In Their Words: “‘How Many Birds’ is a lonely ballad of singlehood by a 20-something woman. I was inspired by the sight of birds returning home to the trees of Southwest Virginia in springtime and wondered if any birds make that journey alone. ‘How Many Birds’ explores my craving for direction and control in my romantic life and wonderment at the heartache of being single when so many people around you are in love. When I play this song live, I usually say, ‘This song is about being single for an eternity lol.'” — Erin Lunsford

Photo credit: Joey Wharton