Tag: Song Premiere

LISTEN: The South Austin Moonlighters, “Nowhere Left to Run”

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Artist: The South Austin Moonlighters
Hometown: Austin, Texas
Song: “Nowhere Left to Run”
Album: Travel Light
Release Date: May 17, 2019
Label: Station House Records

In Their Words: “I had once heard it said from a well-known songwriter, ‘If you ever have a chance to kill someone off in a song, do it!’ I guess this was running through my mind one pale winter’s morning while strumming on a Fender Stratocaster unplugged. I’m not sure who this poor fellow is, or how he was handed such a bad hand in life, but it paints a picture. I particularly like the line that says, ‘Now he’s staring into his child’s eyes telling thinly veiled lies about mamma and baby and things now in the past.’ Pretty damn dark! But then, you get the shift to a major key for the chorus that makes things seem somewhat brighter.” — Phil Hurley, The South Austin Moonlighters

Photo credit: Valerie Fremin

LISTEN: Dan Hubbard, “We Are One”

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Artist: Dan Hubbard
Hometown: Bloomington, Illinois
Song: “We Are One”
Album: Attention
Release Date: April 26, 2019

In Their Words: “When I listen to Top 40 radio, seemingly every song is about having sex (not that there is anything wrong with that) but they are rarely about making love, and more about satisfying our own desires and treating one another like objects. This song is about the sacred experience of being intimate with someone in a relationship based on mutual love and respect. Musically we tried to make the verses feel easy and free, similar to Tom Petty’s ‘Wildflowers,’ with the choruses bringing in the intensity and a change of pace.” — Dan Hubbard

Photo credit: Dani Lang

LISTEN: Chain Station, “Half Full”

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Artist: Chain Station
Hometown: Denver, Colorado
Song: “Half Full”
Album: Backroads
Release Date: May 3, 2019

In Their Words: “‘Half Full’ is a laid-back, feel-good bluegrass song that’s all about positivity, living the good life and finding the light on the darkest days. ‘Half Full’ was inspired by my father, Pat Pickett, whose humor and energy were, and are, a comfort to everyone he met. This song is a celebration, so raise your glasses and…keep your glass half full!” — Jon Pickett, bassist, Chain Station

Photo credit: Johnny Brewers

LISTEN: Steel Blossoms, “Kentucky’s Never Been This Far”

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Artist: Steel Blossoms
Hometown: Nashville, Tennessee
Song: “Kentucky’s Never Been This Far”
Album: Steel Blossoms
Release Date: April 26, 2019
Label: Billy Jam Records

In Their Words: “‘Kentucky’s Never Been This Far” is the first song we ever recorded that we didn’t write. The second we heard it, we looked at each other and said, ‘We need this song.’ We both travel so much and are constantly away from our loved ones, that sometimes 100 miles feels like a million miles away. This song is so beautifully written and what Jerry did with the instrumentation is just amazing. We are so lucky to have it on our album.” –Steel Blossoms

Photo credit: Stacie Huckeba

LISTEN: Izabel Crane, “Spring Fed River”

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Artist: Izabel Crane
Hometown: Springfield, Missouri
Song: “Spring Fed River”
Album: Spring Fed River b/w Creature (single)
Release Date: April 26, 2019

In Their Words: “I watched someone whom I loved very much walk into a tributary of the James River and walk back to me with a completely serene face. Like the water had washed his soul. It was weird and it made me think of the black-and-white photographs I have of my grandmother’s baptism. A pastor, with a white cloth pressed against her nose, pushing her into the river. I like thinking that there is some sort of magic to the rivers and creeks around here, that the water can fix a soul when it’s hurting.” — Liz Carney (aka Izabel Crane)

Photo credit: Cole Simmons

LISTEN: Grizzly Goat, “Time”

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Artist: Grizzly Goat
Hometown: Provo, Utah
Song: “Time”
Release Date: April 19, 2019

In Their Words: “Too often we overload ourselves with tasks, reducing relationships to checklist items, and wearing our business like a badge of honor. We excuse our behaviors with phrases like ‘I don’t have time’ and never allow ourselves to be still, scrolling on our phones whenever there is a momentary pause. Our culture has sold us on the lie that the more we work and the more we own, the happier we will be; and we say, ‘To hell with that.’ When we recorded this song, we we made a purpose-driven decision not to rush but to take as much time as necessary to perfect the recording. How else could we have claimed the song was a genuine reflection of our values?” — Grizzly Goat

Photo Credit: Ryan Carter

LISTEN: Andy Hedges, “Song of the Cuckoo”

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Artist: Andy Hedges
Hometown: Lubbock, Texas
Song: “Song of the Cuckoo”
Album: Shadow of a Cowboy
Release Date: April 16, 2019

In Their Words: “I first heard the name Billy Faier in Ramblin’ Jack Elliott’s song ‘912 Greens’ about an epic road trip he and some friends made across the Southern United States. I met Billy after playing a show in Alpine, Texas, immediately recognizing his name from ‘912 Greens.’ Billy was born in Brooklyn, spent most of his life based in Woodstock, but always wanted to live in the desert so as an old man he moved to Marathon, Texas. Billy had traveled with Ramblin’ Jack and Woody Guthrie on Woody’s last trip across the US. He was the first person to interview Dylan on the radio. He taught a song to Dave Van Ronk and Pete Seeger once said that he was the best banjo player he had ever heard. Billy and I became fast friends and had some great adventures together. When he passed a few years ago, I ended up with his beautiful old guitar. I played Billy’s guitar on this recording of his song and it seemed fitting to tag it with a line from ‘912 Greens,’ the song that connected me to Billy in the first place: ‘Did you ever stand and shiver just because you were lookin’ at a river?'” — Andy Hedges

Photo credit: David Tau

LISTEN: Jontavious Willis, “Take Me to the Country”

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Artist: Jontavious Willis
Hometown: Greenville, Georgia
Song: “Take Me to the Country”
Album: Spectacular Class
Release Date: April 5, 2019
Label: Kind of Blue Music

In Their Words: “The past 22 years of my life and the places I’ve seen are what inspired this song. No matter where I go in the world, I can’t wait to go back to the country. For me, that special place is a rural southern town in Georgia where I grew up. It’s such a quiet and calm place, and somewhere I crave when I’m far from it. I hope you enjoy and follow me to to the country.” –Jontavious Willis

Photo credit: Jeremy Cowart

LISTEN: Pinto Bennett, “I Needed a Lot”

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Artist: Pinto Bennett
Hometown: Boise, Idaho
Song: “I Needed a Lot”
Album: The Last Saturday Night
Release Date: April 5, 2019

In Their Words: “I was the man so I needed a lot. I needed a lot of women. A lot of booze. A lot of everything. It’s a happy way to say you messed up.” — Pinto Bennett

LISTEN: David Quinn, “Grassy Trails”

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Artist: David Quinn
Hometown: Chicago, Illinois
Song: “Grassy Trails”
Album: Wanderin’ Fool
Release Date: April 5, 2019

In Their Words: “‘Grassy Trails’ was a lot of fun to record. It was right in everyone’s wheelhouse stylistically. Dave Roe and Jimmy Lester really were the perfect guys for this track. They set the pace for the rhythm and Jon Estes came in and laid down some nice pedal steel. If you listen close, Jimmy Lester plays my favorite bell pattern in that second chorus. This song has taken a few different shapes since I wrote it but it is one I always play at every show. I know it’s cliché to say this but I have loved trains since I was a kid and always dreamt about riding the rails. I use to go out and sit next to the tracks when I was younger and just watch the trains go by up close. That’s really where the song came from. I grew up reading Jack Kerouac and other beat writers and hearing about their adventures on trains. Those stories always stuck with me and created a feeling I have been chasing ever since. It seemed fit to put it on this record, Wanderin’ Fool.” — David Quinn

Photo credit: Jess Myers