Tag: Video

WATCH: The Milk Carton Kids, ‘Live From Lincoln Theatre’

Posted on by Editor

Artist: The Milk Carton Kids
Album: Live From Lincoln Theatre
Release Date: Released on video in 2014; released on streaming services in 2020
Label: ANTI- Records

Editor’s Note: The Milk Carton Kids both filmed and recorded Live From Lincoln Center in Columbus, Ohio, in October 2013 during a tour in support of their Grammy-nominated album The Ash & Clay. Originally the video was edited and the audio mixed by band member Kenneth Pattengale in the band’s Sprinter van in the days following the show. Now it has been remastered by Kim Rosen, one of the band’s favorite collaborators.

In Their Words: “Live From Lincoln Theatre is the truest representation of what Joey and I have been up to for the last decade. The set list is like a greatest hits album of Milk Carton Kids songs. I’ve never played guitar in the studio quite the way that it comes together on stage. Our voices also communicate something extra for the occasion. And, of course, Joey doesn’t ramble about our master recordings, but there’s no stopping him once the lights are dim and the mics are hot. … In Columbus everything came together the way that it does when audience and performer are in fine form, the energy coalescing into the mystery that drives us musicians to do EVERYTHING we do.” — Kenneth Pattengale

Photo credit: Jessica Perez

WATCH: Karen Jonas, “Pink Leather Boots”

Posted on by Editor

Artist: Karen Jonas
Hometown: Fredericksburg, Virginia
Song: “Pink Leather Boots”
Album: The Southwest Sky and Other Dreams
Release Date: Aug 28, 2020
Label: Yellow Brick Records

In Their Words: “Guitarist Tim Bray and I were driving from Austin to Santa Fe when I first scribbled some notes for ‘Pink Leather Boots.’ I had my boots up on the dash and was marveling at the space — the sheer acreage of Texas leaves room for all kinds of ghosts to hang around. There are old cars in the side yard, old houses crumbling beside new ones. We don’t have that kind of space on the East Coast, we have to build up instead of out. I thought out loud, ‘Who lives here with all these ghosts? What do they do? Are they happy?’ (I’m a hoot on long drives).

“We passed a neon sign that proudly announced ‘Dancing Girls!’ I pictured the scene there — an ambitious trucker falls in love and daydreams a future with this Dancing Girl, only to drive off into the sunset empty-handed. He drops that dream like the rusted car in the side yard, driving on to newer, shinier, perhaps more accessible dreams. On to whatever comes next. Sometimes, just dreaming is enough to fill the time.

“All of this contemplation simmered into a colorful story on top of a dusty shuffle, with Tim’s rockabilly-inspired Gretsch licks and Seth Morrissey’s thumping upright bass. Somehow strawberry milk got involved, and this feverishly fast-paced love-story-that-never-was unfolds like a big rig rolling down the unforgiving highway. Animator Matt Rasch captured the scene vividly in this fun, quirky video, complete with our starry-eyed hero and a herd of pink cows.” — Karen Jonas

Photo by Amber Renée Photography with art by Print Jazz

WATCH: The Alex Leach Band, “Take the Long Way Home”

Posted on by Editor

Artist: The Alex Leach Band
Hometown: Jacksboro, Tennessee
Song: “Take the Long Way Home”
Release Date: May 15, 2020
Label: Mountain Home Music Company

In Their Words: “After writing the song, my wife and I had a vision of how we thought the video would look. With plenty of help from our Mountain Home family and our band, we were able to make our vision a reality; complete with a ’60s, bright orange VW Microbus and bell-bottoms for all! Each of us got to unleash a bit of our inner, free spirit for the video, and we think the outcome gives off the perfect vibe. We hope you enjoy this groovy journey with us as we ‘Take the Long Way Home.'” — Alex Leach

Photo credit: Sandlin Gaither

WATCH: Sarah Jarosz, “Johnny”

Posted on by Editor

Artist: Sarah Jarosz
Hometown: Wimberley, Texas; now living in New York City
Song: “Johnny”
Album: World on the Ground
Release Date: June 5, 2020
Label: Rounder Records

In Their Words: “The song ‘Johnny’ was one of the first ones I wrote for my new record, and it was the first single I released back in March. I had plans to make a video for it the week that everything went into lockdown, so obviously that didn’t happen! But I was able to head over to a filming studio here in Nashville last month and do a socially distanced shoot, and I’m so happy it’s finally coming out, albeit many months after originally planned.

“Grant Claire put the concept for the video together, which we had to tweak a little bit due to filming limitations. I wound up shooting the whole thing in front of a green screen. But I really loved his vision for it being this colorful, collage-heavy, kind of trippy video for this song. I always have a lot of commentary when working on the visuals that go with my songs, and I really enjoyed working with Grant on this.” — Sarah Jarosz

Photo credit: Josh Wool

WATCH: Alec Lytle & Them Rounders, “Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes”

Posted on by Editor

Artist: Alec Lytle & Them Rounders
Hometown: Woodside, California
Song: “Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes” (Paul Simon cover)
Album: The Remains of Sunday
Release Date: April 17, 2020
Label: CEN/The Orchard

In Their Words: “There is a bit of an interesting story around the album cut; it was fully recorded live, no overdubs. The band was in the live room at Sound City Studios and I was in the reverb chamber. The chamber is a huge, empty, concrete vault normally used to add reverb and echo to the mix in a very natural way. So I sat in there, hearing the band over headphones. No light, total blackness. All that echo and reverb is because of the space I’m sitting in. This is the same reverb chamber that became famous from Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours that was recorded there too.

“I chose to put this song on the record after sitting with it for about six months. My sister passed away recently after a brutal battle with cancer. She loved music, she was the first person I ever heard play guitar and sing, she sang the soprano part when my sisters and I would sing together. I played this song at her memorial service because my family and I felt like this song represented how we want to remember her. I decided to include it on the record as a marker for her… a testament to her memory.

“Dylan Day (guitarist/Jackson Browne, Jenny Lewis, Beck) was spending a few days at our house in November. We had just finished playing and recording some other songs in our living room when we noticed the light starting to fade at the end of the day. Dylan and I decided to play the song outside our back door while the sunset over the forest. It was a one-take thing… filmed and recorded in a matter of minutes. This was likely only the second time Dylan and I played this song… the first time for the record, and then this time behind our house.” — Alec Lytle

Photo credit: Scott McKissen

WATCH: Reflection and Unrest in Billy Strings’ “Enough to Leave”

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

Following his newest record, Home, Billy Strings has sustained his success and enjoyed a rising position among the modern bluegrass ranks. With each subsequent release, he cements himself as a consummate bluegrasser, wowing audiences with his picking, singing, and writing.

“Enough to Leave” is a ponderous number, and Strings calmly delivers a performance wrought with apparent unrest; as the song moves through wonder and doubt, his firm guitar playing matches with a lead that slowly incorporates a distorted tone, adding dimensions to the theme of reflection in the song. Words can only do so much to describe Strings’ artistry — the real thrill of it has to be heard to be properly experienced. Watch the in-studio performance of  “Enough to Leave” on BGS.

Photo credit: Jesse Faatz

WATCH: Fierce Flowers, “Tell Me Lies”

Posted on by Editor

Artist: Fierce Flowers
Hometown: Paris, France
Song: “Tell Me Lies”
Album: Mirador
Label: Celebration Days Records

In Their Words: “We wrote ‘Tell Me Lies’ as a contemporary tribute to the desperate cowboy ballad genre. In our story, the narrator is a young woman who roams about the lonesome prairie of modern love and online dating. The songwriting process started on a lazy Paris summer afternoon. The melody was created on fiddle, and the rest of the song came together pretty quickly. The hardest thing was to get the three-part harmonies in place — they are a little quirky, but exciting and satisfying when we get them spot on.” — Julia Zech, Fierce Flowers

Photo credit: Albertine Guillaume

WATCH: Tré Burt, “What Good” (Live From the French Quarter)

Posted on by Editor

Artist: Tré Burt
Hometown: Sacramento, California
Song: “What Good” (Live From the French Quarter)
Album: Caught It From the Rye
Label: Oh Boy Records

In Their Words: “A really good friend of mine confided in me about a recent falling out she had had with her best friend since childhood. I guess that’s what started me writing the song, at least the first verse, then I got thinking about impermanence, time and how it (time) is like a vehicle that everyone is traveling on together. The jet plane, steamboat, race car references… On a beautiful sunny day in New Orleans in January we took a walk with the folks from Northern Cowboy films (UK) around the French Quarter and found a spot we all felt good about. The homeowner was happy and gracious to let us film outside his house. Traffic on foot, car and horse all slowed down to see what we were up to and stopped to listen too.” — Tré Burt

WATCH: Wild Rivers, “Kinda Feels Alright”

Posted on by Editor

Artist: Wild Rivers
Hometown: Toronto, Ontario
Song: “Kinda Feels Alright”
Album: Songs To Break Up To EP
Release Date: May 1, 2020
Label: Nettwerk

In Their Words: “‘Kinda Feels Alright’ holds an important place on the Songs To Break Up To EP, exploring the positive side of a breakup. It’s also a big part of the personal story of the record. It’s about beginning to accept a breakup and feel alright. Sonically, it feels like a bridge between a classic Wild Rivers song and the new territory we explore with the rest of the EP.” — Khalid Yassein, Wild Rivers

Photo credit: Stefan Kohli

WATCH: Kristina Murray, “Tell Me”

Posted on by Editor

Artist: Kristina Murray
Hometown: Nashville, Tennessee
Song: “Tell Me”
Album: Southern Ambrosia (2018)
Label: Loud Magnolia Records

In Their Words: “Soon after I moved to Nashville, I met musician and writer Logan Ledger and we became fast friends over of our love of traditional country music; soon we discovered that our voices complemented each other well, too, so we played out a bit as a duo and wrote a few songs together. One afternoon I said straight up, ‘I want to write a classic country duet.’ We then proceeded to get stoned and listen to hours of vinyl records by the Louvin Brothers, The Beach Boys, George Jones & Gene Pitney, and on and on… we almost didn’t even start writing! But Logan pulled out the melody and first line, and the rest of the verses spilled out from there.

“A month or so later, on a sunny May afternoon, I wrote the chorus. Frank Carter Rische’s vocal part next to mine on the recording is what really makes the song for me; he is so emotive and follows my voice effortlessly. Though the inspiration for the song came originally from a traditional era, I’m proud of the timeless and vibe-y feel of ‘Tell Me.’ Truly, the video is up for individual interpretation, but after I watched it a few times, I think it’s about a woman who initially feels defeated by an impending breakup but then turns it on its head, burns it down, and perhaps realizes she’s better off.” — Kristina Murray

Photo credit: James Paul Mitchell