Tag: Whitney Rose

LISTEN: Whitney Rose, ‘Trucker’s Funeral’

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Artist: Whitney Rose
Hometown: Prince Edward Island, Canada, and Austin, Texas
Song: “Trucker’s Funeral”
Album: Rule 62
Release Date: October 6, 2017
Label: Six Shooter/Thirty Tigers

In Their Words: “One thing that’s happening with my songwriting as I’m getting older is that I’m exploring outside of my own experiences a lot more. Most of my life is spent on the road now and, as a result of that, I get to meet a hell of a lot of people. Different kinds of people, too. It’s great, and one of my favorite things about what I do. ‘Trucker’s Funeral’ is one of my favorite songs on the album and one of the most fun to write, too, because it’s based on a true story. I had a meeting at Bank of America here in Austin last year and, when the meeting was over, the B of A employee told me about going to his grandfather’s funeral here in Texas and finding out he had a whole other family on the west coast. Because he was a trucker and always on the road, neither family had any idea. As he was telling me this story, I was jotting down lyrics on my banking papers because it was just too intriguing of a story to not be made into a song. If I was a filmmaker, I’d have made a movie about it.” — Whitney Rose

Photo credit: Jen Squires

‘Heartbreaker of the Year’

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Inspiration for Whitney Rose’s sophomore set starts with the late, great Patsy Cline, whose spirit sings along on songs like “Little Piece of You,” the heartbreak jukebox ballad “The Last Party,” and swinging, swooning slow dancer “Ain’t It Wise.” The great girl groups of the '50s and '60s make an obvious imprint on the proceedings (especially on Rose's duet with producer Raul Malo on the Ronettes chestnut, “Be My Baby”) while the '70s sass of Dolly Parton comes to the fore on “Lasso” (albeit with a slightly sneering bit of guitar work from Rose’s main six-stringer, Nichol Robertson).

That bit of burlesque informs the raucous “My First Rodeo,” a high plains rider that sounds a little bit like Grease-era Olivia Newton-John fused to the soundtrack of a Dick Dastardly "drat-drat-and-double-drat" race chase. Nancy Sinatra’s sexy boots get a nod, too, on the title track, as well as the album’s best number — the flirtatious one-four-five of “The Devil Borrowed My Boots.”

Rose’s Mavericks-fortified philharmonic are workmanlike in their execution and Malo’s production is enjoyable but not evolutionary which, when all's said and sung, best describes this pleasant (but not progressive) collection of country rock songs.

LISTEN: Whitney Rose, ‘Analog’

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Artist: Whitney Rose
Hometown: Prince Edward Island, Canada & Austin, Texas
Song: “Analog”
Album: South Texas Suite
Release Date: January 27, 2017
Label: Six Shooter/Thirty Tigers

In Their Words: “What I love about (Austin writer) Brennen Leigh’s tune — other than the cleverness and comedic factor of the lyrics, which is characteristic of her writing — is that she broaches a subject where it would be easy to come off as being condescending or bitter, but she gracefully eludes doing that. She’s embracing these new times and all of this new technology and saying, ‘Yes, this is all well and good. The world is progressing, and that’s really wonderful, but don’t forget to slow down sometimes. Don’t forget to preserve some of the natural beauty in this world that could be on its way to being an endangered species.’

I don’t want to put words in her mouth, but this is how I perceive the song. Because, when we’re on our death beds, I think it’s safe to say that most of us won’t be thinking about our most successful Instagram posts. I know I’ll be thinking about the people I love, and ‘Analog’ gently reminds me to look them in the eye as much as possible while I can. That’s how I like to think of this song — not as a bash to the new age, just a gentle reminder.” — Whitney Rose

LISTEN: Whitney Rose, ‘The Devil Borrowed My Boots’

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Hank Williams may or may not have ever made his way to Canada's Prince Edward Island, but his songs sure did. That's where Whitney Rose first came across them, in her grandparents' bar. She also heard the Mavericks' music there. Those two early influences — and a few others — have now collided as the young singer/songwriter releases her classic country-influenced debut album produced by Raul Malo.

Rose calls the sound on Heartbreaker of the Year “vintage pop-infused neo-traditional country” because it bridges the divide between the Ronettes’ “Be My Baby” and Hank's “There’s a Tear in My Beer” with eight original compositions. In addition to his role as producer, Malo also added vocals, guitar, and percussion. Some of his cohorts in the Mavericks — Jerry Dale McFadden (keyboards), Paul Deakin (drums), and Jay Weaver (bass) — and other guests — including Burke Carroll (steel guitar, dobro, lap steel), Drew Jurecka (strings), and Nichol Robertson (guitar, mandolin) — rounded it all out.

Of the young artist, Malo enthuses, "Whitney Rose writes the kind of country music that will one day firmly place her as one of the greats of the genre.”

That potential is evidenced in songs like “The Devil Borrowed My Boots.” "It was a whole lot of fun to write,” Rose says, “because the subject got to do whatever she wanted and then blame it on the devil. How your devil comes out varies by the individual, but I think we've all got a little devil in us. Many of my fans have told me it's their favorite tune on Heartbreaker of the Year, and I have a lot of fun performing it live. My band calls the tune 'Devil Boots' … and have used the same term to refer to me from time to time."

Heartbreaker of the Year will be out on August 21 via Cameron House Records.

Photo by Jen Squires