Tag: Wood & Wire

LISTEN: Tony Kamel, “This River”

Posted on by Editor

Artist: Tony Kamel
Hometown: Austin, Texas
Song: “This River”
Album: Back Down Home
Release Date: September 24, 2021
Label: The Next Waltz

In Their Words: “Making music for a living is a privilege afforded to few. If you’re lucky, people may even want to see you play it. That’s a wonderful thing, but it comes with some caveats. You miss your family and friends. Even when you’re home, you play at night or on weekends when they’re home from work. But that’s just part of the deal. Would be great to make some good money doing it, too. Maybe one day…. We recorded this on the pre-production day in the studio, the day before we really got started. It was supposed to be a demo. Josh Blue played an old 1960s Maestro drum machine while I took a stab at it. It sounded really cool so we just kept it and added slide guitar by Geoff Queen and harmonies by Kelley Mickwee later.” — Tony Kamel

Photo credit: Josh Abel

BGS 5+5: Wood & Wire

Posted on by Editor

Artist: Wood & Wire
Hometown: Austin, Texas
Latest album: No Matter Where It Goes From Here

Answers by Tony Kamel and Billy Bright

Which elements of nature do you spend the most time with and how do those impact your work?

Water, for sure. I mean there’s so many metaphors available there. When writing I tend to lean towards the rivers, but it’s all the same water. We are all just part of the water cycle. — BB

Growing up on the Gulf Coast, the ocean has always been a consistent theme in my writing. I essentially learned to swim in the Gulf of Mexico. A lot of unique characters down there that are easy to tell stories about and put them into song. “John” on the new record is about a friend of mine that split time in Galveston as an artist and Alaska as a salmon fisherman. — TK

What other art forms — literature, film, dance, painting, etc. — inform your music?

Stand-up comedians and the way they work material out on stage. Maybe they don’t inform the music itself, but certainly the idea of putting your art out there, trying things out, adjusting to the audience, making yourself vulnerable, and developing swagger and confidence (especially) when things are going south. Being comfortable being uncomfortable is quite the asset and the best stand-up comedians have that mastered. Recently I’ve listened to all of Tig Notaro’s recorded material. She’s absolutely brilliant. There’s a video of her on Conan where she just pushes around a stool because it makes a funny noise… sounds ridiculous. It is. You should watch it. — TK

Since food and music go so well together, what is your dream pairing of a meal and a musician?

Music and food do pair well. Like if you’re eating a meal and there’s music in the background, or a band, that can be dreamy. Musicians and meals, not as dreamy. Too frequently, they’ll disappear when the bill comes, or are checking their Instagram page the whole meal. All that aside, Trevor has been talking about Sonoran Dogs in Tucson and we have never been able to check that box. So I’d have to say Sonoran Dogs with Trevor Smith. — BB

Definitely Sonoran Dogs in Tucson with Trevor Smith… or maybe Machaca at Lucy’s Cafe in Kings X in El Paso, Texas, with Billy Bright. Oh wait…..I’ve checked that box and it was every bit as dreamy as I could have imagined. (see “My Hometown” on the new record for El Paso references). — TK

What was the first moment that you knew you wanted to be a musician?

I knew from about 10 years old I wanted to create. I didn’t know I wanted to make it the way I (tried to) make a living until I was working a sales job and it came down to doing one or the other full-time. At this point, no matter what I do for living, it’ll have to be on my own terms. Like my bandmates, I’ve never been good at doing what I’m told — and that certainly isn’t getting better with age. — TK

My first band ‘practice’ ca. 1987. But those moments happen all the time. I still want to be a musician someday. I fell down the acoustic music hole for good when I saw The Bad Livers live in 1992. First time I ever saw a banjo played in real life, or ever, like that. — BB

How often do you hide behind a character in a song or use “you” when it’s actually “I”?

I’m not an intentional songwriter, they just come out sometimes and sometimes end up being recorded. I can’t think of a single song I’ve written where I doesn’t mean I. I should try that though. So should you…. — BB

Agreed. I’m not super intentional either. Kinda speaks to the relationship I have with songwriting. I don’t always enjoy it — it’s not always fun. For me personally, if I’m not feeling creative, or I’m not inspired, I don’t even try. It comes in waves. When the wave comes, I really buckle down, let it flow however it comes out, and ride it to the bitter end. And by I, I mean you. — TK

Photo credit: Alison Narro

LISTEN: Wood & Wire, “Left My Girl Behind”

Posted on by Editor

Artist: Wood & Wire
Hometown: Austin, Texas
Single: “Left My Girl Behind”
Release Date: November 15, 2019
Label: The Next Waltz

In Their Words: “This is a traditional tune that we learned from Levon Helm — one of our favorite artists of all time. It’s also called ‘The Girl I Left Behind.’ Outside of bluegrass, we all have different (maybe even more prominent) musical influences. It’s those collective outside influences that really drive our sound. The result is us writing and playing tunes with grooves and feels that people wouldn’t expect from an ensemble like ours. The way Levon did this tune, with a funky backbeat groove, really speaks to us and it’s just a blast to play.

“It’s always our preference to record as organically as possible, working on vibes and performance. We don’t use a click track and we like to move with each other musically. Out at the bunker with Bruce [Robison], the team, and no computers, that’s the only way it goes down. We’ve been performing this one for a while so it was pretty simple — get in there and play the song like we’ve always played it.”

Photo credit: Spencer Peeples

WATCH: Carrie Rodriguez with Wood & Wire, “Edge of the Colorado”

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Artist: Carrie Rodriguez with Wood & Wire
Hometown: Austin, Texas
Song: “Edge of the Colorado”
Label: The Next Waltz

In Their Words: “I love the idea of making something out of nothing. That’s the magic of songwriting. I came to Bruce [Robison] one morning with some phrases and melodies that had been bouncing around my head, and by the end of an hour we had written ‘Edge of the Colorado.’ It’s a song about a yearning for a bygone era; an era when personal connections ran deeper because we weren’t so damn CONNECTED every minute of the day!

“After listening to our demo a few times, the song seemed to be begging for some high lonesome harmony vocals and bluegrass instrumentation. I had recently seen the Grammy-nominated bluegrass band, Wood & Wire, perform at The Next Waltz SXSW party and was completely blown away. So Bruce called the guys up and before I knew it we were all in the bunker together recording the song live to tape. What a gift to get to see the creative process fully realized …from some words and melodies stuck in my head to this track which I’m thrilled to be sharing with you!” — Carrie Rodriguez

Photo provided by The Next Waltz

Bruce Robison & Kelly Willis: In Service of the Song

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Although their individual careers have been moving in different directions over the last few years, Bruce Robison and Kelly Willis have circled back closer to each other and put together a group of songs — a mix of originals, carefully selected covers, and choice vintage nuggets — for their newest project, Beautiful Lie. “We were just ready to make another album,” Willis says. “Enough time and space had passed and it felt fresh, and we had all these ideas that we wanted to work on.”

On Beautiful Lie, Willis’ crystalline vocals wind around Robison’s grizzled voice and float along a river of pedal steel, piano, and guitar, creating a pure beauty that the couple is so adept at calling forth when they work together. While it’s never easy to find time to record, the two have fun and feel the joy of their union when they can come back together for a project, even though they both love their solo work, too.

Last year Willis released her first solo album in more than a decade, Back Being Blue, and she’s just come off the road from a mini-tour with Dale Watson. In 2017, Robison released Bruce Robison & the Back Porch Band, which he recorded in his own studio, The Bunker, in Lockhart, Texas, near the couple’s home base in Austin. He’s also been producing artists for his Next Waltz record label, including future singles from William Clark Green, Carrie Rodriguez, Flatland Cavalry, Shakey Graves, Wood & Wire, and Willis Alan Ramsey. “We have this core group of musicians there now,” he says, “and it’s a place where people can come to record this kind of music that you can hear on this album. We’re still growing and developing a lot.”

“For this album, we just got the machinery up and roaring,” Willis says. “It’s funny because we make music together and then go out and play solo. When we’re playing together, we miss playing solo; when we play solo, we miss playing together. We miss making music together.”

Robison and Willis have been married since 1996, but this is only their fourth album of duets, including a holiday collection. Robison observes, “It’s always been great that we had our own careers. I’ve always seen the stuff we did together as magical stuff.”

For the new album, they collected songs along the way and they “would just sit down and start singing them,” says Willis. They know when to sing, when to pull back, when to add that special verse, and when to put a song aside for another album.

“I love his instincts for me,” Willis says. “I have a hard time communicating my musicality. We’re able to enhance and understand each other. It’s sort of a natural undertaking. I’ve always really understood his music and wanted to add something to it.”

Willis isn’t credited as a songwriter on any of the album’s ten tracks but her interpretative stamp can be heard throughout Beautiful Lie. As Robison says, “Kelly and I have creative differences in a way that is helpful. Take a song you like and stick with it and give it to her. Sometimes she loves the melody, or she gets into it and changes it all up.”

Willis points out that those creative differences can sometimes be challenging, but the choices they make are ultimately in service of the song: “When we do music together, it’s different from doing a solo album. I might bring in a song I really want to do, but if it’s not working—no matter how much I try to make it work—we’ll put it aside.”

The couple’s dynamic vocals define the project, with each singer taking lead on songs that fit their own vocal approach perfectly. “We messed around with each song to see who would sing the lead,” Willis says. “Ninety-five percent of the time it sounds better for the female to sing lead. Sometimes Bruce will say, though, that for a certain song he thinks it works better with a male lead.”

The material on Beautiful Lie ranges from the aching title track (an Amazing Rhythm Aces cut) to the rollicking Robison original “Brand New Me.” Adam Wright contributed three songs including the skittering “Can’t Tell Nobody Nothin’,” written with his wife Shannon Wright. Meanwhile, Robison and Willis deliver a stunning cover of “Lost My Best” from Uncle Walt’s Band, as well as the skate-across-the-sawdust-floor Del Reeves classic “One Dime at a Time.”

Perhaps the best getting-over-a-breakup song in either artist’s sizable repertoire, the wry “Nobody’s Perfect,” also by Adam Wright, celebrates the freedom that comes with discovering just how much better it is to be with nobody than with somebody who’s always leaving. The loneliness settles in the hollow of absence at first, but not for long. With brilliant use of a mundane phrase, which cuts several ways in the song, “Nobody’s Perfect” turns the meaning of its titular phrase on its head.

A native Texan, Robison even found a muse in the Astrodome, which he’s been going to since he was 4 years old, when the Houston landmark was still new and shiny: “It was this arena where I saw demolition derbies and circuses.” Following a recent visit, he recalls the tiles dropping from the ceiling and how the once-golden palace of his memories has fallen apart – an observation that inspired a wistful song simply called “Astrodome.”

“Jack Ingram and I wrote the song,” he says. “I had fun looking back into my past and remembering going to the Astrodome. The song’s a tribute to a lost past.” The jaunty, dancehall tune belies the sadness of the song, even as the lyrics celebrate the bittersweet nature of life: “I’m gonna go on down and sit in the Astrodome/Just me and you and all of them blue and faded memories/Yeah I’m gonna go on down and sit in the Astrodome/And wonder whatever ever became of me.”

Capturing the overwhelming power of love, “Coming Down” opens with guitars floating over a subdued steel and blossoms into a straight-ahead country love ballad. Robison carries the song with an honest, plaintive vocal that’s elevated on the chorus by Willis’ harmonies. “I don’t write love songs,” Robison says. “If you went and listened to the other 200 songs in my catalog, you wouldn’t find a love song. I was [at] the songwriters’ festival in Key West a few years ago, and I wrote this song out real quick. I can’t fake the feelings in this song.”

As Willis points out, “I love his songwriting and his songs. I think the mark of a great songwriter is the ability to turn a phrase, and he is great at it.”

Photo Credit: HAAM

Old Settler’s Music Festival 2019 in Photographs

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

We’ve loved Texas’ Old Settler’s Music Festival for years now, with their carefully curated lineups steeped in roots and peppered with bluegrass, folk, and Americana. We even filmed a handful of Sitch Sessions (with Earls of Leicester, Sierra Hull, the Hillbenders, and David Ramirez) on site a few years back. This year, BGS photographer Daniel Jackson was on hand to capture all of the Old Settler’s magic so that you can relive last week’s festival in photographs.

All photos by Daniel Jackson

MIXTAPE: Wood & Wire’s Grammy-Nominated Faves

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Welcome to our guide to The Grammys! You may (or may not) be surprised to learn that our musical tastes span far beyond the beautiful world of bluegrass music. Below you’ll find some of our favorite tracks from the Bluegrass category along with many other tracks from various nominees. This took us a while and was nearly impossible to narrow down. We could have easily made this list a lot longer. For now, enjoy some highlights and we’ll see you in L.A.! — Tony Kamel, Wood & Wire

(Editor’s Note: Wood & Wire’s North of Despair is nominated for a Grammy in the Best Bluegrass Album category.)

The Travelin’ McCourys – “Southbound”

We’ve been fortunate to get to play some shows with these guys over the last few years. They’re great people and awesome bluegrass pickers but this album showcases their versatility beyond just bluegrass while remaining undeniably true to the bluegrass style.

Kacey Musgraves – “Slow Burn”

Kacey received four nominations, including Album of the Year, for her album Golden Hour. Whether you consider it country or not it doesn’t really matter. From front to back the album is absolutely flawless.

Kendrick Lamar & SZA – “All the Stars”

This song is so catchy and so good you’ll want to start it over again once it ends. It also has landed four nominations including Record of the Year.

Brandi Carlile – “The Joke”

A poignant and powerful song by an incredible singer/songwriter. Don’t stop with this song because the entire album is amazing.

Zedd, Maren Morris & Grey – “The Middle”

Are you someone who doesn’t listen to pop songs that much? Forget about all of that and give this song a listen. It’s a perfect pop song.

Marcus Miller: “Trip Trap”

Bassist Marcus Miller is the Boss, the GOAT and a very bad boy. His unbelievable album Laid Black (up for best Contemporary Instrumental Album) is Marcus in peak form, start to finish. Don’t take our word for it, listen to the opening (live) track “Trip Trap.” You’ll find that Marcus is talking to you on that bass. Turn it up.

Mike Barnett: “Mary and the Soldier”

When we saw this title on Mike’s album, we were eager to listen to his interpretation. His fiddle playing is so tasteful, and his arrangement is so musical, we truly feel that the purity and passion of this traditional music has been understood, matched and advanced. And who better to sing than Tim O’Brien? Mike joins us in the Best Bluegrass Album category with his record, Portraits in Fiddles.

Margo Price (Feat. Willie Nelson) – “Learning to Lose”

By now, you all know who Margo Price is. It’s funny that she’s up for Best New Artist considering how long she’s been doing her thing–and what a wonderful thing it is. Willie Nelson is also up for a few and we figured it would be nice to share this beautiful song they recorded together, featuring a classic Willie guitar solo on his beloved classical guitar Trigger.

Julian Lage – “Splendor Riot”

Known for his guitar chops and background in jazz this album is truly unique. At times country or R&B it also sometimes sounds like a rockin’ indie album…Only instrumental.

Childish Gambino – “This is America”

The song alone is a monumental work and a powerful commentary on American society. It is also nominated for best music video for a good reason. Go watch the video.

Cedric Burnside – “Death Bell Blues”

Start to finish, this record is incredible. This guy has channeled some of the absolute greats in his delivery and recording style, including his father (blues drummer Calvin Jackson) and grandfather (the great R.L. Burnside). But make no mistake, Cedric has his own groove and own style. Benton County Relic is up for Best Traditional Blues Record and man it’s a doozie.

Special Consensus (w/ 10 String Symphony, Alison Brown, & John Hartford) – “Squirrel Hunters”

Greg Cahill and crew really crafted a gem of a record with Rivers & Roads. It’s chock full of some of the best playing we’ve heard. However, it’s hard to resist choosing this version of one of our favorite fiddle tunes, in which the band (plus our friends Rachel Baiman & Christian Sedlemeyer, as well as Alison Brown) built the recording around a previously unreleased track of our one of our favorite musicians of all time, John Hartford. Just awesome to hear it brought to life this way.

Sister Sadie – “Raleigh’s Ride”

Aside from being amazing singers, these ladies sure can pick. This is one kick-ass instrumental! We’re thrilled to share this category with them.

Los Texmaniacs – “Mexico Americano”

Shout out to some of our fellow Austinites. This heartfelt song speaks for itself. Their record Cruzando Brothers is up for Best Regional Mexican Music Album and it’s awesome.

Lady Gaga – “Shallow”

Not much to say here. We love Lady Gaga. Quite the vocal performance.

Brad Mehldau Trio – “De-Dah”

This trio has achieved acclaim in the jazz world and beyond for their compositions and performances. Though Brad himself is nominated for his solo on this song the band is jammin’ right there with him the entire time.

Punch Brothers – “All Ashore”

Of course Punch Brothers are amazing musicians but what’s more impressive is their limitless ability to take the bluegrass quintet to new realms.

Post Malone – “Psycho”

Post Malone grew up in Grapevine, Texas, and released his first major hit on SoundCloud. This is his second album which showcases his vast blending of musical styles and influences.

Others that we love: Mary Gauthier, Loretta Lynn, John Prine, Fantastic Negrito, Travis Scott, St. Vincent, Loretta Lynn, Leon Bridges, The Wood Brothers… so, so many more.

ANNOUNCING: The BGS Midnight Jam at MerleFest 2016

Posted on by Editor

The BGS is very, very pleased to announce that we will, once again, host the Midnight Jam at MerleFest this year. Our popular Saturday after-hours hootenanny gathers many performers from the festival for impromptu artistic collaborations and one-of-a-kind superstar jams that have become legendary in the festival’s history. Artists confirmed to play the BGS Midnight Jam include Donna the Buffalo as the house band, along with Tommy Emmanuel, Peter Rowan, Mipso, Jeff Scroggins & Colorado, Wood & Wire, Billy Strings, Becky Buller, South Carolina Broadcasters, Jim Lauderdale, Lindsay Lou and the Flatbellys, and Joe Smothers. Additional artists may also be added.

“Many years ago, Tony Rice and a few others started the Midnight Jam,” remembers Steve Johnson, Artist Relations Manager at MerleFest. “From there, the Midnight Jam has become a highlight of the MerleFest weekend, bringing together unique configurations and surprising ensembles of musicians gathered at the festival. You never know who may walk out from behind the curtain to take the stage on Saturday night in the Walker Center! And, for 2016, we are extremely excited to have MerleFest fan favorite Donna the Buffalo serving as the host band along with the Bluegrass Situation.”

Here's a little taste of Midnight Jams past:

The BGS Midnight Jam takes place at the Walker Center; a separate ticket is required and available for purchase by four-day ticket holders and Saturday-only ticket holders.  

RANDOM PICKINGS with Lee Zimmerman

Posted on by Editor

Introducing Random Pickings, a new monthly column offering news, tidbits, commentary, occasional quotes and a critical look at new albums of note. With this initial entry we find ourselves poised on the cusp of summer and a season of festival frenzy, filled with anticipation over all things Bonnaroo, Newport and Telluride, not to mention dozens of other gatherings encompassing music of every variety. Yours truly heads to Telluride in late June, and possibly to Newport the following month as well, but the need to forego several concurrent gatherings makes me regret that science has yet to invent a device that can cause one to instantly materialize in several locations in a matter of moments. Oh but to utter the words, “Beam me up, Scotty!”

 

BLUEGRASS, BLUE SEAS, BLUE SKIES

Speaking of musical merriment, Mountain Song at Sea, the island-hopping bluegrass cruise that debuted last February, is scheduled again set sail in 2014. The big news is that it’s has been expanded, from a weekend jaunt to a week-long excursion, February 3 – 7. Headliners will be announced soon, but with the initial outing’s impressive line-up — Steep Canyon Rangers, Peter Rowan, The Del McCoury Band, Tim O’Brien & Bryan Sutton, and David Grisman, the Punch Brothers, Shannon Whitworth and the Kruger Brothers — there’s every reason to expect the next cruise will be every bit as impressive, if not more so.

 

MOODY BLUEGRASS CONVEYS AN EASY ATTITUDE

The two Moody Bluegrass albums that unexpectedly found a common bond between the cream of Nashville’s session players and those champions of psychedelic suggestion, the Moody Blues, adds a postscript with the release of Moodys main man Justin Hayward’s new album, Spirits of the Western Sky. Two of the tracks on his new disc revisit that surprisingly successful collaboration. “I met the bluegrass players when I was lucky enough to go there for a songwriter showcase thing a few years ago,” Hayward recently told me. “I met a lot of the bluegrass community then, and with Moody Bluegrass, I got to know those people. They’re fantastic players looking for songwriters, and it seemed my voice and style seemed to fit what they really like. The obvious thing to do was to go back and present a few of the new songs to them.  They absolutely loved it. So that was that. We did the recording in one weekend from start to finish, the old fashioned way.”

 

DISCS FOR DISCOVERY

The Bills’ sophomore set, Yes Please (Red House Records), continues to affirm a special brand the band established their first time around. Draped in populist trappings, they demonstrate an ability to convey a good time sensibility, as well as delicate instrumental musings that make them akin to a string quartet. With fiddles blazing, songs such as “Hallowed All” and “Shining Sun” show their celebratory side, just as “After Music,” “The Gardenton Waltz” and “Quarter Century Mazurka” affirm those delicate designs. Between those two extremes, there’s two other extremes — unexpected a cappella with “Pandora’s In Flames,” and “Scotch Bonnet,” a complex instrumental excursion that Bela Fleck and the Flecktones might be pleased to call their own. It’s a credit to the band’s dexterity that each of these songs actually fits the Bills.

Wood & Wire’s eponymous debut (self-released) is equally upbeat, courtesy of robust harmonies and an abundance of mandolin and banjo-brewed revelry. “Mexico,” Overblown” and “The Positive” each create an immediate impression, and while Wood & Wire’s irreverent attitude is a distinguishing characteristic (“I wish I was stoned,” they lament in the forlorn “Nowhere & Gone”), their reverence for their forebears is also clear, courtesy of shout-outs within that same song to Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, Kris Kristofferson, Robert Earl Keen and, well, yes, even the Beatles. Then again, their handle provides a hint as to their orientation, what with the name wood and wire paying homage to their acoustic leanings. Their effusive intent and unabashed enthusiasm enables their old school approach to garner some rousing results.

Ashleigh Flynn projects a similar feeling of affinity for all things traditional with A Million Stars (Home Perm Records), an impressive showcase for Flynn’s homespun vocals and ever-shifting melodic palate. While songs like “Rainy Days” and “A Little Low” seem to emphasize the mellower side of Flynn’s whimsical musings, other tracks reflect an artist who imbues her style with a wink and a nudge. “How the West Was Won,” “New Angel in Heaven” and “See That Light” would likely find ready acceptance in the neighborhood honkytonk, but the track that’s  especially noteworthy is “Dirty Hands and Dirty Feet,” a steadfast ramble that shows both conviction and creativity. A Million Stars puts the focus on a star that’s on the ascent.

Hey Mavis, whose sophomore set Honey Man (self-released) affirms some darker designs along with predominant plucking of banjos and the bold stroke of strings. Singer Laurie Michelle Caner creates the impression she’s an edgy chanteuse and on the title track, the erotic implications are obvious. It ought to be noted too that radio copies of the album include an admonition to avoid the prickly language. One of the songs in question, “Red Hot,” is an outstanding example of upbeat bluegrass ramblings, while “Let the Water Do the Work” casts the band in tender trappings.

Black Prairie, the band made up of Chris Funk, Jenny Conlee, Nate Query and John Moen of The Decemberists — along with Annalisa Tornfelt and Jon Neufeld — has teamed with author Jon Mooallem to create a soundtrack for his book, Wild Ones, which their press release describes as “a meditation on wildlife inhabiting the terrain of our imagination as much as the actual land.” The result, an album of the same name and a follow-up to A Tear in the Eye is a Wound in the Heart released last September, has been released digitally through their own Captain Bluegrass Records. In addition, a limited edition of 10” clear vinyl and hand-packaged CDs will be available on June 11th. The liner notes describe it as “a musical score for the things that you might see in your head when you reflect on certain characters and incidents that you read about in the book.”  Hmmmm… I see a lot of things in my head, one of many reasons why my friends tend to think I’m somewhat askew. Naturally then I’m curious as to how my sights and their sounds actually coalesce.