This looks promising. The Hellfire Club, The Dirt and Graham Robertson are putting on a Carter Family night this Saturday, 11th September in the Griffin bar. Should be a rollicking night and it sure beats burning the Koran.
Tag Archives: Americana
Wade Lashley. Someone Take The Wheel.
How nice to receive a package from Flagstaff, Arizona. Seems silly perhaps but some names are really evocative of the music that dives little blogs like this. Like 50’s teenagers in a fleapit cinema, the cinematic portrait of wide open American spaces tugging at their own grey reality, rain swept Americana fans stuck in dreary old Glasgow have a yearning for places like Flagstaff, Winslow and Barstow. Vicarious, I’m sure, but there’s a little bit inside all of us who dream of driving down that fabled highway and stopping off to hear that definitive band. Not one of the big name bands but a truly authentic American bar band who can thrill and delight with tales of the road and the fabled American dream.
Wade Ashley might not be in the going to win many awards for his writing, singing and playing but if you crank this up with a few beers by your side it’s difficult to imagine a better travelling companion when you’re on the road. Full blooded country rock with lashings of guitar and heart-warming organ, Lashley sings and writes with the attitude of country outlaws from the past, Waylon Jennings in particular comes to mind.
The opening song “Turn around Southbound” is a terrific start, cards on the table, muscular, take no prisoners. The jalop that is “Coffee, Tea or Whiskey” soars along while “Someone Take the Wheel” is like a movie, wide screen and deadly. The keyboard/guitar interplay here is exhilarating and at times achieves the hights reached by The Band all those years ago. Allowing you to catch your breath there are songs like “Waiting on the Rain” with majestic piano playing which evokes another blast from the past in the shape of the Allman Brothers. By this point Lashley is in full command, his singing in particular and he pounds this home with a spectacular song “I Won’t Let You Down” which sounds almost like an outtake from Derek and the Dominoes.
All in all it’s unlikely that this crew will appear at your local tavern but if you fancy a night imagining you’re tooling down route 66 then this might well be the perfect soundtrack.
Wade’s webite is here
and here’s a taste, I Won't Let You Down
Kacey Cubero. “Fill Your Cup”
A welcome addition to that select group of female performers who fuse sultry vocals with bluesey country rock, Kasey Cubero is indeed, on the strength of this album, almost up there with Kathleen Edwards, Lucinda Williams and Sarah Borges. The twelve self penned songs are all impressive and while one or two of them may sound like Sheryl Crow circa “All I Wanna Do” (impressive enough I think) there are several here which are superb both in the writing and in the delivery. With a brace of immediately attractive radio friendly songs such as “It’s Alright” and “I Want More” (a tremendous song which conjures up the freewheeling wide open vistas that drive all great American rock songs) Cubero scores high. Add to that the slow burning sensual delight that is “Under my Skin” and the sweet pedal steel of “Fill Your Cup” and this record does indeed burrow under your skin.
While there are some detours into acoustic blues with “Two Trains” and “Old Cadillac” overall the sound is a burnished, streamlined classic Americana with guitarist Josh Davis excelling throughout with some fine spine tingling moments.
For a relatively unknown artist this is an exceptionally assured album. Ms. Cubero is coming to the UK shores later this year, check the website for details in the meantime here is Under My Skin
Jim Dead
Well, with a name like that you have to listen, don’t you? I heard Mr. Dead a few weeks back on a session he did on the Sunny Govan Switchback. With an interesting list of influences and some songs that beggared belief that they didn’t originate in some dusty back town off of Route 66 I went in search of him. With two releases, a solo album and a single (backed by The Doubters) under his belt he had this to say for himself.
You were in a “succession of local bands” before coming to your present incarnation. What type of music were you playing then and what led you to the current set up?
I sang and occasionally played guitar in rock bands since 1997. My big influences were the bands that came form the ‘Alternative Rock’ explosion in the 90’s … Nirvana, Blind Melon, Jane’s Addiction etc. Among the rock music I had some Johnny Cash and Tom Waits … but I started paying a great deal of attention to alternative Country / Americana in 1998 or so after I heard Whiskeytown’s Strangers Almanac and Richard Buckner’s Bloomed and Devotion & Doubt. They were shaping how I wrote songs and I brought that influence in to the music I was writing with the band … certainly within the lyrics … and Whistle of a Distant Train came from then. I guess Jim Dead began when the ideas I was bringing in weren’t sounding as I imagined. I never specifically wanted to play country music, but I wanted to strip the songs right back and focus on the words and the stories.
I read of a T Shirt that said “ Old Punks Never Die, they just go Country.” Not that we’re saying you’re old but any relevance there?
Could be that it’s easier to sing? I guess it would be fair to say that it’s a lot easier to tell a story without shouting. It’s also a completely different feeling … and a complete departure. It’s like missing the rush-hour and getting a seat on the bus.
Who or what are the particular influences in your style and songwriting?
There’s so many … Johnny Cash is obviously a huge influence, as is Richard Buckner, Tom Waits, Mark Lanegan, Damien Jurado and Steve Earle. There’s been other artists that I’ve heard over the years that have had an impact on what I’d like to bring to my music, but I always tend to come right back to those early influences.
Where does Jim Dead and the music come from?
I have an interest in the mysterious, and that Golden Age of Medicine Shows and Carnivals. It’s about a community that existed back then, where those sorta shows would come along and stir up the imagination of the locals … so I write about everyday things that happen in a sleepy town called Deadsville.
Go Tell the Congregation was all about hope … and the familiar settings for bleak Americana records, but it was doing things a little different without being gimmicky. For me the album was a reaction, and exploring how people react to things.
Your album was a stripped down affair, the EP with the Doubters had more flesh on it. Will you be pursuing one of these directions or continuing on both fronts?
At the moment I’m working on my own and with the Doubters. Most gigs that I’ve played have been solo, though those guys had been involved in two great events at the end of last year. Essentially it’s solo where I get the most enjoyment … maybe because that’s how the songs were written and nothing gets lost. But it’s been great to see how the songs translate with those guys and I’m sure I’ll keep recording with them and we’ll do some shows. I see The Doubters as a collective … and there’s still work to be done. I want to stretch myself … see what we can do.
Aside from the usual suspects you mention Giant sand/Howe Gelb as influences, when did you hear of them? Anyone else that you haven’t mentioned?
A friend of mine introduced me to Giant Sand … there’s something about the sound that just pulls me in. At times it’s ramshackle. And when you listen to their discography it’s sorta like listening to Howe Gelb’s never-ending road trip … crazy, vibrant, dusty and tired.
Whiskeytown, The Afghan Whigs are also great bands that have a bit of an influence in how I structure things.
Current favourite albums/songs?
Surprisingly I think Johnny Cash is the only ‘country’ artist that I’ve been listening to. American VI was a huge record … I just think it’s great. I’ve been listening to Mos Def [The Ecstatic] and the Wu-Tang Clan [Iron Flag and 8 Diagrams] … though I guess you could say that there’s a link between Hip-Hop and Country. And a friend of mine has introduced me to James Apollo. And Craig Hughes’ Pissed Off, Bitter and Willing to Share.
Finally, what’s coming up. Anything you want to plug?
Since this is a wonderful chance to plug myself, my debut record, Go Tell the Congregation, is available via iTunes, CDbaby and Amazon MP3 … all the latest Jim Dead news is on MySpace.com/JimDead.
I have a few gigs coming up which should be great. I’m playing Café Tibo on Duke Street with Lou Vargo on April 18th … I’m particularly looking forward to that. Then I’m playing at That Devil Music (The State Bar) alongside Craig Hughes and Man Gone Missing on May 7th. The Doubters are playing The Free Candy Sessions at The Liquid Ship on Great Western Road on May 14th.
I’m also working on some new songs and I’m hoping to get some new music out there soon.
Best of luck with that then.
Bone Blue Moon when done with The Doubters has a forlorn, fatalistic sense about it. The electric guitar sings as if in a canyon and Dead sounds like he’s kinfolk of Will Oldham on a song that drinks deep from the dark well of American folk. On the same song and shorn of the ornamentation provided by the band the solo Dead sounds as if he’s been touched by the ghost of Harry Smith. Spooky stuff indeed..
Check him out here
Sleepy Driver. Steady Now.
It seems that nowadays a fair proportion of albums that arrive for review are Canadian in origin. Canadiana anyone? To be sure many of the touchstones in the alt country/Americana scene were Canadians, Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, The Band, to name a few. More recently Blue Rodeo and Blacky and the Rodeo Kings would be the names most likely to pop up in conversation.
Well, here’s another band to talk about instead of the Mounties and Northern Exposure. Sleepy Driver are a band with a sound that is in the same vein as some of the eighties so called Paisley Underground crew. In particular there are moments that are very akin to the great Steve Wynn both in his Dream Syndicate days and more latterly from his “desert trilogy”.
With a big guitar sound, great dynamics and at times a great pop thrust, leader Peter Hicks hits on the darker side of life including a great murder ballad (Drowning In My Dreams). While able to utilise an acoustic base in songs such as “Where You Are” and “North Dakota” (where some pedal steel leavens the sound) it’s the surge of guitar and organ on “When the Lights Come On” and the chunky slice of a song that is “Architects” that standout. Opening song “Like a Weapon” should be a radio hit at least if there’s any justice. Best of all is “Watch You Sleep” which has a fantastic, trippy guitar outro which is reminiscent of the Rain Parade.
For a debut album this is very assured and very, very listenable. Have a peek here
Radio Free Song Club
Isn’t the internet great. I had this sent to me, podcasts from a bunch of esteemed folk (Victoria Williams, Freedy Johnston, Laura Cantrell, Peter Holsapple included). You can download a set of songs and read comments on them by the performers. Sign up and get them in your mailbox on a monthly basis, free! The oh so American presenter might be a little bit too cheesy to start with but persist and there are some gems here. Peter Blegvad’s “I had A dream, assisted by Andy Partridge” for example is excellent.
Check it out here
Radio Free Song Club
The Wynntown Marshals. Westerner.
Can white men sing the blues? Can Scotsmen play Americana? Well you can argue the first question till the end of time but if anyone asks you the latter just thrust this disc into their hand, end of argument. This is the Marshals’ debut album following an excellent EP and single released over the past 18 months. If either of those whetted your appetite then here is the main course.
“You can have My Heart” welcomes you in to Wyntown territory. Chunky guitar and hoarse vocals are backed by what sounds like the Glimmer twins “whoo whooin’” in the background. A thumping great piece of guitar then whips up a storm before singer Keith Benzie comes back in with the title refrain. This is followed by their celebrated cover of the LA Guns song “Ballad of Jayne.” Originally recorded for a tribute album to “hair bands” and then released as a single, it fits right in here. Done as a ballad laced with sweet pedal steel and stinging lead guitar it is excellent. The interplay between guitarist Iain Barbour and pedal steel player Iain Sloan is exquisite and exhilarating. “Snowflake” is a country-tinged romp with a dark story in the lyrics. “48 Hours” almost literally revs up the twang guitar with organ and a clipped guitar solo on a song about a picaresque greyhound bus ride.
On their first release The Marshals unveiled a song called 11:15, an epic retelling of a historical flood. On a brace of songs here they again stretch out with impressive results. “Thunder in the Valley” slouches along, slow, deliberate, at times majestic with stately piano. “Gil” is another historical tale, the story of Gil Elvgren, an American illustrator which captures the age of innocence when classic pin up girls (such as those enjoyed by WW2 service men) were not seen as sleazy. The song seems to contrast his artistic worth with the eventual debasement of advertisers using his talent to sell tyres and beer. All this in a very attractive country waltz setting that like other songs here has a bittersweet sense of joy and sadness. “All That I Want” is a plaintive love song with some tasty tortured guitar work at the end of another 6 minute song. .
The band romp towards the finishing line with “Nelly My Love,” a sunny love song with jaunty guitar duelling. It segues into “Divine Compassion,” an apocalyptic anti war song with heavy martial drumming from Keith Jones and moody guitar, told from the perspective of a traumatised veteran.
“Two is Company” ends the album on a brighter (although bittersweet) note with cracking (almost power pop) guitar solos and a driving rhythm.
Overall this is a stunning album with guitarists Barbour and Sloan shining throughout while Benzie’s vocals are impassioned and heartfelt. Drawing from the likes of The Drive By Truckers, Wilco and Neil Young, The Marshals manage to forge a sound of their own. I’d recommend that you buy this album and go see them at the earliest opportunity.
DeSoto Rust . Highway Gothic.
Philadelphian roots rockers Desoto Rust had a big impact here at Blabber n Smoke when their debut disc came out in 2004, a no frills barrel down American highways and byways with a large degree of swagger that was impressive for a first step. Five years later they unveil their third disc and again it is an impressive slice of blue-collar rock with shades of the Drive By Truckers and yer man Springsteen . High praise indeed but listening to this album reminds one of what drew one to this music initially. Ray Hunter sings with gusto and the band play with hearts and guts. The dirty slide guitar on Open Road is reminiscent of classic southern rock with echoes of Little Feat. The poetic guitar runs on Calgary and the classic driving rock of Northern Road may be the highlights here but at their best DeSoto Rust don’t break through barriers or reinvent the wheel they simply play an excellent version of tried and trusted Americana mores and they are all the better for that. Closing the album there is a gloriously chunky and uplifting version of Dylan’s New Morning, a rootsy and rousing end to what is overall a great little album.
Someone somewhere should pony up and put this band on tour over here, they get lots of great press from our Euro cousins who have always had a refined taste in American music (Gene Clark for example had albums released in Holland when no one else would touch him). So if you’re looking for some honest to goodness, no mess, great American music you could do worse than to seek this out.
Round up Reviews
A brace of Americana roots type music albums arrived here over the past few weeks so I thought I’d gather them together in one piece.
First up is Woody Pines’ “Counting Alligators.” Fronted by the eponymous Pines this is a great little album of old time songs that range from the jump jive of “Rich Gal, Poor Gal” with its parping sax and syncopation to a great cover of “Satisfied and Tickled Too” which is one of the best versions of the song I’ve heard. At times foot tapping and up-tempo the best moments however are the slower songs such as “Walking Down the Road” with mournful fiddle and a wonderful air of melancholy.
While Woody Pines have their feet firmly in the urban side of American folk Furnace Mountain, from Virginia have a more rural feel with echoes of the Celtic traditions passed over the ocean on their album “Fields of Fescue.” With blazin’ fiddles and terrific strumming the band fit perfectly behind the vocals of Aimee Curl who has a little bit of Karen Dalton’s lazy rural twang about her. Allied to this is David Van Deventer’s fiddle which swings, cajoles and whoops throughout. This is infectious dancing music and begs to be heard live.
From the jackrabbit jive of Woody Pines and the cool clear rural dancesteps of Furnace Mountain we finally we have Gordie Tentrees with his offering “Mercy or Sin.” Coming from the singer songwriter tradition with his roots in country blues and sounding like a young John Prine, Tentrees and his band play seductively with guitars licking and curling around his lyrics. At times they play dirty as on “Devil Talks” with ferocious guitar and stinging dobro but again the best is in the quieter moments where Tentrees and the band swing with a lazy nonchalance with a hint of menace in the tale.
