Sound Cloud Sunday October 14, 2018 (Episode 27)
Sound Cloud Sunday October 14, 2018 (Episode 27)
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There is never enough time in a day to listen and digest all the great new music we hear. And remember, Laurel Canyon Radio is a station where nearly three quarters of our playlist is coming up on fifty years old! That being said, one of the credos we hold dearly is playing the music inspired from the Laurel Canyon Sound that bubbled up through the canyon in its heyday. The harmonies, the crisp acoustic playing, the heartfelt and sometimes political lyrics all form the core of musicians and artists bringing forward the great tradition of the Laurel Canyon Sound. Some of the music we discover comes from radio promoters, you tube videos, review sites like Paste, other music lovers like Gary Smith at Laurel Canyon Music in London and the musicians themselves. This week we discovered yet another cool outlet, Drooble.com where artists can post their own music for review, consumption, adoration and more. We’ve included our first “discovery” off of Drooble this week Don Jaron who delivers a spongeworthy rendition of the Gordon Lightfoot track “Early Morning Rain” that we believe exceeds the original. Look for more music from our friends over at Drooble soon! And enjoy our week of country-tinged #laurelcanyonsound as the leaves turn yellow (somewhere) and we enjoy our first rain in what seems like a century!
The Teskey Brothers – I Get Up
Hometown: Melbourne, Australia
Album: This is their new single. New album forthcoming on Harvest Mill Records.
Review Snippet: The Teskey Brothers are a rare musical gem. Honouring that old school Motown sound and working it into something of their very own, the band have received widespread acclaim for their gorgeous debut album Half Mile Harvest. A raw combination of soul and blues, the record has warmed the hearts of listeners everywhere with it’s melancholic, analogue tones.
Written by all four band members, the album was recorded in their own home studio, self-produced and released independently. Listening to the record you’d be forgiven for thinking it was the work of Stax Records alumni in Memphis circa ‘67 rather than a group of twenty-somethings from the Yarra Valley just outside Melbourne. The feeling is as old as the tape machine it was recorded on and it’s a true expression of love.
Onstage singer Josh Teskey’s smoked whiskey voice defies expectation as the band around him hold an irresistible groove. Their undeniable live show has wowed audiences around the world, leaving them infected with soul and blues.
Website: https://www.theteskeybrothers.com/
Cordovas – I’m The One Who Needs You Tonight
Hometown: Nashville
Album: Santa Fe Channel finally came out in August on ATO Records. It’s their second album.
Review Snippet: The songwriting and production would be at home on Jackson Browne‘s Late For The Sky, and, like Browne, the band ably splits the difference between a Western ease and a Southern twang. The song sounds practically unproduced by contemporary standards — the quiet, articulated drums sit at the back of the mix in a steady groove with band founder Joe Firstman’s bass, a dry pedal steel and a roomy piano. The front of the mix is the province of three of Cordovas’ four members, locked into a tight harmony for almost the whole song. Kenneth Pattengale, of The Milk Carton Kids, produced the album with an intentional spareness. There is no hiding on this arrangement; it is boldly unadorned and, at under three minutes, bracingly direct. More than any tape machine could, this mix and the aesthetic priorities it telegraphs situate the band squarely in 1970s Southern rock.
Next Time in LA: November 12 at the Belasco Theatre opening for Elle King.
Website: http://site.cordovasband.com/
The Maries – Carolina Wind
Hometown: LA via Portland
Album: Their debut album “Peace” will be released on October 26.
Review Snippet: Dynamic mother-daughter duo The Maries present their debut album, “Peace,” soulful and uplifting world folk harmonies attentive to the poignant issues of today. Multi-talented singers/songwriters/musicians Mylene Marie and Emily Marie comprise the Maries, both having began their musical journeys at 10 and 14, respectively. Mylene has composed over five albums of phenomenal material ranging from country/rhythm rock to gospel and blues. Their enchanting Americana sound in “Peace” is enhanced by the outstanding talents of Don Randi and various members of the Wrecking Crew. With a focus on finding a common ground between peoples, their impassioned message of faith, hope, and love resounds in every song.
Website: https://the-maries.com/
Mustered Courage – Free Wheelin’
Hometown: Melbourne, Australia
Album: From their album “When We Played With Fire” just released in September independently.
Review Snippet: Mustered Courage breathe new life into the bluegrass, country and folk scene with a diverse sound that appeals to both traditionalists and newcomers alike. The Melbourne based quartet that Music Australia Guide describes as “the link between Bill Monroe and Mumford & Sons” has risen to the top of Australia’s folk and roots scene on the strength of their energetic live shows and albums that have won them glowing reviews, loads of radio support and a trophy at the 2015 CMAA Golden Guitar Awards for Instrumental of the Year – “Candle Creek.”
Website: https://www.musteredcourage.com
Don Jaron – Early Morning Rain
Hometown: Guilford, UK
Album: Check out Mr. Jaron’s music on Drooble or ITunes.
Review Snippet: Our first discovery on the social music discovery site “Drooble”, Don Jaron’s cover of the Gordon Lightfoot track out Lightfoot’s Lightfoot with assured harmonies and subtle strumming. A beautiful stunning track.
Web Site: https://www.reverbnation.com/musician/donjaron
Kites – You, Me + Nothing
Hometown: Corbin, KY
Album: From their debut album “Jesson just independently released.
Review Snippet: Kites is an indie-folk duo best known for the songs “Home”, “Hey You”, & “Kentucky”. The husband/wife are lauded for their live show – featuring rich harmony, raw energy, & a pleasant juxtaposition of joyful lyrics accompanied by dark musical undertones.
Website: http://www.kitesofficial.com/home/
Zack Logan – Dogs Chase Cars
Hometown: Newton MS
Album: From his debut album “Raised By Wolves” released in August on Badlands Records.
Review Snippet: Zack Logan comes from a long tradition of American singer songwriters mining a seam of blue collar, working man’s hopes and dreams. Opening with the subtle finger-picked delight ‘Annalee’ with its gorgeous string backing is reminiscent of early John Prine or perhaps a less care worn Kristofferson. So this is good stuff. It is in many ways a simple album, effective narratives driven by simple guitar lines and fiddle accompaniment, lyrically straightforward but affecting with some gorgeous warm production and a voice built for weaving acoustic stories.
Website: https://www.zacklogan.net
A Different Thread – Rosa Rosa
Hometown: Staffordshire, UK
Album: Their self-titled debut is out now.
Review Snippet: British/American duo, ‘A Different Thread’ delivers an intoxicating amalgamation of Beatlesque folk rock meets Gillian Welch dark country…
Website: http://www.adifferentthread.com/
JP Harris – When I Quit Drinking
Hometown: Montgomery, AL
Album: His third album “Sometimes Dogs Bark At Nothing” came out October 5 on Red Dirt Records.
Review Snippet: “With his forthcoming album “Sometimes Dogs Bark at Nothing,” he’s back after a four- year hiatus to remind folks what a lifetime dedicated to country music really looks and sounds like. Sure to please fans of his hardscrabble earlier work, this new release also finds the acclaimed songwriter and vocalist stretching himself musically and personally.It was one of the tougher albums Harris has put together, with a disappointing few false starts that would eventually yield a fruitful situation from which he could work.
“I feel like I was trying to make this record for two or three years before we actually got around to making it,” Harris says. “I had written at least half of the songs a couple years before we got close to a plan of how to make it. I really wanted to wait for the right situation to come up before I made this album. A lot of things changed in my life between when I made my previous album and when we decided to go into the studio last year to make this one. I felt like I had a very different approach to life and music in general. It was really important to wait for the right situation to coalesce before I dove into making something new.”
In addition to taking a little more time planning Sometimes Dogs Bark at Nothing, Harris also changed up his approach to recording. Working with producer (and Old Crow Medicine Show member) Morgan Jahnig, Harris tapped a handful of his favorite players, sent them acoustic demos of the album’s tracks, and gave some pretty specific instructions: “Take the next five days to think about these. Please write notes of whatever ideas come to mind. Please don’t talk to each other about it. Let’s all just get in the studio on day one and compare notes as we go.”
The resulting sessions had an air of spontaneity and a palpable creative energy, both of which lent themselves to an album that feels real, raw, and more akin to a live performance than anything Harris has put out thus far. “We took a counter-intuitive approach,” he says. “We had no pre-production. There were no rehearsals. We basically had a whole studio full of multi-instrumentalists, a six-piece band total, for the whole recording session. Everybody played at least two instruments. It was a really interesting way to do it and I think it helped us avoid anybody, including myself, overthinking the songs.”
Sometimes Dogs Bark at Nothing opens with “JP”s Florida Blues #1,” a hard- driving country rock number that details some of Harris’ darker days touring Florida with his band, the Tough Choices. “This track is special to me in many ways,” he says. “Not only was it fun as hell to record, but for me it’s a humorous way to process a very real and very dark stretch of time from my past. Once I was far enough away from it, the story became a little easier to recount in a near- comical fashion.”
It’s followed by “Lady in the Spotlight,” an affecting song with layered strings that turns a critical eye to the stark gender imbalance within the predatory music industry. Here, Harris and Jahnig took an unconventional approach to powerful effect.
“It’s the story of a small town girl, buying a one-way flight to California with a guitar, only to find that her body and not her talent is the only way she can leverage her dreams into being,” he says. “It’’s a tale that many could imagine being true back in the ‘60s or ‘70s, and I believe that many music fans assume that as an industry we are “past that time” without realizing it is a very cruel reality still faced by many female artists still today.”
Another album highlight is “When I Quit Drinking,” which, as its title suggests, is a tender look at one of Harris’ most personal struggles. Gossamer strands of pedal steel complement the gentle quaver in his voice, and the songs’ lyrics are some of his most personal to date.
“As some of my songwriting becomes more introspective or true-to-life, I tried to offer something universally identifiable in this one,” he says. “Though almost all of my songs are some form true story from my own life, I also feel the right to keep some things my own personal business. With this song I was able to vocalize one of my own struggles, with the hope that it helps someone else through theirs.”
In just about every way, Sometimes Dogs Bark at Nothing is a recorded manifestation of Harris’ growth over the last four years. He’s become more comfortable in his singing, more confident in his artistic direction, and more adventurous in his sonic palette. He’s letting listeners in to some of his most difficult struggles and turning a compassionate eye to the struggles of others.
And, after years of writing and playing, he’s more in love with country music than ever before. He sums up his hopes for the album simply:
“I’m just hoping that me coming to the table without gimmicks or cool-looking clothes or boot cut jeans, just the dirt bag guy I am with a tank top and a pair of boots on, is enough to just get people into the music.”
Website: https://www.ilovehonkytonk.com/
Martha L. Healy – No Place Like Home
Hometown: Nashville via Scotland
Album: From 2nd album “Keep The Flame Alight” released October 5 on Frog Eye Records.
Review Snippet: Growing up, she was raised on a diet of Americana music, before she knew what that even meant. The Eagles, The Traveling Wilburys and folk heroes, The Dubliners were all staples of the Healy family vinyl collection. The collection also included music by Patsy Cline, Carole King and anything remotely Motown.
‘Keep The Flame Alight’ is an album recorded in Nashville, but influenced by Martha’s Celtic roots. Through a mix of personal insight and story songs, she provides a fresh take on some classic themes: the need to leave somewhere to help find your place in the world; the ache of an unfulfilled love; the complexity of family and friendships and the need to live your own dreams.
Website: https://marthalhealy.com/
Tom Loughman and the Canyon Aliens/ Kicking It Back
Hometown: Ojai, CA
Album: The self-released album “Song Dog” came out in August.
Review Snippet: Influenced by Americana / roots rock, frontman / songwriter Thomas Loughman and The Canyon Aliens provide an old school, authentic sound that’s enjoyed by music lovers young and old.
Website: https://soundcloud.com/tom-loughman
Morgan Meyer – Olive Street
Hometown: Austin, TX via Wisconsin
Album: Her debut album “Fire Escape” was self-released at the end of September.
Review Snippet: Her sound can be described as a mashup of blues, folk, and pop with the perfect hint of twang and grit. Morgan writes about life, love, childhood, mental health, and substance abuse. And she has a lot to say.
Website: https://www.morganmeyermusic.com/
Parker Milsap – Good Night
Hometown: Tulsa, Oklahoma
Album: His fourth album “Other Arrangements” came out in May on Okrahoma Records.
Review Snippet: “His voice has the depth of some of the best blues musicians with a gravelly range that forces you to pay attention, if not to just wonder how the slender, fresh-faced Millsap is doing what you’re watching. He’s got the boyish charms and the wild and dirty sound that comes from a life of hard living. It’s absolutely astounding.”
Website: http://www.parkermillsap.com/
Jimmy Docherty – Little Piece of Sunshine
Hometown: Edinburgh, Scotland
Album: From his debut album “Jimmy Docherty and the Velvet Tinkers” self-released in April.
Review Snippet: Scottish born vocalist/ multi-instrumentalist, based in Manchester. Professional musician for 15 years. Guitarist for Ronan Keating.
Website http://jimmydocherty.com/
Hattie Briggs – Here’s To Hoping
Hometown: London via Chichester
Album: From her second album “Young Runaway” just out last week on Wise Dog Records.
Review Snippet: Transcending the generations is written all over the music of Hattie Briggs and right from launching into ‘Never Been in Love Before’ evidence advocating the accrued acclaim surfaced. In true singer-songwriter tradition, Hattie took the time to introduce each of the fourteen songs chosen, some with just the title but others with more furnishing of the background. She generally comes across as an introspective writer, focussing heavily on feelings and emotion, rather than a wider template that would synchronize her more to the core folk community. One aspect of the writing process particularly honed in on is the personal commission. Songs such as ‘Early Girl’, ‘Ma Regina’and ‘Time’ have been born from this path.
Website: http://www.hattiebriggs.co.uk/
Cane Mill Road – Good Love
Hometown: Deep Gap. North Carolina
Album: From their second album “Gap To Gap” released in the spring on Patuxent Records.
Review Snippet: “While deeply rooted in traditional bluegrass, their songs boldly and progressively interpret classic songs… ”
Website: https://www.canemillroad.com/
