Archives for category: Uncategorized

Gwyneth Paltrow, Nashville Loves You

October 21, 2010 //

Filming "Country Strong" at War Memorial

When Gwyneth Paltrow was in Nashville months ago filming Love Will Find a Way, I got the call to be an extra at the War Memorial where Gwyneth was filming sequences that featured her “comeback” in the movie that will be released now with a new title Country Strong.

Gwyneth was singing live with a band of Nashville natives to canned tracks for the actual film. She really did work the audience and was “in the part” enjoying herself as a send up of something in between Shania Twain and Taylor Swift.

It’ s hard for me to remember the words to the songs but, the upbeat song was kind of a Country version of “Shake Your Booty” got the crowd going and we were having a good time running through the song several times for several shots.

Gwyneth in Nashville

When Gwyneth did the ballad “Country Strong” we were cheering even after the filming stopped the first time she did the shot. We didn’t stop. I think we were all in shock at how good the song was and how good her voice was. Gwyneth was surprised too and while the Director was talking to her about her next shot they finally stopped collaborating. Gwyneth walked back out to the runway and took a bow to the thousand of us that were there. We didn’t stop cheering for probably 10 minutes while the cameras were turned off.

The Director finally walked out and talked to us about who wrote the song. It was an all star team. It may be the old formula, but, picking a great song made all the difference. I will not be surprised that it will be a huge hit and could even get Best Song at the Academy Awards.

If you get the chance, watch her performance of “Country Strong” at the CMA Awards on November 10^th. I don’t write about stuff I don’t believe in. Gwyneth made me a believer. In reality, Nashville is full of people from all over the world that come here to sing Country just like there are plenty of Blues musicians that didn’t grow up in Mississippi or the wrong side of Chicago.

Gwyneth and Tim McGraw

If you haven’t noticed, Gwyneth loved Nashville and talked positively about her experiences while filming Country Strong including the food and the lifestyle. Gwyneth was absolutely polite, warm and she won a lot of fans who worked as extras while she was in town. This film also stars Tim McGraw and features Nashville in a big way with a lot of city venues and vistas. I am looking forward to seeing the finished work and hope you will too.

– Brad Hardisty, Nashville, TN thenashvillebridge@hotmail.com

Categories Country Music, Country Strong, Gwyneth Paltrow, Music, Sony Pictures, Tim McGraw, Uncategorized

Sam Cooper Caught Between Noshville and New Jersey

October 20, 2010 //

New Jersey Cat, , Sam Cooper, has been busy criss-crossing Nashville, splitting time producing, co-writing, hosting or playing songwriter rounds at The Bluebird Cafe, Commodore Grill and Douglas Corner, where he gets nuttin’ but the best entertaining songwriters on his tilt-a-whirl sets as well as gigging with Mary Hartman and The Mistakes.

Sam with Jamey Johnson on "Orange Man" Set

Things are getting interesting on this side of The Cumberland River, Sam may get his first official Nashville cut with his co-writing partners-in-crime Chris Gantry, Alex King, Brenda Enderson and Kate McCoy’s Dark Horse Hip Hop Country flavored “Orange Man” which features cameos by Kris Kristofferson, Jamey Johnson and others may see the light of day with recording artist, Alex King.

Getting a significant cut in four years is a big accomplishment, but, the coffee percolates when he talks about playing with Mary Hartman and The Mistakes. “Billy Block posted a mention on his Facebook page to play drums. I called him up and he didn‘t hesitate to join. We are really excited to work with Billy. He does so much for musicians with The Billy Block Show and he was Lucinda Williams’ (Back in her Nashville days) drummer”. “I can’t say enough about Mary Hartman she oozes personality and sexuality, she is magnetic, a great performer.”

Billy Block

Being a performer comes from what he learned watching acts like The Bruce Springsteen Band opening for Cactus before they became The E Street Band. “One of the things missing here sometimes is presentation. I’m use to a song being a performance. A lot of songwriters just sit and play and could use some vocal coaching but they don’t bother.” Performance of the song is as integral as the lyrics to Sam.

In fact, Sam comes with a background touring that includes the Northeast chitlin’ circuit soon after he and his father had an argument. Dad told him to pack his bags back in 1971. He left Virginia not long after starting his sophomore year of college in Richmond with nothing but the clothes on his back and headed to New Jersey where he found a room to rent with some friends for $100 a month. He eventually settled near the ocean in the Asbury Park area where he remained until 2006, when he discovered “home”–Nashville.

Sam had a background as a radio DJ, concert security, announcing bands and even started playing guitar and trumpet in the fourth grade but he never thought about actually being in the music business professionally and writing songs regularly until that move to New Jersey. He joined a bar band and hit the road. He got the bug performing many genres, but especially “soul” music. “The Beatles were a huge influence on me especially when “A Hard Day’s Night” came out, but soul music is something that you just can’t fake. My biggest influences are Ray Charles, Delbert McClinton, Stevie Wonder, Dan Penn, Isaac Hayes and a lot of horn-flavored desert island soul. I was really upset when I heard that Solomon Burke had died”.

Sam brings his own Jersey Shore rock and soul roots to songs like “East Nashville Girls”. Many of his songs are a celebration, a party; in fact he has a song called “Time to Party”. He has a wide palette that comes from his formative radio listening days. “The first three songs that I got hooked on were Ray Stevens’ “Ahab the Arab”, “Speedy Gonzalez” by Pat Boone and Bobby Darin singing “Dream Lover”. Anybody who has worked with Sam can’t help but laugh about that.

It makes sense since Sam can go from the romantic cinema “You Bring the Sunshine”, where one can envision sharing smiles and kisses with a sun tanned babe in the Florida Keys and then turns around and writes “Lee Ann Womack Truck” which he affectionately calls his “Bless your little heart” song to Music Row.

In a town where you get what you bring to the table; Sam is a Muscle Shoals laden Beatle beat master. One of his strongest songs “Red Bulls and Caffeine Pills”, an ode to the modern trucker or just commentary on a late night ride back to see his wife, Dawn, in New Jersey veers with bounce- in- your- car seat rhythm ala “Get Back” to Preston Starr-ing in a McCartney Bass boogie thriller of a hook.

When Sam works, which is almost all the time, it’s like he is running his own club house, signing up memberships on his mailing list and getting friends out to shows like it was Madison Square Garden or at least CBGB’s when Blondie, The Ramones and The Talking Heads were breaking and making new rules. He always thinks about presentation whether it is a song sampler or sitting on a stool playing at The Bluebird Café.

Sam not only thinks of himself, but those he admires, keeping everybody in touch with up and coming news through his website and social networking pages. The most important thing is he can sing his songs breaking bread with an Eddie Hinton– Dan Penn- Donnie Fritts kind of gravel and whiskey excess and turn around and deliver what the song asks for, whether it is Tom Waits or Peter Tosh.

This year seems to be playing out like so many well-placed notes in a melody, a culmination of years of bar band covers and the last few putting pen to paper where songwriting and publishing are an art. If there have been any setbacks for Sam in his Nashville life, he has taken them like the Pinball Wizard getting a match for an extra game on a Kiss Pinball Machine.

Mary Hartman

Sam has a couple of upcoming gigs; John Carter Cash will warm up for Mary Hartman and The Mistakes at The Rutledge on Oct. 26th, followed by a show at Douglas Corner Cafe on November 20th.

– Brad Hardisty, Nashville, TN thenashvillebridge@hotmail.com

Categories Billy Block, Bruce Springsteen, Cactus, Chris Gantry, Dan Penn, Douglas Corner Cafe, Eddie Hinton, Jamey Johnson, Kris Kristofferson, Mary Hartman, Sam Cooper, The Rutledge Nashville, Uncategorized

Kenny Harlan Celebrates Birthday at Commodore Grill

October 14, 2010 //

Kenny Harlan at Commodore/photo/Brad Hardisty

Kenny Harlan, Nashville Singer/Songwriter, celebrated his Birthday at Commodore Grill last night with friends including long time co-writing partner, Suzahn Fiering performing in his first songwriter round at Commodore Grill in almost two years.

Debi Champion longtime host of the successful songwriter nights played the gracious host delivering a slice of Chocolate Mousse Cake when he was on stage and getting the crowd to join in a round of “Happy Birthday”.

Kenny performed the song that got a lot of buzz on triple-A/Americana radio and in Europe in 2008, “Waiting for You”. It was not a trip down memory lane but a reminder of the strength of his ever the romantic lyrics that give thought to longing love and a bright hope for the lonely hearts club.

It was an all-star round prior to Kenny’s performance featuring Gary Hanan who co-wrote the top ten Country hits, “When I Knew It All” and “Tequila Makes her Clothes Fall Off” and Sam Cooper with his cinematic ode to walking poetry “East Nashville Girls”. If you live here you know what he is talking about.

We got a chance to catch up that evening and I found out he has been busy being Dad. His daughter, who turns three and his wife have been the center of his attention for the last couple of years in Franklin, Tennessee. Nashville is not only a great town to be a singer/songwriter but also to raise a family as one can tell by the number of Artists who have moved here over the last few years.

Kenny shared lyrics of a song he wrote as a tribute to his father who passed away recently. We reflected on past accomplishments and Kenny shared I Phone videos of his daughter while talking about new material that should be coming out over the next year.

Suzahn who has been busy instructing songwriter workshops in Prague and working for Sir Paul McCartney’s Organization for the past several months was hoping to get some writer’s nights going with Kenny before she goes back to England.

Kenny who knows to always travel with his trusted Martin guitar, was not planning on playing, but hoped to get in on the action and had a wonderful Birthday at one of the Nashville’s finest venues.

– Brad Hardisty, Nashville, TN thenashvillebridge@hotmail.com

Categories Commodore Grill, Country Music, Debi Champion, Kenny Harlan, Music, Sam Cooper, Suzahn Fiering, Uncategorized

Black Mountain Vol. 4

October 11, 2010 //

I first got turned onto Black Mountain in 2006 when my drummer, Daniel of “Waiting for Daniel” fame said you got to check this out as we hung out back of the practice space, The HotEL Birmingham in his Volkswagen Jetta with the music cranked.

I was like the “what tha?” It was twin vocals kind of “Grace Slick and Marty Balin- Jefferson Airplane style” over music that veered from the mysterious realms of Jethro Tull to heavy Black Sabbath riffs. Although it was electric it was really organic sounding, like heavy Rock being neither Stoner Rock or Heavy Metal.

The first cover of black on black mountains, like flying over the Rockies in the winter at night was ominous like the sound. I started looking forward to the next release. In the Future was again very heavy and kept this brigade of late 60’s romantics cooking. The cover again with the cubist art was like retro-future with how 1960’s culture viewed itself. We had to look toward the future.

Black Mountain / photo/ Ryan Walter Wagner

This is Black Mountain‘s fourth outing and still no picture of the band on the cover. If you want to see the band, you’ll need to go to YouTube or go see them live. They seem even more focused and the artwork is no less compelling with a reflection of a great white shark in a mirrored office building coming out of the clouds, it’s like nature itself is pissed off.

Wilderness Heart kicks off with almost a Led Zep-Kashmir quality and keeps the retro stew going with “Old Fangs” coming out of the speakers like a Martin Birch engineered track off Deep Purple’s Fireball.

Amber Webber is a key element that keeps things from getting formulaic with her counter vocals, Stephen McBean and Amber still remind me of a modern day Marty Balin-Grace Slick team or if you want to get punk, Exene Cervenka-John Doe team. This type of work could not be auto tuned, there is some room for synthesizers but they will remind you of the synth work in Zeppelin or Sabbath.

The sound still stays organic and sounds as if they are still recording on big Ampex Analog 16 track machines. They are at the forefront of something that bridges the late 60’s haunting post hippie scene with lyrics that will stir the Syd Barrett in everybody. In fact, there is even a reference to Piper at the Gates of Dawn, but I’ll let you find that yourself like discovering the hidden meanings on The Beatles’ White Album .

This groups possible believers may not even be listening yet. Black Mountain bridges the gap between the kids that find the music of the late 60’s and early 70’s had something that music doesn’t have now and the fifty somethings that listened to the music in the first place. Wilderness Heart could sit comfortable between Jethro Tull’s Aqualung and Deep Purple’s Fireball in any relic’s record collection.

The Psychedelic Vancouver, Canada band will roll into Nashville on November 11^th at the The Mercy Lounge/Cannery Balllroom. You can get tickets at Grimeys, this is 9 on a 10 scale kick back in your room music.

– Brad Hardisty, Nashville, TN thenashvillebridge@hotmail.com

Categories Black Mountain, Black Sabbath, Jefferson Airplane, Music, Rock, Uncategorized

Life Without a Net:Part 1

October 11, 2010 //

Life Without a Net: The Virtual Musician Part 1

In an attempt to be informative on the current state of the music business, I find that it may be good to look at where we are now and where things are going. If you ask different label heads, publicist, booking agents or musicians themselves, you will get a different answer every time, but, one thing that is consistent is that the CD is in a death spiral and the industry itself may be to blame.

The actual numbers of CD’s sold is continuing a steady decline every year. The closing of the New York Virgin Mega store alone cost a 2% drop in music sales. Wal Mart announced this year they were cutting in half the shelf space for CD music. The fact is that the end is still not in site.

The fact still remains that 63 million people buy only CD’s. That is twice as many as imusic buyers. They have found out recently that 58% of iPod buyers have never downloaded from a legal music source. In fact 3 out of every 4 13-25 age bracket individual has never bought a legal download. They are using file sharing and mobile download options.

One fact still remains; people are still listening to music as much as ever. The era of setting up a big stereo system and sitting down for a couple of hours to listen to music may be over, but, music is still there in the background on the laptop or going on while people are busy doing something else.

The one thing that may never come back is there were 20 million music buyers that left the CD format and never went to digital formats. These buyers may never come back. People are not disengaged from music but the value of music, the importance of the purchase that supports the career of the Artist and the business itself is getting lost in the shuffle.

One of the issues that was never discussed at either the Americana Music Conference or Digital Summit was the competition for the entertainment dollar that began in the 80’s and kept up a relentless pace through the 90’s until now. Back in the 70’s or before there was virtually no competition for the music dollar. Sports were played with minimal equipment and there was not the ability to purchase films or video games to compete with the music dollar.

The purchase of music was part of an adolescent rite of passage. The ability to purchase tape recorded movies first on VHS then on DVD took an ever increasing chunk of discretionary income away from the purchase of music. Then came the advent of video game technology. The purchase of different gaming formats as well as the games took an even larger chunk of entertainment dollars in the average household especially for teens.

So who are buying CD’s? The overwhelming percentage is female. The biggest age group segment is age 36 – 50 (how many new bands are aiming for this buyer?) with 51 and over being the second largest group. The imusic purchases are not even close to making up for losses in CD sales. There has been a recent nitch market in vinyl sales, but that is an “uber” fan type purchase. Lately, they have been developing the “uber” fan market by exploiting the serious music buyers with special multi-disc releases, vinyl and other promotional product. These are buyers that will buy no matter what. Many times they are musicians, essentially preaching to the choir.

The biggest problem is getting the average music listener to make a purchase. There are a few ideas coming down the road, subscription services, “connectivity” the wave of the future with devices such as Blue Ray players that are connected to the internet that make it possible to download movies will make it possible to download music. In the end the IPod may end up being a stop gap nitch market itself.

Next we will look at what bands are doing to raise funds, develop awareness and release music.

– Brad Hardisty, Nashville, TN thenasvhillebridge@hotmail.com

Categories Leadership Music Digital Summit, Music, Next Big Nashville 2010, Uncategorized

The Peelander-Z Circus Comes to Town

October 4, 2010 //

Future of Saturday Morning TV

In what may be a mindbender on an unsuspecting audience, Peelander-Z from Japan unleashed the craziest show to ever roll into Exit/In if not the Next Big Nashville 2010 Conference. Equal parts Aquabats Super Heroes and Flaming Lips larger than life costume changes, they made their entrance marching like 80’s band Toy Dolls with Peelander Yellow acting as ringmaster for all the kids on the playground.

I was forewarned if not recommended by Kyle Bowen of Modoc when I asked what band to check out this year. He said you got to check out Give Me Smile from Japan. I looked through the scheduled appearances and had no idea what he was talking about. On Friday night while exiting Third Man Records after the Heavy Cream set I ran into these two Japanese Guys in Yellow and Red and asked if they had heard of Give Me Smile. They just smiled exclaiming “oh! Oh!” and handed me a CD with what looked like a band named Peelander-Z?

Peelander-Z at Exit/In

I threw it in the car and was met with a barrage of The Banana Splits meets Motorhead. This was a Japanese band not even trying to fake their way through the English language, they were downright mangling words like “Ugly”. I almost had to pull over from laughing to tears while driving my car.

Finally, the words come on “Welcome to our show, next time bring Mom and Dad…give me smile, give me smile, give me smile”. Oh man, it’s the “Give me Smile” guys. Okay I had to check this one out. Luckily enough it was at Exit/In where I wanted to go check out Cheer up Charlie Daniels and Heypenny already.

Crowd Surfing Bassist

No one could have prepared you for this band live. It was tight Motorhead speed with twists and turns that occasionally stopped for audience participation in bowling games or a bunny hop style line of follow the leader behind bassist Peelander Red. Dressed in primary colors of Red, Yellow and Green on drums, they took as much from The Ramones as the Aquabats. If Peelander Yellow was the ringmaster who was equal parts Lemmy and Pat Morita from Karate Kid, Peelander Red was the instigator jumping into the audience at random, a flying Ninja jumping off a full Ampeg SVT cabinet up at least 10 feet in the air before landing onstage.

We were encouraged to sing along to unforgettable classics like “E-I-O” and “Medium Rare “with the crowd yelling like a frenzied table at Benihanas before taking all of us back to that response to “Rock and Roll High School”, with “Ninja High School”. Nashvillians were in a frenzy beating on what looked like hubcaps passed out by a magical Peelander Pink who would appear out of nowhere sometimes onstage or in the rafters.

MAD TIGER!!!

Peelander Black added a little lead guitar and mysterious vibe to the mix. Peelander-Z would at a moment throw on bigger than life bowling pin outfits or Mad Tiger headgear for very special songs about Mad Tiger and Bowling. One guy jumped on stage and thought he was going to just groove with the band when they all stopped and stared at him. Peelander Yellow kissed him on the cheek and he quietly faked a stage dive off the front sans music. That had everybody laughing.

At the end, they pulled people up and replaced the entire band with audience members on drums, guitar and bass while they were in the audience skipping rope or whatever. They finally worked back up on stage and finished out the last song.

Peelander Pink Cheerleader

If somebody was trying to find something serious about this stuff they came to the wrong set. This was all about a good time and to me was the high point of the Conference. There will be plenty of time for more structured thoughtful music but for now it was “Schoolhouse Rock” singing about steak and watching Superhero Japanese Anime in primary colors run amuck.

Even Lucas who was in town from Denver to see Widespread Panic at the Ryman said “I have to admit that was the first time I ever saw a full on Redneck moshing!” Peelander-Z wore out the audience with full participation! This was a primary color and primary rock and roll extravaganza!

– Brad Hardisty, Nashville, TN thenashvillebridge@hotmail.com

Peelander-Z at actual Velocity!

Categories Cheer up Charlie Daniels, Heavy Cream, Heypenny, Modoc, Motorhead, Next Big Nashville 2010, Peelander-Z, Punk Rock, Rock, The Toy Dolls, Uncategorized

Next Big Nashville: First Night Review

October 3, 2010 //

The Mynabirds at Mercy Lounge

It was a big first night with Seattle’s David Bazan, Aaron Robinson and Omaha label, Saddle Creek, band The Mynabirds at The Mercy Lounge. I avoid republishing, especially my own stuff, so if you want to go to that, here is the link:

http://performermag.com/Blog/SEPTEMBER#nextbignashville

Enjoy!

– Brad Hardisty, Nashville, TN thenashvillebridge@hotmail.com

Categories Aaron Robinson, David Bazan, Indie Rock, Next Big Nashville 2010, The Mercy Lounge, The Mynabirds, Uncategorized

TACA 2010: Prelude to Next Big Nashville/World of Bluegrass Week

September 25, 2010 //

Elliston Place

Heading over to Centennial Park, I set myself down near Rock Block for starting point to TACA 2010 in front of Elliston Place Soda Shop, one of the oldest landmark Restaurants still at the same location near Vanderbilt University.

Today was a day off in preparation for the rest of “Busy-September” when the stars align and Nashville is taken over by The Americana Music Association and finally IBMA World of Bluegrass in the same moment as Next Big Nashville 2010 starting Monday.

Next Big Nashville has been touted as Nashville’s SXSW but then again there is a NXNW Indie Conference as well. The foundation has been laid for bigger plans in Nashville for the music business. Indie distributors such as Thirty Tigers and of course Jack White’s Third Man Records are adding to the landscape of Nashville.

Rock Block

Third Man Records has had involvement at SXSW in the past with a pop up music store during the festivities in Austin and has announced offsite Concerts at Third Man Studios during the Conference. There is even special Blue and Black vinyl releases to guests at the show. They have no less than three shows, Jenny & Johnny Sunday night, 9/26, 6 PM, followed by Tyvek from Detroit at 8PM Monday night and back to back shows 10/1 and 10/2 featuring The Ettes, Jeff the Brotherhood, Jacuzzi Boys, Heavy Cream among others.

Marilee Hall Ceramics

Not to be outdone Next Big Nashville has announced several showcases, one of which is The Bridges among its 4 Days/150 Bands/12 Venues Lineup. It actually dwarfs the Americana Music Conference that featured such great Artists as Robert Plant, Wanda Jackson and The Avett Brothers.

Dancin' in the Park

It is going to be hard to get around town with the IBMA World of Bluegrass taking on the same streets. This is the largest Conference of the Bluegrass scene that has Americana crossovers like The Steeldrivers performing during the week. Jerry Douglas will be one of the hosts at a packed awards show on September 30^th at The Ryman.

Roberta Elliott/The Velvet Hammer Ltd.

Yes, this weekend is a little peaceful among the Artisans, crafters, gawkers and dogs. It is a day on the green at Centennial Park in the mid 80’s with everything from John J. Quick hand carving Windsor Chairs without a lathe to Roberta Elliot-The Velvet Hammer Ltd. Showing off ironware for the home. She had the most interesting Music Stand I had ever seen with some famous folks that already own one. I asked if she had made a Mic Stand for anybody yet and the answer was no. You can be the first one out there with a Mic stand built from scratch to your own specifications.

Chair Swing with a View

A little time to contemplate the week ahead kicking back on one of the chair swings at Centennial Park with The Parthenon in the distance and I was back down to Elliston Place for a brief stop at Rock Block Guitars to check out the used gear that may have ended up there at tour’s end or a broke musician leaving town. Nashville makes as many dreams as it breaks. I always say “you will get out of Nashville what you bring to the table”. This week over 200 bands and artist will be playing for locals, the media and just for the sheer fact that a Musician has got to do what he is.

Rock Block Guitars

Okay tonight will be some mindless fun reminiscing my youth with a Van Halen tribute band by the name of Fair Warning at The Basement just a little break before next week’s madness and sleepless nights.

Coasters

John J Quick/ Tennessee

Lester Jones.com

The Parthenon in the distance

Centennial Park, Nashville, TN, TACA 2010

– Brad Hardisty, Nashville, TN, all photos 2010- Brad Hardisty thenashvillebridge@hotmail.com

Categories Heavy Cream, IBMA World of Bluegrass 2010, Jeff the Brotherhood, Jerry Douglas, Next Big Nashville 2010, TACA 2010, The Bridges, The Ettes, Third Man Records, Tyvek, Uncategorized

Junky Star Embraces The California Depression

September 23, 2010 //

Welcome to the Depression, an honest portrait of the “Junky Star” by Ryan Bingham and The Dead Horses, a down and outer that could be any of us or somebody we know. In fact, if I start counting all of the friends I have who are lost to drug addiction, prescription or otherwise or lost a job because their skill set is no longer needed, I could have wrote this story.

While “The Weary Kind” won Ryan Bingham an Academy Award, recognition and new friends, he was preparing to release a bleak and beautiful effort of a wanderer leaving behind the hopeless junkies and lost jobs for the possibilities of California.

During the Great Depression and Dust Bowl days many who lost their land or livelihood left for California’s oil fields and Agriculture. It was a different place then. Merle Haggard’s parents were some of those souls who found happiness and work in the Central Valley in Oildale. If it was not the best paying work, it was steady and provided a way for the next generation to improve upon their simple means.

Oildale CA during theBoom

This time California itself is feeling the pressure of a busted housing boom, tech boom and any other kind of boom they had in the past. As we set out “The Poet” writes “Sweethearts kiss in the dark, Homeless sleep in the park, I myself just move on through town…oh how I love the highway sun, the poet in the dark writes down his song in blood”.

As he travels the lonely road, the character in Ryan’s songs scribbles lyrics on found paper with a guitar on his back. In “The Wandering” he sings in a broken voice that is as distinctive as Bob Dylan “Disregard the time, find your peace of mind, among the wandering”.

The Doors

We are into track number three and he hasn’t yet sung about his goal to make it to California, “Strange Feelin’ in the Air” just shows an uncomfortable drifter “I’m feelin’ strange, in this town, I feel deranged, as I look around” with an echo to Jim Morrison and The Doors’ “People are strange when you’re a stranger, Faces look ugly when you’re alone”.

I’m beginning to realize I haven’t heard any band this empty since The Cowboy Junkies “Femme Fatale”; in fact this is almost like a Country Album made in Berlin (think “Walk on the Wildside, Lou Reed) by the love child of Bob Dylan and Kurt Cobain. The hooks are only implied but understood.

Finally in “Junky Star” lies the thesis of somebody taking away his farm so “I shot him dead and hung my head, and drove off in his car, so on the run with a smoking gun, I’m headin’ for the coast” only to find himself “sleepin on the Santa Monica Pier, with the junkies and the stars” and finds himself telling God “that the whole damn world was waiting around to die, but not me this time, I left trouble far behind”.

But the truth is you can’t leave trouble behind and this is the total opposite of Bob Dylan’s “Modern Times” where Bob was asked “why something so hopeful in such troubled times?”, he just shared that when you went back to films and music during the Depression and World War II things were always so bright and sunny as an opposite to what was going on and now Ryan no longer calls it just a Recession.

“Depression” makes it very clear “Would I wake up for a lifetime, lose my job in this Depression, well I don’t care, cause I got your love, in this Depression”. As long as he has the love of his life he can make it and let his strung out friends know “…we’ve gone out to California”.

“Junky Star” lets you know there is a Depression going on. The Depression has been getting deeper every year for musicians where the only hope is to make enough to stay out on the road and have enough to keep your apartment when you get back home. The music business started shrinking long before 2008. Whereas a classic album or a piece of Cotton Candy like NSync could sell six million or more, now we talk about a few mega stars going Platinum in a year.

Jobs have been taken from us by a “monkey puzzle” called a Computer and by companies finding cheaper labor overseas. We don’t even know how we can replace what has been taken away. We are only told to spend our way out of these bad times. There are records of people who spent themselves into comfort only to realize they played the fool and became slaves to their ease.

“Junky Star” gives way to another character mindlessly shot by a stranger, “I said you must be down on your luck, I’m out of money and I’m all out of time, he pulled the trigger and I fell to my knees, my spirit left and then my body went cold” the biggest thing the talking dead man worries about is his honey and let’s her know “I’m everything in between the harmonies singin loud, Hallelujah”.

These are the tough luck stories that happen maybe not to you or me but they happen to somebody. Ryan has decided to be the voice of the most difficult California stories one could imagine.

He shares his own thoughts about what we are becoming and in his own “John Lennon-Imagine” style, “there’s just no time for traditions, tying people down to class when everyone’s a shade of green that suffers in the grass of greed”. Maybe the problem is too many can be bought.

Dust Bowl Days

Dead Horses in the middle of the road

California seems to be the last hope even if only a change of location. In “Lay my Head on the Rail”, he sings”The head lights are blinding and the diesels are on fire, hauling ass down a mountain pass to the California state line”.

If you wonder what it feels like after a lifetime of wandering only to find yourself looking back, it is there in “Self-Righteous Wall” in the lyrics “I guess you just couldn’t keep up with the wild horse that you stole, you set yourself on the back steps and you feel yourself growin old, you feel your gray hairs runnin back to a place you left so cold”.

I guess the path is over when you find yourself only looking back.

“Junky Star” is a thematic piece told in first person that never strays from the concept from start to finish. The Who almost did that with “Tommy” except they threw a curve ball in with “Pinball Wizard” for Rock Music Journalist Nik Cohn in hopes of a great review. The 1960’s were a different time, back then that little difference might be enough to get a radio hit.

Nowadays, recordings might as well be something that means a lot to the writer, in hopes that the listener can find something he can relate to. If there was a “Tommy” written about the down and out “in this Depression”, Ryan has done it.

Village Recorder mural

It’s quite the paradox that this was recorded at The Village Recorder just one block off Santa Monica Boulevard with its mural of California falling into the ocean. There are so many huge albums that were done there such as Steely Dan “Aja” and Joe’s Garage by Frank Zappa. This album will at the very least be the Big Star #1 Record of modern Americana. While this may be a gut wrenching piece of work, I don’t remember anything but great times at The Village Recorder back in late 1989-1990 listening to a mix with Producer Howard Benson or talking about the problems of getting tape for those crazy Akai recorders with Jeff “Skunk” Baxter. In fact I can see myself walking a couple of blocks over to pick up some new guitar strings at West LA Music. While I am at it, let’s go up another block and get one of those real Carne Asada Burritos.

The Liner notes and the accompanying booklet discards anything unimportant such as who wrote the song, who the publisher is or what performing rights organization is involved. The focus is on the music; even T Bone Burnett lists more credits than the band. Instead of letting you know what brand of strings Corby Schaub uses or thanking some local music store or fan club the special thanks goes out to “Our Family of Friends who have helped make this all possible”. I was not even familiar with Mastering Engineer Gavin Lurssen, but I am now. There is no annoying distortion by trying to make the CD “louder”. I perceive undebatable warm clean Mastering.

Last stop California!

T Bone Burnett has yet again produced a project that will no doubt be in my top ten for the year. This isn’t an album you would want to listen to when you are in the middle of the tech boom but the American Dream is on the verge of disappearing in these stories of the down trodden that hope to turn a corner by going to California. If you get to California and find out that the struggle is even harder than the one you left behind, then all there is left to do is go back and face problems head on.

– Brad Hardisty, Nashville, TN thenashvillebridge@hotmail.com

Categories Americana Music, Country Music, Gavin Lurssen, Lost Highway Records, Lou Reed, Merle Haggard, Music, Rock, Ryan Bingham, Ryan Bingham and The Dead Horses, T Bone Burnett, The Great Depression, The Village Recorder, Uncategorized

Harlem River Blues; Justin Townes Earle’s New York Story

September 22, 2010 //

Justin Townes Earle mixes up the JTE sound, yet again, remaking his trademark with the help of Jason Isbell on this tribute to New York with “Harlem River Blues” and the metaphoric lines “Lord, I’m goin’ up town to the Harlem River to drown, Dirty water going to cover me over and I’m not going to make a sound,…troubled days are behind me now and I know they are going to let me in.” In a gospel sing a long Justin starts a song cycle about his other hometown.

New York now has its own album full of Country blues flavored Americana. It continues with true JTE style on the second track “One More Night in Brooklyn” similar to the breakdown of slower material from “The Good Life”.

Before continuing the ode to New York, “Move over Mama” with its straight up Rockabilly is my personal favorite. The driving upright Bass of Bryn Davies and “Get Back-Billy Preston” style electric piano, paces at the same rate as the classic “Move it on Over” with the change up of “Mama you been sleepin’ in the middle of the bed too long”, it is a great response to that old Hank Williams classic, “Move it on over, cause this big old dog is moving in”. Clocking in at two minutes, “Move over Mama” would be a great 45 vinyl in the jukebox alongside some classic Sun Records.

“Workin’ for the MTA” is a train song for a “its cold in them tunnels today” Subway Train worker. I don’t know if there ever has been a train song about the subway, but, this is a story of a second generation “son of a railroad man from south Louisiann’”. He is able to make the connection between his Dad and the trains but “this ain’t my Daddy’s train, I ain’t seen the sun for days.” It references the current hard times but he is working and “banking on the MTA”.

It could have been easy to find a muse in Tennessee or Mississippi, but, this is New York City. He is now a full time resident of the Big Apple along with other artists such as Punch Brothers. I haven’t been up there lately, but, maybe there is kind of a folk resurgence going on like in the days of early Bob Dylan that followed through with songwriters like Simon and Garfunkel.

There is enough Blues; Muscle Shoals horns with Jason Isbell’s stand out guitar track “Slippin’ and Slidin’” followed by the next stand out track “Christchurch Woman”. “Christchurch Woman” is a great lead in from the previous album “Midnight at The Movies”, in fact it could be a B-side “when I feel this blue, I just need somebody laughin’ at my jokes”. I guess a Christchurch Woman is easy going. In the end he says he will probably get sick of her.

The Good Life

If you are looking for a mix that sits either like “The Good Life” or “Midnight at The Movies” forget it. While the instrumentation sounds similar with the addition of some distorted licks by Jason Isbell, he even goes to mixing his voice a little thinner on the frequencies with a little delay or echo like early sixties Nashville West-Bakersfield out of Capitol Records ala Buck Owens.

The Yuma Era

It is interesting there are fans who only swear by his self-released “Yuma” waiting for Justin to do that one again. Okay, I admit I am with the ones that stand by “The Good Life” as the best yet, but, there is enough “Good Life” such as “Ain’t Waitin’” in this album to keep me happy, without needing to return to that masterpiece. Justin has developed his own sound, style and presentation that draws just enough on the past masters such as evoking Jackson Browne on “Rogers Park” to show a strong songwriter lineage.

He is a workaholic with a string of four records in four years. It looks like Jack White has met his equal for not only amount of output in a short period but creative ability. In much the same way as Songwriters and Recording Artists worked in the Fifties and Sixties before the advent of Fleetwood Mac “Rumours” and Def Leppard “Hysteria”, it is going back to being about the music and not bombastic production.

In a comparison, The White Stripes as a two piece band were able to keep moving, keep the production overhead low while spreading the show around the country and Justin was able to travel light with just a notebook full of songs and a sideman when he travelled opening up for Jason Isbell and The 400 Unit last year in support of “Midnight at The Movies”. He could have been out with a full band, but it kept him from eating bologna sandwiches every night as an opening act.

Live at The State Room, Salt Lake City, UT, spring 2009

Jason’s music is strong enough that he can do it with a full band or as a Troubadour like when I saw him at The State Room in Salt Lake City in mid 2009. Enough people showed up for his opening slot and crowded the front of the stage to catch the vibe and check out his unique finger style on the guitar.

I don’t think he will be able to go out much more by himself unless it is an in-store appearance at Grimey’s or something similar. Justin has three Bloodshot albums in three years, enough material where some fans are going to be upset because he didn’t play the song they wanted to hear. The closest thing I have seen to a full band was about the time of the release of “The Good Life” at The Basement when he had a couple of others playing fiddle and mandolin.

Ramones

I did get a chance to meet him back in the beginning of 2008. I just thought it was great that something like “The Good Life” was out there and Nashville had gotten behind him. A lot of music has been recorded since then. For some, that would be a careers worth, for others, like The Ramones, he is just getting started.

– Brad Hardisty, Nashville, TN thenashvillebridge@hotmail.com

Categories Americana Music, Bloodshot Records, Buck Owens, Jack White, Jackson Browne, Justin Townes Earle, Ramones, Rock, Sun Studio, The State Room, Uncategorized