Karla Bonoff has been described as one of the finest singer/song-
writers of her gene-ration. And in her case, that description is not hyperbole.
During her nearly 40-year career, Bonoff has enjoyed critical acclaim, commercial success, enduring popularity and the unwavering respect of her peers. In addition to achieving chart success with her own recordings, Karla has seen her songs become hits for such stellar artists as Bonnie Raitt, Wynonna Judd and Linda Ronstadt. Many of Bonoff's ballads are now pop classics. But in all those years of writing, recording and performing, the singularly gifted singer/songwriter has never produced a live album...until now.
Karla Bonoff Live, in stores October 9, is a two-CD set containing 21 songs, including some of Bonoff's most popular material ("All My Life," "Someone to Lay Down Beside Me," "Tell Me Why," "Lose Again") plus two new compositions. All but one were recorded at a small club in Santa Barbara with Bonoff's regular touring band, including longtime friend and collaborator Kenny Edwards and noted guitarist Nina Gerber. And all showcase Bonoff's pure, plaintive vocals, which penetrate directly to the heart. Many fans and critics prefer Bonoff's own renditions of her songs, and they won't be disappointed here: The instrumentation is clean and spare, giving Bonoff's voice room to work its emotional magic on the listener.
Live is Bonoff's first solo album since 1999, when she released a 16-song greatest hits collection, All My Life: The Best of Karla Bonoff. Why a live album now? "I never really had done one, and I've been on the road forever," explains Bonoff. "And it seemed the band was sounding good, and I really wanted to get that on tape.
"You know, the songs have evolved a lot over the years," Bonoff continues. "When I first started recording I felt I wasn't that great of a singer. So some of the things on my first album I think I sing a lot better now than I used to. For fans who have never heard me live, I think this will be kind of interesting for them."
Karla Bonoff Live also contains two new songs. "What About Joanne" confronts a lover who has been seen around town with another woman. Bonoff describes the song as "personal, and pretty self-explanatory." "Baja Oklahoma" is a dreamy homage to the little things that tie people to a hometown. "I wrote it for a cable TV movie a while ago, but they didn't use it. So I sort of pulled that back out of the wastebasket," she laughs. "We've been performing it, and that's why it's on there."
A songwriter since the age of 15, Bonoff got her big break at the legendary Troubadour club in Los Angeles, where she met Kenny Edwards and Linda Ronstadt, formerly members of the Stone Poneys. In 1970, Edwards joined Bonoff, Andrew Gold and Wendy Waldman to form a new band called Bryndle. Although Bryndle eventually disbanded, Bonoff's career took off when Ronstadt recorded three of her songs ("Someone to Lay Beside Me," "If He's Ever Near" and "Lose Again") for her 1976 album Hasten Down the Wind.
That success helped Bonoff launch a solo career in 1977 with a self-titled album that included guest appearances by Ronstadt and Bonoff's fellow Bryndle alumni. Three more solo releases followed: Restless Nights (1979), Wild Heart of the Young (1982) and New World (1988). Bonoff's songs were included on the soundtracks to the movies "Footloose" and "About Last Night," and in 1989, Ronstadt and Neville won the Best Pop Vocal Grammy for their rendition of "All My Life."
Country artist Wynonna Judd's infectious version of Bonoff's "Tell Me Why" became a major hit in 1993, and in 1994, Bonoff notched an AC Top 10 with her ballad "Standing Right Next to Me" from the soundtrack to the film "8 Seconds." By 1995, Bonoff had gotten together with her former Bryndle bandmates and recorded enough material for their first album, which was released to much critical acclaim. Bryndle released a second album, House of Silence, in 2002. Bonoff released one more solo album, All My Life: The Best of Karla Bonoff, in 1999.
Throughout her career, Bonoff has continued to tour extensively, playing sold-out shows around the world. She's scheduled a slate of dates in support of Karla Bonoff Live that will showcase her remarkable talent. Listening to Karla Bonoff's moving vocals on her rich, expressive songs is like standing beneath a sparkling waterfall--refreshing, exhilarating, restorative. And hearing them live can be transformative.
Kate Campbell
For the Living of These Days finds Kate Campbell returning to the rich, deep wells that have sustained her musical journey since 1995's Songs from the Levee. That debut album introduced her as an artist tapped into the Southern literary bloodline of Flannery O'Connor and William Faulkner. An abiding fascination with storytelling, race, religion, history and the day-to-day happenings of people's lives continue to fuel Kate's creative pursuits on this collection. Similarly, an ongoing love affair with the musical traditions and folkways of her native South led her to once again record at the hallowed Fame Studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama and choose the legendary Spooner Oldham as her musical partner for the project.
Kate's relationship with Spooner goes back to the 1960s when she became fascinated with the sounds emanating from Muscle Shoals on tunes such as Percy Sledge's "When A Man Loves a Woman" and Aretha Franklin's "I Never Loved a Man (The Way That I Loved You)" – which are but two examples of Spooner's vital contributions to American music. He would go on to record and perform with some of music's most celebrated artists, including idiosyncratic icons Bob Dylan and Neil Young, before meeting Kate in 1995 during a chance encounter at the office of Fame Publishing in Muscle Shoals. After opening a few shows for Spooner and his longtime writing partner Dan Penn, Kate invited Spooner to play organ on her 1997 release Moonpie Dreams. He's appeared on nearly every one of Kate's albums since, including 1998's Visions of Plenty, 1999's Rosaryville, 2001's Wandering Strange and 2003's Monuments, providing a direct link to the Southern soul Kate counts as a primary source in her music.
As with most of her albums, Kate spent several years thinking about what approach to take with the project that would become For the Living of These Days. People kept asking her for another album similar to 2001's Wandering Strange, which found Kate recasting the hymns she'd grown up singing in the Baptist church in her favorite musical style: ‘60s soul with a heavy dose of the Muscle Shoals sound. Still, she wasn't quite sure how to go about doing a second gospel album until someone gave her a copy of Mavis Staples and Lucky Peterson's 1996 album Spirituals and Gospels: Dedicated to Mahalia Jackson – which takes a bare bones approach to Mahalia's tunes with just Staples on vocals and Peterson on Hammond B-3 organ and piano. Kate's thoughts quickly turned to Spooner as an ideal musical partner for a similar project because of his easy going nature and his willingness to take chances and capture the moment in the studio. With 2005's Blues and Lamentations, Kate had used a minimal number of musicians and begun capturing more moments live in the studio, but For the Living of These Days would turn out to be her most in-the-moment recording to date with many of the performances recorded in just one take.
As with any Kate Campbell album, repeated listening to For the Living of These Days is strongly suggested since the songs tend to take on deeper or different meanings over time – even for Kate herself. After the last note has faded on this album, Kate hopes the listener will have come to a wider understanding of both the genius of Spooner Oldham and the messages conveyed in these songs and the lives that inspired them….may they offer guidance, encouragement, and hope for the living of these days.
Keith Miles
From John Prine to Guy Clark to Hoagy Carmichael to Shakespeare, Keith Miles has always been a fan of storytellers whose well-honed prose and perfectly turned phrasing paints vivid images in the mind’s eye.
And that inspiration comes through loud and clear on Miles debut CD, What It Was They Became (House of Trout Records), which runs a gamut of Americana music mixed with handfuls of blues, country, and swing, with some rock ‘n’ roll undertones and a few dashes of Leon Redbone thrown in for good measure.
It’s the words that have always been important to Miles, a Virginia native who mostly grew up in a mid-sized college town in East Tennessee, where influences of the post-hippie 70s met head-on with the musical and storytelling heritage of the Appalachians.
As Miles went through a professional evolution from daily newspaper reporter to Congressional press secretary to partner in a Nashville public relations firm, he never put down his guitar or his pencil, or especially his desire to burn a selection of his handicraft to disc.
Miles isn’t quitting his day job, but neither is What It Was They Became just a vanity project. While music is an avocation, Miles has had some success. He was a co-writer on Iola, which was released in the mid-90s by Great Plains, and he got a two-for-one, with cuts by Great Plains and Kenny Rogers on the also co-written Homeland.
“I’m very proud of these songs, and I’m hoping the CD develops some legs,” Miles said. “One thing I’d like to explore is how they might fit into non-traditional niches, like movie soundtracks.”
With lower-budget independent films getting increased attention these days, they represent a potentially good fit for the CD’s song list. Established performers and songwriters command substantial asking prices for licensing their songs in movies. Likewise, commissioning original music isn’t cheap.
“It occurred to me that getting the CD in front of indie filmmakers would at least be a good starting point,” said Miles, who has lived in Nashville for the past 20 years.
But whether the songs are ultimately heard at the movies, on the radio or on personal music-players-of-the-moment, they deserve to be heard and enjoyed.
Backed in the studio by a tight-knit band of topnotch musicians (and friends), Miles brings his stories to life with equal parts of wry, wit and imagery. The album was produced by Jack Sundrud, a longtime Nashville musician, former frontman for the band Great Plains, and now touring bassist for the legendary country rock group, Poco.
“Jack’s contribution to this project was huge. Because we’ve known each other for nearly 20 years, I had complete confidence in his ability to find the true spirit of each of the songs,” said Miles.
What It Was They Became is the realization of a musical dream for Miles, and a history tour of the roads he walked and the lives he visited.
Kelly Dalton
Kelly Dalton was raised in a house of music. His mother and father, both singer/songwriters, met in a club in New York and together joined the renownedfolk group "The Back Porch Majority" in the 60's.
From the beginning it was clear Kelly was fascinated by the simple, yet beautiful chord changes and melodies from the likes of Cat Stevens, Simon & Garfunkel and James Taylor. He began learning these songs on the house piano and guitar soon followed. Starting in his early teens he performed with various bands, until he began working on his own songs and honing his own musicianship. Small impromptu coffee house gigs and relentless west coast performances drew increasingly larger audiences..loyal crowds soon followed.
These days attending one of Kelly's shows is listening to him share stories of life, love, and loss. "Kelly's songs are like finely aged wine poured directly from the heart", said a fan of his live performances, If you listen closely to his songs you can't help but feel his pain.The debut album "The Love In Every Bar" was recorded by Producers Thom Flowers and Emile Millar in various studios, homes, apartments and bathrooms in Hollywood, Santa Barbara, Los Feliz and Agoura, California.
While reading an old magazine review of "Pet Sounds", the quote "You can really hear the love in every bar of music Brian Wilson wrote" caught his eye. "I’ve worked and performed on both sides of many bars, so it seemed like a nice fit."
Kelly's debut album as well as some of his live band features a handful of innovative and eclectic musicians including: Bass - Milo Decruz (Ryan Adams, Dunken Shiek) Pedal Steel/Mandolin/Lap Steel - Joshua Grange (Dwight Yoakum), Hammond/ Keyboard - Jebin Bruni (Fiona Apple, Aimee Mann), Drums - Mick Flowers (The Rentals, The Lap Dancers). Kelly plays both Piano/Organ and Acoustic Guitar. You can usually find them at "The Hotel Cafe" in Hollywood, California where they hold
a monthly residency.
"Its been a good road so far, and I'm grateful to have been born into a family that surrounded and supported me with music. I'm also fortunate to be part of the folk music community here in Southern California. My goal is to expand my music and reach people all over the world"
Kelly Jones
Kelly Jones is an adventurer. Her willingness to dive right in and experience things fully is what made her decide to jump headlong into music, as well as what propelled her to deliver such an accomplished second album in a very short amount of time. It's what led her to move from the laidback, tightly knit comfort zone that is Portland, Oregon directly into the frenetic pace and uncaring arms of New York City. And it's most certainly apparent in her songwriting, where she explores the dark corners of yearning with an unflinching eye, a keen sense of melody and an unfailing willingness to pick herself up, dust herself off and get right back in the ring no matter how many bruises she's sustained.
It's an unsurprising approach that was fostered at an early age. Not everyone gets to travel the world with their British father while being raised on a horse farm in rural Washington, or is reared in a home with a record player as likely to be spinning '60s French pop as American country music. In high school, Kelly trained in dance and shone at classical piano, only later picking up a guitar and - in a characteristically idiosyncratic move - beginning her career in rock covering classic pop/rock numbers at French nightclubs when she was studying abroad.
Handle With Care is only Kelly's second album but it sounds like something you'd expect from someone with far more years under herbelt. Where Brave Heartache was a phenomenal debut, Handle With Care is quite simply a stunning, confident and mature record that standsalongside such accomplished contemporaries as Kasey Chambers and Rhett Miller without qualification.
"My first album was really my first attempt at song-writing," says Kelly. "At that point I was just trying to say something honest while searching for what I was good at. Those were little songs that came out of my journal; songs that stemmed from situations I was trying to make sense of."
Part of being a fast learner is knowing who you can trust. When it came time to record Handle With Care, Kelly returned to her musical home of Portland and enlisted the help of the musicians who'd encouraged her from the start. A group of very talented friends – producer Patrick Tetreault and Drew Grow from Careen and guitarist Jaycob Van Auken - helped Kelly realize her vision.
"There was this collective fusion of tastes happening," Kelly says of the recording. Jaycob is an amazing guitarist, Patrick has an incredible pop sensibility and Drew, a talented song-writer, would faithfully challenge the arrangements to ensure an element of unpredictability. Everyone was doing their different thing, but applying their strengths to my songs."
The record was recorded at Ripcord Studio in Vancouver, Washington, (where Willie Nelson is rumored to have recorded) mixed at Supernatural in Oregon City, Oregon and mastered in Nashville, Tennessee - and the sound reflects that geography. Although undeniably polished, the record feels far more Northwest than Nashville.
"I have two very distinct sides to me" Kelly remarks. "There's the 'country side,' which guards everything organic and wide-eyed in me, and then there's the 'city side' that's always curious, searching for diversity and new experiences. I feel the two pulling at me constantly, and I'm always trying to balance them."
Balance seems to come easily to Kelly. While there's a sadness to much of her music, it's a sweet sadness - you can almost imagine her sitting alone in her bedroom, dreaming away the heartache. There's a fragility and vulnerability (sentiments perfectly conveyed by her sometimes girlish vocals,) but also an underlying strength and determination.
Handle With Care shows an artist who's constantly learning and evolving but never apologizing. On the album opener, the upbeat pop-rock number "Stuck Being Pretty", Kelly declares "I'm stuck being pretty, pretty down on myself." On "Make Me Cry," she admits, "I'm not happy feeling fine. Won't you make me cry?"
The noir-ish "Consolation" is melancholy at its most hauntingly beautiful, while "Panic" finds hope at the most irrational moment. Even heartbreakers like "Out of Nothing," "What's So Wrong" and "Heart Like Mine" find the optimist within. "Lonesome Heart" is a warning to a potential lover that the narrator is damaged goods and a dangerous proposition disguised as a beguiling, steel-guitar drenched country shuffle.
Kelly winds the album down with the languid acoustic number "Don't Forget Me." There's no danger that you will. Handle With Care is just the latest installment from a gifted singer/songwriter who's just hitting her stride.
Kiki Ebsen
Eclectic jazz-pop chanteuse, Kiki Ebsen has a warm, relaxed, personal style of delivery that lets an audience know they're about to experience and be a part of a wonderful musical celebration. She has enthusiastic fans worldwide singing her praises including Steve Quirk, British DJ, who says "Kiki Ebsen is a sleeping giant in contemporary music... who deserves to be heard".
Her current studio release, simply entitled Kiki,, was produced by Grammy winning producer, Paul Brown. It is a collection of her shimmering, jazz-infused originals as well as a few well-rendered cover tunes. "Kiki" made the cut as part of Fusion Flavours "Best of 2005", checking in at #12. One of the gems on this CD is a song that her father, the late actor Buddy Ebsen, wrote called "Missing You”. Kiki was interviewed recently by A&E for her father’s Biography segment and sang a bit of "Missing You" in his honor. Kiki looks forward to another year of great musical performances including the 3rd Annual Temecula Jazz Festival and the 11th annual Waikaloa Music Festival in Hawaii. As a keyboardist and singer, she's had the good fortune to work with some of the best-known musical headliners in the world, including Chicago, Christopher Cross, Al Jarreau, Tracy Chapman, Boz Scaggs and Michael McDonald. Her songs have also been featured in movies and TV including The Young and the Restless and Another World. She has opened for Peter Cetera, Christopher Cross and Al Stewart. Kiki's songs deal with the complexities of love and family relationships, and she believes that music and the arts can bless and enrich our lives everyday.
Born into an entertainment family, Kiki attended the California Institute of the Arts, receiving her BFA in vocal performance. Her last CD, "Love Loud", is "about as close to perfect as any recording can get" according to Les Reynolds at Indie Music.com. It also made The Muse's Muse Top 10 list of favorite records of 2002. Her first CD, "Red", features classic performances by Boney James and is (according to Beth Lewis of Mac Report), "the kind of debut most artists can only dream of creating". Both CD's showcase her talent as a singer and her tremendous gift for writing songs. Kiki also spent a season singing and playing keyboards in the band for the Wayne Brady Show (KCAL) .
She recently played keys and sang with Melissa Etheridge and Patty Griffin on the Women Rock concert series for the LIFETIME Channel. Her vocals are featured on the new Peter White CD "Déjà Vu" due out this year.
Kiki is passionate about animals and is a champion equestrian. She regularly donates her talent playing concerts to promote and raise money for animal rescue and encourages people to spay and neuter their pets.
Kimmie Rhodes
Kimmie Rhodes is a native Texan who grew up in Lubbock, Texas and began her singing career at the age of six with her family gospel trio. She moved to Austin in 1979, where she met DJ and producer Joe Gracey, an instrumental figure in the Austin progressive country scene who she eventually married. In 1981 she recorded her first album, Kimmie Rhodes and the Jackalope Brothers when Willie Nelson invited her to use his studio. In 1985 she recorded her second album, Man In the Moon. Her third album Angels Get The Blues, recorded at the original Sun Studio in Memphis, was released in 1989. These records led to a series of British and European tours which received rave reviews.
Her promotional tours created a solid fan base in the U.K. and Europe. She has headlined with her band at festivals in Canada, The United Kingdom, Germany, France, Switzerland and the Netherlands and has appeared on many European and American TV and radio broadcasts. She has also appeared at many of Willie's Farm Aid concerts and July 4th Picnics. Willie says Kimmie is "an undiscovered superstar" and together they recorded two of her originals for his album Just One Love.
Kimmie recently appeared on Austin City Limits with Emmylou Harris, Dave Mathews, Patty Griffin, and Buddy & Judy Miller, where she and Emmylou performed their Grammy-nominee song "Ordinary Heart" (nominated for Best Female Country Vocal). She has also guested on Late Night With David Letterman, performing "West Texas Heaven" at his request. Kimmie's TV appearances also include a songwriter "guitar pull" Austin City Limits show with Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, Kris Kristofferson and Billy Joe Shaver as well as two episodes of The Nashville Network's "Legend Series" hosted by Willie Nelson and another hosted by Waylon Jennings. Waylon said, "When I hear Kimmie sing it makes me know what the phrase 'pulling on your heart strings' means."
Kimmie's songs have been recorded by such stellar acts as Willie Nelson, Wynonna Judd, Trisha Yearwood, Amy Grant, CeCe Winans, Joe Ely, John Farnham, Waylon Jennings and Peter Frampton. Kimmie co-wrote a song, "Lines", with Waylon for his Justice release "Right For The Time". Kimmie's movie soundtrack credits include "A Heart That's True" for the "Babe: A Pig in the City" CD, "I'm Not An Angel" featured in the soundtrack of "Mrs. Winterbourne" starring Shirley MacLaine and Ricki Lake and a song in the "Daddy's Dyin' Who's Got the Will" soundtrack. Her song, "Shine All Your Light", co-written with Beth Nielson Chapman, was recorded by Amy Grant for the Touched By An Angel TV series soundtrack and CD, which reached the Top Ten in Billboard's CD charts. She recently co-wrote "Ordinary Heart" with Emmylou Harris and the song was featured in the soundtrack to the movie "Happy Texas". Emmylou's performance of the song was nominated for a Grammy.
Kimmie's 1996 CD West Texas Heaven features 12 of her original songs and includes duets with Waylon Jennings, Townes Van Zandt and Willie Nelson. USA Today says, "listening to West Texas Heaven is like a sweet unhurried ramble through bluebonnets", picking the album for their "Best Bets" section. In December, USA Today picked the CD as one of the Top Ten Country Records of 1996.
Kimmie's 1998 CD release is a compilation of original songs from her first three albums called Jackalopes, Moons & Angels. This Jackalope Records CD marks the first time these songs have been available on CD in one collection.
Kimmie 2000 release was Rich From the Journey (Sunbird), produced by her son Gabe Rhodes. Featuring a guest appearance by Gillian Welch and David Rawlings and performances by such great musicians as Kevin Savigar, the late Jimmy Day and John Gardner, the CD is a brilliant showcase for Kimmie's writing and performing abilities. Appearances promoting that record included the Victoria Folk Roots Festival, Calgary Folk Festival, and Edmonton Folk Festival in Canada followed by the prestigious Tønder Festival in Denmark.
In 2002, Kimmie released Love Me Like A Song (Sunbird). The CD features duets with Willie Nelson, Emmylou Harris, Beth Neilsen Chapman, and Heartbreaker keyboardist Benmont Tench. Players inlcude Willie, Benmont, Gary Nicholson, Kevin Savigar, Floyd Domino, John Gardner, and producer Gabe Rhodes. An adventurous journey with all new Kimmie-penned songs, Kimmie once again takes us into new musical waters and the world of her fertile imagination. The CD artwork comes from a series of Kimmie's original oil paintings, prints of which are available on her website. For purchasing information on the originals, contact Austin Galleries.
In 2003 she released a compilation of duets with Willie Nelson titled "Picture In A Frame". It's their first duet CD, featuring the Tom Waits-penned title track, a brand new Willie song ("It Always Will Be"), five original Kimmie tunes, and classics from Rodney Crowell and Willie. The record includes new recordings of past duets as well as "Rhinestone Highway", a track from Kimmie's unreleased theatrical production soundtrack, Small Town Girl. Recorded at Willie's World Headquarters in Luck, Texas with a small acoustic group, this CD captures Willie and Kimmie at their most intimate and relaxed.
Her 2004 CD release is titled "Lost & Found". This is a new set of great songs and recordings, masters that were recorded between 1996 and 2003 and are now being released for the first time, featuring a song co-written with Waylon Jennings and other tracks with a host of talented writing partners, as well as some of Kimmie's best self-penned tunes.
Kimmie's current CD release is titled "Windlbown". This record will also serve as the soundtrack for a new performance art piece featuring live music, interpretive dance, and character portrayals by Joe Sears, scheduled for its debut performance in January 2005. More information about the play can be obtained here: http://www.windblown.biz
Kimmie lives in Austin and performs with her band which includes husband Joe Gracey on bass, son Gabe Rhodes on lead guitar and Kimmie on acoustic guitar and vocals.
Kip Boardman
Raised in the northeast on a healthy diet of Jimmy Webb and Rolling Stones, and drawn by the warm California sun, Kip migrated west to quicly become one of Los Angeles' most sought after session players. Performing in Culver City's Cinema Bar as 'The Old Yellers' with guitar legend Tony Gilkyson (X/Lone Justice, Duke McVinney), Boardman's unique songs caught the attention of producer R. Walt Vincent (The Format, Liz Phair, Pete Yorn).
Inspired by the songs, Vincent teamed up with Mesmer Records Partner Daivd Blau and began a series of recordings that would come to fruition as Kip Boardman's second solo effort, uniting the musical and production talents of both Vincent and Gilkyson. Featuring a roster of Los Angeles studio veterans, Hello I Must Be... includes
performances from Don Heffington (Bob dylan, Lone Justice, Lucinda Williams), and Dave Raven on drums, local troubadour Tom Freund (Graham Parker, The Silos), guesting on upright bass, keyboards by Danny Mcgough (Tom Waits and Social Distortion), an pedal steel by Josh Grange (Dwight Yoakam, Eleni Mandell, Victoria Williams). Cameo appearances include David McKelvy's chromatic harmonica, virtuoso Arturo Gerst's (Jackson Browne, Exene, Eliza Gilkyson) Guatemalan Harp, and three-ring orchestral genius courtesy of musical legned Van Dyke Parks (Beach Boys, Brian Wilson, Rufus Wainwright).
The album's title track, "Hello, I Must Be...", embraces the bittersweet quality that defines Kip Boardman and his songs. A cautionary tale of the dangers of everyday life, and the havoc they can wreak on the worried and smitten, it recalls the conversational ease of classic Paul Simon, and the 70's AM radio joy of Todd Rundgren. Punctuated by the sublime counterpoint of Tony Gilkyson's guitars, the uniquely soothing voice of Kip Boardman guides you through ten tracks of rootsy pop, nodding along the way to
influences ranging from early Stones, to Nilson, Redbone, Neil Sedaka, Steely Dan and Johnny Cash.
Classic songwriting, enduring performances and arrangements by gifted artists, and the signature intimacy and warmth of an R. Walt Vincent production, "Hello, I Must Be..." continues Kip Boardman's tradition of timeless recordings, and Mesmer Record's dedication to making great records.
"Hello I Must Be..." is available here :
www.dotshop.se
Kristin Mooney
Eleventh of eleven. The jungles of east St Paul. Endless darkness of Minnesota winters. We don’t really know where the gift of songwriting, or musicianship comes from, but Kristin Mooney certainly has both.
She was bombarded with a wide variety of music from her brothers and sisters during the era of the late 60’s and 70’s. This may have had something to do with it, as she has clearly absorbed, filtered and condensed some of this music in hers.
Kristin started as a singer and interpreter of songs, developing her voice and as appreciation of how a good song works before venturing to write her own. Patience has paid off.
As both a full participant in and a reticent observer of life’s events and relationships, she has much to draw from as a writer. Her songs have a three dimensional quality – a broadness that is very satisfying. Personal and universal, with a cinematic vibe both sonically and lyrically.
Her new CD “Hydroplane” is an achingly familiar yet surprisingly fresh sounding recording of her new songs – a record beautifully unencumbered by attachment to any musical movement or scene. It has a healthy respect for what has come before without being in the least bit “retro” or imitative.
Good musicians have always been attracted to Kristin and her to them. The band she has assembled for “Hydroplane” is exceptional and together they have created a gorgeous record. Whatever the story, the history, influences – whatever paths led to this point, it is a high point for Kristin Mooney and well worth a good listen.
”Hydroplane” is Kristin’s third CD. It was co-produced by Kristin and drummer/ percussionist Jay Bellerose (Robert Plant/Allison Krause, T-Bone Burnett). The core band is Jay, Jennifer Condos (bass – Ray Lamontagne, Ryan Adams, Joe Henry), Eric Heywood (guitars and pedal steel – Son Volt, Ray Lamontagne, Richard Buckner) and Patrick Warren (keyboards – Fionna Apple, Aimee Mann). Ryan Freeland was the mixing engineer (Aimee Mann, Joe Henry, Jakob Dylan).
www.myspace.com/kristinmooneyband
The Loose Acoustic Trio
The Loose Acoustic Trio is an American original. Since the turn of the 21st century, they have deftly blended Folk, Cajun, Old-Time Country, Blues, Jug Band, and Ragtime music to create an appealing sound they call “Good Time Music.” The lyrics of the songs range from simply sublime to sublimely ridiculous, each wrapped up in an infectious rhythm that’s guaranteed to make you smile.
The combination of accordion, 6-string banjo, bedpandolin (a mandolin forged from a metal bedpan), upright string bass and three part vocal harmonies, sets them apart from any other musical group on the face of planet Earth. It’s a traditional roots style with a contemporary twist.
Their new CD, “Sorrow Be Gone”, contains 14 original songs, plus the hillbilly version of Peter Townshend’s “Pinball Wizard”. Available on Big Book Records, where you will also find the incomparable, I See Hawks In LA.
Laurie Jones
"The missing link between Dusty Springfield and the Rolling Stones"
With the release of her new self-titled album, Laurie Jones cements her status as a full-service singer-songwriter. Jones's third album is refreshingly genuine and musically to the point. Front and center is her remarkable voice and efficient songwriting ability.
"This new record comes from the music I really love", explains Jones. "I allowed my gospel and country influences to face off with my rock demons". In doing so Jones has created a work of "transgenre rock 'n' roll". As stated in a recent review, "Jones delivers what is arguably the best effort of her still-budding career".
Whether backed by her touring band or going solo, Laurie Jones crafts songs with strong melody and lyrics that are frank and relevant. The new single "Overrated" is a commentary of the waning condition of the music industry, as Jones finds herself straddling the grandeur of pop celebrity and the gutter of staying alive. Regardless, Laurie Jones soars way above the musical fray with style and power to spare.
www.myspace.com/lauriejonesband
Lisa O’Kane
When Joni Mitchell sang, "I've looked at life from both sides now," she could have been singing about Lisa O'Kane. A mountain girl all grown up and thriving in the city, a dedicated single mom with an exploding international recording career, a world-class vocalist and a singer/songwriter of uncommon depth and integrity, O'Kane shares Mitchell's knack for squeezing every drop of emotion out of every song she writes and anything she sings. After two critically acclaimed releases, three triumphant tours of Europe and five U.K. tours, the Los Angeles-based artist will launch her new CD ‘IT DON’T HURT’ on New Light 
Entertainment/Universal. The project, which will captivate audiences at home as well as abroad, delivers songs that illuminate the many sides of a multi-dimensional artist whose time has come.
"I'm excited about this record," O'Kane says. "I've really grown as a songwriter and as an artist. This album is very personal … it reflects the many changes in my life over the past two years. I feel so blessed to be with New Light Entertainment as I start the next chapter of my musical journey.”
With every song on ‘IT DON’T HURT’, Lisa effortlessly reconciles those disparate influences and carves out her own stylistic corner of the Americana genre in the process. Roots-driven, self-penned songs like rollicking album-opener "Ain't Done Nothin'" (featuring some hot fretwork from Telecaster deity Albert Lee) and the bluesy "Pay For My Sins" sound right at home next to the full-on, soaring balladry of songs like "Give Me This Night" and "Remember This." Every track was carefully chosen to reflect the events going on in O'Kane's life.
“It took me months and hundreds of songs to finally pare down to these 11 songs, three of which are mine.”
One album highlight, "Give Me This Night," was an unsolicited pitch from an unexpected source. "The songwriters are Ken Hirsch and Rosie Casey. Ken has had cuts from Ray Charles, Barbra Streisand, Dolly Parton, people like that," O'Kane says "I Googled him and I'm thinking, 'He's got cuts with all these famous people. Why is he pitching this song to me?' So I called him up, and he said, 'It's because I think you can do the job.”
O'Kane's recent signing with New Light Entertainment will put major distribution muscle behind ‘IT DON’T HURT’ through Universal Music Group and allow the artist to do what she does best – write, perform and record great songs. The creative team she assembled for the new album speaks volumes about O'Kane's musical sensibilities and her growing profile as an artist. Veteran keyboardist Skip Edwards (Dwight Yoakam, Lucinda Williams, Jim Lauderdale), Yoakam/Lucinda Williams bassist Taras Prodaniuk, Emmy Award-winning composer Ernest Troost, former Linda Ronstadt sidekick/Bryndle member Kenny Edwards, and the aformentioned Lee are just a few of the characters bringing Lisa’s real-life musical tales to life. Kenny Edwards, whose "Misery and Happiness" provides another of the album's high points, will be teaming up with O'Kane on tour. From the start, Lisa O'Kane has built her career the old-fashioned way, all by herself, one song, one gig, one radio station, one inspiration at a time. And it shows. Every song on ‘IT DON’T HURT’ reflects another side of the artist, another piece of her soul.
www.lisaokane.com
www.myspace.com/lisaokane
The Los Dos Bros
March 6, 2008, Dallas, TX, day two of Holiday and the Adventure Pop Collective‘s first U.S. tour (supporting Atlantic Records’ Louis XIV), HATAPCO’s new drummer goes AWOL in the middle of the night, quitting the tour without a word or note of explanation. The trio quickly became a duo facing a choice: quit the tour and go home, or continue without a drummer. The decision to continue took about four seconds, and their second decision took about four more seconds… to officially change their band name, once and for all, to The Los Dos Bros.
Despite outcries from The Flaming Lips’ Wayne Coyne, and from press reps, writers, radio personalities and booking agents around the world begging the band’s two front men, Derric Oliver (vocals, guitar, tuba, trumpet, piano) and Louis Caverly (vocals, fiddle, piano), to keep their 6-word, 35-letter, tongue-twister of a bleeping band name, those requests fell on deaf ears (damn musicians and their hearing!).
But fear not, friends! “Adventure Pop” is still the sound, and “Holiday” still their mindset; yet, after years of musicians in and out of their band, Oliver and Caverly felt that The Los Dos Bros (which they’ve used for production credits on their three studio albums) best reflects their long-standing musical collaboration.
The duo is set to release two new albums, Songs for Feeling Strong (EP), and Greek Gods in the West (CD + DVD ‘Live from the Henry Miller Library, Big Sur, CA’). Both were recorded in June, 2007 (as HATAPCO with drummer, Michael Taylor Hahn) at Al Jardine’s (Beach Boys) Red Barn Studios in Big Sur, CA.
“We wanted our next albums to reflect the spirit of the band’s time on the road,” explains Oliver, “so we threw a party for some of our closest friends and recorded the basic tracks.” Both albums were produced by The Los Dos Bros and mixed by Mark Needham (The Killers, Chris Isaak, Green Day, Fleetwood Mac).
Liz Tormes
One of the most promising singer-songwriters performing in NYC's East Village right now, Liz Tormes began her music career playing rhythm guitar in the infamous Alphabet City Opry where she was recruited for her sense of time. Since then, she has written an impressive body of work and has performed at Mercury Lounge, The Knitting Factory, Sin-e, and The Living Room. Liz is a guest vocalist on the song "Two Steps", which she co-wrote, on the Columbia Records debut release from Ollabelle and her song "Happy" can be heard in Amos Kollecks's feature film "Bridget".
Growing up in Nashville, Liz spent her time listening to The Smiths and Echo & The Bunnymen while riding to the Grand Ole Opry with Bill Monroe and spending summer days at the house of Johnny Cash. The combination of those early influences and a musical diet of nothing but murder ballads & old time music while teaching herself to play guitar, appears to have had a lasting impact on Liz Tormes' music and lyrics. While the moody songs on her upcoming CD, Limelight, may retain echoes of the stark, honest realism of early roots music, the arrangements and instrumentation move boldly beyond that genre to incorporate quirky keyboard melodies amid washes of sparkly guitar which run beneath her sweetly haunting voice. The result is a dark, acoustic pop record filled with eerily familiar melancholy songs that seem to wander in the window as if from a distant radio and have been drawing comparisons to Sam Phillips, Neko Case and Nina Nastasia. Teddy Thompson & Ollabelle's Amy Helm appear as guest vocalists.
Liz has recently finished recording her first full length album, Limelight, which will be released later this year. Early interest from Ken Coomer (of Wilco & Uncle Tupelo fame) resulted in an EP of demos last year, but the upcoming album will be Liz's first national release.
Luke Jackson
Luke Jackson's forthcoming third album “...And Then Some” almost never happened.
Sidetracked for years by a series of life's obstacles and stricken by a period of writer's block that lasted close to half a decade, the planets aligned in the Summer of 2006 on a trip from his native London to rural Southern Sweden, where Luke was invited to record some sessions by Brianpool/Roxette producer and multi-instrumentalist Christoffer Lundqvist at his Aerosol Grey Machine (the legendary analogue studio where The Magic Numbers, The Concretes, Ed Harcourt, Nicolai Dunger, and The Cardigans have recorded.)
Inspired by the invitation, Luke found his muse and spent the rest of 2006 preparing a dozen songs for a possible new album, returning to Sweden to join his dream-team rhythm section of Christoffer's Brainpool bandmate Jens Jansson on drums and one of Luke's alltime favourite songwriters Magnus Börjeson (Beagle, Favorita, Metro Jets, Cardigans) on bass.
Not one to manifest small, Luke was so enthused with the rough recordings that he gave them to renowned UK string arranger Robert Kirby (Nick Drake, Paul Weller, David Ackles, Elvis Costello, John Cale and many others) for his consideration. To Luke's delight (and bewilderment), Kirby began to write the orchestrations for half the songs on the album. He even offered to fly to Sweden to conduct the October 2007 string sessions himself.
Quite by chance, Luke had brought together two of his most beloved musical worlds, and the result of their collision can be heard on “...And Then Some”. Densely layered guitars and pop harmonies fuse with sweeping string arrangements, none of which ever draws the ear too far from what lays at the heart of his music... gorgeous, expressive, heartfelt songs born of the trials and tribulations of a life lived to the fullest.
Check out Luke’s recording sessions videoblog at :
Karla Bonoff
Kate Campbell
Keith Miles
Kelly Dalton
Kelly Jones
Kiki Ebsen
Kimmie Rhodes
Kip Boardman
Kristin Mooney
L.A. Trio
Laurie Jones
Lisa O’Kane
Liz Tormes
Los Dos Bros
Luke Jackson
