Pamela Polland
An award-winning singer/songwriter, with three albums on Columbia and Epic as well as two more independently released albums to her credit, Pamela Polland’s ever increasing list of musical credentials reads like a veritable Who's Who of artists….. from all points on the musical compass.
Over the course of her 40-years in the business, this seasoned professional has both performed and recorded with such luminaries as Joe Cocker, Leon Russell, Bonnie Raitt, Kenny Loggins, Jackson Browne, Van Morrison, John Denver, Taj Mahal, Manhattan Transfer and a host of others.
Pamela has won numerous awards, including an ASCAP award and a coveted gold record. Her most recent release, "Heart Of The World", features special guests Bonnie Raitt and Kenny Loggins and has received wide acclaim in both the USA and Asia.
After writing her first song at age nine, Pamela's musical career began to flower, as a teenager in the mid-1960's, playing folk music, (and a variety of stringed instruments including guitar, banjo, & dulcimer). In this context, she met the young, budding guitar instrumentalist, Ry Cooder. For the following two years, they worked as a duo; Ry accompanying Pamela’s performances of authentic blues material. The only known recording made during this era is a live performance from the Ashgrove nightclub, which is featured on the Early Release section of Pamela's site.
Pamela formed The Gentle Soul with fellow singer/songwriter Rick Stanley in 1966. The band played Southern California venues and recorded on the Columbia and Epic labels for the next three years. All their recordings are also featured in the Early Release section.
When The Gentle Soul disbanded in 1969, Pamela moved to Mill Valley, California where she continued to write and perform.
In 1970, she took a short "break" from her solo career to join Joe Cocker and Leon Russell for the famed Mad Dogs and Englishmen tour resulting in her participation in both the associated double album and film documentary. But in 1971, Pamela re-signed with Columbia Records and went on to tour and record as a solo singer/songwriter for the next few years. Clive Davis, then President of Columbia Records, included a chapter on Pamela in his renowned book Clive: Inside The Record Business. Both of Pamela's solo Columbia Records albums are featured in the Early Release section.
In the mid-70's, Pamela was drawn to return to her blues roots, but in a decidedly different way. She created a fictional character named Melba Rounds (got the idea from a cracker box), and formed an entire revue of music from the 20's, 30's and 40's eras, complete with costuming, tap and ballroom dancing. The Melba Rounds Show took San Francisco by storm for several years during the mid-to-late 70's, and won Pamela rave reviews and a large fan base. Researching music for the Melba Rounds Show served to introduce Pamela to the larger world of Jazz, and in the late 1970's she joined the Golden Age Jazz Band as principle vocalist.
Pamela performed regularly with the Golden Age Jazz Band (among other jazz bands) for the next 10 years, but never lost her love for songwriting.
In 1995, much to the joy of her fan base, Pamela released 'Heart Of The World', a compilation of original material featuring Pamela's unique outlook on life.
The album, produced by Gary Remal Malkin (Graceful Passages), features guest appearances by such musical dignitaries as Bonnie Raitt, Kenny Loggins, Paul McCandless (Oregon), Marc Russo (Doobie Bros) and renowned Bay Area keyboardist-producer Frank Martin, among other sterling musicians.
Fulfilling a life-long call to live in the Hawaiian Islands, and after the release of 'Heart Of The World', Pamela and her noted-designer-husband Bill Ernst, resettled on the island of Maui. Pamela immersed herself in studying the culture and native language, joining a hula halau (performing hula school); eventually adding the ukulele to her gig bag. In recent years, Pamela has performed both as a hula dancer and as a musician, accompanying other hula dancers.
Pamela is currently the band leader of a four-person ukulele band, Keaolani. In short, all members of Keaolani have been studying under the tutelage of Hawaiian Music Hall Of Fame Award recipient Kahauanu Lake and his protégé son, Walter Kamuala‘i Kawai‘ae‘a. Pamela feels honored to be associated with these legendary Hawaiian masters and to have the opportunity to help carry forth the culture of traditional Hawaiian music.
As must be obvious from this litany of involvement amidst a variety of musical genres, (as well as art forms not even mentioned!), Pamela is an adventurous and creative force - One who will always surprise her audience!
Patrick Bloom
Transplanted to the black dirt of Iowa, via the housing projects of east Los Angeles and the working class industry of Long Island's Southern shore, Patrick Bloom's feet have taken root in the rich and muddy musical history carried along the Mississippi River. He describes himself modestly as "a middle aged half-Jew with a kid and a day job living in the American Midwest". His voice is imperfect and emotive, reminiscent of fellow fractured crooners such as Jeff Tweedy, Neil Young, or Ray LaMontagne. And his songs have earned a reputation for Bloom, with reviewers comparing him to various luminaries, from Gillian Welch to Paul Simon, from Bob Dylan to Walt Whitman.
Beyond his work as singer-songwriter, Bloom has quietly worked in the background as a renowned producer and studio engineer for years, and has worked with a wide range of artist such as Greg Brown, Bo Ramsey, Catfish Keith, Iris DeMent, Tony Furtado, Sally Van Meter, Bob Black, Beth Amsel, Dave Moore, Ben Weaver, Mike & Amy Finders, and Pieta Brown. While doing studio work with Bloom in 2003, piano whisperer David Zollo overheard songs which Bloom had been recording for family and friends, and arranged to have them released on his label, Trailer Records, as "(Songs From) The Pink Sofa". Bloom then left the group he founded, indie-Americana darlings The Mayflies (then known as The Letterpress Opry), and immediately caught the ear of the international Roots community as a solo artist. Bloom still contributes material to The Mayflies, and wrote half of the 10 tracks on their 2009 release, "A Thousand Small Things".
"Ghosts Of Radio" is the follow up to Patrick Bloom's critically acclaimed 2008 release "Moses". Paranoia, sex, disillusion, loss, death, scandal, whimsy, and reckoning all find purchase in "Ghosts Of Radio", which the Iowa City Press-Citizen has described as “a richly appointed, masterful record”. A collection of roots songs by a writer's writer, and an investigation of what it is to be human, "Ghosts Of Radio" further cements Patrick Bloom's reputation as one of the most adept artists working in today’s Roots scene.
www.patrickbloom.com
www.MudDauberRecords.com
www.myspace.com/patrickbloom
Patrick Crowson
It starts somewhere around Cisco Pike, a man with a hard-shell case walking in profile, going to meet a man — probably not about a horse. The sun is sharp, and judging by his coat, there's some chill in that sunlight. There's music playing, accoustic guitar surrounded by a full arrangement, and a voice singing about the past, and how remembering it is a hell of a lot easier than facing what's ahead.
The man, of course, is a drug dealer played by Kris Kristofferson, and he's coming to give a guitar and a way of seeing to some teenage mug from the Midwest named Patrick Crowson. There'd be other heroes, too. The late, great Townes, the Willie Nelson of 'Red Headed Stranger', and Haggard, naturally, (though it's not in Crowson's fingers to pick you to pieces like Merle, or, hell, Jerry Reed for that matter). But the particular method of conveying that longing, with a mixture of physical detail followed by a summary line you can hang your hat on — the way of being elegiac and clear-eyed at the same time — strikes me as coming from that man and his hard-shell case.
Then there's Josh Allen, Meanwhiles auteur, soundtrack composer, with a suitcase in his hand, bringing temperature to the air outside the rooms where loss is taking place. There's a little more light on the proceedings thanks to this man, both candle and electric. It's a neat trick, to clarify the shadows without taking them away. But bless him, Josh let's the man do his one thing he does well, well — I'd have had to kick his ass if he hadn't.
Finally, it's about splitting a bottle with Crowson, sitting back and listening to a new song of his weave four, five minutes late at night. There are empties underfoot, a cat somewhere around the toe of your boot. It's pleasantly dark, but maybe that's your vision fading. Crowson plays his new song. You listen to its crooked path without trying to follow it. Your head starts nodding, not with sleep, but in agreement, not like for what Townes did when he reduced a whiskeyed-up farrier to a red-eyed mess, but like for what Dylan did to Peckinpah when he sang him, "Billy, you're such a long, long way from home" over coke, weed and tequila until Sam broke down and said, "You cocksucker, you son of a bitch," with tears in his eyes.
Paul Reddick
Paul Reddick has been devoted to the study of blues music all his life. Listening closely to Muddy Waters, Sonny Boy Williamson and Howlin’ Wolf, he picked up the harmonica at the age of 12 and had mastered the instrument by the time he was 15.
Reddick formed groundbreaking blues band The Sidemen in Toronto in 1990. The Sidemen released 3 albums of original material and spent a decade touring across Canada.
Paul Reddick + The Sidemen released the critically acclaimed Rattlebag in 2001. Produced by roots music authority Colin Linden, Rattlebag is a masterpiece of “hard blues for modern times”. Praise came in from both sides of the border, along with nominations at the W.C. Handy Awards and the Juno Awards. The band also won three Maple Blues Awards in early 2002, including Songwriter of the Year and Album of the Year. Paul Reddick + The Sidemen toured the US non-stop from 2002-2004.
Rattlebag marked the beginning of Reddick’s serious attempt to re-work blues traditions with an emphasis on poetic forms and techniques. Starting at the beginning with the Alan Lomax Field Recordings, and reaching into the vast body of pre-war music in and beyond that of the type documented in Harry Smith’s Anthology of American Folk Music. Reddick has sought to combine the mystery of the blues artform with the powerful spell cast by poetry.
A musician who loses himself in performance, Paul Reddick lures the audience into that half-lit blue world he knows so well. A storyteller, innovator and highly original harmonica-player/vocalist, his performances are unforgettable.
Paul Reddick teamed up once again with Colin Linden to release Villanelle in autumn 2004. This widely acclaimed album continues the Rattlebag journey towards re-styling the traditional; sidestepping convention it searches further for new possibilities in blues music.
Just out on NorthernBlues Music is Revue – The Best Of Paul Reddick.
"Revue" available here:
www.rootsy.nu
“My ethos is very simple, I write what I feel and feel what I write. If you hear me sing it, then I’ve seen it”
It’s not often that an artist comes along who is truly willing to speak their mind and expose their heart and soul warts and all. Parker-Jayne is one such artist. A rarity to be celebrated.
Not one to shy away from thought provoking lyrics, the Nigerian born singer/songwriter has served up ‘Foolosophy’, a tasty debut album that is packed with social, political and spiritual references, with a side order of humour. According to Parker-Jayne, “growing up in Nigeria, there was no shortage of inspiration”. As the daughter of a doctor-cum music connoisseur and a businesswoman cum choir-songstress, she grew up listening to traditional African music as well as the likes of Sade and Blondie. But credits her main musical influences to Fela Kuti, Tracy Chapman, Bob Marley, Kate Bush and Nirvana. Parker-Jayne says, “being one of five siblings and coming from this kind of background, you learn to do everything very loudly very early on and that especially includes singing.” For the young talent, Africa was a place of beauty unlike anywhere else in the world. It was a place where she felt her heart was free and her mind could wonder. Till this day it continues to be her muse.
At the age of seven Parker-Jayne and her family moved to East London, where she spent the rest of her childhood. By the age of nine she had written her first song. At eleven she went to a convent school. But the strict uniforms and codes of conduct, seemed only to emphasise her desire to create her own rules. After her GCSEs and A’ Levels she went on to study a degree in Communications and Media Studies and it wasn’t long before she started to have serious thoughts about putting this album together.
Trying to get her foot in the door, Parker-Jayne joined a pop/ R‘n’B girl group, but decided that was not the direction she wanted to go in. Returning to the drawing board, she knew that she would only be happy making the kind of music that was true to her.
Much of 2003 was spent trying to find the ‘right’ producer to record the album. She even went as far as Atlanta (Georgia) and literally knocked on doors. In 2004 she met producer Mark Ralph (who has worked with artists such as The Rakes and Suicide Sports Club). Within a year, what had begun as a four-track demo had developed into a cracking fourteen-track album, which Parker-Jayne funded by herself.
Parker-Jayne’s debut album ‘Foolosophy’ is an eclectic fusion of melodic rock with blues, soul, funk and pop, which she refers to as “rock ‘n’ blues” (R‘n’B). On the heavy guitar based anthem ‘Code Red’ she fuses rock with African percussion and on the uplifting track ‘Take Me As I Am’ she creates an acoustic/ indie vibe rooted in soul/gospel.
Over the last 18 months Parker-Jayne has been performing live gigs in and around London in venues such as W14, The Telegraph and Plan B. She ended 2005 opening for Leela James in Holland and Brussels with the Mitchell Brothers. She also recently performed a live set with the Mitchell Brothers at the world famous BBC Maida Vale Studios.
Parker-Jayne is currently preparing for the release of ‘Foolosophy’ and says, “I’m so happy with this record. I’ve put my heart and soul into it and I’ve had the freedom to do what I want the way I want it…I just hope that people are able to connect with it”.
Reviews:
“…Rich Someday and Stronger were great tunes that I simply have not been able to stop listening to…”
“…All the tracks have managed to stay original and play around with what audiences have come to expect from pop music
-Route 66
Peadar King
Peadar King is a singer and composer from the Irish westcoast Island of Inishbofin. His lyrically adroit and melodic compositions have been amassing much popularity over the past number of years since he began playing his atypical brand of folk and roots music. Surrounded by traditional music from an early age (all of his family are musicians), it was a natural progression when Peadar began to play himself.
Years later, he became enamoured with the lyrical beauty of the music of artists such as Richard Thompson, Tom Waits and Bruce Springsteen.
After being a leading member of the now defunct Galway-based rock group Cornerstone from 2004-2006, Peadar spent some time living and performing his music in France where he developed his craft playing with musicians from radically divergent backgrounds – from gypsy jazz to bossa nova, folk and blues. In 2008 he returned to Ireland he recorded and released his first album “The Nature of Flaws.”
Peadar King’s new album “The Shadowlands” is out now. Recorded in the world-renowned Grouse Lodge studios in the Westmeath countryside. This new musical offering contains a compelling collection of new songs. "The Shadowlands" is a rich and wide-ranging kaleidoscope of song, brimming with eloquence and warmth.
www.peadarking.com
www.myspace.com/peadarking
Penny Nichols
Like many musicians in the Sixties, Penny started her career as a folk singer in coffeehouses around Orange County, CA. She shared stages with many legendary artists such as Jackson Browne, the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Linda Ronstadt and the Stone Ponies,Jennifer Warnes, Mary McCaslin and others. In 1964 & 65 she sang in a bluegrass band with John, Bill & Alice McEuen (John then took Jackson Browne's place in the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band and the rest is history) and then formed a duo with Kathy Smith called the Greasy Mountain Butterballs which toured Vietnam in the fall of 1966. Upon returning, she opened the show for numerous artists at the Troubadour and Ash Grove in Hollywood.
In the spring of 1967, Penny rode up to San Francisco on the back of a Harley motorcycle and decided to stay in the bay area for a while. She performed in concerts and clubs all over the bay area including: the Fillmore, the Avalon, the Matrix and opened for bands such as Big Brother and the Holding Co. (Janis Joplin), Steve Miller, Quicksilver Messenger Service, 13th Floor Elevator, Chocolate Watchband, Jefferson Airplane and others. During the "Summer of Love", Penny played at the Big Sur Folk Festival and recorded her first album, "Penny's Arcade", for Buddha Records. (It eventually sold over 50,000 copies) After touring the U.S. promoting her album in the fall, she toured Europe in the winter of 1968, staying with George & Patty Harrison and recording at Apple Studios while in London.
On her return to the U.S., she decided to devote her time exclusively to songwriting for a number of years and studied voice with noted vocal coach, Florence Riggs. In 1975, she began to perform around Los Angeles with her jazz band, the Black Imp, and opened the show for Little Feat in concert. She wrote and performed commercials for Toyota's campaign to plant a tree for every car bought, Carnation Dairies, and produced a public service announcement for the Navajo Nation called "Black Mesa" to protest the misuse of the land around the Four Corners power stations in Arizona.
In 1977, while working with Emitt Rhodes on a record for Elektra, Penny joined Jimmy Buffett & the Coral Reefers. She appeared in the movie FM with the band toured...the U.S. and earned a Platinum Record for her singing on Son of a Son of a Sailor.
In the late 70's & 80's, Penny went back to school and earned degrees in Music & Psychology from Antioch University, and then went on to Harvard University to do research in music & psychology eventually earning a doctorate in Education there. During the same time, she recorded and toured with many performers including: Art Garfunkle (Fate for Breakfast) Suzi Quatro, Danny O'Keefe,Yvonne Elliman, Jennifer Warnes, Albert Brooks, The Credibility Gap, Steve Gillette and earned a Grammy nomination for her work on Arlo Guthrie's album The Power of Love.
In 1990, Penny co-produced her second album, All Life is One. In 1993, she released another record, an album of songs based on the 1000-year-old Buddhist stories, the Jataka Tales. The album is called Songs of the Jataka Tales. In 1997, Penny and Molly Mason collaborated on the song "The Unbroken Thread" which is included on the CD, the Catskill Collection. She currently lives and teaches in the Hudson Valley of New York and is building a small studio in her house. Her most recent ventures include working on a series of Harmony and Background Vocal arranging CD's, and a new CD of her own material.
Pete Cummins
Although known for his work with The Fleadh Cowboys and highly regarded as a songwriter, of great songs, such as, “The Texas Boxcar Incident”, “Breakfast With Leonard” and “Looking For The Magic”, this is Pete’s first solo outing.
Pete Cummin’s brand new eleven track CD has ten new self penned songs and the Johnny Cash classic, “Train of Love” recorded by Cash in the fifties. The ten original songs reflect the vast experience of styles Pete has absorbed since he started playing around Dublin in the early sixties with his beat group The Circle, through his time playing with Granny’s Intentions, folk singer Donovan in the early seventies, the Fake in the late seventies, recording with Nanci Griffith and with Townes Van Zandt on his last great, “No Deeper Blue album”, through the years leading The Fleadh Cowboys and into the twenty first century recording and touring with The Chieftains. From rock and blues through soul, folk and country music.
The new album “The Brilliant Architect” was recorded with the aid of the considerable talents of regular Fleadh Cowboys players Tommy Moore, Trevor Knight, Ger Kiely and Fran Breen, this line up has been augmented with, Ed Deane on guitar and lap steel, Carl Geraghty and Mark Adams on saxophone and trumpet and an appearance by Gavin Glass on mandolin, on the title track.
The single “Flowers In Baghdad” has featured in Neil Young’s “Living With War” website chart www.neilyoung.com/lwwtoday for seven months with a highest position of no 30 and has been picked up by www.noliesradio.org for heavy rotation in San Francisco and on the web.
Earlier this year Pete had a number one country hit on the website www.soundclick.com with the humorous “I Lied to You”.
WWW.MYSPACE.COM/PETECUMMINSFLEADHCOWBOY
Pete Sinjin
New York City-based singer-songwriter Pete Sinjin graces the roots music scene with a true spirit for the mythology of Americana. A Pennsylvania born 4th cousin to baseball great Lou Gehrig whose (albeit myth making and regularly drunk) Grandma Guthrie claimed blood ties to Woody, Pete regularly hitchhiked to N.Y.C. to visit the still breathing ghosts of the West Village at age 15, and migrated to San Francisco as a band roadie before he had a chance of graduating High School.
He’s played with bands and as a solo artist from the West Coast to the East, alongside artists such as Chris Roldan (Whiskeytown), Jonathan Segel (Camper Van Beethoven) and current bassist Mike Davis (Nora Jones).
Pete’s lyrics can weave narratives like veteran Steve Earle with poetry as deeply transfixing as Jay Farrar’s (Uncle Tupelo, Son Volt). Like Neil Young, his music tends to comfortably straddle both sides of the sonic fence, from plaintive country to blissful roots rock - Throw in a healthy dose of intuitive pop sense and hooks á la Beatles and Big Star, and you’ve got Pete Sinjin.
Pete’s debut album, “Better Angels Radio” is just that, a multidimensional spiritual journey into roots music. His historically relevant lyricism shines in the second track of the album:
”Now, listen to the old folks talk mythology,
of the saviors on the airwaves,
that set the minds free,
the transistor radio stamped out the beat,
while the cities all burned, they sang
“Dancing In The Streets…..”
www.betterangelsradio.com
www.myspace.com/petesinjin
Peter Bryngelsson
"Wunderbaum" is album number 17 in an almost 40-year career by Peter Bryngelsson, and this is his 3rd album as a solo-artist.
At 3 different occasions Peter has been nominated for a Swedish grammy award, has composed for theatres and movies in Sweden, and the rest of Scandinavia, does lectures in the area of music for films all over Europe, and tours with several different bands in more than 10 countries.
Peter's old band Ragnarök reunited last year to record an album, "Path" that was very well received all over the world. The album was sponsored by an old fan and IT-millionaire from Switzerland, who's dream was to make the original band record again, in the old studio, with the original producer.
The brand new CD "Wunderbaum" was initiated by a Japanese fan that later became much to sick, to complete the project, and therefore Peter is producing the album on his own label, with a strong interest from all over the world.
The music on the new album is inspired by sound-recordings of the enviroment, in and around his house, in the middle of the woods, in the south of Sweden, and is composed for a generous orchestra of guitars, double bass, drums, harmonica, saxophone, strings, banjo, slide, and the very rare instrument, Hohner Claviola, that is mostly known for a small appearence in the Beatle song, "Baby You're A Rich Man".
The music on "Wunderbaum" gives different aspects of the experience of a tree. Violently powerful, magnificent, beautifully ornamented, lyrically poetic and tender and sweet. Both rooted in the ground, as well as reaching for the sky.
Peter Cooper
Luminaries of American song have been lining up of late, praising the debut album from an East Nashville singer-songwriter named Peter Cooper. The reasons for that are both simple - it sounds good - and complex. There's something different about this thing.
"Peter Cooper looks at the world with an artist's eye and a human heart and soul. His songs are the work of an original, creative imagination, alive with humour and heartbreak and irony and intelligence, with truth and beauty in the details. Deep stuff. And they get better every time you listen to them." [Kris Kristofferson]
Cooper was five-years-old when he first caught a Kristofferson show. That was on an outdoor stage in Charlotte, NC, not too far from Cooper's hometown of Spartanburg, SC. Something about the experience must have stuck, as Kristofferson's wordplay and folk-inspired melodies became a touchstone. From there, it was on to Tom T. Hall, Mickey Newbury, Bob Dylan, Emmylou Harris, Bobby Bare, Guy Clark, Eric Taylor and others who managed emotional literacy without ever seeming unduly literary. That's a tough trick. Takes a while to learn, and then you have to figure out how to make it into something other than... well, than that same old trick. Reverence and mimicry are close musical cousins that should not marry. Shouldn't even snuggle, really.
"The enticing allure of Nashville is that there is always something new coming down the pike. Put this record on and you'll hear footsteps."
[Tom T. Hall]
When Cooper gathered a collection of his favourite musicians at Nashville's House of David studio - it's a cool place, with a trap door in the floor that was built for Elvis Presley to come in and out without fans realizing he was in town - he sought to create something different. That kind of seeking begins with the songs but it doesn't end there. Check this out: Cautionary Tales isn't a country album, but it has more steel guitar on it than anything released in ages. The steel comes courtesy of co-producer Lloyd Green, perhaps the most famed and important steel man in history. Green played on The Byrds' Sweetheart of the Rodeo, on Charley Pride's In Person: Live From Panther Hall album, and on beloved works by Paul McCartney, Don Williams, Nanci Griffith, Tammy Wynette and a slew of others. From his blistering solo on "All The Way To Heaven" to the staggering beauty of his parts on "Wine" and "Thin Wild Mercury". Green is an elegant revolutionary, reinventing the instrument that he helped to dignify in the first place. He retired in the late 1980s and returned to session playing in the new century, and he has worked in his "second term" with Alan Jackson, Nanci Griffith, Steve Wariner and plenty of chart-toppers. "This album is the most intellectually and emotionally satisfying music I've been a part of since returning to the arena," Green said. "It's like a long lost relative of the Panther Hall album - there's that much steel - and yet it's like nothing I have heard. This one was as special to me as any I've been a part of." Lloyd Green, by the way, has played on more than 100 No. 1 country records.
"Triple five-stars!" [Todd Snider]
Todd Snider is not yet a Hall of Fame presence like Kristofferson, Hall or Green, but he is a beacon of invention and originality for a new generation of singer-songwriters. He and Cooper met when Cooper was interviewing him for the Nashville Tennessean newspaper: In addition to his work as a songwriter, Cooper has become one of America's most prominent music journalists, writing for The Tennessean, Esquire, Britannica and No Depression, among others. Snider and Cooper realized they shared ideas and record collections, and they began collaborating. Their "Thin Wild Mercury" was included on Snider's The Devil You Know album, and it won a National Performance Activity Award at the 2006 SESAC Awards, as well as being designated as one of USA Today's "Songs of the Week" and as one of Mojo magazine's "Songs of the Month." Cooper also played bass and sang harmonies on The Devil You Know, he produced Snider's Peace, Love and Anarchy album and he sang and played with Snider on nationally televised shows The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and The Late Show with David Letterman.
In 2006, Snider began pushing Cooper to do a full-length album, something the journalist/musician had put off for years. The two called many of their favourite musicians to record, and the result is Cautionary Tales. Lloyd Green's steel guitar is the album's instrumental centrepiece, but a bevy of greats were there to paint around him. Jason Ringenberg of Jason and the Scorchers played harmonica, Bill Lloyd, known for his work with Foster & Lloyd and as a hit country songwriter, played electric guitar and sang harmonies. Jen Gunderman, formerly of The Jayhawks and currently of Last Train Home, pitched in on piano, Wurlitzer and accordion. Dave Roe, who has toured in the bands of Johnny Cash and Dwight Yoakam, laid down acoustic and electric bass lines, and ace percussionists Pat McInerney and Paul Griffith completed the rhythm section. On a version of the Eric Taylor-penned "Mission Door", Snider, Nanci Griffith and Fayssoux McLean (who provided harmony vocals on some of Emmylou Harris's finest albums) all took verses.
www.myspace.com/petercoopermusic
Peter Elkas
"The World doesn't need you to sell ice-cream. It does, however, need you to play music," said producer/drummer Don Kerr (Ron Sexsmith, The Rheostatics) to then Montreal based Peter Elkas in a determined attempt to encourage him to move to Toronto and work on some songs. "Who wouldn't hop-to after that?" says Peter, "it was a huge compliment."
So in 2002, after nearly ten years as multi-instrumentalist and songwriter with Montreal indie rockers Local Rabbits, Peter packed his bags, quit his job selling ice-cream and made the move to Toronto with little more than four songs he had written with a new Local Rabbits record in mind.
The Party Of One EP, which singer - songwriter Ron Sexsmith listed as one of his favourite recordings of 2003, has since evolved into a full-length album. Also titled Party Of One, Peter's debut full-length album will be released by Tapete Records May 19th..
Musically, Party of One is a more soulful experience than some of his previous work with the Rabbits, showcasing Peter's rich vocals and skill on the guitar.
"This record talks about loneliness, bad decisions, moving on, searching, and working," says the self-proclaimed "woe-is-me" lyricist. The album, written during a transitional period in Peter's life, is a perfect example of an artist finding his voice. Emotions are effectively, yet simply, captured and reflected. He writes with poignant honesty, singing about experiences to which all listeners can easily relate, although few would have the nerve to broach with such candour.
In the overly suspicious "I See Fine" Peter confronts the impending doom of a relationship as he croons, "Where'd you go that night, you prob'ly had comp'ny…if he gives you butterflies try to see what it could mean…", while in "In My Den" he seductively and unabashedly invites "in my den you're welcome every day, I can't pretend I don't want you to stay…". The title track, "Party Of One" hears him calling on his friends as he laments his lonely state.
Party Of One is a rewarding debut for Elkas, the result of traveling unfamiliar terrain and taking risks. "I still think the Rabbits is the most exciting band I've played in, or even heard, in a lot of ways" he says, "but I like solo. It's easier to absorb. It's a bit more palpable." As a party of one, he certainly holds his own.
Peter Gallway
Born and raised in New York City, Peter Gallway cut his musical teeth at a time which fostered the talents of the Lovin’ Spoonful, James Taylor, Richie Havens and Laura Nyro.
Recording just out of high school with his group The Strangers, he eventually made three albums for the Warner/Reprise label, the first of which was with the highly acclaimed Fifth Avenue Band. His following two solo outings written and recorded in Los Angeles, Ohio Knox and Peter Gallway, led to extensive touring across the United States and Japan. .
After five years in Southern California Peter re-located to the state of Maine where he based his touring band, honed his recording skills, and continued to write and eventually produce projects for other artists. 1978 and 1979 saw the release of “On the Bandstand” for the Vividsound label of Tokyo and “Tokyo to Kokomo”, an Imagination/Rounder release in the United States.
The 1980’s brought the increased popularity of his band and tours of Japan. His song Sunday Basketball was featured in the film “Hoopla” for the Basketball Hall Of Fame and he was voted Best Songwriter at the Maine Music Awards. He further collaborated on three acclaimed works of musical theater through the Maine Festival of the Arts and through the Portland Stage Company by way of The National Endowment for the Arts. His sixth album “Proof” was released through Fishtraks in 1985. Meanwhile his list of production credits was growing to include multiple projects with Devonsquare, Aztec Two-Step, Cormac McCarthy, Tom Pirozzoli, and more.
In 1988 Peter moved back to New York City and produced Cliff Eberhardt, Christine Lavin, Japan’s Bread and Butter and Hawaii’s Kalapana. A second Fifth Avenue Band collection “Really” was recorded in 1990 and released on the Pony Canyon label of Tokyo and greater involvement with US recording companies led to an A&R consultancy with Shanachie Entertainment. Meanwhile he produced and recorded another collection of his own music “Small Good Thing”, released through the Gadfly label in 1994. Other projects of that period included Jim Infantino Live, Jabbering Trout, Devonsquare, and sessions with the legendary Laura Nyro. Shortly thereafter, he embarked on the critically acclaimed Astor Place Recordings project “Time and Love: the Music of Laura Nyro” featuring Rosanne Cash, Jane Siberry, Jill Sobule and Patty Larkin. 1998 brought the release of his own live anthology “A Night In Time” followed by 1999’s autobiographical “Redemption”, both on the Gadfly label. These were accompanied by the second conceptual collection for Astor Place, the Grammy nominated “Bleecker Street: Greenwich Village in the 60’s” featuring Chrissie Hynde, Marshall Crenshaw and Suzanne Vega.
The new millennium brought Peter again to Los Angeles where he worked on the “Windows In the Village” project with Mark Sebastian, film scoring with Erin Kamler, an A&R consultancy with TAXI, and several projects with his colleague Jon Lind at Hollywood Records. This period also led to the completion of a Masters Degree in Psychology and ongoing work in the shared healing process with teenagers.
Peter Gallway has been called “a master of free verse” in the Boston Globe and “a star in the making” in the New York Post. His ever-growing body of work stands as testament to the humanity and passion in his rich, artful approach to making music.
Peter Mayer
Guitarist, vocalist and songwriter, Peter Mayer has been quietly and steadily building a fervent following across the country, stepping outside his role as one of Jimmy Buffett's Coral Reefers to front his own band, The Peter Mayer Group. Melding a unique and eclectic writing style, a distinctive voice, and virtuoso musicianship, Peter and his band create compelling and accessible music that is electrifying in live performance.
The Peter Mayer Group boasts between them an extensive performing and songwriting portfolio with experience in any number of styles from jazz to country rock to classical. Recording under the name PM, Peter released his debut album for Warner Brothers Records (WB no. 25751) in 1988. Working with Elliot Scheiner (Steely Dan, Aretha Franklin, Bruce Hornsby) - this album produced the single "Piece of Paradise," charting to number eight on Billboard.
When Scheiner was hired to produce Jimmy Buffett's 'Off To See The Lizard' album, he suggested that Jimmy use PM for the recording sessions. Buffett was so impressed with their unique versatility as musicians and performers that he quickly hired them as part of his own Coral Reefer Band, a successful relationship that continues to date.
Peter's life began in Tamilnadu, the far southern region of India, where his parents served as missionaries for 17 years before returning to their Missouri roots. Musical influences from that period of his life can be heard in his playing. Peter recalls, "I can remember Indian musicians giving Christmas concerts in my parents' house. Wildly playing drums and flutes, shakers and bells, they would go on for hours and hours." He went on to study formal theory and composition, and to teach jazz guitar as a faculty member of Webster University.
His most recent album of 15 amazing Beatles-covers, "Goodbye Hello", has just been released by Little Flock Music.
www.petermayer.com
www.littleflockmusic.com
www.myspace.com/petermayergroup
PG & Frank
"When the music is good, and the passion is imbedded deep within the soul of the artist, the job of producing becomes a rare and special privilege for me. PG & Frank are such artists. Their songs and voices wrap around you like a warm blanket on a frosty winter's night. These guys are the real thing, and two of the most talented individuals I have ever met in my journeys throughout Norway, or anyplace else on this
planet.” - John Beland (Flying Burrito Brothers)
Influenced by American country/rock, Norwegian duo PG & Frank has just released their 4th album, ”Chasing The Wind”. The new album is recorded in Norway and Texas, with musicians on the highest level.
PG & Frank (PG Stølen & Frank R Fjellvang) have played together since 1986. They are both from Kristiansand, in the southern parts of Norway.
They have played hundreds of gigs together through the years, with different bands.
This time they work as a duo - Style: singer/songwriter, country/rock.
The album's producer, John Beland has been in the international music business for more then 40 years, both as musicians and producer. Involved with Dolly Parton, Johhny Cash, Garth Brooks, Bellamy Brothers, Allison Krauss, Linda Rondstadt and many more.
He was also a member of the legendary countryrockband The Flying Burrito Brothers.
"Chasing The Wind is available here.
Phil Smith
Phil Smith is an independent Brisbane based artist who are just about to release his debut-album 'Goldmine'. Self financed, 'Goldmine' is 11 tracks of late night Americana influenced alternate country. Full of piano, Tamworth's Leigh Ivin on pedal steel, and a guest performance by Australia's own Bill Chambers, 'Goldmine' is a confident first step in what should be an exciting career for this promising Australian singer songwriter.
Born in Sydney, Smith started playing the guitar at the age of 15. He spent the next 10 years playing lead guitar in bands and studying jazz which gave him the strong sense of melody evident in his songwriting.
He spent his twenties and the best part of his thirties travelling Australia and the world and it was during this time he started writing his own songs. Initially heavily influenced by the likes of Nick Drake and Beth Orton, he discovered alt-country through bands like Wilco and Whiskeytown. Gillian Welch later became a strong influence, as did Neil Young.
Phil has just started performing again in Brisbane with a full band, and with another two LP's already written, and a slew of unfinished material, 2009 is shaping up as a busy year for this talented Australian singer songwriter.
Phillip Bracken
“A moon on an album cover; nothing more, nothing else. I was a click away to discover the most brilliant EP this year hold so far... For a debut, it’s a monument! Such a major act won’t be unpunished!” – www.youcrazydreamers.com
Phillip Bracken’s music explores the space between the sea and the moon. Just like him it is nomadic in spirit. An obvious dreamer, he expresses a curious nature within his tunes.
With a unique and warm voice he is at once absorbing as his music emanates from all that consumes his senses. Powerful enough to take you with him, his rhythms are calm yet somehow intense and hypnotic at the same time.
From busking in tunnels around Sydney and playing in people’s lounge rooms, he has since moved into venues such as the Basement in Circular Quay and Bar Me in Kings Cross.
"Everything Looks Better In Candlelight" is his debut EP.
Phyllis Sinclair
Folk singer/songwriter Phyllis Sinclair is a musical raconteur. Her distinction lies in the rendering of diverse stories told through visually captivating, intellectually stimulating lyrics. Indicative of her writing is the poignant, often humorous story-telling style, characteristic of Cree narrative that paints pictures in the mind. Her stories often focus on perseverance, demonstrating the strength and resiliency of the human spirit. In essence, she tells of common experiences while maneuvering through and around the potholes of life. From indomitable North Coast fishers to enduring prairie farmers she respectfully chronicles “life as it is”.
Raised on the western shore of the Hudson Bay in Churchill, Manitoba, Phyllis’ music was formed while listening to reels and jigs tapped out on spoons and boot bottoms at spirited gatherings. In the 1980’s, Phyllis took time to raise a family and pursue a career in journalism. In 2002, she returned to songwriting penning “Fence Posts and Stones” the sentiments of a prairie farmer on his eroding farm. This song ended the decades of long silence and reignited her passion for songwriting and performing.
In 2006, Phyllis released her debut CD “Fence Posts and Stones” to positive reviews. Penguin Eggs Magazine called it “positively impressive” and published the sheet music to “North Coast Fisher Wife’s Prayer” in that same issue. Lethbridge University radio station, CKXU ranked “Fence Posts and Stones” at #7 on the Folk/Roots/Blues charts in August 2006, while NCI-FM radio’s Top 30 Countdown ranked “Hard-Time Hannah” #1 for two consecutive weeks in October 2006. As a result, CBC Winnipeg television produced a news story on the positive impact “Hard-Time Hannah” had on the aboriginal community in that city. Her follow up CD “Fathomless Tales from Leviathan’s Hole” continues in her story-telling tradition.
Phyllis Sinclair has performed at the world famous Bluebird Café in Nashville, Tennessee, opened for Juno Award Winners, Ray Bonneville, and Bill Bourne. She has been featured in the Rangeton Farmer’s Festival Songwriter’s Circle, requested for repeat performances at the Springboard Hoedown in Athabasca, Alberta, and performed at the Tongue on the Post Folk Festival in Medicine Hat, AB. In 2008, Phyllis was nominated by the Aboriginal Peoples Choice Award for Best Songwriter, Best Single and Best Folk/Acoustic Album for "Fathomless Tales from Leviathan’s Hole".
The Plastic Pals
“Anyone who could imagine Chris Spedding fronting Television would understand.” That's what Patrik Forshage, Nöjesguiden, said about The Plastic Pals first EP, "The Band That's Fun To Be With".
Manna from guitar heaven for all Paisley fans and lovers of the Velvets, Only Ones, Flaming Groovies and the West Coast-meets-CBGB beat.
September 23, 2008, will see the release of the new album "Good Karma Café" on Polythene Records (distributed in Scandinavia by Plugged Records). The album is produced by Håkan Soold and Björn Öqvist (Pennebaker/Spaceage Baby Jane/Kamera), and guests includes Chris Cacavas (Green On Red/Danny & Dusty) on keyboards, Lars Cleveman (Dom Dummaste) on piano, Jason Shogren on lap steel, and Peter Forsman on vocals.
"Good Karma Café" available here.
www.myspace.com/theplasticpals
Pollyanna
Pollyanna is an indie-folk project from Paris, built around Isabelle Casier's songs. Sometimes playing solo, often in duo or more on stage, their second album, 'On Concrete', is just about to be released in Germany (Songs & Whispers/Cargo), after first being issued in France in 2009.
A beautiful female voice, bittersweet lyrics and David Lopez's luminous arrangements (light drums, ukulele, cello) make it reminiscent of Laura Veirs, Smog, Suzanne Vega or Calexico. In her teenage years, Isabelle learnt the guitar on old French and Irish standards. And later fed on PJ Harvey, The Cure and Sonic Youth. Pollyanna’s music is rooted both in traditional folk and indie rock - For the love of wood and electricity.
Pollyanna has performed over 200 shows in various places in France, elsewhere in Europe (Germany, Belgium, Holland, Denmark and Switzerland) and in New York.
Pollyanna also proudly supports great acts in beautiful venues (Françoiz Breut, Julie Doiron, Wilco, Bright Eyes, Nouvelle Vague, Alela Diane).
www.pollyanna.org
www.myspace.com/pollyannamusic
www.myspace.com/waterhouserecords
Poor Billy
In 2001 a constellation of four musicians from Aarhus in Denmark released the album “My Feet Are Naked”. Later on the band found their name “Poor Billy”. The band released an EP in 2004 called ’Poor Billy’, from where the song ’Give It All Back’ was in rotation on Danish National Radio.
Next album, the delta-blues inspired ’Moonlight Stranger’, was released in 2008. From this album the song ’Sct Christopher’ became ’Track Of The Week’ on Garageband.com. This and four other songs from the album was also in rotation on Danish National Radio.
Poor Billy have played in concertplaces all over Denmark and their new album ’Brother Wake Up’ - produced by Thomas Alstrup in Lundgaard Studios – has just been released.
Poor Billy combines rootsrock with their very own musical style. They build a bridge between past and present, and between American and European musical traditions. They play modern rock with a raw, energy-filled and passionate atmosphere.
The singer Karsten Olesen finds inspiration for the stories he tells, in his imagination and in haphazard observations. These stories are the foundation for Poor Billys musical universe.
Porkbelly Futures
Porkbelly Futures is a musical group. They describe their music as “north country, born of the blues.” They began as a straightforward bar band, emulating the Chicago sound of the great Paul Butterfield, but as they began to write their own music, country influences began creeping. They conceived of their new sound as “north country” because they are Canadian lads, born and bred.
The group is named in honour of Porkbelly Futures, an obscure singer/songwriter who played various musical instruments of his own invention. There are no recordings of the original Porkbelly Futures, but it was said that he made people weep.
The basic founding group consists of Paul Quarrington, Martin Worthy, Chas Elliott and Stuart Laughton. They regularly perform with Rebecca Campbell.
Their original songs are by both witty and touching. Their live performances are characterized by masterful instrumental work, gay banter and the occasional magic trick.
Porkbelly Futures is a unique blend of Roots influenced country/blues music. It is original material with witty adventurous songwriting and great licks.
http://porkbellys.com
http://cordovabay.com
www.myspace.com/porkbellys
Preston Grey
“First & Vine”, Preston Grey’s sophomore album was inspired by the band’s travels and experiences over last few years. Both lyrically and musically, the album offers a broad range of themes and styles which recur throughout. The phrase “First and Vine” itself represents a fictional intersection, alluding to specific events throughout the course of the album’s story. Thus, it became the obvious name for this release.
Sonically, the recording captures instruments and vocals in a present, warm, and captivating manner. The initial track, “Caravan Inn,” is an energetic presentation of the album’s main theme, showing off Preston Grey’s uniquely mixed instrumentation. Featuring a string quartet, pedal steel guitar, trombone, and mixed percussion, “First & Vine” finds comfort in stretching the boundaries of a typical independent rock setting. From the quality “Bullet Aside,” to the lush vocal and string arrangements in “Telephone Whine” and “Pacific Sky,” the album’s seamless transitions keep the story and musical themes intact.
Pamela Polland
Patrick Bloom
Patrick Crowson
Paul Reddick
Parker-Jayne
Peadar King
Penny Nichols
Pete Cummins
Pete Sinjin
Peter Bryngelsson
Peter Cooper
Peter Elkas
Peter Gallway
Peter Mayer
PG & Frank
Phil Smith
Phillip Bracken
Phyllis Sinclair
Plastic Pals
Pollyanna
Poor Billy
Porkbelly Futures
Preston Grey
