Ugly Stick
Back in 1993, the four dudes who make up Columbus, Ohio’s own Ugly Stick (Hey, that’s their name, I’m not judging) produced a fantastic album, "Absinthe", that’s still listed on many a critic’s top-100-of-all-time-list. A happy mix of rock/alt-country with some Clash-type pop.
Eddie Mann, David Holm, Jeff Clowdus and Al Huckabee made some great, great music….. And as so often happens with great bands, they broke up not long after.
Fast forward fifteen years and suddenly the Stick is back with 14 — count ‘em — 14 kick-ass songs with their new album "Still Glistening", and thank the music gods for that! Really, any fan of music could just sit here and play this awesome album all freakin’ day long.
Utah Phillips
In February of 2008, at a musician’s gathering in Maine, folk musicians Dan Schatz, Kendall Morse and Jacqui Morse began talking about a CD to celebrate the life and music of Utah Phillips. Within weeks dozens had joined in, and after Utah’s death the project became a two disc memorial, with some of the world’s most respected folksingers recording songs by and for Utah.
Musicians include Emmylou Harris and Mary Black, Pete Seeger, Rosalie Sorrels, Tom Paxton, Jean Ritchie, John McCutcheon, Magpie, Gordon Bok, Emma's Revolution, Ani DiFranco and many others. Proceeds from the sale of this 2-CD set go to suppot Utah’s family.
"Singing Through The Hard Times - A Tribute To Utah Phillips" is released by Righteous Babe Records March 3, 2009.
Available here.
Vanessa Peters
Voted as one of the top 10 folk artists in Austin, Vanessa Peters is already well known in her home state of Texas. Judging by the relentless touring schedule she keeps, it seems that she is trying to make a name for herself in the rest of the world as well. In the last two years, she has criss-crossed America twice and toured all over Italy, Holland, Germany, and the Czech Republic, both as a solo artist and with her Italian band, Ice Cream on Mondays. But touring hasn’t stopped her putting pen to paper either; she released “Thin Thread” in 2005 to glowing reviews in the States and in Italy, and released her 4th and 5th albums (“Blackout” and “Little Films”) in 2006.
“Little Films”, released in late 2006, chronicles the redemptive and destructive powers that our own personal films have in our lives. Early buzz says this is Vanessa’s best album yet, showing off her 1-2-3 punch of startling lyrics, catchy melodies, and a voice that stays with you for days – likened by one reviewer to “a voice that you could obtain by mixing the earthiness of Lucinda Williams, the witty youthfulness of Beth Orton, and the problematic grace of Suzanne Vega.” The album is a blend of various genres, covering the Americana-rock of Wilco and the Jayhawks, the folk-tinged songs of Patty Griffin, and the pop-rock of Aimee Mann.
2007 started off with a 15-date tour in Italy that took the band up and down the proverbial boot and found them featured on Rai Radio 3, Italy’s version of NPR. Vanessa and Manuel Schicchi (lead guitar and harmonies) toured across America during the spring, playing most of the midwest and the east coast. Vanessa has just wrapped a tour in Holland, and now the band is playing various festivals in Italy for the summer…this is one tour bus that never seems to stop.
Vanessa and ICOM are endorsed by Norman Guitars, a specialty guitar maker out of Montreal, Canada. They are at home in small clubs, on college campuses, in coffeehouses, and most at home in appreciative listening rooms or house concerts. Vanessa has been nominated for best folk artist, best new artist, best new band, and best female vocals in Austin and in Houston.
Viarosa
Following the success and critical acclaim of their debut album, ‘Where The Killers Run’, Viarosa’s follow-up LP ‘Send For The Sea’ will be released by Pronoia Records (UK) and by Tarnished Records (US) in late 2008.
Led by singer-songwriter Richard Neuberg, Viarosa have grown into a formidable act since their inception six years ago. Last year alone they shared tours and shows in the UK and in Europe with the likes of Midlake, Robyn Hitchcock and The Venus 3, Joan As Police Woman, Alejandro Escovedo and Josh T. Pearson. The highlight of 2007 came when, having watched this outstanding band play, R.E.M. invited Viarosa to open for them at The Olympia Theatre in Dublin – R.E.M.’s first live outing in two years. As expected, this unique London band went down a storm.
Reviews of Viarosa’s first releases brought comparisons to many of the greats. Their EP 'Porous' inspired Uncut Magazine to describe the band as: “Outstanding… like The Birthday Party doing Johnny Cash.” And when the LP came, Uncut continued in its four star praise: “’Where The Killers Run’ fulfils the promise... a country-wired Echo and The Bunnymen”.
Building on their distinctive sound, the second album ‘Send For The Sea’ takes the band to even greater heights, the new songs reaching out with increased passion and urgency. ‘Send For The Sea’ has so many standout tracks, it’s hard to single them out. 'Tourniquet’s' rolling guitars, bittersweet viola and screaming lap steel carry you across the plains, while 'The Last Resolve' drags you up to the hilltops and howls up at the stars. With the band at full, ragged tilt – a drunken bar-room piano, a gypsy fiddle, a wild west baritone guitar – 'The Last Resolve' sounds like a noir opera penned by David Lynch. The album’s other epic tracks include the impassioned, anti-war 'The Old Walls', the raging 'Beggars & Thieves', and the second track, 'Righteous Path', creeps up until you are hurled into its explosive conclusion. With its lush layers of strings and voices, 'Righteous Path' sounds like Viarosa’s mission statement, calling out for redemption by way of the artist’s path.
But ‘Send For The Sea’ has plenty of tender moments too. The haunting 'Cruel Pull Of The Stars' makes you think of The Bad Seeds at their most restrained; the delicate 'Ode To Sunlight' glitters with sweet shades of early John Martyn; and the 'The Sea' sounds like a Jeff Buckley-ballad on a morphine drip. As the sound of psychedelic seagulls moan overhead, 'The Sea' is the perfect closing track to the intensity that has gone before.
All together, the new material creates an extraordinary and original album, a raw heart collection of great songs that are sure to bring Viarosa the acclaim and attention they deserve.
"Send For The Sea" available here.
www.viarosa.co.uk
www.myspace.com/viarosa
www.youtube.com/viarosamusic
Vic Chesnutt
- The Vic Chesnutt album, and why me and Tommy wanted to do it - By Jonathan Richman -
"My drummer Tommy Larkins and I were driving in the van across the United States as we do two or three times a year on our tours of clubs and I said, 'Y'know, we should produce Vic's next record!'. And he said he thought so too. We both were thinking that the way to get the feeling for Vic as a listener was to hear just Vic - no arrangements, no guest guitar solo guys, no 'ironic' touches or anything else to cloud his voice or his poetry. His guitar playing is also the guitar playing on this recording because we think no help is needed. Tommy and I have toured with Vic several times and he's long been one of our favourites. So we're both proud of this record & glad for the chance to make it our way. A lot of it was brand new stuff, a few hours old or becoming a song right there as he sang".
Vic Chesnutt has recorded with many different people for all kinds of labels, but he's never made an album like his debut on Vapor Records.
Chesnutt's first two releases were produced by REM's Michael Stipe, and from there he was featured in the PBS documentary 'Speed Racer' and his songs were recorded for "Sweet Relief II: Gravity of the Situation". A wide range of artists including Garbage, Madonna, Smashing Pumpkins, REM and Live, all covered Chesnutt originals. He has recorded with groups like Widespread Panic and Lambchop, and musicians as varied as Bill Frisell and Fugazi's Guy Picciotto. Chesnutt recently performed on Cowboy Junkie's "Trinity Revisited", with others and over a dozen different releases of his own.
"Skitter On Take-Off" allows Vic Chesnutt to create his most dramatic album yet; recording devastating songs like 'Rips In The Fabric' and 'Dick Cheney' live with no overdubs. This album becomes a unique addition to his history, and allows the singer-songwriter the chance to collaborate with an important influence. "I'm honoured to work with Jonathan Richman. Over the years he's taken me under his wing and mentored me in a very meaningful way, truly shaping me into the songwriter and performer I am today. And it is an ongoing process". Chesnutt and Richman's work together is one for the ages. "Skitter On Take-Off" features Vic Chesnutt, Jonathan Richman & Tommy Larkins. Produced by Jonathan Richman & Tommy Larkins.
www.vicchesnutt.com
www.vaporrecords.com
www.myspace.com/vicchesnutt
Victoria Vox
Victoria Vox may not have had much of an audience as a 10-year-old, but that didn’t stop her from writing and recording her first songs in her bedroom in small-town, Wisconsin. Vox has always known it was her destiny to perform, but didn’t find her true voice in performing until after tackling a Casio keyboard, violin, oboe, trumpet, guitar, bass and now, ukulele.
Missing her junior prom in high school, Vox traveled overseas as a foreign exchange student to rural France where she bought her first guitar. A new instrument and an inspirational environment turned her away from her keyboard top-40 musings and band-geek rut, encouraging a more therapeutic and purposeful songwriting method.
Vox continued her higher education at Boston’s prestigious Berklee College of Music. A degree in songwriting was right up her alley, plus, the male-to-female ratio was 6-1! Meticulous about honing her craft, the then pink-haired “conservative” punk-rocker worked on tweaking her songs, and was later rewarded in the form of a Berklee Achievement Scholarship and the Vince Gill Songwriting Award.
After graduating in 2000, Vox moved to Nashville but soon decided to dodge the grits, sold everything she owned and jumped the pond to London, England. Six concentrated months later she returned to the states and started touring regionally in the Midwest selling her home-made recordings from her trunk.
In May of 2003, she quit her “not-at-all-missed-retail-job” in Green Bay, founded her own publishing company, Obus Music, and took to the road full time, sharing her songs and infectious smile from Los Angeles to London. It was in late 2004 when Victoria was given a ukulele and she ran with the idea as soon as she saw the fan’s response to the toy-like instrument.
In February of 2006, Vox released “Victoria Vox and Her Jumping Flea” to rave reviews. On her first Hawaiian tour in support of the album, Vox was offered sponsorship by KoAloha Ukuleles out of Honolulu. Jumping Flea has been featured on NPR’s “To the Best of Our Knowledge”, the song “America” was used on A&E’s Random 1 and indie films Lost in Woonsocket and Westbound and “My Darlin’ Beau” was awarded runner-up in the International Acoustic Music Awards. She was also included in Relix Magazine’s list of artists to watch.
“Chameleon” is Vox’s brand spankin’ new album (April 1, 2008 release) and for the first time, she has mixed her ukulele ditties with the guitar songs on one album – for a new sound that is uniquely and seamlessly her own.
Vince Melamed
Vince Melamed has covered a lot of territory as a sideman and session player throughout his illustrious career. Now this world-class musician has finally settled in to record and release his debut solo album, 'WHAT MATTERS MOST', on Adroit Records.
Vince grew up in Los Angeles, and caught the show business bug at an early age. He formed a band at 14, and signed a record deal at the tender age of 16. His band, the Mugwumps, played every love-in and Sunset Strip-club in L.A., as well as appearing in and providing music for some low budget teen flicks.
But after a short-lived brush with success, Melamed decided to enter music school at CSUN Northridge. After graduating from college, where he co-hosted a radio show, Vince was back on the road as a sideman for Danny O’Keefe, then continuing on with Bobby Womack, David Ruffin, JD Souther, The Eagles, Rita Coolidge, Karla Bonoff, Glen Frey, Jimmy Buffett, Bob Dylan, Rosanne Cash, Rodney Crowell and Dan Fogelberg.
"I had been writing in L.A. whenever I was off the road and enjoyed some success," says Melamed, who during that time had cuts with Cher, Tina Turner and Phoebe Snow.
"I originally came to Nashville to work with Rosanne Cash, and that’s when I began to write music seriously, and was fortunate to find a niche in this community of highly supportive and creative music people," recalls Vince about his decision to relocate. So in 1986, he packed up everything and moved to 'Music City'.
Success soon followed with a flood of songs recorded by Trisha Yearwood ('Walkaway Joe'), John Anderson ('Hillbilly Hollywood'), Jill Sobule ('Too Cool to Fall in Love'), Boy Howdy ('She'd Give Anything'), Restless Heart ('Tell Me What You Dream'), Ty Herndon ('What Mattered Most'), Gerald Levert ('I'd Give Anything'), Jimmy Buffett ('Souvenirs') and most recently, Phil Vassar ('I'll Take That as a Yes').
Vince is also is a founding member of the MCA Records’ group Run C&W.
Now, Melamed's newest effort, 'WHAT MATTERS MOST', includes some of his country hits, but with a different twist. "I'm basically a rock 'n' roll guy, and Jim Tract (the CD’s producer) at Adroit gets that," Vince says. "Jim brought in some great musicians for the sessions. The result is a CD that is infused with an alternative sound that is contemporary and dynamic and includes some of Melamed’s favorite compositions that have yet to make it to the radio.
www.adroitrecords.com
www.vincemelamed.com
www.myspace.com/adroitrecords
www.myspace.com/vincemelamed
Walt Wilkins & The Mystiqueros
San Antonio-born Walt Wilkins has been called a genius, more than once, and a writer the caliber of John Steinbeck and his voice as comfortable as a pair of old blue jeans, and he is, and has, all of that. His crafting of story-songs, hard-edged vocals to sing them and a plaintive guitar have made him a fixture of the Texas music scene (and Nashville before that). He’s put his magical touch on recordings by new and veteran artists, too many to count.
With The Mystiqueros, Wilkins has created something of a “Texas Hill Country super-group” that features five great singers and four great songwriters from the heart of the Lone Star State, all of whom have made their own records and are flush with recording credits.
Onstage and in the studio, Wilkins is joined by Bill Small (bass, percussion, acoustic guitar), John M. Greenberg (electric guitars), Ramon Rodriguez (drums, percussion) and Marcus Eldridge (electric guitars). Live performances around Texas are being likened to both outlaw country and classic rock bands, and they’re captured on DIAMONDS IN THE SUN, released July 24 by Palo Duro Records.
Wilkins says this is the most fun he’s ever had playing music in a band in 30 years. He describes the music of The Mystiqueros (nicknamed mq5) as highly reminiscent of ’70s country rock from Texas and the West Coast and blues and soul that members grew up listening to and features high-quality songwriting and musicianship, rhythm, and vocal arrangements.
Small, who wrote and sings the new album’s title track, “Diamonds in the Sun,” was born and raised in New Jersey, and lived and worked in New York City, Boston and Nashville before Austin. He had played with both Eldridge and Greenberg and had done a gig with Wilkins. “So we all knew each other,” he says, “and once we all got on stage together, it became obvious that it was the thing to do.”
Greenberg, a busy first-call guitarist, singer and producer around the Hill Country with four solo records, was born and raised in Oklahoma. He contributed the song “Red River Blues” to the album and describes The Mystiqueros as “the band every kid wanted to be in” back in the ’70s music world of rock ’n’ roll, country & R&B: “You were generally partial to one, and I was a rocker. But that’s the coolest part of being a Mystiquero! There are all three elements on this record, and that’s why it was plausible to put a rockin’ song like ‘Red River Blues’ on the same album next to a great country song about Hank Williams.”
Eldridge, a well-respected guitarist in Texas born in Tomball who’s made two soulful solo records, put his clear tenor voice to Wilkins’ “All These Memories” for DIAMONDS. He believes playing in The Mystiqueros is a rare opportunity. “There are no more bands like this left on the planet. … We all do what we do, bring it and blend it with the other talents in the band,” he says. “This kind of a thing is not planned, it just happens.”
Rodriguez, who grew up in Brownfield and has worked with several young Texas bands and artists, sang back-up on “Big Shiny Cars” and a small part on “Honky Tonk Road” on the album. He calls the band “a powerhouse” and the record a timeless thing, modern but with a vintage feeling. As the youngest member of the band, he jokes that he can still cut his own meat and that he pushes the others with his grooves and his beat to stay up late. “We have fun on the road,” he says. “It shows in our shows.”
For Wilkins — from his first musical influences as an Air Force brat, to his first band at age 15 to writing his first song (homesick while studying in the seminary) to playing own songs and writing in Nashville to his first album and producing others’ — The Mystiqueros might just be about coming home, at last.
The Water Callers
The Water Callers write original music inspired by a variety of traditional American styles including folk, jazz, country, bluegrass, gospel, and R&B. Their clever songwriting and innovative harmonies are the constants as they wind their way through these genres. Their sound has been likened to The Everly Brothers or the Louvin Brothers.
Their collective performance and songwriting experience has come to fruition with their new album "Springboard" (2008) after releasing debut EP “The Finest of the Wheat” (2006). In addition to performing in North Carolina, the Water Callers (Jason Fagg & Bart Matthews) have written music for various film and theater projects including "Durham: A Self Portrait" (2007), "The Siamese Connection" (2008), plus Little Green Pig's "A Streetcar Named Desire" (2007) and "Fistful of Love" (2008).
At a party in the Spring of 2005, Bart & Jason passed a guitar back and forth, recounting old favorite songs from their collective Southern heritage. They both knew many of the same songs, and both instinctively knew how to harmonize and blend with each other's voice. From this affinity The Water Callers were born.
Both members of The Water Callers have similar musical backgrounds. Bart, originally from Atlanta, GA, is a product of a household of professional musicians: his mother played violin in the Atlanta Symphony, and his father is a music minister at a church in Virginia. Bart learned how to sing and play many instruments early on. Jason grew up in a small town near the mountains of NC called Walnut Cove, where from age 5 he studied classical piano and percussion while singing at church.
Bart & Jason met at college in the 1990's, but didn't play music together until a decade later. In the meantime, Jason played and toured with bands such as International Orange, Cody Cods, The Ugglians, The Sleepies, and The Physics of Meaning. Bart focused on acting, performing in productions in Chicago and Durham.
www.myspace.com/thewatercallers
Watermelon Slim
"Watermelon Slim incarnates the deepest and truest roots of American music. Combine Jimmy Rodgers, the Carter family & Bob Wills with Blind Lemon, Sonny Boy Williamson and Wilson Picket - and you have Slim - a one-of-a-kind pickin'n'singin Okie dynamo."
- Jerry Wexler, legendary producer -
Bill Homans, a.k.a 'Watermelon Slim' has a storied past from which he draws experience and fodder for the fourteen tracks on his latest release The Wheel Man on NorthernBlues Music.
Watermelon Slim first appeared on the music scene in the early 1970s as the only Vietnam veteran to record a full length LP album during the Vietnam war, a 1973 protest-tinged "underground" release entitled Merry Airbrakes.
In the subsequent years his original material has been reissued and performed by anti-establishment icons such as Country Joe McDonald. He developed friendships and musical bonds with Barbara Dane, roommate Henry 'Sunflower' Vestine of Canned Heat, and his dear fishing buddy, seminal Chicago blues harp plyer 'Earring George' Mayweather.
In his 30 years of music he has played with Vestine, Bonnie Raitt, Robert Cray, the late John Lee Hooker, in Paris with expatriate New Orleans barrel-house piano player Champion Jack Dupree, Boston's leading blues guitarist and producer Chris Stovall Brown, and most recently with Muddy Waters' guitarist 'Steady Rollin' Bob Margolin.
But not until recently did he fully chase the dream.
Less than six months after leaving his most latest truckdriviing job, hauling industrial waste, Slim is now making a living as a full time touring bluesman. The decision was predominantly the result of a recent and nearly fatal heart attack, and the renewed perspective on mortality that followed.
Logically, why drive industrial waste around Oklahoma to dispose of when one can drive bandmates around the United States to play music and entertain? Pleasingly, the blues community has officially recognized him as one of the best contemporary blues artists with a nomination for a 2005 W.C. Handy Award for Best New Artist Debut.
Watermelon Slim & The Workers received 6 Blues Music Award nominations in 2006 and Slim was inducted into the Oklahoma Blues Hall of Fame on May 26th, 2007.
"The Wheel Man" available here:
www.rootsy.nu
Wendy Waldman
Wendy Waldman is a critically acclaimed recording artist, as well as a writer of multi-platinum songs for other singers in musical genres ranging from country to pop, film, jazz, children's music and R&B. She is one of the first woman record producers to have a major impact in the music industry. Wendy Waldman's career in the music business started with her band, Bryndle, in the early 1970s in Los Angeles. Bryndle was made up of Wendy Waldman and her friends Karla Bonoff, Kenny Edwards, and Andrew Gold.
Waldman's solo career had an auspicious beginning. The first Wendy Waldman album, "Love Has Got Me," was released by Warner Bros. Records in 1973 and proclaimed by Rolling Stone Magazine to be the "singer-songwriter debut of the year." She has made eight critically acclaimed solo albums and toured extensively as well. In 1996, a "best of" collection was released on Warner Brothers, followed by the reissue of all of the Warner albums in 2005.
More than 70 other artists have recorded her songs in fields as diverse as pop, R&B, jazz, country, film, Latin and cowboy music. Among her biggest records are "Save The Best For Last" and "The Sweetest Days" by Vanessa Williams; "Fishin' In The Dark" and "Home Again In My Heart" by the Dirt Band; "Baby What About You" by Crystal Gayle; "I Owe You One" by Aaron Neville; "Heartbeat" by Don Johnson, "I'm Gone" by Alison Krauss, and most recently, "Fishin in the Dark," released on Garth Brooks' new box set.
Her songs have also been recorded by Maria Muldaur, Robert Smith of the Cure, Linda Ronstadt, Kim Carnes, CeCe Winans, NewGrass Revival, Randy Travis, Randy Meisner, Edgar Winter, Jesse Colin Young, Percy Sledge, Kenny Rogers, Judy Collins, Melissa Manchester, Rita Coolidge and Bette Midler to name just a few. Waldman became the first woman to produce country music extensively and was responsible for Susy Bogguss' award-winning debut album, as well as projects for the Forester Sisters, Jonathan Edwards, Sweethearts of the Rodeo, Matraca Berg and the Ozark Mountain Daredevils.
Waldman produced the last New Grass Revival album, "Friday Night in America," considered a tour de force in the acoustic music world. In recent years she has focused on producing independent artists, among them Ronny Cox, Brian Joseph, John Cowan, Arthur Lee Land, Anna Wolfe, Katy Moffatt and Rosie Flores, and has coproduced all three of the Bryndle cds which have been recorded since 1995. The most recent project is a live acoustic album for the Los Angeles based rock band Hypnogaja, and she is currently in the studio with the legendary folk/jazz artists Artie Traum. After many years, a new Wendy Waldman cd is finished and will be released in the summer of 2006.
Waldman is the only female musician in the Taylor Guitars clinician program and is in demand for her songwriting workshops/performances. She also tours extensively as a solo artist and in combination with other friends, all across the country and in all kinds of venues.
As a true veteran of the music industry, Wendy Waldman imparts a sense of great joy and passion about all aspects of music making.
Wes Charlton
Upon visiting Nashville, TN, to perform at the A.M.C., Wes Charlton decided not to leave and has thus resided there ever since. He tours regularly and will release his full length follow up to his debut, "American Bittersweet", on Judy Collins' Wildflower Records in January 2009.
The new album is titled "World On Fire" and is already being compared to such works as Neil Young's "Tonight's The Night", Tom Wait's "Rain Dogs" and mid-60's Bob Dylan. Jerry Jodice of 'The Great American Music Hour' says, "It's refreshing to hear music that's great in and of itself, not because of any hype... It's quickly becoming my current favorite!"
"World On Fire" available here.
www.wescharlton.com
www.myspace.com/wescharlton
www.wildflowerrecords.com
The Whats
Unlike most two piece bands who feel the need to play more to make up for their lack of personnel, THE WHATS keep the music minimal, tight, economical and punchy, veering sharply towards the "less is more" philosophy. 
Simple repetitive rhythms and melodies dominate, two minute two chord songs, no drum fills, clean dry recordings.
The lack of bass and / or any other instrumentation except for a very sparsely used keyboard may deter a few, but THE WHATS carry on with a minimalist principle and a punk rock foundation paying homage to bands like The Clash.
Tim, vocalist and guitarist, fails to reserve his honest and deliberate vocal approach. The melodies clearly stem from a lifetime of running home from school with worn-out Chuck Taylors and an unwashed Sex Pistols t-shirt to listen to old punk and indie music through oversized headphones. The lyrics spill out naturally and sometimes rushed, showing that Tim may have more to say than he has time to do so.
Dean's drum approach mirrors the band’s general mindset - less is more. As the son of an eclectic drummer, he lets a variety of genres seep in during the songwriting process. The amalgamation of the two create a standard that is far too often overlooked in today's music world- three-chord rock can still make for a sound deemed worthy of rock’n’roll.
The title of their debut album, ‘All Mouth, No Trousers’, may be all too sarcastic. The band plays with less of a 'no action' mentality and instead substitutes it for a 'shut up and play' attitude that can still reach out to a crowd of new teenagers, still wearing Chucks, still keeping music a secret in their bedroom, still walking, breathing, and rocking out to the music that might just save the world, one disgruntled teenager at a time.
Will Hoge
On January 26, 2010, venerated songwriter Will Hoge steps to the fore with 'The Wreckage,' (Rykodisc/ADA), his most impassioned album of rugged and powerful rock and roll to date. The new album, Hoge's first since 2007's acclaimed 'Draw the Curtains,' features eleven new songs of heartfelt choruses and raw, emotive power that curse life's wrong turns and celebrate its triumphs.
Recorded at Nashville's Sound Emporium with producers Ken Coomer (Wilco, Uncle Tupelo) and Charlie Brocco (George Harrison) and mixed by Jim Scott (Tom Petty, Rolling Stones, Johnny Cash), the new album was crafted with a depth of sound and musicality that undeniably breaks new ground for Hoge.
Routinely performing 200 + dates per year, Hoge was temporarily sidelined by a serious traffic accident in 2008 on his way home from a recording session. After spending several months recuperating, he completed the album and recently returned to the stage with a string of sold out hometown shows in Nashville.
Will Hoge will return to Europe in January 2010 for a number of live dates to promote the album.
www.willhoge.com
www.myspace.com/willhoge
Winston Montgomery
Born in New York State an hour’s drive north of New York City, Winston Montgomery made the pilgrimage to San Francisco during the summer after the “Summer of Love” and has never left “the cool grey city of love”.
He made his living for 25 years renovating houses, among them many of the multi-hued Victorian edifices that San Francisco is famous for. After a stint of singing lead in a band and writing songs 30 years ago he has started writing again, performing his songs solo at a number of open mics throughout San Francisco and playing at clubs with his four piece band, The Tall Boys.
His EP containing 7 songs, “The Child Is Father To The Man” is his first recording effort, but he is working on a full length CD, produced by Austin de Lone, a founding member of Eggs Over Easy (a group often credited with starting the London based “Pub Rock” phenomenon), which should be released in January of 2008.
Wyckham Porteous
West Coast artist Wyckham Porteous has recorded a new album for Cordova Bay Records that was produced by Andrew Loog Oldham last winter in Vancouver.
Oldham left school at sixteen to work for fashion designer Mary Quant; became a publicist who helped Brian Epstein promote the Beatles in their early days; and helmed the Rolling Stones' rise to glory as their manager. He spends part of his time each year split between Vancouver, British Columbia and Bogota, Colombia.
Porteous, born in Victoria, British Columbia, schooled in Nanaimo and lives in Vancouver but has been a world traveller supporting previous albums that have been released in the US, UK, Canada, Italy, The Netherlands and Germany. Previous releases have reached the Top Ten on the Gavin Report's "Americana" chart and the video for the title track of his last release was in the National Canadian Bravo Top Ten list for 20 weeks.
In theatre, Wyckham has received back to back Jesse nominations for "Outstanding Sound Design" and "Original Composition".
He and Oldham have created a quiet, comfortable record that mostly features Wyckham's original tunes. However, Oldham remembered his early days in the business when he worked for The Beatles and felt this album should include a cover of "Please, Please Me", but recorded as it was meant to be when it was written. Originally it was a tribute to Ray Orbison and copied his slow and methodical way. George Martin requested that the tempo be upped considerably for The Beatles released version.
Playing a hunch, the track was previewed on two BBC Radio 1 programs in late winter generating a tremendous response from listeners. With just 3 spins each on two shows over 500 emails were generated demanding that the track be released for sale to the public. With the album completed, titled "3 AM", it will be scheduled for release shortly.
www.wyckhamporteous.org
www.cordovabay.com
Zachary Richard
Militant environmentalist and cultural activist, poet and singer-songwriter Zachary Richard’s roots are deeply planted in his native Louisiana. Inspired by the various styles of the region, his songs go beyond the limitations of any particular genre. Zachary’s style is uniquely his own.
Zachary received his first recording contract at the age of 21. He was the last artist to sign with Electra records before the creation of WEA. That album, 'High Time', was lost in the maelstrom surrounding the merger and was not released until 2000 when the original masters were found in a vault in New York City and made available on Rhino Handmade.
It was during his early days in New York that Zachary made a discovery that would influence his art and effect the rest of his life. With the advance money from the record company, he purchased a Cajun accordion. From that moment on, he was swept up by the French language culture of Louisiana. Delving into the Cajun tradition, Zachary formed the first new generation Cajun/Rock band. It would be years, however, before Cajun music became popular outside of rural Louisiana. In the meantime, Zachary career led him to Canada and France.
From 1976 until 1981, Zachary lived in Montreal, recording seven French language albums including two gold albums, 'Mardi Gras' and 'Migration'.
Despite critical and commercial success in the French-speaking world, Zachary returned to Louisiana in the early 1980s and began another phase of his career, this time recording in English. He recorded two albums for Rounder Records, 'Mardi Gras Mambo' and the perennial favorite 'Zack’s Bon Ton', before signing with A&M, and recording two albums at the label, 'Women In The Room, and 'Snake Bite Love. Non-stop touring and the strength of these recordings guaranteed Zachary an international following.
In 1994, after and extended absence from the French market, Zachary returned to Canada to play at the Acadian World Congress in New Brunswick. Passionately inspired by his heritage once again, Zachary began a new collection of French songs.The result was 'Cap Enragé'.This double platinum (Canada) album established Zachary Richard as one of the foremost singer-songwriters in the French-speaking world. Once again Zachary had broken the mold, weaving a musical tapestry rich in atmosphere, with masterfully crafted lyrics dealing with far ranging themes.
The celebrated Creole poet, Aimé Césaire, once said that to separate himself from one of his languages (French and Créole) would be like cutting off one of his hands. It is much the same for Zachary. Participating completely in two distinct cultures and creating in his two languages, Zachary’s artistic experience is unique. He is the most American of French songwriters, and the most French of the American.
His first English language album in 15 years, 'Last Kiss', will be released in the summer of 2009.
www.zacharyrichard.com
www.myspace.com/zacharyrichard1
www.myspace.com/bayoudesmysteres
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Zachary Richard
