Sometimes songs capture in a snapshot what ends up being a universal truth. John Prine certainly had a knack for it, and a lot of Woody Guthrie’s material is relevant 60 or 70 years later. Rod Abernethy bottled a bit of that with the title track from his latest record, Normal Isn’t Normal Anymore. Written […]
Shawn’s 2020 Album Favorites
I’ve never made it a secret how much of an influence John Hartford’s music had on me. Yet I surprised even myself when I realized On the Road: A Tribute To John Hartford was my favorite album of 2020. I suppose in this year of chaos the combination of new versions of songs I’ve loved […]
Old Californio – Songs From the Sea Of Cortez
There’s a very California sound you get by taking the twangy guitar and rock solid rhythm line associated with Bakersfield and overlaying it with the acoustic guitar and multi-part harmonies that sprang from the hills and canyons northwest of LA in the 60’s. You could probably argue Graham Parsons first touched that nerve with Sweetheart […]
Band Premiere – The Great Outdoors
The pandemic has been hard on bands. How’s that for an understatement? With touring shut down, and even gathering in the studio a challenge, many musicians have had to focus on more essential elements of life. In no way, though, has that diminished the passion that made them eschew a normal day job in the […]
Song Premiere – Brian Callihan
Back in the 60’s and 70’s it wasn’t uncommon for a musician to take a job in Nashville writing songs for other people while they polished their performance skills. A couple of guys you might have heard of, Kris Kristofferson and Willie Nelson, started their careers that way. As the industry evolved, the pendulum swung […]
Video Premiere – Drew Aron
A couple of weeks ago I wrote about Drew Aron’s debut release, Familiar Faces. It’s a mostly auto-biographical story about a musician finding himself in a city flooded with artists finding themselves. There are some lighter moments to be sure, but there is a lot of material to fuel a lot of songs (which is […]
Mink’s Miracle Medicine – Thumbs Up Angel
Peanut butter and chocolate. Harley Davidson and leather. Punk and bluegrass. OK, well maybe that last pair doesn’t go together like the first two examples. In the case of West Virginia duo, Mink’s Miracle Medicine, though, it turned out well. Lead guitarist Daniel Zezeski brings his punk and ska roots to the collaboration, while lead […]
Two EP Gems – The Ghosts Of Liberty & Drew Aron
First up is the debut record from North Carolina couple Emma & Tyler Millard, who go under the band name The Ghosts Of Liberty. My favorite song on the 3-tune EP is Roanoke River. It’s a tension-filled, country-pop story about society’s biases and love’s ability to overcome them. With Tyler’s rootsy edge on guitar providing […]
Alright Alright – Crucible
Several years ago I voted for Jason Isbell’s Southeastern as #1 in our annual album poll. I kind of surprised myself at the time, because as awesome as the record was, the subject matter of many of the songs was dark. I found myself having to steel up a little before I hit play. I […]
The Bodarks – Side Effects
The English language has some very captivating words. A friend of mine likes “shenanigans”. I’ve always been partial to “gobsmacked”. Then there’s “hootenanny”. If you’re not familiar with the term, it’s sort of like open mic night at the square dance. Think string bands and dancing; raw, fast-paced, and open to anyone. That’s the spirit […]