Jerry McFadden, long-time keyboard player with the Mavericks, talks about the variety of odd jobs that carried him through the lean times and the benefits of playing together as a band for more than 20 years.
Monday Morning Video – A Premiere from Ronnie Fauss
Built to Break, the 2014 release from Dallas-based artist Ronnie Fauss, is an under-appreciated gem. The album careens across eleven mostly rockin’ tracks that are all burnished with Texas red dirt. Fauss sings about characters who strive for success in love and life but who often miss the mark. He stops short of drawing conclusions; […]
Undeniably Donnie – A Tribute to Funky Donnie Fritts
Muscle Shoals musician and journeyman Donnie Fritts is perhaps most immediately recognizable from his nearly 20 years touring and performing with Kris Kristofferson and appearing in a handful of films (including a trio of director Sam Peckinpah classics). Arguably his greatest talent, however, is as a songwriter. What does it say when an writer’s work […]
Mayer’s Playlist for October 2015, Part 2
ALBUMS OF THE MONTH Didn’t He Ramble, by Glen Hansard Hansard’s latest album is a journey. Across the album’s ten tracks, Hansard takes the listener on a quest for happiness and contentment. Not surprisingly the journey is a meandering one, filled with hopes both realized and dashed. The album begins with a rather defiant tone […]
Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats
The best songs transport you instantly to another time or place.  Sometimes it’s because it was that tune that triggers a memory.  Other times, the music just so perfectly sets the ambience in your mind. That’s what happened to me on the self-titled release from Denver-based Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats.  I just see friends gathered […]
Shawn Mullins – My Stupid Heart
On his first album in five years, Shaw Mullins releases what is perhaps his best album. “My Stupid Heart†is a virtual dead heat with 2006’s “Ninth Ward Pickin’ Parlor†as his career best. “My Stupid Heart†exhibits a diversity of styles. The core of the album, as always, is Mullins melodic songwriting. There is […]
Nate Cook of the Yawpers on Being Stranded In Bakersfield and What It Means to Have a Favorite Job
Nate Cook of Denver’s the Yawpers talks about sampling the local fare while on the road (and the trade-off between eating and sleeping when touring) and his first gig playing to an unappreciative audience.
Monday Morning Video – Caleb Caudle’s “Miss You Like Crazy”
Caudle and his band put on a fine performance at the Americana Music Festival last month. The show sent me back to his outstanding 2014 release Paint Another Layer on my Heart, including this heartbreak of a song.
Mayer’s Playlist for October 2015, Part 1
ALBUMS OF THE MONTH All a Man Should Do, by Lucero There’s something to be said for aging gracefully, especially when you’ve got a well-earned reputation for raucous and whiskey-fueled rock and roll. Memphis-based Lucero demonstrate how to do it right on the 12th album of their nearly 18 year career. Singer-songwriter Nichols has long […]
Corb Lund – Things That Can’t Be Undone
One of the best bar-concert surprises I’ve ever had was seeing Corb Lund open for Hayes Carll a few years ago at the Doug Fir in Portland.  I’d heard a couple of his songs, but hadn’t given them much thought.  Lund and his band, the Hurtin’ Albertans, came out and proceeded to not just get the […]