Everyone has their demons. There are many people who have turned those demons into musical artistry. Unfortunately, that doesn’t always mean the story ends well. For British Columbian Bob Sumner, it seems like maybe it will. A genetic heart disease diagnosis became the catalyst for him to overcome alcoholism and turn his energy more toward […]
Mayer’s Playlist for Summer 2024, Part 2
The Money or the Time, Goodnight Texas (from the 2 Cent Bank Check Records release Signals) Goodnight Texas have built a career around storytelling. Their early albums were thematic period pieces, snapshots of time vividly captured in song. Later albums, including the recently released Signals, may lack an overarching narrative but are no less compelling […]
Tony Martinez – Everywhere West
The story is not an unusual one. A successful sideman works his tail off for years, building his chops and accumulating a catalog of songs, or at least the scraps and pieces of them. Then one day kismet stops by and everything falls into place to release an album. That’s the short version of how […]
When It’s Twilight in Boston – a Special Playlist
Enough, Alisa Amador (from the Thirty Tigers release Multitudes) If I’m honest, I’m really skeptical about music competitions. Call me idealist, but I think the music industry is tough enough already and pitting artists against one another is counterproductive. That said, watching Alisa Amador win the NPR Tiny Desk Contest is somewhat reassuring. It’s wonderful […]
Karen Jonas – The Rise and Fall of American Kitsch
Elvis has inspired many a musician over the years, but rarely, if ever, in the way he catalyzed Virginian Karen Jonas. Watching an Elvis biography on the plane home from SXSW she was incited to write 8 songs in 8 days and add a few others pulled off the shelf from a previous writing spurt […]
Lasers Lasers Birmingham – Mystery Highway
If you’re a musician in California, you can feel a bit cloistered. Between Palm Springs and Lubbock there’s a lot of not much. So faced with an 8+ hour drive to the next gig east of the Mojave, or picking up 4 gigs in the 400 miles from LA to San Francisco or Sacramento, it’s […]
American Aquarium – Fear of Standing Still
By the time most bands have released a dozen or so albums, they are past their prime. They may still be releasing solid material, but the zenith is clearly in the rear view. Thankfully American Aquarium isn’t most bands. BJ Barham’s band is scarred, and road worn for sure. Lineups have changed and morphed over […]
Monday Morning Video – Lucinda Williams “Passionate Kisses”
While it was Mary Chapin Carpenter’s cover that ultimately earned Lucinda Williams a Grammy award for the song, I’ve always been partial to the grittiness of Williams’ original version. Here’s a performance by Williams from Austin City Limits.
Melissa Carper – Borned In Ya
A couple of years ago, at AmericanaFest, one of my highlights was seeing a trio that later called themselves Wonder Women Of Country; Kelly Willis, Brennan Leigh, and Melissa Carper. I was familiar with the beautiful voices of Willis and Leigh, but Carper was new to me. She added an authenticity and balance to the […]
Alice Wallace – Here I Am
Back in the day, the normal way to make an album was for the vocalist to go into the studio with musicians that did little else besides play on recordings being made for the name on the cover. Whether or not they knew the singer didn’t matter: they were musical craftsmen punching a time clock. […]