After a phenomenal time at this years 16th annual Suwannee Springfest, I’ve been re-living it through folks’ videos, photos, and words on the festival.
Honest Tune‘s David Shehi and Rex Thomson recorded some amazing sessions with many musicians at the Festival including Yonder Mountain, Donna the Buffalo, The Infamous Stringdusters, and more. Here’s a fun photo of their session with Tara Nevins and Jeb Puryear of Donna the Buffalo. Stay tuned to Honest Tune (www.honesttune.com) for lots of fun stuff! … and remember to Vote Rex!
"A fantastic Springfest is now in the book. Now, we go to the editing room so that memories like this Donna the Buffalo backstage performance (& the Mosier Brothers one that followed) can live on forever." --- David Shehi, Honest Tune
Donna’s full Saturday set from Suwannee Springfestwith wonderful intro by Festival Director Paul Levine! Thanks to Mark DaBabe for recording. Check out his picsHERE:
Hype-magazine posted a Suwannee Springfest teaser! So much more to come, exclusives with Donna the Buffalo, Greensky Bluegrass and Whetherman! Check out some awesomePHOTOS.
Great American Taxi “Appalachian Soul” Vid by Your Hometown Hiker- Chuck Allen:
Emmit-Nershi Band Finale. Vid by Soulacious
Elephant Revival. Vid by Ducksoapgirl
“Find of the festival? I have to say we loved Lizzy Ross and her band, and not just because they hail from Chapel Hill North Carolina. She totally rocked. Run don’t walk to iTunes and get some for yourself…The Lizzy Ross Band, ” writes the Fly Fish Chick in her blog about the fest. Read the full post here: http://flyfishchick.com/2012/03/27/best-of-the-fest/
Festgrrl writes, “Elephant Revival: Wow. Young band, fresh, arresting sound, soulful picking, intriguing arrangements, and the startling lead singer-washboard/djembe/musical saw player Bonnie Paine’s haunting voice — I hate to compare such a gorgeous instrument to anyone else, but it sounded to me like a cross between Natalie Merchant and Nora Jones. Actually, she sounds exactly like herself.” Read her full post about the festival HERE. Stay tuned for videos of the band’s originals…in the meantime check out this fun one with Vince Herman (Great American Taxi) sitting in with them:
Your Hometown Hiker, Chuck Allen, posted this fun video of Greensky Bluegrass:
Tornado Rider “Giant Tree” posted by Octavello:
Verlon Thompson covers Bob Dylan’s “She Belongs To Me” while jamming with Donna The Buffalo Sunday Night. Posted by Your Hometown Hiker, Chuck Allen:
Hot Buttered Rum by Your Hometown Hiker:
Check out this “Black Muddy River” by the Mosier Brothers. vid by skizzlesnix:
Grant Peeples “Jesus Was a revolutionary.” Vid by PanamaCityLive
Grandpa’s Cough Medicine. Vid by Soulalicious
Roy Book Binder “Rag Mama.” Vid by gangelone
Bibb City Ramblers “Heat Lightning.” Vid by Christy Fowler
Whetherman “Sea Line.” Vid by westmelody
Stay Tuned– I will add more to this post as the week goes on 🙂
Asheville’s Moses Atwood will be teaming up with Johnson’s Crossroad for a Co-Bill at the Lexington Ave. Brewery on Friday, March 30th.
Moses will be celebrating the release of his NEW album One Bright Boat. Joining Moses for his set will be Dave Mack on bass, Jacob Baumann on Drums, Evan Martin on Guitar, and other special guests! Moses will also be sitting in with Johnson’s Crossroad (JXR) for a song or two.
Johnson’s Crossroad has a lot in store this year and are going to be heading back in the studio to record a 3rd album. Their 2011 release Mockingbird was voted #7 on WNCW’s Top 20 Regional Albums! Having played around 140 shows in 2011, they continue on their travels and are performing Merlefest for the 3rd year in a row and were added to the John Hartford Memorial Fest in IN and Band Lands Bluegrass in WV in 2012!
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Moses Atwood sets sail with sophomore effort, One Bright Boat It’s been four years since singer/songwriter Moses Atwood (also known for his work with Johnson’s Crossroad and The Overflow Jug Band) released his self-titled debut. That was in 2008; suddenly last fall Atwood decided it was time to put together his new collection of songs, One Bright Boat. So he rounded up a group of musicians and headed to Waking Studio, the new digs of Bill Moriarty (Dr. Dog) in Philadelphia. There, Atwood and company knocked out the nine tracks in a mere week. The songs, he says, were culled from the years since his first album. While some date back to when he lived in Maine, most were written in North Carolina over the last few years.
Atwood choose Waking Studio because he wanted to take his musicians (including Michael Libramento of Floating Action) out of their routines. And it was time: “I’d found so many ways of circumventing the actual making of the record that I was like, ‘book the dates, get the people and do it.'” A week is a push, but, Atwood says, “Limitations are a really valuable thing in any artistic process — how many limitations and how you impose them is the trick.”
One Bright Boat doesn’t sound pressured or hurried. It opens with rollicking piano, the easy jingle of tambourine and tasteful flourishes of guitar. Atwood’s voice is what colors in the picture, relaxed and rich, rising effortlessly in a warm baritone.
“I’m tired of being the sad man, tired of all the sad songs. I’m tired of living my life like I’ve done something wrong,” he imparts on the spirit-lifting, cloud- parting title track.
If Atwood’s first record paid homage to his troubadour heroes (Woody Guthrie, Utah Phillips), One Bright Boat is less road-weary and more refined as Atwood leaves the minstrel role for that of bandleader in the style of Van Morrison and Randy Newman.
Running like a current through the record is Atwood’s talent for telling a story in fleeting images and washes of sound. These aren’t ballads but modern song-sketches of places longed for and passed through, people met and parted with, time passing. There’s space on each track — an easy flow of tides and waltzes (“California”), of pedal steel accents and Atwood’s comfortable flannel- and-bourbon vocal polished with (on “At Last”) gospel and brass.
“In recording, I feel like you’re recreating or capturing a moment in time,” says Atwood. “With modern recording you’re at constant great risk of losing the value of the moment, losing the essence of what you’ve got going on. But if you go all for capturing the moment, you don’t have a record, you just have a live performance. There’s a balance that the best records achieve.”
For a young artist, Atwood comes admirably close to that balance. It’s an album that rings both fresh and familiar, of-a-time and timeless. With One Bright Boat, Atwood’s ship comes in.
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Johnson’s Crossroad has been described by friends and fans as everything from “Appalachian Soul” to “Hillbilly Metal.”
The band blends blues, roots-rock, folk, bluegrass, and Appalachian Old Time for a sound that The Daily Times’ Steve Wildsmith calls “both mournful and jubilant, breezy and graveyard serious.” He goes on to comment that frontman Paul Johnson’s voice “barely rises above a growl, but he stretches that sound to encompass the experience of a train-hopping hobo and the wisdom of an old man recalling loves lost and wars fought from the porch of a backwoods cabin.”
Their 2011 album Mockingbird puts songwriter Paul Johnson in line with names like Guy Clark or Zac Brown and his powerful voice evokes memories of folk stars like Taj Mahal or Burl Ives. The Wilmington Star News describes, “It’s gruff and easygoing, like a mix of Tom Waits and Ben Knox Miller of The Low Anthem.“ AmericanaUKexclaims, “With ‘Mockingbird’ Johnson’s Crossroad seem to have just proved themselves to be one of the finest Roots rockers around right now.” The album was voted the #7 Regional albums of 2012 by WNCW!
The sincerity of Johnson’s songs and simplicity of his lyrics make you want to pour a brew, put your feet up or head to the hills. Asheville’s Bold Life call the band a “treat to see live” and says that, “Paul Johnson has a knack for creating powerful visuals with straightforward lyrics.” Dobro, mandolin and fiddle back up Johnson’s clean lyrics on some, other times its simple finger picking to a folksong.
“I like to keep the words simple,” said Paul Johnson. “I try and follow Hank Williams as much as possible, let the words tell the story and the music back it up,” Johnson said. His inspiration is simple yet intently focused. “I was born in the mountains of West Virginia, I’ve always been in the mountains all my life,” said Johnson who now calls Asheville, NC home.
“This is what I’ve always wanted to do, travel around and pick guitar,” said Johnson, who writes the majority of the songs for Johnson’s Crossroad. Watching his back is mandolin player Keith Minguez, a strong friendship at the core of the group.
“In 1998 I met Paul and I saw John Hartford on my first visit to MerleFest, it was life changing” said Minguez. Then in 2004 he had enough, “I was 30, living in Florida, drinking with my dad’s buddies and they all said the same thing, ‘drink scotch and water and never stop chasing your dream.’” He called Paul and in 13 hours was at his door with mandolin in hand. “If Keith wasn’t around nothing would get done,” laughed Johnson. Friends Corey Lee McQuade (Dobro, banjo, harmonies) and Moses Atwood (keyboard, Dobro, harmonies) sit in on variety of gigs, and often other friends join in support Johnson’s constant search for great sound.
The band is returning to Blue Ridge Big Sky Music Studio (appropriately topping a peak above Moravian Falls, NC) to record their 3rd album in 2012. Who could resist after the experience they had last time around? It’s where they’re comfortable, it’s where everything is comfortable. Making music with friends, fans and family. At the studio, it’s a drive to the county line to get a little cell reception and distraction is not so digital, just were they need to be. They are looking for an early 2013 release and will be spending time over the summer and fall getting the next one just right, working again with John Adair as Engineer and Producer.
Since their first album Blood in Black and White they’ve won spots at national events like Merlefest, Floyd Fest, Music City Roots and Bristol Rhythm and Roots, with tours to the Northeast and Midwest that continue throughout 2012. Years playing the road to empty rooms have passed. Johnson’s Crossroad travels on with over 150 shows and a world of mountains ahead to climb.
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Check out this video of Moses with JXR performing the song “Louisiana” that is on One Bright Boat.
We are thrilled to announce a call for submissions for the 5 year anniversary of Music Video Asheville (MVA), the annual showcase to highlight the pairing of Asheville musicians and filmmakers. MVA returns to the Cinebarre on Wednesday, May 9th and the deadline for submissions to this year’s event is Friday April 6, 2012. Prizes for winners will include a free day of studio time at Echo Mountain RecordingStudios and a $500 cash prize!
To celebrate the 5th Anniversary of one of Asheville’s favorite music events, the MVA crew is rolling out the red carpet…literally. This year, Music Video Asheville strongly suggests “Grammy style” attire (with Asheville flair, of course) and is offering a VIP package that can’t be resisted. Pre-show cocktail hour will take place in the lobby from 7-10 complete with limo rides, red carpet and numerous photo ops.
Also NEW to this year, MVA will be hosting an post-awards party at The One Stop starting directly after the event with tunes from DJ Molly Parti! Stay tuned to the website for more details about the VIP ticketing and the afterparty. MVA tickets will go on sale on April 10th.
Music Video Asheville 2012 is produced by Lush Life Productions, theONcorps, Sound Mind Creative, and Dreamspider Publicity. We are proud to announce the 98.1 The River is our media partner for 2012! If you’d like to get involved as a sponsor or volunteer for the event, please contact Kelly Denson at Kelly@LushLifeToday.com. Press inquiries can be directed to Erin Scholze at dreamspider@gmail.com.
– HOW TO SUBMIT –
DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSIONS April 6, 2012
All Asheville-area musicians and filmmakers are invited to submit music videos. Conceptual Music Videos, Live Performance Videos, Music Documentary Shorts and Experimental/ Animated Music Films are all accepted.
Submission Guidelines:
1. Video or film must focus on at least one musical artist currently residing in Buncombe County and must contain at least one song by the artist.
2. Song(s) in the piece must be original
3. There is a $15 submission fee for each video submitted, each individual submission must be under 10 minutes long. Please make your check out to Lush Life Productions.
Please review the complete submission guidelines and fill out the submission form by downloading them at www.musicvideoasheville.com
All submissions may be mailed to: PO Box 17356 Asheville, NC 28816 OR dropped off at Harvest Records in West Asheville on Haywood Road.All submission MUST include the filled out submission form and $15 submission fee.
The video or film must be a standalone clip of the item being submitted in one of the following formats:
1. Best option – send an Apple Pro Res compressed Quicktime at either 1920×1080 or 1280×720
2. Next best option – H.264 Quicktime compression with the highest resolution possible.
Files should be submitted digitally on thumb drive or something similar and be files should be 23.98 FPS
NEW for PC Users: While we appreciate Quicktime files, your entries can also be in mp4 and mov. formats, also in the highest quality settings.
Please note: .Avi, mpeg, basic DVDs or other files will not be accepted. Do not send press kits, one sheets, bios, photos or any other materials with the submission. Submissions that include these materials or are not in the correct format will not be considered.
Who gets selected for the showcase?
All submissions that meet the guidelines will be considered by the MVA committee. The best 90 minutes of footage will be selected for the showcase. Questions about submissions? Email Kelly Denson at Kelly@LushLifeToday.com or call 828-515-1081.
MVA Awards Ceremony:
1. Crowd Favorite Award – At the event, the audience will vote for their favorite video, and the winning artists will receive a $500 cash prize as well as a coveted/quarky MVA trophy. MVA will also acknowledge a crowd favorite runner up this year.
2. Best of Music Video Asheville 2011- MVA is proud to be offering a the BEST OF MVA Award selected by a jury of film and music industry people. The winner will receive a day of free studio time at Echo Mountain Recording.
Sam Lewis releases his self-titled debut March 13th. In it, he pulls together some of Nashville’s most seasoned musicians, who have helped put the breath into a body of songs that are as straight-forward and captivating as the man who sings them.
Five years of constant writing, performing and touring have become the nexus of Lewis’ self-titled debut. Along with co-producer Matt Urmy, Sam has woven ten songs into a conversation, between himself, the band, and his listeners. Urmy, himself an accomplished singer/songwriter, assembled a group made up of Nashville’s top session and touring players, including guitarist Kenny Vaughan, keyboard player Reggie Bradley Smith, Derek Mixon on drums and bass player Dave Jacques. Making a surprise appearance on the album is soul chanteuse Jonell Mosser, providing backing vocals on “I’m A River”.
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Early Praise for Sam Lewis:
“There’s so much soul pouring out of this guy’s pores you could bathe in it. It’s like hearing Al Green for the first time.” –Grant Britt, No Depression
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“With his rich soulful vocals, well-crafted songs, and passel of hot pickers, Sam Lewis’ first album is a treasure trove of roots country and blue-eyed soul. Kenny Vaughn’s electric guitar twang combines with Reggie Bradley Smith’s keyboard and accordion to form the harmonic core, while Dave Jacques bass and Derek Mixon’s drums do the rhythmic heavy lifting.” –Steven Stone, Audiophile Review
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“It shows on Lewis’ new self-titled album that he learned from the sources, rather than a copy of a copy; he’s deeply committed to both soul and country streams, and the combination fits him like a second skin.” –Jewly Hight, Nashville Scene
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“Lewis takes simplicity from Willie Nelson, poetry from Bob Dylan, soul from Ray Charles, stage presence from Leon Russell, rich delivery from Van Morrison and combines them to create one authentic, solid message.” –Sarah Garrett, Fishbowl Records
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“Sounding a bit like James Taylor, but bluesier and more country, Sam Lewis shares 10 songs on his self titled debut CD. It’s a consistently good, cleanly produced listen, often about human flaws, weaknesses, and some of the facets of love.”–Tom Geddie, Buddy Magazine
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“The complete artist is one that everyone should be reminded of from time to time – the one who writes, sings, performs and handles every aspect of the form of expression found in music. And this is where you find Sam Lewis, blending a mix of country and soul in a manner such as Van Morrison or Ray Charles. He has a story to tell that is relevant to all in the wake of his new self-titled album.” –Travis Swann, Mufreesboro Post
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“The realness … instantaneously creates a link between Lewis and other famous singer/songwriters like Amos Lee, John Prine and Henry McCullough.” –Greenberry Taylor, Fishbowl Records
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“This one stands up to repeated listening, cut after cut, time after time. It’s time to pay attention to Sam Lewis. He deserves it, and so do you.” –Grant Britt, No Depression
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Early Radio Spins:
WDVX – Knoxville, TN
WNCW – Asheville, NC
KRFC – Fort Collins, CO
WETS – Johnson City
WTJU – Charlottesville, VA
WFDU – Teaneck, NJ
WNTI – Hackettstown, NJ
Fat Music Radio – Grass Valley, CA
Wildman Steve Radio – Auburn, AL
WUSB – Stonybrook, NY
WUSC – Columbia, SC
WQFS – Greensboro, NC
WCOM – Carrborro, NC
WHEO – Floyd, VA
The Songwriter Lounge @ East Nashville Radio
Please call and request to hear more of Sam Lewis
from your favorite Americana DJ’s!
Jonathan Scales announced the World Premier of his new video for the song “The Longest December” from the 2011 album “Character Farm and Other Short Stories”
“Scales showcases his dexterity with a searing torrent of par runs on the devious, guitar-tinged The Longest December.” —Exclaim.ca
“Overall, there is a crisp sound to the album as the instrumental stories take shape. The title track Character Farm is a relaxing ride after the darker side of The Longest December takes a steel pan frenzy.” — Sarah Morgan, Atlanta Music Examiner
“The term ‘genius’ is not a platitude I bandy about regularly, but it fits here. Jonathan Scales is to the steel pans what Bela Fleck is to the banjo or David Grisman is to the mandolin – instrumental innovator and brilliant composer – and his Character Farm & Other Short Stories is a mindbender of pan-driven jazz, with guest spots by Jeff Coffin and Kofi Burbridge. My favorite record of the year for its sheer virtuosity and pure inventiveness. It’s unlike anything else I heard in 2011.” —Dave Stallard, Honest Tune
“Character Farm features the churning 6/8 Jam We Did, the slightly-island strut of Science Fair Project, the breakneck steel-drum’n’bass of The Longest December, and Muddy Vishnu, a dynamic tune filled with plot twists reminiscent of The Flecktones’ classic Sinister Minister.” —ROBIN TOLLESON, Bold Life
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Jonathan Scales Fourchestra “The Longest December”
Directed by Daniel Judson
Theatre lighting director – Erik McDaniel
Band: Phill Bronson – drums. Cody Wright/Michael Libramento – bass. Duane Simpson -Guitar. Jonathan Scales – steel pan
Sound engineering by Michael Hynes
Dancer: Cherry Oh
“I’m a River has vocal echoes of a country cousin version of John Prine, backed by ethereal background vocals courtesy of Jonell Mosser” –Grant Britt, No Depression
When asked what inspired this song, Sam says, “Temptation. I was feeling a bit broke down when I wrote this. Sometimes I wish I could give more and take less. This song is a combination of admittance -that I can sometimes ‘bite off more than I can chew’, an acceptance- that ‘yes, I am aware of this’ and simply a warning.”
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“The album is no doubt a presentation of the artist, but the subject matter weaves a patchwork and tells a story that is relevant to all and the human condition.” –Travis Swann, Mufreesboro Post
“The incredible storytelling … really blossoms into something personal and soulful in I’m a River… shows the depth Lewis went into in creating these 10-songs, never skimping on details, but at the same time never overwhelming listeners with too much, creating an emotional imagery that isn’t too common today. The realness packed into this track, along with the others, instantaneously creates a link between Lewis and other famous singer/songwriters like Amos Lee, John Prine and Henry McCullough.” —Fishbowl Records, Greenberry Taylor
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Lyrics: I’m A River
There’s a valley not far from here, beyond the dam where all the water runs real clear you’ll find everything you’ve been looking for, there was a time when I could offer you much more, would you believe it if ever you were told once I was worth more than my weight in gold, where dreams and promises once flowed with such grace, have all been washed up and dried on these banks
you’d run into me and I’d save your life, I’d have you singing I saw the light, but I’m a river full of heart ache that you’ll never swim, take one step closer and I’ll pull you in I’ve seen trouble and I’ve seen pain, I got beat by the sun and I have drowned in the rain and I’ve found it hard to look straight ahead, all I’ve wanted lies on this riverbed, it’s the gospel I heard a man say, you can’t get back what you don’t give away, with every seed I’ve sewn and love I’ve made stay lord knows that I’m ready for the levy to give way
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