The Company Stores Release ‘The Family Album,’ Produced by Galactic’s Robert Mercurio—1st Single Out

The Company Stores Release The Family Album Sept 23, 2022
Produced by Galactic’s Robert Mercurio

1st Single “Ways” Out Today →
https://thecompanystores.hearnow.com/ways 

Preorder The Family Album

CHARLESTON, WV — The Company Stores independently releases The Family Album, their third full-length album, on September 23. The powerful and sultry voice of lead vocalist Ileana Ille captivates the audience with her ability to express raw emotion, while the band unites many influences to lay down bold grooves amidst dynamic crescendos. “This album is about family,” says Matthew Marks, the primary lyricist for the band. “It’s about understanding the triumphs, failures, tendencies, and choices of the people who came before, in order to understand how to successfully navigate where you are going.” 

Based in Charleston, WV, the band blends elements of rock and roll, jazz, funk, world music, Appalachian folk, gospel, and other soulful roots music with soaring harmonies, electronic textures, strings, and horns over a solid rhythm section. Along with Ille’s vocals and Marks on guitar, The Company Stores is Michael Micucci on bass, Joseph Cevallos on violin and trumpet, Matthew Jackfert on keys, vibes, trombone, among other instruments, and John Query on drums. 

The Family Album was produced by Robert Mercurio, bassist for New Orleans funk legends Galactic. The instrumentation was recorded by Julian Dreyer at Echo Mountain Recording in Asheville, NC. Mercurio stepped in as engineer to record the vocal parts at Galactic’s Number C Studio in New Orleans—including bringing in the Josh Kagler Choral Group to enhance the choruses on much of the album. The album was mixed and mastered by Mikael “Count” Eldridge [Trombone Shorty, DJ Shadow, The Revivalists]. 

Mercurio says, “As a producer, I feel like I saw this band grow immensely as songwriters though the process of making this album. We started working on it before the pandemic, and with their downtime they put in the work it takes to make great songs. Illy blossomed into the rock star she now is—crushing the vocals on every take. I’m very proud of the final product and had a blast working with all of them.” Along with his own band, Mercurio has production credits with an impressive list of artists including Big Freedia, Lyrics Born, and Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe.

The Company Stores had plans to hit the road hard, raise funds, and save to record their new album in 2020, then all plans got curtailed and almost all of their live shows and side jobs were canceled due to the pandemic. The songs were written during a time of personal havoc for Marks after his engagement had ended and he moved to his family farm, where he still resides, in March 2020 to help with his Grandad who was dying of lung cancer. While first there, he did a deep dive into his family history and roots lending to the content and mood of the album. They were able to start recording in mid-2021 after a year-long pause once things seemed safe for travel again. 

“This album tells a story of everything being turned upside down; both personally and across the country,” says Marks. “Together we have been spending countless quarantine hours writing in the rehearsal room, growing as songwriters and musicians, and are getting excited to present what we think will be our greatest record to date.” Jackfert, who is also a freelance composer and classical music broadcaster, collaborated with Marks on the arrangements in shaping the lush orchestral soundscapes.

Ille says, “I am honored that The Company Stores chose my voice as a vehicle to express the stories in The Family Album. Each song is a collection of the people who have shaped us and the times that made us. I hope the listeners are able to connect with the musicality, storytelling, and creativity to feel at home when they listen to it.”

With keys and vibes at the front, the album opens with a moody “Savannah” followed by the fiery “A New Leaf” which explores negative patterns in life, with the lyrics, “Damn… what a year. Sucker punched me to the next hemisphere… And now I’m waking up thunderstruck. Right in front of God and everyone… But now…clarity… A view from the floor that I had to see myself for sure. To turn over a new leaf…”

The 1st Single “Ways” is Available Now
thecompanystores.hearnow.com/way

With its rockin’ country western vibe “Ways” continues on this theme, but sees the narrator start to recognize how choices made have developed these patterns of behavior that produce similar outcomes. “These old ways ain’t the best ways, just the ones I know… Trails blazed over time in my mind are deciding where I go… Now I gotta find peace of mind, redefine my life…” “Ways” also sees special guests Walter DeBarr [Song of the Year in Minnesota 2021, William Elliot Whitmore] and Jodi Hall on backing vocals. This song is dedicated to DeBarr, known for his soulful songwriting and deep raspy voice, who sadly passed away shortly after recording with the band. Jambase premiered the “Ways” music video and the song is the album’s first single—available now at thecompanystores.hearnow.com/ways.

“Maria” sees someone trapped in comparisons of old relationships and incorporates Latin stylings. “Old Dog,” told from two perspectives—the grumpy old dog stuck in his ways and the “Boy” who is bluntly saying “stop barking at the shadows”—has a bit of hip-hop flare on the verses and heavy guitars and horns on the chorus.

“Fathers” looks into how mistakes made can be passed down for generations, stuck in a cycle. Marks, whose father was a pastor, says, “It’s a very personal song, about my father, and his father. I am being as honest with myself and listeners as I could—baring it all.” Set in the minor key, the acoustic guitar and electric Fender Telecaster with tremolo effects along with the Spanish trumpet at the end gives this a very Ennio Morricone Spaghetti Western vibe.

An ethereal “Blue Tide” calls out to explore the dark depths of oneself, while the rock opera, “There Went The Neighborhood” is about seeing the people you shared childhood dreams with deteriorate with the neighborhood you all grew up in. The progressive “American Dream Girl” sees a few time signature changes and calls out, “Hey, American Dream Girl. Who are you trying to be? You’re in a dream world. Somebody else’s dream… But every filter veils a real identity.”

“Some Sunday,” composed and written by Micucci, has a R&B flavor, with a focus on bass and groove. The album closes with a southern rock gospel ambience in “Castles & Cain,” a song about trying to live up to your family name, and realizing that the people who you respect and even idolize had highs and lows just like everyone else.

The name “The Company Stores” is a throwback to the old coal mines of West Virginia referring to the store in Appalachian coal towns during the 19th and 20th century where workers were paid in coal money or “scrip,” leaving them with no exit from working the mines. This name not only shows the bands heritage, but also the gritty feel of their music and the meaning behind many of their songs about the struggles of the common man.

The Family Album is preceded by the 2017 release Little Lights, also recorded at Echo Mountain Studio in Asheville, and their local debut Rollin’ In in 2014. Mother Church Pew says, “The Company Stores‘ Little Lights features a fiery backdrop of musicality that begs for a festival-sized stage and a whole lot of sunshine. It’s punchy, it’s poignant, and it’s perfect” and Jammerzine says it is “filled with emotional highs and empathetic harmonies laid over an almost orchestral level of musicianship.” 

The Company Stores says, “We look forward to the day when we can sing, dance, laugh, and cry with you in a room filled with music once again.” Keep an eye on their website and socials for tour dates and further news: www.thecompanystoresband.com, facebook.com/thecompanystores, twitter.com/CompanyStoresWV and instagram.com/thecompanystores. 

Presave and preorder The Family Album at https://thecompanystores.hearnow.com. 

The Company Stores – The Family Album – Track Listing

1. Savannah (4:08)
2. A New Leaf (3:31)
3. Ways (3:47)
4. Maria (5:53)
5. Old Dog (4:58)*
6. Fathers (4:07)*
7. Blue Tide (3:47
8. There Went The Neighborhood (2:43)*
9. American Dream Girl (3:32)
10. Some Sunday (3:58)
11. Castles & Cain (3:54)

*FCC Warning: please note explicit language
Radio edited versions are available for “Old Dog” and “There Went The Neighborhood”

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Irresistible & NOLA Inspired, MarchFourth on Tour with ‘Magic Number’ – Due Out 9.30

MarchFourth set to release first studio album of original material in five years, Produced by Ben Ellman of Galactic = Irresistible NOLA Magic

MarchFourth: A SteamFunk Rock-n-Roll Circus Party!

Head on over to Live For Live Music for the World Premiere of “Push It Back” Featuring Stanton Moore on drums → http://bit.ly/L4LM_MarchFourth_PushItBack

Portland, OR — Fifteen MarchFourth musicians traveled to New Orleans and spent ten days recording at The Parlor Recording Studio, making their fourth studio album, MAGIC NUMBER, their first in over five years. With Producer Ben Ellman (Galactic) and Engineer/Producer Mikael “Count” Eldridge (DJ Shadow, Tycho, Galactic, Trombone Shorty) at the helm, this album is full of the captivating grooves and brassy swagger you have come to expect from M4, plus a healthy dose of New Orleans magic, with guest appearance by Trombone Shorty, Stanton Moore (drums), and Matt Perrine (sousaphone). The album was fan-funded through Kickstarter and will be independently released September 30, 2016.

“MAGIC NUMBER represents a shift in the band’s musical evolution, featuring more vocals and guitar than our previous records.” Founding member and band leader, John Averill, who also sings and plays electric bass says, “It is also the first record by “MarchFourth” (we officially dropped the “Marching Band” from our name).”

MarchFourth is a genre-breaking force of entertainment. This explosion of brassy funk, rock, and jazz emanates from twenty or so performers: musicians, acrobats, stilters and more, touring the country year-round, stealing the festival wherever they appear, taking audiences on a joy-inducing, booty-shaking, soul-stirring journey that defies categorization. Word on the street: You have to see it to believe it!

“From the first note to the last, the sound was pumping and the fun never stopped,” exclaimed USA Today. “It’s worth noting that there are serious musicians behind all the fun. I was a music major in college and it’s obvious these guys (and gals) have had lots of training and formal practice. Talented band geeks turned rebels. When one of the horn players steps up to improvise a solo, you know it’s going to be a treat.”

“Working with a large group of talented songwriters and musicians in M4 made the project go really smoothly. Wherever the band goes they sort of set up camp… that led to a really creative working communal environment.” Producer Ben Ellman states, “It’s always exciting to work with a band that is open to experimentation and different possibilities. MarchFourth came in wanting to expand their sonic pallet from what they’ve done previously.”

“Unlike M4’s previous albums, recorded over weeks and months in our hometown of Portland, Oregon, getting the band to NOLA for a ten-day recording session really created an intensity and electricity you can feel throughout MAGIC NUMBER.” Founding member, cymbal player, singer, and tour manager Dan Stauffer recalls, “After long days at The Parlor, the band members would go out to party on Frenchman Street and sit in on sets all over the city, meanwhile the producers, Ben and Count, would create mixes late into the night: that’s the mojo you can hear, everything going off for ten days straight.

Ellman attests, “The individual songwriters all had a clear vision of where the song should end up… there are different styles on the record, but as a whole it’s very cohesive. Very MarchFourth.” Four of the band’s members wrote the eleven songs on MAGIC NUMBER including John Averill, trombonist and singer Anthony Meade, trumpet player and singer, and project manager Paul Theodore Chandler, and electric guitarist and baritone sax Taylor Aglipay.

“The decision to work with Ben Ellman was a decision to make a modern sounding horn-driven record. This is certainly the biggest, punchiest, and rockinest M4 has ever sounded on an album. We certainly pushed the bounds of what we’re comfortable with genre-wise and performance-wise but we have a lineup of musicians right now who can handle it better than ever.” Anthony Meade says, “Putting the microscope on yourself in the recording studio is one of the most ego-shattering processes to undergo as a musician. Some people handle it better than others but we were able to get super deep in such a saturated environment.”

With a load of fresh new material, MarchFourth enters some new territories on this album, channeling some deep swampy voodoo vibes steeped in the brassy NOLA traditions. MAGIC NUMBER kicks of with the aptly named “Call to Action,” featuring the M4-style second line, calling on folks to get on up and “shake yo’ tail feathers!”

Stanton Moore makes a guest appearance on drums on the song “Push It Back” carrying the listener off on a royal litter of afro funk. Trombone Shorty blows a fiery solo on “Inventing the Wheel,” a musical journey into a heavy hypnotic groove; the track also features Ben Ellman on harmonica. Matt Perrine of Bonerama plays sousaphone on the uplifting and soul searching “Science (Free Your Mind)” which radiates all the energy of a street party in a full-on brassy explosion.

The title track’s visceral and thoughtful vocals draw you into a bombastic dream world you won’t want to leave, fusing eastern brass and the Wild West, with a little nod to Adam and the Ants. “The funky breakdown part popped into my head late one night after many Tecates. Lyrically, the song is about age, aging, the cycle of life, mortality, and coping with acceptance and resentment.” John Averill says, “I was 47 when we recorded it, and months later one of my best friends, Dave Camp (who subbed for M4 a few times on guitar) died of cancer at age 47… There’s something illusory to me about age and linear time, yet apparently each of us has a physical duration.”

“The Quarter” has more of a sexy feel, with a slinky hip-hop vibe mashing up the style of 50 Cent’s “In Da Club” with some Tower of Power or Chicago-style brass parts. Paul Theodore Chandler says of it, “Unlike the other tunes I wrote for the album, this one had been ‘road tested’ at shows for some time, but with different lyrics that were more appropriate to a live show. Wanting to rewrite the lyrics to fit the scope of this album, I set out to capture the anticipation and excitement of flying into a new city at night, being enveloped in the magic of that new place. And what better place to land than the French Quarter in New Orleans.”

Other songs on the album range from the bubbly and danceable pick-me-up “Hotstepper” with the unforgettable earworm of a hook, “Don’t tell my mom,” to the balkan brassy “Drunk Bears,” and the gypsy metal sound of “Jan Jar.” ”It’s a Trap” features the band as punk rock as a brass band can go, while “Endless Highway” speaks to timeless beauty in it’s brevity–a gentle closer to such a bold and flavorful album.

Further members of MarchFourth appearing on MAGIC NUMBER include Katie Presley on trumpet, Daniel Lamb on trombone, Jon VanCura on guitar, saxophonists Michelle Christiansen (alto), Cameron DePalma (tenor), Andy Shapiro (tenor), and Jon VanCura (baritone, bass), as well as drummer & percussionists Jenny DiDonato (snare, congas, bells, blocks, ride), Cheo Larcombe (bass drum, percussion), Will McKinney (toms, chocalho), and Jake Wood (snare, hi-hat).

“I always feel like we are some freaky kind of Jack-in-the-box. Put twenty of us in a 45-foot bus for 6-8 hours a day, then open the door onto a stage and watch us explode!” Stauffer says, “Old greats like Basie and the Duke were some of my first favorite jazz artists in college. I love the fact that I tour and play with all these fantastic horn players and travel around in this bus. We are very much like the big bands of old, except we also have electric guitars, stilt-walkers, acrobats, and a psychedelically wide palette of musical styles and costumery.”

MarchFourth will continue to tour all over the United States in support of this album through the fall and into 2017 with their colorful stage show full of energy and groove.

Widely recognized for the allure of their live show, MarchFourth breaks ground with their music in the forefront on MAGIC NUMBER.

For more information and news from the road, visit M4 at www.Marchfourthband.com, instagram.com/m4mb, facebook.com/marchfourthmarchingband, twitter.com/m4mb, and on YouTube.

MAGIC NUMBER Track Listing

1. CALL TO ACTION 3:20 (Meade)
   2. THE QUARTER 4:06 (Chandler)
   3. MAGIC NUMBER 4:18 (Averill)
   4. PUSH IT BACK 2:51 *featuring Stanton Moore (Chandler)
   5. INVENTING THE WHEEL 6:51 *featuring Trombone Shorty and Ben Ellman (Meade)
   6. HOTSTEPPER 3:36 (Chandler)
   7. DRUNK BEARS 3:24 (Meade)
   8. JAN JAR 3:04 (Aglipay)
   9. SCIENCE (FREE YOUR MIND) 6:00 *featuring Matt Perrine (Meade)
   10. IT’S A TRAP! 4:13 (Meade)
   11. ENDLESS HIGHWAY 1:21 (Chandler)

Produced by Ben Ellman
Except tracks 1,2,4,6 produced by Ben Ellman and Count

MarchFourth’s ‘Magic Number’ 2016 Tour Dates
9/8 Thu – Central Park Sessions – Madison, WI
9/9 Fri – Be Here Now – Muncie, IN
9/10 Sat – TBA – Detroit, MI
9/11 Sun – Abbey Bar of Appalachian Brewery – Harrisburg, PA
9/13 Tue – Gypsy Sally’s – Washington, DC
9/14 Wed – The Rocks Off Concert Cruise – New York, NY
9/15 Thu – Port City Music Hall – Portland, ME
9/16-18 Fri-Sun – Harvest Jazz and Blues Festival – Fredericton, NB
9/22 Thu – Belly Up Aspen – Aspen, CO
9/23 Fri – Boulder Theater – Boulder, CO
9/24 Sat – Mishawaka Amphitheater – Bellvue, CO
9/25 Sun – Center for the Arts – Jackson, WY
9/30-10/1 Fri-Sat – Sierra Nevada Brewing Co’s Oktoberfest – Chico, CA
10/4 Tue – Harlow’s – Sacramento, CA
10/5 Wed – Don Quixote’s International Music Hall – Felton, CA
10/6 Thu – Great American Music Hall – San Francisco, CA
10/7-8 Fri-Sat – Sierra Nevada Brewing Co’s Oktoberfest – Chico, CA
10/28 Fri – Revolution Hall (2 shows!) – Portland, OR
12/15 Thu – Egyptian Theater – Boise, ID
12/17 Sat – Winthrop Barn Auditorium – Winthrop, WA

For more information and news from the road, visit M4 at www.Marchfourthband.com

 

 

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Seth Walker Tours With Upcoming Album, Sky Still Blue, Due Out June 10th Through Royal Potato Family

Seth Walker. Photo by Zack Smith.

  Seth Walker Tours With Upcoming Album: Sky Still Blue
Due Out June 10th Through Royal Potato Family

Revered roots music troubadour Seth Walker recently took up residency in New Orleans. Upon relocating to the Big Easy, the North Carolina-native completed his rounds of the Holy Trinity of southern American music cities. His journey began in Austin where he fast became a staple of the Texas blues scene. He’d later shuffle off to Nashville where he’d absorb the cosmopolitan twang of its storytelling tradition. Clearly, however, it is the influence of his current NOLA home with its funky melting-pot swagger that inspired the gospel-soaked fervor and gritty guitar burn at the core of his latest album, Sky Still Blue, due June out 10, 2014 from The Royal Potato Family.

Abetted by producer Oliver Wood (The Wood Brothers), Walker revels in the devil-on-my-trail grit and longing blue notes that make this latest collection of 11 songs resonate so convincingly. Yet, as Walker’s fans have come to expect, there’s always a sweet melody, a turn of phrase wrapped in a wink-and-a-smile or an undeniable hook close at hand.

“All the moves I’ve made have been so that I can be around new influences centered around music,” Walker says. “I’ve always loved New Orleans, and it definitely brought back a bit of the rough edge that got a little spit-shined on the albums that I did in Nashville. This one’s got some gristle on it, some push and pull, some funky stuff, and some of that Caribbean influence that New Orleans has.”

The seed for Sky Still Blue was planted with five songs co-written with Oliver Wood while Walker was on tour with the Wood Brothers. The rough-hewn lover’s lament “Easy Come, Easy Go;” the intimate, inspirational ballad “Grab Ahold;” the shuffling seize-the-day anthem “Tomorrow;” the organ-soaked blues moan “High Wire;” and the hopeful, intimate closing track “Way Too Far” – in their diversity and directness, these tunes served as a template for the album as a whole, fleshed out by the pair’s continued collaboration in the studio.

“Oliver and I both come from a similar place stylistically, which obviously helps when you’re trying to communicate,” Walker says. “I love the fact that his songwriting is not so calculated, and it really worked with where I wanted to go. As a producer he was the perfect combination of having his ears and his heart on the songs while letting things go organically. He didn’t produce with an iron fist; he was just one of us.”

Sky Still Blue was recorded at Southern Ground Studios, the Wood Brothers’ home base in Nashville, and fellow Brothers Chris Wood (also of Medeski Martin & Wood) and Jano Rix made crucial contributions, joining Walker’s longtime band-mates, bassist Steve Mackey and drummer Derrek Phillips. “It was essentially the six of us musically roping this thing,” Walker says. “We all worked real well together, and the next thing you knew, we had a record.”

While that camaraderie is evident in the songs’ taut grooves and relaxed atmosphere, Walker’s dexterous guitar work seizes the attention with its soulful lines and serrated edge. His commanding fretwork captures the album’s mood of forlorn optimism, encapsulated in its deceptively upbeat title. Sky Still Blue is drawn from the melancholy lyrics of “High Wire”: “If it pours down on you and the sky is still blue / It might be me crying from my high wire.” As Walker admits, “It is optimistic phrase – but it’s kind of a lonesome image.”

Walker didn’t have much opportunity to be lonesome as a child growing up on a two-family commune in rural North Carolina. His parents were both classical musicians, and his first axe was the cello, not the guitar. The tastes of the commune’s other residents ran more to Texas country music, so his youth was filled with the sounds of Mozart and Beethoven coexisting with Jerry Jeff Walker and Willie Nelson.

Walker discovered the guitar in college and never looked back. “I was just eaten up with it, man,” he says, his enthusiasm still evident. “I was just crazy for it. I immediately gravitated to the blues, but as I played I started to lean towards the uptown side, the jazzier side, and I think that probably has something to do with my classical training.”

His uncle Landon Walker was a jazz bassist and blues DJ on Jacksonville, Florida radio station WJCT, and would mail tapes to his nephew on a regular basis. “It covered the whole gamut of blues,” Walker recalls, “from the Piedmont stuff – Reverend Gary Davis, Blind Willie McTell and Blind Blake – to the Chicago stuff – Muddy Waters and Robert Nighthawk – and a lot of Texas stuff – Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown, T-Bone Walker, Lightnin’ Hopkins. But the guys in my dorm room were listening to Stevie Ray Vaughan, Jimi Hendrix and Eric Clapton, so that blues-rock sound definitely got my attention. It seemed a lot more interesting than going to school, so there went my education.”

Walker set out for Jacksonville with dreams of stardom (“I ended up playing in a Grateful Dead cover band,” he says ruefully), but before long realized that he needed to relocate to a more music-rich hub. He landed in Austin in 1995 and has remained in legendarily musical metropolises ever since.

The albums he’s made since then have consistently vaulted him into the Top 20 of the Americana charts and gleaned praise from NPR, American Songwriter, No Depression and Blues Revue, among others. He’s toured the world as a headliner as well as opening for The Mavericks, The Wood Brothers, Raul Malo, Paul Thorn and Ruthie Foster, among others. It’s all of these experiences and more that leave their well-traveled traces throughout these 11 songs at hand. Steeped in a rich musical heritage, Sky Still Blue is a masterful work conveyed by means of Walker’s expressive, soul-burnished voice, agile guitar artistry and impeccable southern songwriting, all of which have garnered him a reputation as one of the most acclaimed modern roots artists in the country over the last decade.

Seth Walker on Tour
5/04 Sun – New Orleans, LA – One Eyed Jack’s *w/ Eric Lindell
5/09 Fri – Midland, TX – Basin Burger House
5/10 Sat – La Grange, TX – The Bugle Boy
5/14 Wed – Kansas City, MO – Knucklehead’s *w/ Bobby Bare Jr.
5/15 Thu – Tulsa, OK – Tulsa Mayfest *w/ Paul Thorn
5/16 Fri – Dallas, TX – The Kessler *w/ Joan Osborne
5/17 Sat – Austin, TX – Strange Brew *record release show
5/27 Tue – Des Moines, IA – Flying Mango
5/28 Wed – Evanston, IL – Space
5/30 Fri – Ann Arbor, MI – The Ark
5/31 Sat – Columbus, OH – Natalie’s
6/01 Sun – Indianapolis, IN – The Jazz Kitchen
6/12 Thu – San Antonio, TX – Sam’s Burger Joint
6/13 Fri – The Woodlands, TX – Dosey Doe
6/14 Sat – Fredericksburg, TX – Luckenbach Texas Concert Series
6/21 Sat- Tallahassee, FL – Bradfordville Blues Club
6/ 24 Tue – Charlotte, NC – Evening Muse
6/25 Wed – Asheville, NC – Grey Eagle
6/26 Thu – Greensboro, NC – Blind Tiger
6/27 Fri – Chattanooga, TN – Nightfall Concert Series
6/28 Sat – Decatur, GA – Eddie’s Attic
6/29 Sun – Montgomery, AL – Capitol Oyster Bar

For more information and to stay up-to-date on news from Seth Walker, please visit www.sethwalker.com.

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Leftover Salmon on Tour Spring 2013!

 

Leftover Salmon is pleased to announce 2013 Spring Tour! Highlights include Suwannee Springfest, three intimate evenings at the Bluebird Theater in Denver, a trip to Texas for Old Settler’s Music Festival and the Houston International Festival, and a special run of shows in the southeast. The tour closes at the Howlin’ Wolf in New Orleans during Jazzfest!

LOS Fan Ticketing for the Spring 2013 goes on sale February 7th at 10:00am MST.

LoS’s New Years Run is now available for download. And Strings & Sol (Tulum, Mexcio) is available NOW for FREE! Click the link:http://www.livedownloads.com

Mountain Stage will be rebroadcasting Leftover Salmon’s performance from April 2012; it will hit the airwaves February 8th. Be sure to tune in! Air times vary by station, please check your local listings: www.mountainstage.org/mtnstageaffiliates

Leftover Salmon Spring Tour Dates
Fri-Sat, March 22-23 Live Oak, FL – Suwannee Springfest
Thu- Sat, March 28-30 Denver, CO – Bluebird Theater
Sat, April 13 Fort Collins, CO – Aggie Theatre
Sun, April 14 Steamboat Springs, CO – Gondola Plaza (Free Show)
Sat April 20 Driftwood, TX – Old Settler’s Music Festival
Sun, April 21 Houston, TX – Houston International Airport
Tue, April 23 Jackson, MS – Duling Hall
Wed, April 24 Athens, GA – Georgia Theatre
Thu, April 25 Chattanooga, TN – Track 29
Fri, April 26 Memphis, TN – Minglewood Hall
Sat, April 27 New Orleans, LA – Howlin’ Wolf

For more information and to see the Winter Tour Dates:
http://LeftoverSalmon.com

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NOLA Update From The Keels on Recording the Bluebrass Project 2!

Bluebrass Strings- Horns - Big Chief Monk

Here’s a note from Larry and Jenny Keel and some snapshots of the Bluebrass Session they were recording last week in New Orleans:

Bluebrass String Section

We were honored this last week to be a part of a project where all the musicians created an entirely new form of music…legends from the New Orleans music scene and pioneers of the acoustic music scene collaborated to create Bluebrass 2… it is the continuation of the first project which we recorded in 2004, combining influences from Ireland, Scotland, England, Africa, America,delta blues, western swing, on and on … made for the most spiritual project I have ever been a part of…

Recorded entirely inside the legendary Maple Leaf Bar, on Oak Street, and produced by the presiding King of Oak, Chris Jones, and executive producer Little King Steve Metcalf (royalty out the ass!!),  we were guided into an adventure of epic proportions-  taking a magical musical journey with all kinds of string musicians and brass and drummers:  a cast of up to 15 people.. so far!

Lionel Batiste Jr

including heavy weights from the Rebirth Brass Band, Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Mardi Gras Indian Chiefs, Acoustic Syndicate, Mad Tea Party, Aaron “Woody” Wood, and 101 Runners!

Stay tuned for more info and for this music you won’t be able to resist-  we’re still reeling with funky goodness from that trip!

Bryon McMurry and Kirk Joseph's Souzaphone

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11-11-11 Eve Party with Larry Keel and Natural Bridge in Lexington Kentucky

Larry Keel and Natural Bridge and Grayson Capps at O’Neills Irish Pub.

Doors at 6pm and music at 8pm.
Thursday, November 10 at 6pm – November 11 at 1am

Tickets are available at CD Central and O’Neill’s (after 3pm).

$11 advance, $ 15 at the door…

2051 Richmond Rd
Suite 140
Lexington, KY.
(859) 266-4488

oneillslex.com

And, for all of you out there who love, hate, tolerate, or just admire his long flowing locks, it’s Eric Anderson’s birthday party too!

Here’s a note from Eric about the evening:

It’s My Birthday! It’s My Birthday!
Let’s Have A Party, That’s Right A Party!

11-11-11 is a big Birthday for me and I’d like to share it with as many of you that I can so I’ve scheduled a great night of music that includes Larry Keel and Natural Bridge & Grayson Capps.

Larry Keel and Natural Bridge is one of my favorite Bluegrass ensembles I know. Larry is a master guitar player and a champion flatpicker, any guitar player should see him. His band is full of very talented musicians as well, consisting of his lovely wife Jenny Keel on Bass, Mark Schimick on Mandolin and Will Lee on Banjo. It’s Bluegrass with an edge.

Grayson Capps is a down & dirty Delta Blues singer/songwriter from New Orleans. He has more stories than any one man should know. The richness of his songs lies both in the real life truths of the lyrical story as well as well as the gruff and sometimes tender delivery of the music. His music was used for the movie “Love Song For Bobby Long” and, as well as being in it, he was the one to help educate John Travolta on how to be Bobby Long.

Either of these acts are worthy of the ticket price but come celebrate with me and you get them both. Maybe you’re just a number person like me and 11-11-11 is in itself something to celebrate. Either way I hope to see y’all there.

Here is the facebook event page for this event as well: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=229866403733902

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Americana Bluegrass Band, Dehlia Low, tours around New release this weekend in New Orleans, Mississippi, and Nashville!

Dehlia Low pushes bluegrass music squarely into the emerging Americana genre, combining their gripping, rustic-flavored vocal style with extraordinary instrumental prowess in original songs that feel at once both old and new. The band’s Rebel Records debut Ravens & Crows is the eagerly-anticipated follow up to their acclaimed 2009 independent studio release, Tellico. Produced by Travis Book of Grammy-nominated and IBMA Emerging Artist winners The Infamous Stringdusters, Ravens & Crows will help firmly establish Dehlia Low as one of the most compelling and distinctive young groups on the acoustic music scene today. With their tasteful, sometimes moody blending of different styles, the group has created a unique sound that already seems fully mature and established.

The band will be touring around the new album throughout the Summer and Fall with stops this weekend in New Orleans, Mississippi, and Nashville!

Thurs, July 14th ~ Ogden After Hours ~ New Orleans, LA

Fri, July 15th ~ Hal & Mal’s ~ Jackson, MS 39201

Sat, July 16th ~ Blue Canoe ~ Tupelo, MS

Sun, July 17th ~  Bluebird Café‘s Sunday Spotlight (Free show!) ~  Nashville, TN

For more tour dates visit: http:www.dehlialow.com

“Dehlia Low is rapidly becoming a musical force to watch for.” ~ Bluegrass Unlimited

“The heartfelt mountain sounds of this new band recall the Carter Family and the Stanley Brothers.” ~ Diane Amov, Bluegrass Spotlight on MerleFest

“One of those kinds of bands that I just really fall in love with” ~ Iaan Hughes, No Depression

Dehlia Low formed in late 2007 as part of Asheville, North Carolina’s roots music renaissance. Singers Anya Hinkle (from Blacksburg, VA on fiddle) and Stacy Claude (from Atlanta, GA on guitar) pulled together a group of talented pickers from the region: Aaron Ballance on Dobro (Winston-Salem, NC), Bryan Clendenin on mandolin (Hurricane, WV) and Greg Stiglets on bass (Jackson, MS). The group’s sound is focused on original music rooted in bluegrass but with a distinctive country/folk feel true to their southern Appalachian roots.

Dehlia low on the web:
www.dehlialow.com
twitter.com/dehlialow
www.reverbnation.com/dehlialow
www.facebook.com/pages/Dehlia-Low

Videos:
Live at Merlefest
Live at the Mockingbird

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Innovative Steel Pannist Jonathan Scales on tour this April in Pensacola; New Orleans; Austin; Starksville, MS; Atlanta; and Hot Springs, NC!

Artwork by Gregory Keyzer

I am excited to announce Asheville’s Steel-Pannist Jonathan Scales Fourchestra is touring around their CD release with a stops in Pensacola; New Orleans; Austin; Starksville, MS; Atlanta; and Hot Springs, NC! The new album is called “Character Farm & Other Short Stories” and features guest appearances by Jeff Coffin (of Dave Matthews Band/Bela Fleck & the Flecktones), Yonrico Scott & Kofi Burbridge (of Derek Trucks Band), and fiddle virtuoso Casey Driessen.

Scales’ created a wonderful  Music Video for the song “Muddy Vishnu” from the album, which is posted below. The album is also available to purchase on www.jonscales.com along with fun new merch including a glossy 19 x 13 poster depicting above with the custom designed comic book graphics illustrating each song with artwork by Gregory Keyzer.

Jonathan Scales Fourchestra April Tour Dates

Friday, April 22
Vinyl Music Hall
Opening for Soul Rebels Brass Band and Honey Island Swamp Band
Pensacola, FL

Saturday, April 23rd
12 Bar
New Orleans, LA

Sunday and Monday, April 24th & 25th
McCallum Theater (at McCallum High School)
Austin, TX

Tuesday, April 26th
Dave’s Dark Horse Tavern
Starkville, MS

Thursday, April 28
The Five Spot
w/ Jonathan Lloyd’s Rocksteady Review opening the show
Atlanta, GA

Saturday, April 30
French Broad River Festival
Hot Springs, NC

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“This isn’t a Woody Wood album. This is Aaron Wood.” CD Release at Highland Brewing on April 2nd

written by Mike McWilliams.

This isn’t a Woody Wood album. This is Aaron Wood.

After years of going by “Woody,” a nickname given to him by a childhood friend, the 37-year-old rocker said  he’s decided to start using the name his real name on stage, and his new album, he hopes, is the first step toward forging his own identity and being true to himself.

“This album is me. It might be painful for me to listen to, or it might be painful for others to listen to because it’s sad, but this is who I am, and I want to make sure for the rest of my life that I don’t run away from that,” Wood said before a recent gig at the Lexington Avenue Brewery in downtown Asheville.

“At the end of the day, this (album) is me and nobody else. I only hope that everything I put out from this point will be able to follow that frame of mind, and just being honest about who I am and what I am.”

Wood, who’s hot guitar licks and Al Green-inspired voice have been a staple on the Asheville music scene for nearly two decades, is set to release his first full-length album at a CD release party Saturday, April 2 at Highland Brewing Co. The self-titled Aaron Wood album features 11 tracks inspired by recent trials and tribulations in his life, including a painful divorce.

“There aint no happiness in any song on this. It’s all about sadness and pain,” Wood said. “This album is as true about how I have felt in the last two years and there aint a single song on there that’s not painful for me. It’s cathartic as a motherfucker.”

The album has been a year and a half in the making. At the urging of his manager, Jessica Tomasin, Wood used the Kickstarter fund-raising website to help cover recording and production costs. The site raised more than $9,000 in pledges from folks all over the United States and overseas. He cut the album at Echo Mountain Recording Studio in Asheville, with some local talent lending a hand, including Artimus Pyle, Ryan Burns, Tony Black and Mike Rhodes.

At the CD release party, Wood will be joined on stage by several who helped make the album. LaZoom Bus is offering a free shuttle service from downtown in front of the Emerald Lounge to the Highland Brewing Tasting room off Old Charlotte Highway. Tickets are $10 in advance or $12 at the door.

After the CD release, the band will return to Emerald Lounge from midnight to 2 a.m. To play an after party featuring Motown and soul cover songs. The after party is free to those who attend the CD release  party. Otherwise, it’s $5.

Wood hopes the new album will allow him to take his music across the globe. Although he will always consider Asheville home, Wood also thinks it’s time to spread his wings and check out another scene for a while. New Orleans, where he regularly plays, is beckoning.

“I bitch about Asheville a lot. I get sick of it a lot, and I have an urge to stay down in New Orleans for a while,” Wood said. “New Orleans is my spiritual hometown for sure.”

written by Mike McWilliams.  Mike writes about entertainment for take5 in Asheville.

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Woody Pines plays The LAB in Asheville Friday Oct 22nd // Recording a New LIVE Album

Woody Pines plays The Lexington Ave. Brewery (LAB)

Recording their “LIVE” LIMITED EDITION 12″ vinyl album
Friday, October 22, 2010

$6, 9:30pm
39 N. Lexington Avenue
Asheville, NC 28801

The night will be caught on film- so come get dressed up and party with Woody Pines!!!

Woody Pines (Jonathan Woods to his mum) had been writing and playing as well as any of his generation long before producing his debut solo album in 2005.

The material is rich in character and redolent of place, namely rural, real America. His style has been compared to Paul Burch and his presentation likened to Mark Olson, but he’d dug even deeper for his source inspiration, with a passion for the early ragtime and jug band greats.

Earlier, those leanings set him off on a musical journey which led him to form the highly-rated Kitchen Syncopators with Gill Landry (Old Crow Medicine Show) who performed everywhere from New Orleans to Seattle’s Folklife Festival and the Oregon Country Fair.

After striking out on his own and moving to Asheville, western North Carolina, his repertoire was re-shaped to create a pleasing blend of old-time/juke joint/country blues so authentic and evocative you’d swear they might be period pieces.

The 2007-issued Lonesome Shack Blues with its great pickin’ and just-right lightness of touch, won him an even bigger following among the kinda folks who seek their musical fix courtesy of Professor Longhair or Mississippi John Hurt.

Woody Pines Circa ’09 is now a person and a band, his playing companions – Zack Pozebanchuk (bass), Darin Gentry (fiddle) and Nathan Taylor (drums) – providing so much brotherly support and bonhomie they are now one and the same and have adopted the stage name.

In between a busy touring schedule that has taken them to venues and festival stages from Wisconsin, Washington, Oregon and Michigan to Indiana, Texas, Tennessee, West Virginia and Ohio, they recorded killer tracks for the widely-acclaimed new album, Counting Alligators which has been picking up rave reviews on both sides of the Atlantic.

The album reunited Woody with Gill, who helped out on a bunch of the studio sessions in Nashville.

The Mountain Xpress, labelled Woody an “old soul and natural performer playing like an all-state champ who took to hopping trains and frequenting speakeasies”. _________________________________________________________________
The Salty Caramels will be opening for the evening: Molly Winters, Angela Perley, and Bree Frick, are a trio of singer-songwriters from Columbus, Ohio. Borrowing from a combination of influences spanning from the girl-group sounds of the 40’s through the 60’s and Folk Americana, the Salty Caramels bring nostalgia, whimsy, and sweetness to their audience, without ever losing their “salty” edge. The girls formed in September of 2010 and play a rotating variety of instruments which include the suitcase bass drum, resonator guitar, acoustic bass, washboard, saw, and kazoo, to name a few.

Certain talented musicians have the ability to transport the listener to a different place and time by just hitting some strings or directing the air that fills their lungs…

For Woody Pines, you find yourself in the Mississippi Delta when AM radio is king, sippin’ whiskey if you re fortunate and moonshine if you’re desperate.

The band; comprised of Woody on guitar, banjo, harmonica and lead vocals, Zack Pozebanchuk on upright bass, Nathan Taylor on drums, and Darin Gentry on fiddle; epitomizes the swinging ragtime and country sound and embraces a simpler time.

”New Orleans has music seeping out of the bricks in the old French quarter,” said Woody, who moved to New Orleans to steep in the city’s famous music scene, but now resides in Asheville, North Carolina. “We went down there to learn [the music] not just note for note, but also through the food and lifestyle that make New Orleans so special.”

Although the group has been playing together for two and half years, Pines is the driving force both creatively and on stage, which has lead to some very tall comparisons. “I m not really sure where the Bob Dylan associations come from,” said Pines. “But I love Dylan and I m honored to be alive when he is, so I take it as a compliment.”

Pines, who comes from a musical family and has been playing music since he can remember, describes the band’s sound as a ragtime rhythm and a swinging good time, and his songs reflect that belief. ”Reefer Man” immediately brings to mind a haunting, Halloween hootenanny that could have come straight out of vaudeville. “Pretty Blue Eyes” puts listeners straight into the backseat of a convertible, whipping around the back roads of the Delta on a crisp, autumn night. Several other songs by the band, such as “Nashville” and “Delta Bound”, evoke thoughts of a Southern gossip or a post-Civil War America where the blues weren’t just a style of music, but a way of life. “I pick and choose the best sounding stuff,” said Pines. “Everything from swing band to old country blues goes into our music, along with life’s influences.”   – By Max Bonem, Athens OH

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