Love Canon Signs with Moonstruck Management, Releasing New Album On Organic Records

Photo from Love Canon Signing: Left to Right: Darrell Muller, Jay Starling, Andy Thacker, and Adam Larrabee of Love Canon; Josh Trivett of Moonstruck Management; Ty Gilpin of Organic Records; Jesse Harper of Love Canon.

Love Canon Signs with Moonstruck Management
Releasing New Album On Organic Records

Sprouting from the musical foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, Charlottesville, Virginia’s LOVE CANON is excited to announce they have signed on with Moonstruck Management and Organic Records and are set to release their 4th album, Cover Story, in Spring 2018. For Cover Story, LOVE CANON has decided to take many of the suggestions that they get at their high energy live shows and will feature ten new-to-them 80’s hits and a plethora of special guests. Cover Story  is a follow up to their previous efforts, Greatest Hits Volumes 1-3.

The musicians, led by guitarist Jesse Harper, are seasoned virtuoso string players of which Style Weekly says, “LOVE CANON doesn’t cover the music of the ’80s as much as kidnap it and take it on a bluegrass-tinged joyride. It’s a general rule of American culture that it takes 20-40 years for a decade to shed its stale stench and get its groove back… LOVE CANON refreshes and extends the originals with affectionate humor and effortless virtuosity. The players… add layers of depth to the still-appealing pop hooks.”

LOVE CANON has been touring the mid-Atlantic since 2010 bringing their own raucous blend of bluegrass to the masses. The band’s diehard fans are music lovers first and foremost, drawn to the beautiful high-lonesome stylings of Harper’s guitar and vocals paired with banjo master Adam Larrabee, mandolin pickin’ by Andy Thacker with Darrell Muller holding down the low-end on standup bass. The band is augmented with the sweet sounds of resonator guitar king Jay Starling on the Beard MA-6.

“I first became a fan of LOVE CANON back in 2015 when I saw them at a show in Bristol, Tenn. The following year, I was able to work with them as the talent buyer for the Huck Finn Jubilee in California. The guys have always blown me away with their musicianship, unique approach and execution of their live show! We couldn’t be more excited to finally have the opportunity to add LOVE CANON to the Moonstruck Management Roster,” says Josh Trivett of Moonstruck Management.

“We are super excited to be working with Josh and his team at Moonstruck. They have proven to be a guiding light and loyal champions of some of our musical heros Lonesome River Band, Ralph Stanley, Russell Moore, Dan Tyminski & The Soggy Bottom Boys and more,” says Harper. “The band is really looking forward to starting this new chapter in our ongoing adventure with Moonstruck at the helm! And with their help we are happy to have found a home at Organic Records and are looking forward to releasing new material with a company that has consistently put out high quality  acoustic music. It is a rare and beautiful thing to find kindred spirits who care about the music as much as we do.”

“We are so glad to welcome the refined talent of LOVE CANON to Organic Records. They have done something I’ve not heard many artists do. They blend musical styles in a way embody the best of all worlds. If you are a music fan that has only dabbled in acoustic music, LOVE CANON is your gateway drug!” says Ty Gilpin of Organic Records.

LOVE CANON and its individual members have shared the stage and studio with many notable acts over the years. Harper and Muller were members of acoustic supergroup Old School Freight Train and they performed shows with David Grisman (who also produced one of their albums), Ricky Skaggs, and Merle Haggard. As a band, LOVE CANON was the backing band for Keb Mo and Jason Mraz at SPARC performance LIVE ART event in Richmond and they also performed as the house band at the Warren Haynes Christmas Jam a couple of years in a row with sits in from Bruce Hornsby and Warren Haynes among others. They’ve toured with Josh Ritter, Keller Williams, and The Infamous Stringdusters and have played festivals around the country including LOCKN’, Jam Cruise, FloydFest, Bourbon and Beyond (as part of Bluegrass Situation Stage), and Gathering of the Vibes as well as having performed live on the BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation) and RTE radio (Raidió Teilifís Éirean – Irish Public-service Broadcasting). Individual members have made their rounds on the music scene and have performed with KD Lang, Emmylou Harris, Sara Bareilles, John C. Reilly, Madeleine Peyroux, Colbie Caillat, among others.

Moonstruck Management is a successful music artist management company representing some of the top acts in acoustic music such as Soggy Bottom Boys, Lonesome River Band, Russell Moore & IIIrd Tyme Out, The Cleverlys, and more. They are also the talent buyer for the Huck Finn Jubilee in CA, Uncle Dave Macon Days in Murfreesboro, TN, Rockingham County Fair in Harrisonburg, VA, Washington County Fair in Abingdon, VA, Ole Smoky Distillery in Gatlinburg, TN, and more. For more information on Moonstruck Management, please visit moonstruckmanagement.com.

Organic Records® is an eclectic home for a variety of artists that are singularly unique and defy categorization. In a time when music is becoming less defined by genre, Organic artists are developing their own musical identity outside the confines of traditional classifications. Organic Records is an independent label based in Arden, NC, near Asheville and they currently represent Front Country, Amanda Anne Platt & The Honeycutters, Aaron Burdett, and Michael Gamble and the Rhythm Serenaders. Organic promotes, distributes, and markets music created by original artists who defy genre categorization. Organic Records is a division of Crossroads Entertainment and Marketing, Inc. who represent Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver, Balsam Range, Adam Steffey, Flatt Lonesome, The Boxcars, The Grascals, and more. Their team, with decades of music marketing, licensing, distribution and promotional experience, brings artists to the world marketplace. Find out more about Organic Records at www.organic-records.com

LOVE CANON ON TOUR:
2/2 Fri – The Tin Pan – Richmond, VA
2/23 Fri – Garth Newel Music Center – Hot Springs, VA
3/17 Sat – Historic Masonic Theater – Clifton Forge, VA    
3/24 Sat – Fork In The Alley Street Festival – Roanoke, VA    
4/7 Sat – The Peace River Revival – Punta Gorda, FL   
5/25 Fri – Station Inn – Nashville, TN
5/26 Sat – Chantilly Farm Bluegrass and BBQ Festival – Floyd, VA
6/9 Sat – Ole Smoky Moonshine Distillery – Gatlinburg, TN
6/30 Sat – ROMP – Owensboro, KY

More information about LOVE CANON can be found at www.lovecanonmusic.com, www.facebook.com/lovecanonmusic, www.twitter.com/lovecanon80s, and www.instagram.com/thelovecanon.

 

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The Honeycutters Debut Music Video for “Jukebox,” A Swingin’ Honky Tonk Anthem

The Honeycutters Debut Music Video for “Jukebox,”
A Swingin’ Honky Tonk Anthem

ASHEVILLE, NC — The Honeycutters recently filmed a music video for their original song “Jukebox” at the historical and eclectic Town Pump Tavern in Black Mountain, NC, just east of their hometown of Asheville. Folk Alley premiered the video and writes of it, “The jolly, honky-tonk rhythm of the song underscores the sweet plaintiveness of Platt’s voice…until it doesn’t. As she steps up on to the stage to join the band, her smile wide, her voice big and bright, she and the other musicians seem to be in perfect sync, swinging, swaying and encouraging the whole of the bar to join in and look ahead to the brighter side of life.”

“Jukebox” is the lead track and perfect introduction to their new album Me Oh My [Organic Records® April 2015], an album which is threaded with themes of love, loss, acceptance and regrowth. “‘Jukebox’ features a woman done with waiting to fully live and imploring her partner to come along and make some magic with her, ‘I’m going dancin’, you comin’ or not? Take a chance on me daddy, this may be all we got,’” writes Front Row Focus’ Beth Baldino. “And in a line that reflects an overarching theme running throughout the album, ‘no use asking why, songbirds just ain’t built to fly, but sooner or later we all have to try.’ In other words, don’t dwell on why it’s taken us this long, it’s about time for us to shine.”

The Honeycutters. Photo by Sandlin Gaither.

The Honeycutters are fueled by the powerful songwriting and vocals of founder Amanda Platt who is also the album producer, band leader, and principal creative force behind the group. With songs that are honest and relatable, part chagrin and part hope, Platt’s voice carries a timeless appeal shaped by a raw honesty that comes straight from the heart and emits a sort of melancholy happiness. Joining Platt in The Honeycutters are Tal Taylor on mandolin, Rick Cooper on bass, Josh Milligan on drums, and Matt Smith on pedal steel, electric guitar, and dobro.

The Honeycutters set out to visually tell the story of “Jukebox” by calling in a cast of friends and cohorts, as well as a few actors from the area, to spend a day filming in the perfect locale of this well-worn honky-tonk tavern. The video was directed and produced by Ty Gilpin, Senior Director of Marketing at Organic Records.

The visuals lead the viewer through an entire transformation. In this rustic and sleepy bar, Amanda plays the role of the bartender. She drops a quarter in the jukebox and starts washing the bar and dreamily singing while a few desolate souls sit and drink. She has a heart to heart with a couple of them, reminding that the music is on and begins to dance with a lonely man and woman, in turn, as she gets to the lyrics, “It’s only a song, so for heaven’s sake won’t you sing along?”

The band has entered the bar by then, set up, and is playing. An excited fan who peers through the window likes what he sees, so he calls in a whole crowd to come in and dance. As The Honeycutters get to the line, “Sooner or later we all have to try,” Amanda’s character shifts her own energy and the scene flashes to her on the stage performing. The leading male and female, no longer in despair, start dancing. The color is brighter; everyone is there; the bar is full of happy people spinning and cowboy boots kicking. Flash back to the first bar scene and the couple is now slow dancing peacefully with just a few others in the bar. They found their place in the music.

For making the “Jukebox” video possible, The Honeycutters send a special thanks to the Town Pump Tavern and their staff, Ty Gilpin (Producer/Director), John Litschke (Director of Photography/J. Martin Productions, Inc.), Dan Burke (Videographer/Lighting), Michael Hendrix (Videographer/Media Management), Don Talley (Associate Producer), Adam Foster (Jib Operator/Lighting/Production Assistant), Katie Kasben (Makeup/Stylist), singer-songwriter Lance Mills (Male Lead and a friend of band), and female lead Deena Wade (NYS3 – The Meisner Conservatory for the Southeast Graduate).

“Their music is the kind that you’d want to play on a jukebox in a bar, if bars still had jukeboxes.” No Depression’s Amos Perrine writes, “You can sit in a booth with a beer and a tear or stretch out and take a twirl with some like-minded stranger. And their new album is one of the year’s best.”

What Folks Are Saying about “Jukebox”

“From the first track – ‘Jukebox’ – to the closer (‘A Life For You’) this is a perfect album of tunes that – in most cases will have you dancing around the room (or at least tapping your toes)”
—Amazon, Steve Ramm

“Frontwoman Amanda Anne Platt writes potently vivid narratives that mine the underside of hardscrabble rural America: her characters are people we all know…, Jukebox, sets the tone, a swaying midtempo number with a cajoling cynicism: it’s sort of a ‘better enjoy this because this might be all we’ve got’ scenario.” —New York Daily News, Delarue

“When I first heard the opening track ‘Jukebox’, I thought ‘how did my Patsy Cline CD get in there?’… It’s a fun, toe-tapping honky tonk anthem…”
––That Music Mag, Jane Roser

“Not taking things too seriously is the theme of opening track ‘Jukebox,’ which immediately draws you into a place where you’ll remain throughout the record. The title track comments on the state of the modern woman.”
—The Daily Country, Tara Joan

“From the very first track, ‘Jukebox,’ Platt’s words will have listeners hooked on the entire album. ‘Don’t go calling me the angel on your doorstep/Cause I fell just like all the rest/I was too broke down to fly.’ These lyrics in ‘Jukebox’ are sure to grab the hearts of listeners and force them to clear their schedules just to finish the record. If the first track doesn’t leave listeners in tears by the end, the opening lines of the third song, ‘Me Oh My,’ will.”
—The Daily Lobo, Skylar Griego (New Mexico)

“Me Oh My… damn near beats anything coming out of Nashville these days. Singer/songwriter/producer Amanda Anne Platt is an irresistible and irrepressible force of nature. It’s all so authentic, organic, acoustic, sprightly, lively, lyrically profound and catchy that—when buoyed by Tal Taylor on mandolin and Matt Smith on pedal steel, electric guitar and dobro—you can’t get these songs out of your head. ‘Jukebox’ should be the obvious single… Americana comes up aces here.”
—The Aquarian’s Rant N Roll, Mike Greenblatt

“‘Jukebox’ is on a different plane, as country as anything you would have heard on the radio back in the day.”
—Lonesome Road Review, Larry Stephens

“The Honeycutters are a combo of supremely talented and empathetic musicians, fully committed to her vision. Whether driving and seasoning with pedal steel and brass the gently swinging honky-tonk of ‘Jukebox’, or creating the ideal atmosphere for the eye-opening dramatic desolation and stoic acceptance of life’s travails in the title track, they are indispensable. Their vocal harmonies, too, multiply the emotional effect of Amanda’s narratives.”
—No Depression, Amos Perrine

For more information about The Honeycutters & further tour dates, visit: www.thehoneycutters.com. For news from the road, visit www.facebook.com/Honeycutters and twitter.com/thehoneycutters.

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Ty Gilpin Releases “Crooked Hollows” ~ A Solo Project Featuring Pickers from the Asheville Music Scene

Ty Gilpin Releases “Crooked Hollows”

A Solo Project Featuring Pickers from the Asheville Music Scene

www.TyGilpin.com

Crooked Hollows on iTunes

A veteran of the Asheville music scene, Ty Gilpin steps out with a solo project that aims to capture the essence of the Asheville Roots music world with his new release Crooked Hollows.

Gilpin is no stranger to any aspect of the music business. He is a performer, songwriter, vocalist and player with multiple groups and has worked for over a decade on his own and with Crossroads/Mountain Home Music doing marketing and promotion for some of the biggest names in Bluegrass. Now he has recorded his own songs with a select group of talented peers.

Don’t get it wrong, this is not a Bluegrass album, although there are cuts that lend itself to the genre. Gilpin’s release Crooked Hollows is an eclectic mix of Americana, Folk-Rock, Irish and even includes an electronic remix.

All the tracks feature names that are not just a staple of the local music scene but rather a Who’s Who of folks that are known both in North Carolina as well as nationally.

“With all the different types of songs the cd has, I felt like each one called for different vocalists.” Gilpin says. “I wanted each track to have it’s own identity and include my talented friends to give the songs a special feel but also to make the recording a community event that celebrated what I believe to be some of the best artists here or anywhere.”

The lead off track “Queen of the Crows” includes Cody Kilby, guitarist from Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder, noted banjo picker Steve Sutton and female folk troubadour Jen Duke who joins Gilpin on vocals. The dynamic selection of songs moves to country themes including “Smiling for the Camera” featuring the vocals of Darren Nicholson of Balsam Range and the song “Losers Like Me” with Town Mountain vocalist Robert Greer. Other contributions come from the vocals of Amanda Platt of the celebrated Asheville group, The Honeycutters, as well as from Buddy Melton of Balsam Range, Lance Mills, Sav Sankaran and singer-songwriter Taylor Martin.

Keeping to the diversity of the music, there is an Irish element on the track “Going to the West”, sung by Duke and concludes with an even further musical departure featuring a re-mix of “Queen of the Crows” by Danny Peck (aka dep) who blends acoustic and electronic elements for a hauntingly beautiful finale.

The line-up also includes, Charles Humphrey III of the Steep Canyon Rangers, Josh Haddix of the Greasy Beans, Rick Cooper, Jessica Smith, multi-instrumentalists Matt Smith, Duncan Wickel and Tim Gardner as well a studio drummer extraordinaire Tony Creasman.

All tracks were written and arranged by Gilpin and produced by Gilpin and Tim Gardner. Tracks 2-7 were recorded at Coyote Ridge Studios in Asheville with the lead off track recorded at Omni-Artists Studios in Weaverville by Eric Willson. The album was mixed and mastered by Van Atkins at Crossroads Studios in Arden, NC.

The official street date for Ty Gilpin’s Crooked Hollows is September 18th. The album is available at CD Baby and iTunes. Visit www.tygilpin.com for information on the release and links to buy.

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