Showing posts with label Steve Earle. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Steve Earle. Show all posts
Wednesday, December 10, 2025
Monday, April 28, 2025
Steve Earle Invited to Join the Grand Ole Opry
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| Photo courtesy Grand Ole Opry |
Following a rousing performance of his iconic anthem "Copperhead Road," Earle was surprised onstage by Gill, who presented him with a specially crafted personalized guitar strap—reserved exclusively for Opry members as part of the centennial celebrations.
“You have to be an Opry member to have one of these,” Gill said with a grin. “We want to invite you to become a member of the Grand Ole Opry.”
Clearly moved by the moment, Earle responded, “This is kind of the biggest thing that has ever happened to me in my life,” before launching into another one of his classics, "Hillbilly Highway," at Gill’s request.
Earle’s upcoming formal induction will be a highlight in a year already filled with historic firsts for the Grand Ole Opry as it celebrates its 100th year as the heart of country music.
About Steve Earle
Few artists have shaped Americana and country music’s storytelling tradition like Steve Earle. A protégé of songwriting legends Townes Van Zandt and Guy Clark, Earle rose to prominence with his landmark 1986 album Guitar Town, which shot to No. 1 on the country charts and remains a cornerstone of the genre.
His 1988 hit “Copperhead Road” not only became a fan favorite but was also declared an official Tennessee state song in 2023—cementing Earle’s deep ties to the heartland he so often sings about.
Beyond his work as a recording artist, Earle is a prolific writer, actor, and producer. His literary work includes the novel I’ll Never Get Out of This World Alive and the short story collection Dog House Roses. As a producer, he has worked with legends like Joan Baez (Day After Tomorrow) and Lucinda Williams (Car Wheels on a Gravel Road).
Earle’s talents extend to the screen as well, with notable acting roles in HBO’s The Wire and Tremé, and a Drama Desk nomination for his contributions to the play Coal Country. His voice remains a fixture on SiriusXM’s Outlaw Country channel, where he hosts the weekly Hard Core Troubadour radio show.
In 2020, Steve Earle’s songwriting legacy was formally recognized with his induction into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame—a fitting acknowledgment of a career that has influenced generations of artists, from Johnny Cash and Willie Nelson to Emmylou Harris and Eric Clapton.
About the Grand Ole Opry
Since 1925, the Grand Ole Opry has been the beating heart of country music, serving as a bridge between tradition and innovation. Celebrating 100 years of live performances, the Opry continues to showcase both country music’s biggest stars and its brightest rising talent.
Hosting between three and seven live shows each week, the Opry welcomes fans from all over the world to its Nashville stage. Audiences can tune in via opry.com, WSM Radio, SiriusXM’s Willie’s Roadhouse, or watch Opry Live on Circle Country television. Owned by Ryman Hospitality Properties and supported through partnerships with Atairos and NBCUniversal, the Grand Ole Opry remains a living, breathing symbol of America’s musical spirit.
As Steve Earle prepares to take his place among the ranks of the Opry’s most celebrated members, this milestone not only honors his storied career but also adds another shining chapter to the Opry's centennial celebration.
Sunday, February 14, 2021
That Nashville Sound Sunday Newsbytes - Rory Feek, Tracy Lawrence, Natalie Hemby, Lilly Winwood & More
After a fairly slow and underwhelming start to 2021 in new music, there's some light and anticipated music on the horizon.
The career-encompassing project is a combination of brand new material, collaborations, and some of Lawrence’s favorite hits. The first in the series, Volume 1: Stairway to Heaven Highway to Hell, will be that first one released in April. This 10-song collection features all new material from Lawrence, who penned nine of the 10 tracks, mixing his signature blend of contemporary and traditional country that has made him a mainstay since his debut album, Sticks & Stones, in 1991.
“It has truly been the honor of a lifetime to be so welcomed by country music fans,” says Lawrence. “As I look back over the past 30 years, I am incredibly humbled to have been able to live my dream and to have so many folks support me along the way. I wanted to celebrate this amazing milestone with fond reflection and embrace the next chapter with the people who made it all happen, my fans.”
Rodney Crowell and all of his friends have collaborated on a new compilation album, Songs From Quarantine Vol. 1, which has an all-star cast of singer-songwriter, country and Americana VIPs sending in tracks from their own splendid isolation.
Six of the 13 artists represented — Ry Cooder, Elvis Costello, Joe Henry, Ronnie Dunn, John Hiatt and Crowell himself — contribute original songs that have never been released before in any context. The remaining seven offer demos or otherwise stripped-down or alternate versions of numbers they’ve put out in full form before, with Emmylou Harris, Lucinda Williams, Keith Urban, Jeff Tweedy, Rosanne Cash, Steve Earle and Taj Mahal rounding out the guest list. (Download the album here.)
Rory Feek has a solo album called Gentle Man coming out this June and he's released a music video from one of the early songs released off the album that features Vince Gill on harmony vocals. The new song is called "Me and the Blues."
Says Feek on the new song, "Five years ago, Joey gave me a gift. A Valentine's card. It was to be the last note, the last written words, and the last card I would ever receive from her. That card was her Valentine's gift to me that year. This is my Valentine's gift to her this year…"
That Nashville Sound praised Natalie Hemby's 2017 solo album, Puxico. In 2019, she teamed with Brandi Carlile, Maren Morris and Amanda Shires to form The Highwomen. Now she's just signed with Fantasy Records and will be releasing a new album later in 2021.
The upcoming solo album has been produced and mixed by her husband Mike Wrucke. She joins a roster at Fantasy Records that includes Tanya Tucker, James Taylor, Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats, Paul Simon, Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real, and more.
“Both Mick Management and Fantasy Records have an exceptional and eclectic roster of artists they work with,” said Hemby. “Their teams are some of the most respected in the music business. I’m so proud to be a part of their musical families…it is truly a dream come true for me.”
A little more about this new-to-us artist from her website bio: "After feeling that the countryside of her native Gloucestershire, England felt too familiar, and London was, in her own words, “so big, so expensive, and reeked of havoc and loss and all that good stuff,” she decided to spend a few weeks in Nashville, where she spent her childhood summers, but ended up staying instead. Winwood’s debut EP, Silver Stage, chronicled the journey through earnest coming-of-age narratives and a sound that—much like her father’s work—offers an English take on traditional American roots music. Backed by Nashville-via-Australia producer Joshua Barber (Gotye, Archie Roach), the songs on Silver Stage blend Bonnie Raitt’s world-weary vocals, My Morning Jacket’s ethereal twang, and Brittany Howard’s no-bullshit bravado to create an EP that pays homage to Lilly’s singer-songwriter idols (like John Prine) and establishes the twenty-one-year-old as a writer that’s wise beyond her years. Following the release of Silver Stage, Winwood has continued on to collaborate with fellow East-Nashville-based Americana artists such as Boo Ray, with the release of their A-side/ B-side vinyl collaboration. Lilly also collaborated with Nashville based Americana artist Don Gallardo on his 7-track EP In the Name of Good Intentions where Lilly’s vocals are featured on more than half of the songs. Rolling Stone deemed Winwood and Gallardo’s “Shine a Light on Me” one of the Top 10 Best Country, Americana songs to hear now in 2019, amongst Trisha Yearwood and Tanya Tucker. Lilly has set her debut album release Time Well Spent for early 2021. This record was produced by Alex Munoz and Allen Thompson in Nashville, TN at High Cotton Recording Studio."
Sunday, February 7, 2021
Hear It Here: Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Jason Isbell, Steve Earle, Rosanne Cash & The War and Treaty Collaborate On "The Times They Are A-Changin'"
The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Jason Isbell, Steve Earle, Rosanne Cash and The War and Treaty collaborate on the old 1964 Bob Dylan classic, "The Times They Are A-Changin'."
All proceeds from the song will support Feeding America. Their mission is to feed America’s hungry through a nationwide network of member food banks and engage our country in the fight to end hunger. Just $1 can help provide at least 10 meals to kids, families and individuals facing hunger.
Nitty Gritty Dirt Band lead singer Hanna begins and ends the song on lead vocals, but each guest adds their own vocal approach to their respective verse. Isbell’s brings a country-folk drawl while Cash takes an elegant ballad approach, all before Michael and Tanya Blount Trotter of the War and Treaty bring home the song’s fourth verse.
“I’ve been a fan of Bob Dylan’s since I was a teenager, living in California,” said Hanna. “I was fortunate enough to see him sing ‘The Times They Are A-Changin’ in concert the year the song was released.”
“It moved me deeply then and that hasn’t changed,” Hanna said of the song upon its release. “The lyrics are as relevant today as they were when Dylan wrote it. Maybe even more so.”
Monday, January 20, 2020
Respected Singer/Songwriter David Olney Passes Away At The Age of 71
Country Music Hall of Fame member Emmylou Harris said “David Olney tells marvelous stories, with characters who cling to the hope of enduring love, all the while crossing the deep divide into that long, dark night of the soul.” Troubadour Steve Earle called Olney “One of the best songwriters working in the world today,” and the late Townes Van Zandt once said, “Anytime anyone asks me who my favorite music writers are, I say Mozart, Lightnin’ Hopkins, Bob Dylan and Dave Olney."
Olney’s songs have been recorded by Harris, Del McCoury, Linda Ronstadt, Steve Young, and many others. His lyrics are products of a remarkable inquisitiveness that allowed him to explore subjects that few songwriters would consider: He wrote of a Nashville train disaster, of baseball shortstop Phil Rizzuto, and of actor John Barrymore. He wrote about Jesus Christ from the narrative perspective of the donkey that carried him into Jerusalem, and about the Titanic from the perspective of the iceberg that sank the ship.
His friend and songwriting great Guy Clark said that Olney’s art “transcends craftsmanship. It’s inspired, for sure.”
Olney moved to Nashville after briefly studying English at the University of North Carolina. He quickly fell in with a group of like-minded songwriters that included Clark, Van Zandt, Rodney Crowell, and Richard Dobson. In the early 1980s, he formed The X-Rays, a jagged rock band that secured a contract with Rounder Records. In 1986, he embarked on a solo recording career that produced more than 20 albums and allowed him to travel the world making music.
He is survived by wife, Regine, daughter, Lillian, and son, Redding, and by a devastated music community.
Saturday, September 21, 2019
Thursday, January 10, 2019
Steve Earle To Release Album Dedicated To Mentor Guy Clark In March
Artist: Steve Earle & The Dukes
Album: Guy
Label: New West Records
Release date: March 29
A sequel to his 2009 album Townes, on which he covered the songs of Townes Van Zandt, Earle’s new effort comprises 16 songs by his other songwriting mentor Guy Clark.
“No way I could get out of doing this record,” says Earle. “When I get to the other side, I didn’t want to run into Guy having made the Townes record and not one about him.”
“Townes Van Zandt and Guy Clark were like Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg to me. When it comes to mentors, I’m glad I had both. If you asked Townes what it’s all about, he’d hand you a copy of Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee. If you asked Guy the same question, he’d take out a piece of paper and teach you how to diagram a song, what goes where. Townes was one of the all-time great writers, but he only finished three songs during the last fifteen years of his life. Guy had cancer and wrote songs until the day he died… When he was sick – he was dying really for the last ten years of his life – he asked me if we could write a song together. We should do it ‘for the grandkids,’ he said. Well, I don’t know… at the time, I still didn’t co-write much, then I got busy. Then Guy died and it was too late. That, I regret.”
Guy was produced by Earle and recorded by his long-time production partner Ray Kennedy. The Dukes on this record include Kelley Looney on bass, Chris Masterson on guitar, Eleanor Whitmore on fiddle & mandolin, Ricky Ray Jackson on pedal steel guitar, and Brad Pemberton on drums & percussion. Guy also features guest appearances by Emmylou Harris, Rodney Crowell, Terry Allen, Jerry Jeff Walker, Mickey Raphael, Shawn Camp, Verlon Thompson, Gary Nicholson, and the photographer Jim McGuire.
1. Dublin Blues
2. L.A. Freeway
3. Texas 1947
4. Desperados Waiting For A Train
5. Rita Ballou
6. The Ballad Of Laverne And Captain Flint
7. The Randall Knife
8. Anyhow I Love You
9. That Old Time Feeling
10. Heartbroke
11. The Last Gunfighter Ballad
12. Out In The Parking Lot
13. She Ain’t Going Nowhere
14. Sis Draper
15. New Cut Road
16. Old Friends
Saturday, March 31, 2018
Kelly Willis' New Album Back Being Blue Out April 19
Album: Back Being Blue
Label: Premium Records/Thirty Tigers
Release date: April 19, 2018
Kelly Willis’ new album Back Being Blue is out May 18 on Premium Records/Thirty Tigers.
“Willis steps into the solo spotlight with her seventh full-length project, an enchanting collection of self-penned tunes and impeccably chosen covers. Showcasing the jagged, vulnerable vocals of a honky-tonk angel who's also freely dabbled in rockabilly, power pop, new wave and R&B, it's that last genre that informs the dazzling title tune” lauds Rolling Stone Country. Read HERE.
Of the title track Willis explains, “Up until writing that song, my songs were all feeling a little bit wordy and complicated and personal, and they just weren’t clicking. Then I wrote that one, I just felt like, oh!––what I need to do is try to simplify, and write these stories in a way that feels like you’re not quite sure what era they were written in.”
Back Being Blue is Willis’ seventh full-length studio album and her first solo project since her 2007 LP Translated from Love. Willis’ husband, Bruce Robison produced the new album analogue style in his rural recording studio in their home state of Texas. Willis wrote six of the 10 tracks herself, with help from the likes of Rodney Crowell on the additional four. Notable guests on the record include Eleanor Whitmore (of The Mastersons and Steve Earle and the Dukes), Mark Spencer (of Son Volt) and Trevor Nealon (of Band of Heathens).
Willis explains, “I attempted to make music that could fit in any era but leans on the simplicity of the music that first inspired me. Roots rockabilly country blues, to narrow it down for you! Kind of a Nick Lowe meets Skeeter Davis meets Crystal Gayle. Sounds that were in full blaze when I first moved Austin.”
Willis is herself a longtime feature in the city, having moved to Austin to pursue music shortly after graduating from high school. Not long after, famed singer/songwriter Nancy Griffith took a shine to her voice and recommended Willis to producer Tony Brown, one of the titans of Nashville country, who signed her to a deal with MCA. Willis found herself in the spotlight of country music world in Nashville, with three albums released to widespread critical acclaim.
Monday, February 6, 2017
Interview Flashback - The 9513 Conversation With Jason Eady
I have been blessed to write contributions/reviews/interviews/opinion pieces for several country music and roots-oriented websites and publications over the years including Saving Country Music, Nashville Scene, Country California, Country Weekly, American Noise, The 9513 and Engine 145. As a regular contributor to the last two in that list, I did close to a 100 interviews with different artists- and since both of those great sites have come down, I will reprint some of those interviews here to give them a home in perpetuity. This interview was originally published in January 2010 on The 9513.
Down in the low-country along the banks of the slow-moving Mississippi River, water seeps through deltas and backwoods bayous- forever changing the landscape with everything it touches. But it carries more than water on that journey down that river. It carries a history, stories, cultures and probably more than anything, a musical jambalaya. For those that that are familiar with the traditional Cajun dish, they know it’s a little bit of everything thrown together with rice and spices.
For Jason Eady, this musical jambalaya had a profound and lasting effect on his soul. With influences ranging from country to soul, from Cajun to rock, and from gospel to blues, it shaped a sound that is fairly unique. And like those great storytellers along that river, Eady has carried the torch of writing and singing songs with a tale. His late 2009 release When The Money’s All Gone was lauded critically.
Now a Texas resident, that unique and historic music scene is just one more ingredient in the long list of musical influences that make up the recipe that is Jason Eady. The 9513 had an opportunity to sit down with the singer/songwriter and talk about his recent album as well as what lies ahead both as a solo artist and as a key member of a side project band.
Ken Morton, Jr.- Jason, thanks for spending some time with The 9513. You grew up in Mississippi, what were some of your early musical influences there?
Jason Eady- I grew up on country music. That’s really what I grew up listening to. It was the stuff that was out in the early 80’s and late 70’s. Stuff like Haggard, Waylon & Willie. My parents always had a lot of Kris Kristofferson playing. So that was definitely my first love. Later on, I found bluegrass. And I remember this one time this local TV show had this songwriting round. Mac McAnally was on it as was Kevin Welch. That was the first time I had seen songwriters write their songs. These were songs I knew from the radio, but I had never thought about the fact that somebody else had written them. I don’t know. The thing I really liked about growing up immersed in Mississippi music is that it seems to be a crossroads between a lot of different kinds of music. Everything seems to pass through there. It might be jazz coming up from New Orleans or blues from the delta. Or bluegrass, southern rock, country, soul, or R&B. It all kinds of crosses there in that area. So growing up, I really was exposed to a lot of different styles of music.
KMJ- On your latest album, When The Money’s All Gone, it seems to reflect that. It’s a recipe of country, blues, soul, Cajun, gospel, R&B and rock and roll. From your perspective, where does it fit across that musical landscape?
JE- This time we made an effort to get back to that groove-based southern -gospel blues-influenced material. On my last couple of albums, I’ve played around with a lot of different styles. It was the producer, Kevin Welch, that wanted to take us back to our roots with what we used to do. This one was more based in that swampy feel. There were exceptions, though. There are a couple songs towards the end of the album that are more of the songwriter/folk/lyrical based songs. I don’t think I’ll ever make one kind of record because I don’t listen to music that way. Even when I’m listening to my iPod, it might go from hip hop to bluegrass back to something fast. I get bored any other way. So the last thing I would do is make a record that was the same all the way through. But I think a blues-based southern-gospel influence is really the overall theme of this record.
KMJ- Comparing it against your first two records, how would you see it fitting in musically or genre-wise?
JE- The first one was definitely more polished country. We recorded it in Nashville and it was much more of a commercial radio-oriented record. The last one was completely the opposite. We went completely bare-boned and did stuff live and in one take. So that one was really scattered. We had everything on that record. One song would be a bluegrass song, the next song would be a blues song, the next song be a country song. There was no real thread to it all- it was just all a collection of good music. The second one was very eclectic and more folk-side of things.
KMJ- While not a Texan, you’ve been really adopted by the Texas music scene. How on earth did you manage to pull that one off?
JE- (Laughter) I had quit playing music for awhile and moved to Texas for a job. I was getting close to 30 years old. I figured my time had passed and I wasn’t going to do it any longer. But when I got here, I found out it was incredibly receptive to new music. It was the first place I’d ever moved to that was that open to new kinds of music and different styles. People actually expected you to play your own songs whereas in other places they’ll tolerate you playing your own songs but they really want to hear the covers. It was so refreshing to see that I thought I’d give it one more shot playing open mics on stage everywhere I could. When I’d travel on business, I’d take my guitar and go to the clubs at night. It just kind o f took off. One thing led to another and it started going. I finally quit my job and here I am. Really I think about it only taking off here (in Texas.) I did this once before in Mississippi in going to Nashville but things never really got rolling. I had some interesting things happen, but nothing ever really developed. So really my whole musical career has been based out of Texas.
KMJ- I wanted to talk about some of the songs on the last album- specifically in what frame of mind you must be in for the characters in your songs to get in so much trouble.
JE- (Laughter) You mean like “Promises in Pieces”?
KMJ- Or “God-Fearing Blues.” Where does the inspiration come from on those diabolical characters in those story-songs?
JE- On “Promises In Pieces,” I worked on that one for a long time. And I don’t normally do that. I can usually finish 70-80% of a song in one session. I may sit down for three or four hours, but at the end of it I’m usually pretty close to being done with a song. I may tweak it or edit it down or adjust a verse or two over the next couple of days. But usually it’s a pretty quick process for me. I usually assume that if I don’t get the bulk of it in that one setting, it’s not going to happen. “Promises In Pieces” was the only thing I’ve ever written that was a slow sculpture from the beginning. It took me about 2 months, constantly shaving away at it. It’s definitely the most literary song I’ve ever written. That one is a concept that was really story-based. The frame of mind was really just challenging myself to see if I could pull it off. With “God-Fearing Blues,” that just started with a feel more than anything. I had a feel for this song. I wanted to write something involving the area I grew up in and I loved those gospel churches growing up and I love that sound. I love those “Hallelujah” shouting type of songs. But at the same time, I don’t live that lifestyle as much as I probably should. I also didn’t want to want a plain gospel song. I figured that would be pretty hypocritical of me. I wanted to get that feel and pay homage to that sound but do it without necessarily writing a gospel song.
KMJ- One of my favorite songs on the album is “Cry Pretty.” It’s such a great juxtaposition- such a great combination of words and lyrics. Is there a real story in there?
JE- There’s a story that somebody told me. And the story behind that song is that I had that title for a really long time. My wife actually said it about somebody that they “cried pretty.” And I thought, that’s a title. So I kept it and when I was starting to write songs, I was trying to put something together with that title. But it never seemed to quite work. And I liked the title so much that I didn’t want to ruin it by actually writing a song I wasn’t crazy about. But then about a week before we went into the studio- I think this was the last song we wrote before recording the album- I was talking to Kevin Welch about titles. This song title came up and he said it reminded him of this story about this girl I used to date and I saw at the end of this party. Kevin said, “She was talking to me and crying. And I was starting to fall for it and started to realize that as much as she was crying, there weren’t any tears coming down.” As soon as he said that, it clicked. I went home the next day and wrote it in about two hours. As soon as I had the story, it was just a matter of putting it down and making it work. It is a true story. Just not my story.
KMJ- When you look at your career, what kind of notoriety or level of success are you wanting to achieve? You tried the mainstream Nashville radio-scene once. Now you’re doing a smaller label thing with more musical freedom but probably not as many publicity resources. Is it a wish to be more widely recognized on a national level or is that even a wish at this point?
JE- It definitely is. I’m not necessarily interested in the mainstream Top 40 country radio thing. It’s not whether I like it or don’t like it. It’s just that the way country music radio has gone lately, it doesn’t fit with what I do. I don’t know. That whole scene has just changed so much. It’s not about the same thing that it was when I was growing up. I don’t really think of that avenue very much at all. I love the idea of something else. There are a lot of people that are very successful in this business doing it differently. An example is Lyle Lovett. Lyle Lovett, Lucinda Williams, Steve Earle, those guys. They are all people who kind of plowed away at it for twenty years or thirty years and kind of carved their own niche out of it and made their own brand. They’ve done their own thing this whole time despite what kind of fad was going on at the time and made their own career and their own sound. They do well by putting out the music that they want to put out. That’s really the path I want to follow.
KMJ- How did your backing band get the name The Wayward Apostles? I’m sure there’s another good story in there somewhere.
JE- (Laughter) That’s just like the thing with “God-Fearing Blues.” I had the band and we were doing a lot of gospel-flavored songs. We were doing a lot of gospel-flavored harmonies and a lot of the guys in the band- that’s all they really grew up learning how to play. We had the band name The Apostles for just a little while. But at the same time, we didn’t want to give the impression that we were a true gospel band. So we had to come up with something different that explained that this is what we do and that we’re definitely influenced by it but that we are trying to do something different. And that we are a little bit different. I just didn’t want to blur that line too much.
KMJ- Two more questions left. This one came from one of The 9513’s founders, Brady. I know you’re sort of a pseudo-secret member of a band called Johnny and the Footlights that do some classic country covers. We wanted to know how that came about and if you have any plans to release any material under that band name.
JE- Wow, that’s great. That came about with after playing some shows with Jamie Wilson who used to play with The Gougers and now is a member of The Trishas- I don’t know if you’ve heard of them but they’re just amazing. They’re really phenomenal. When she was between gigs- between the two bands- we were doing shows together. We still do this all the time. We do a show and share the band. Basically, whoever is the singer is the only thing that changes between sets. We were getting these gigs and having to do three or four hours. I would do 90 minutes of my stuff, she would do 90 minutes of her stuff, and then we would still have time to kill. And we both love old time country music. That’s a common theme that everyone in the band has. But those shows are so far and few between that we decided that we wanted to do something that was more “for real.” We found this place in Fort Worth that gave us this weekly gig. The band, the whole thing in fact, is such a self-indulgent thing for us. It’s really just us playing around. We all get together, there’s really no expectations, we just get to have a lot of fun. But we have talked about doing something else. A lot of stuff I’ve been writing lately really falls in that line of music. It’s really traditionalist country music. But I don’t think I would put something out like that under my name. I think it would probably confuse things. It’s a lot different from what I’ve done in the past. Jamie and I have talked about sitting down and writing twelve old-school country songs that are traditional in sound that we could put out under the Johnny and the Footlights name so it wouldn’t muddy the waters of our own careers at all.
KMJ- You can count some of our readers and I first in line on that one, I think.
JE- Yeah, I’m actually really excited about the possibility of doing that. I was actually talking to Jamie earlier today and we’re headed to Colorado to Steamboat Springs here in a few weeks. We’re going to take that time and try to write a lot of those types of songs and see what happens.
KMJ- I’ve got one last question for you. What is country music to Jason Eady?
JE- Country music is a musical form that’s based on simplicity and lyrics. The lyrical content is rooted in everyday conversations. It’s based on things everybody goes through and it’s based on universal topics. And that’s both good topics as well as bad topics. And it seems that the way country music has gone lately, no one really wants to talk about the bad stuff. There’s break-up songs, but not really cheating songs. You know? It seems that people are ignoring the emotion of the bad stuff. That’s really the beauty of country music to me. It really talks about the everyday aspects of life. It tells stories. And if lyrics don’t come first, they certainly go hand-in-hand. It’s definitely not driven by melody like some other forms of music are. Pure and real would be the real key words to take from country music for me.
For Jason Eady, this musical jambalaya had a profound and lasting effect on his soul. With influences ranging from country to soul, from Cajun to rock, and from gospel to blues, it shaped a sound that is fairly unique. And like those great storytellers along that river, Eady has carried the torch of writing and singing songs with a tale. His late 2009 release When The Money’s All Gone was lauded critically.
Now a Texas resident, that unique and historic music scene is just one more ingredient in the long list of musical influences that make up the recipe that is Jason Eady. The 9513 had an opportunity to sit down with the singer/songwriter and talk about his recent album as well as what lies ahead both as a solo artist and as a key member of a side project band.
Ken Morton, Jr.- Jason, thanks for spending some time with The 9513. You grew up in Mississippi, what were some of your early musical influences there?
Jason Eady- I grew up on country music. That’s really what I grew up listening to. It was the stuff that was out in the early 80’s and late 70’s. Stuff like Haggard, Waylon & Willie. My parents always had a lot of Kris Kristofferson playing. So that was definitely my first love. Later on, I found bluegrass. And I remember this one time this local TV show had this songwriting round. Mac McAnally was on it as was Kevin Welch. That was the first time I had seen songwriters write their songs. These were songs I knew from the radio, but I had never thought about the fact that somebody else had written them. I don’t know. The thing I really liked about growing up immersed in Mississippi music is that it seems to be a crossroads between a lot of different kinds of music. Everything seems to pass through there. It might be jazz coming up from New Orleans or blues from the delta. Or bluegrass, southern rock, country, soul, or R&B. It all kinds of crosses there in that area. So growing up, I really was exposed to a lot of different styles of music.
KMJ- On your latest album, When The Money’s All Gone, it seems to reflect that. It’s a recipe of country, blues, soul, Cajun, gospel, R&B and rock and roll. From your perspective, where does it fit across that musical landscape?
JE- This time we made an effort to get back to that groove-based southern -gospel blues-influenced material. On my last couple of albums, I’ve played around with a lot of different styles. It was the producer, Kevin Welch, that wanted to take us back to our roots with what we used to do. This one was more based in that swampy feel. There were exceptions, though. There are a couple songs towards the end of the album that are more of the songwriter/folk/lyrical based songs. I don’t think I’ll ever make one kind of record because I don’t listen to music that way. Even when I’m listening to my iPod, it might go from hip hop to bluegrass back to something fast. I get bored any other way. So the last thing I would do is make a record that was the same all the way through. But I think a blues-based southern-gospel influence is really the overall theme of this record.
KMJ- Comparing it against your first two records, how would you see it fitting in musically or genre-wise?
JE- The first one was definitely more polished country. We recorded it in Nashville and it was much more of a commercial radio-oriented record. The last one was completely the opposite. We went completely bare-boned and did stuff live and in one take. So that one was really scattered. We had everything on that record. One song would be a bluegrass song, the next song would be a blues song, the next song be a country song. There was no real thread to it all- it was just all a collection of good music. The second one was very eclectic and more folk-side of things.
KMJ- While not a Texan, you’ve been really adopted by the Texas music scene. How on earth did you manage to pull that one off?
JE- (Laughter) I had quit playing music for awhile and moved to Texas for a job. I was getting close to 30 years old. I figured my time had passed and I wasn’t going to do it any longer. But when I got here, I found out it was incredibly receptive to new music. It was the first place I’d ever moved to that was that open to new kinds of music and different styles. People actually expected you to play your own songs whereas in other places they’ll tolerate you playing your own songs but they really want to hear the covers. It was so refreshing to see that I thought I’d give it one more shot playing open mics on stage everywhere I could. When I’d travel on business, I’d take my guitar and go to the clubs at night. It just kind o f took off. One thing led to another and it started going. I finally quit my job and here I am. Really I think about it only taking off here (in Texas.) I did this once before in Mississippi in going to Nashville but things never really got rolling. I had some interesting things happen, but nothing ever really developed. So really my whole musical career has been based out of Texas.
KMJ- I wanted to talk about some of the songs on the last album- specifically in what frame of mind you must be in for the characters in your songs to get in so much trouble.
JE- (Laughter) You mean like “Promises in Pieces”?
KMJ- Or “God-Fearing Blues.” Where does the inspiration come from on those diabolical characters in those story-songs?
JE- On “Promises In Pieces,” I worked on that one for a long time. And I don’t normally do that. I can usually finish 70-80% of a song in one session. I may sit down for three or four hours, but at the end of it I’m usually pretty close to being done with a song. I may tweak it or edit it down or adjust a verse or two over the next couple of days. But usually it’s a pretty quick process for me. I usually assume that if I don’t get the bulk of it in that one setting, it’s not going to happen. “Promises In Pieces” was the only thing I’ve ever written that was a slow sculpture from the beginning. It took me about 2 months, constantly shaving away at it. It’s definitely the most literary song I’ve ever written. That one is a concept that was really story-based. The frame of mind was really just challenging myself to see if I could pull it off. With “God-Fearing Blues,” that just started with a feel more than anything. I had a feel for this song. I wanted to write something involving the area I grew up in and I loved those gospel churches growing up and I love that sound. I love those “Hallelujah” shouting type of songs. But at the same time, I don’t live that lifestyle as much as I probably should. I also didn’t want to want a plain gospel song. I figured that would be pretty hypocritical of me. I wanted to get that feel and pay homage to that sound but do it without necessarily writing a gospel song.
JE- There’s a story that somebody told me. And the story behind that song is that I had that title for a really long time. My wife actually said it about somebody that they “cried pretty.” And I thought, that’s a title. So I kept it and when I was starting to write songs, I was trying to put something together with that title. But it never seemed to quite work. And I liked the title so much that I didn’t want to ruin it by actually writing a song I wasn’t crazy about. But then about a week before we went into the studio- I think this was the last song we wrote before recording the album- I was talking to Kevin Welch about titles. This song title came up and he said it reminded him of this story about this girl I used to date and I saw at the end of this party. Kevin said, “She was talking to me and crying. And I was starting to fall for it and started to realize that as much as she was crying, there weren’t any tears coming down.” As soon as he said that, it clicked. I went home the next day and wrote it in about two hours. As soon as I had the story, it was just a matter of putting it down and making it work. It is a true story. Just not my story.
KMJ- When you look at your career, what kind of notoriety or level of success are you wanting to achieve? You tried the mainstream Nashville radio-scene once. Now you’re doing a smaller label thing with more musical freedom but probably not as many publicity resources. Is it a wish to be more widely recognized on a national level or is that even a wish at this point?
JE- It definitely is. I’m not necessarily interested in the mainstream Top 40 country radio thing. It’s not whether I like it or don’t like it. It’s just that the way country music radio has gone lately, it doesn’t fit with what I do. I don’t know. That whole scene has just changed so much. It’s not about the same thing that it was when I was growing up. I don’t really think of that avenue very much at all. I love the idea of something else. There are a lot of people that are very successful in this business doing it differently. An example is Lyle Lovett. Lyle Lovett, Lucinda Williams, Steve Earle, those guys. They are all people who kind of plowed away at it for twenty years or thirty years and kind of carved their own niche out of it and made their own brand. They’ve done their own thing this whole time despite what kind of fad was going on at the time and made their own career and their own sound. They do well by putting out the music that they want to put out. That’s really the path I want to follow.
KMJ- How did your backing band get the name The Wayward Apostles? I’m sure there’s another good story in there somewhere.
JE- (Laughter) That’s just like the thing with “God-Fearing Blues.” I had the band and we were doing a lot of gospel-flavored songs. We were doing a lot of gospel-flavored harmonies and a lot of the guys in the band- that’s all they really grew up learning how to play. We had the band name The Apostles for just a little while. But at the same time, we didn’t want to give the impression that we were a true gospel band. So we had to come up with something different that explained that this is what we do and that we’re definitely influenced by it but that we are trying to do something different. And that we are a little bit different. I just didn’t want to blur that line too much.
KMJ- Two more questions left. This one came from one of The 9513’s founders, Brady. I know you’re sort of a pseudo-secret member of a band called Johnny and the Footlights that do some classic country covers. We wanted to know how that came about and if you have any plans to release any material under that band name.
JE- Wow, that’s great. That came about with after playing some shows with Jamie Wilson who used to play with The Gougers and now is a member of The Trishas- I don’t know if you’ve heard of them but they’re just amazing. They’re really phenomenal. When she was between gigs- between the two bands- we were doing shows together. We still do this all the time. We do a show and share the band. Basically, whoever is the singer is the only thing that changes between sets. We were getting these gigs and having to do three or four hours. I would do 90 minutes of my stuff, she would do 90 minutes of her stuff, and then we would still have time to kill. And we both love old time country music. That’s a common theme that everyone in the band has. But those shows are so far and few between that we decided that we wanted to do something that was more “for real.” We found this place in Fort Worth that gave us this weekly gig. The band, the whole thing in fact, is such a self-indulgent thing for us. It’s really just us playing around. We all get together, there’s really no expectations, we just get to have a lot of fun. But we have talked about doing something else. A lot of stuff I’ve been writing lately really falls in that line of music. It’s really traditionalist country music. But I don’t think I would put something out like that under my name. I think it would probably confuse things. It’s a lot different from what I’ve done in the past. Jamie and I have talked about sitting down and writing twelve old-school country songs that are traditional in sound that we could put out under the Johnny and the Footlights name so it wouldn’t muddy the waters of our own careers at all.
KMJ- You can count some of our readers and I first in line on that one, I think.
JE- Yeah, I’m actually really excited about the possibility of doing that. I was actually talking to Jamie earlier today and we’re headed to Colorado to Steamboat Springs here in a few weeks. We’re going to take that time and try to write a lot of those types of songs and see what happens.
KMJ- I’ve got one last question for you. What is country music to Jason Eady?
JE- Country music is a musical form that’s based on simplicity and lyrics. The lyrical content is rooted in everyday conversations. It’s based on things everybody goes through and it’s based on universal topics. And that’s both good topics as well as bad topics. And it seems that the way country music has gone lately, no one really wants to talk about the bad stuff. There’s break-up songs, but not really cheating songs. You know? It seems that people are ignoring the emotion of the bad stuff. That’s really the beauty of country music to me. It really talks about the everyday aspects of life. It tells stories. And if lyrics don’t come first, they certainly go hand-in-hand. It’s definitely not driven by melody like some other forms of music are. Pure and real would be the real key words to take from country music for me.
Thursday, May 7, 2015
Sunday, April 5, 2015
Darrell Scott To Release 10 - Songs of Ben Bullington on May 19
In this musical world of every man for himself, the notion that Scott –NSAI Songwriter of the Year, Americana 2007 Song of the Year winner, ASCAP Songwriter of the Year, and multiple Grammy nominee would dedicate an entire album to an unknown songwriter speaks to the connection he and Bullington made in a very short time.
Darrell Scott is a masterful performer, featured as a member of Robert Plant’s Band of Joy, and on albums with Guy Clark, Tim O’Brien, Steve Earle, Sam Bush, Malcolm Holcombe, Joan Baez, Jim Lauderdale, and Allison Moorer, among others. Scott is also an in demand producer, working with Zac Brown, Jonathan Edwards, Guy Clark, Susan Werner, and memorably, producing his father Wayne Scott’s collection of classic country songs “This Weary Way.”
Scott’s interpretations of Bullington’s songs make this a singularly interesting project and will certainly open many ears to songs that may not ever have been heard without his involvement. Bullington released five cds of original songs, with only one co-write - Little Feat’s Bill Payne collaborated on “The Last Adios.” Even though his touring was limited by his full time medical practice, Bullington was joined on recordings by friends Rodney Crowell, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Tracy Nelson, Payne, Will Kimbrough and a slew of other top musicians. His musical impact was strengthened with performances at the Kerrville Folk Festival, the 30A Songwriter Festival, Jammin’ at Hippie Jacks and performances all over the country.
Darrell wrote the importance of recording the songs of his friend Bullington:
we met as fathers- divorced fathers- camping in the national forest east of yellowstone with my 3 kids and ben’s 2 youngest – (mutual friend, joanne gardner, thought we 2 divorced fathers oughta meet) – though we were both songwriters, we did not play songs ’round the campfire – we tended to our kids – we encountered a male grizzly all too near our pre-teen boys exploring a clearing one mid-morning – that grizzly scene will stay with me for the rest of my life with ben & me waving our boys to safety up to the bluff where we could see what they could not – we all watched as the grizzly passed within 100 yards – he didn’t even look up at us
i still had not heard ben’s songs until he had 1 year to live-(as an MD he knew what the lab results meant) a nashville writers round was on his bucket list (will kimbrough, rodney crowell, ben and me) and THAT is where i began to hear his songs in earnest…it was all there: song after song of hearing someone who loved song as much as i loved song- who knew form and power of what this “simple” art can do – a practicioner
the last time i saw ben, i thought he’d wanna talk death and leaving this world – instead, he wanted to talk songs & guitars – so we did (he even turned me on to 2 new writers) – now, ben bullington and his songs will stay with me for the rest of my life – like the grizzly
in the last 3 months of ben’s life i started sending iphone recordings of me singing a song of his – the first iphone recording, “i’ve gotta leave you now”, closes this album – this recording is what ben heard – he loved it…(what i wanted was for ben to hear his songs coming toward him rather than only from him – for a writer, it is an important perspective: to hear songs with 1 degree of seperation – like you’re hearing some one else’s songs)
3 days in dirk powell’s studio & home in breaux bridge, louisiana in november, 2014 while on the road, 8 songs were recorded s i m p l y – no tricks, no hiding – just me & engineer, erick jaskowiak- add a live version of “country music i’m talking to you” from texas gigs the week before- add the iphone recording he’d heard and you get 10
my wish is for you to slow down for 52 minutes, put this recording on and hear 2 friends make new friends – i believe there is pure beauty here – these songs are perfect examples of “song as literature” – 10 is an intimate gift for a fellow father and human being and songwriter whom i knew for a short, but powerful, time – ben’s songs are timeless – i loved getting right in the middle of these songs and offering my best – these are great songs: period.Advance reviews of “10” are extraordinary. Songwriting icon Rodney Crowell says, “Ben Bullington was a friend. I knew his heart. After listening to ‘10’ I can say, with all sincerity, Darrell Scott has created a masterwork. His readings of Ben’s songs are tone perfect. He’s captured beautifully with guitar, piano and soulful voice, the very album Ben dreamed of. I know this as surely as I know the names of my children. The stillness and unhurried revelation that is the hallmark of Ben Bullington’s best songwriting, thanks to Darrell Scott, is alive and well.”
Mary Chapin Carpenter adds, “I love Darrell Scott and I loved Ben Bullington. To hear one great songwriter inhabit another’s work is a breathtaking experience, and it makes me happy to imagine that Ben’s gifts will live on through Darrell’s interpretations."
Thursday, November 27, 2014
Steve Earle To Release Terraplane On Feb. 17
Terraplane takes its title from the 1930s Hudson Motor Car Company of Detroit model, which also inspired the Robert Johnson song "Terraplane Blues." It is Earle's 16th studio album since the release of his highly influential 1986 debut Guitar Town. As its title suggests, the album is very much a blues record, a third of which was written while Earle toured Europe alone for five weeks with just a guitar, a mandolin and a backpack. Earle, who was raised outside of San Antonio before migrating to Houston, offers about Texas blues, "There was Fort Worth where the model was Freddy King, and there was the Houston scene which was dominated by Lightnin' Hopkins. Two very different styles." He saw both of these giants, and was also exposed to Johnny Winter, Jimmy and Stevie Ray Vaughn, and Billy Gibbons, all of which make their influence heard here within Earle's masterful storytelling.
Earle states in the Terraplane album liner notes, "...the blues are anything but superficial. In fact, they run so deep and dark and close to the bone that folks walk around everyday with the blues as though it were perfectly natural for a human being to go on living with a broken heart (apologies to Tony Kushner)." He continues, "For my part, I've only ever believed two things about the blues: one, that they are very democratic, the commonest of human experience, perhaps the only thing that we all truly share and two, that one day, when it was time, I would make this record."
Earle is also set to return for his second year of Camp Copperhead. The four-day-long immersion songwriting camp led by Earle, debuted last summer in upstate New York and immediately sold out. In 2015, Camp Copperhead will take place again in Big Indian, NY located in the beautiful Catskill Mountains just north of New York City on July 20th through the 24th. For more information, please visit camp-copperhead.com.
Earle has also announced four residency performances at the City Winery in NYC during January. Please see the dates below.
A protégé of legendary songwriters Townes Van Zandt and Guy Clark, Steve Earle quickly became a master storyteller in his own right, with his songs being recorded by Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, Emmylou Harris, Waylon Jennings, Travis Tritt, The Pretenders, Joan Baez and countless others. 1986 saw the release of his debut record, Guitar Town, which shot to number one on the country charts. What followed was a varied array of releases including the biting hard rock of Copperhead Road (1988), the minimalist beauty of Train A Comin' (1995), the politically charged masterpiece, Jerusalem (2002) and the Grammy Award winning albums The Revolution Starts...Now (2004), Washington Square Serenade (2007) and Townes (2009). 2011 saw the release of Earle's critically acclaimed debut novel, I'll Never Get Out Of This World Alive. Of the novel, Patti Smith stated "Steve Earle brings to his prose the same authenticity, poetic spirit and cinematic energy he projects in his music. I'll Never Get Out Of This World Alive is like a dream you can't shake, offering beauty and remorse, redemption in spades.
2015 will also see the publication of Earle's memoir I Can't Remember If We Said Goodbye, published by Grand Central Publishing/Hachette Book Group. Earle has been a featured actor on the HBO Original Series "The Wire" and "Treme," and also appears in the upcoming films "The World Made Straight" and "Dixieland." He can be seen in many episodes of the Foo Fighters HBO Original Series "Sonic Highways" and also co-wrote the title track with Marianne Faithfull for her new studio album Give My Love To London.
Steve Earle & The Dukes - Terraplane Track Listing:
1. Baby Baby Baby (Baby)
2. You're The Best Lover That I Ever Had
3. The Tennessee Kid
4. Ain't Nobody's Daddy Now
5. Better Off Alone
6. The Usual Time
7. Go Go Boots Are Back
8. Acquainted With The Wind
9. Baby's Just As Mean As Me
10. Gamblin' Blues
11. King Of The Blues
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