BILLSCORZARI

http://www.jonahtolchin.com

Muddy Waters, Blind Willie McTell, and Robert Johnson are just three of the 42 influences Jonah Tolchin lists in the “About” section of his Facebook page. It’s obvious to any listener that these bluesy influences rain all over Clover Lane, Tolchin’s newest release. Sure enough however, and unbelievably so, Tolchin somehow manages to invent a formula which extracts from all 42 components – one, as sacred and vital to the finished product as the next. He enumerates a roster of influential artists who come from all walks of life, confirming with his parting words that “everything that has happened, everything that is happening, everything that might happen, and everyone I’ve ever met, or heard of, heard, seen, spoken to, etc” are his inspiration. The pleasure of Tolchin’s sound is from his ability to create music skillfully and gratefully; he draws from every angle and experience imaginable.

My preliminary research on Tolchin revealed a very spiritual individual; someone who believes in an underlying force or craft. I promise that it was not until after this supposition that I noticed he has an entire page on his official website entitled, “SPIRIT,” sandwiched between your typical “MUSIC” and “STORE.” This page displays videos, books, links and even a quote from Jonah himself, which he calls “My Last Life.” Quite evidently, Tolchin’s spirituality isn’t just something he hopes might get the attention of a listener or inquirer here and there, rather it’s something of which he, himself, and his music depends upon and therefore everyone must see it.

Tolchin says, “I am a believer in a deeper meaning behind life. This record is a passionate manifestation of the cosmos in perfect harmony.” And the Clover Lane title itself seems to be at the center of it all. Clover Lane is the street name of which he grew up on in New Jersey. The star-crossed story, as he tells it, is: “’My parents bought the Clover Lane house in 1996. Fast forward to 2012. At the suggestion of a friend, record producer Marvin Etzioni came out to a show of mine in Los Angeles (Room 5). After an inspired conversation, a few weeks later Marvin and I were recording an album together in Nashville.’ Apparently Tolchin’s meeting with Etzioni was set up by Jonah’s friend and singer-songwriter, Alex Wright, who had met Etzioni through another friend and neighbor in Los Angeles. When Jonah eventually met this friend and neighbor, Anna Serridge, at the Wright’s place, he found out that Serridge had purchased and lived in the same house on Clover Lane 16 years prior. It’s my hunch that this materialization is when Tolchin’s spiritual endeavor truly began and, as he noted, Clover Lane was born.

“Mockingbird,” the first track on the album, is bound to get its listeners moving, and therefore is also bound to be one of the most popular tracks on the album. “Hey Baby Blues” is a personal favorite — it’s honest, sexy and is adorned with funny nuances. Tolchin sings,

Hey baby, I got something for you.
If you can get it, you can have it.
…
Hey baby, lay your pretty head back.
Put that thing in my lap
or lay it down
on the railroad track.
Hey baby, I got something for you.

Style-wise, tracks such as “Diamond Mind” and “Low Life” take a different and more subdued spin than other songs on the album. “Low Life” brings us back to the spiritual mindset of which this album derives:

Low is the life,
and I know that I’m right.
Cold is the comfort it brings in the night.
Fast I will hold
to these truths that I know.
Even though they never really seemed
quite real to me.
So I keep lying low.

Listen to Tolchin’s performances of “Diamond Mind” and “Midnight Rain” for Sawyer Sessions. 

Written by Liz Livi

http://www.thisisfirstaidkit.com

I remember the first time I ever heard First Aid Kit. My cousin was showing me videos on YouTube — one in particular featured what seemed to be two sisters sitting in the woods singing a cover of Fleet Foxes’ “Tiger Mountain Peasant Song.” Their voices were amazing and I was hooked, immediately. I raced home only to Google more videos of their performances. I continued to listen to them throughout the years, even making an effort to see them when they played at the 2013 Newport Folk Festival. With their porcelain skin and 1960’s baby doll frocks, these girls were anything but childish – their set rocked the house, and brought me, personally, a little closer to folk music altogether.

On June 10, 2014, First Aid Kit released their third album Stay Gold, within which they sing well beyond their years, with serious melodies and describing life as a wanderer of the road. The sisters, Johanna and Klara, both under 25 years of age, have shifted their sound ever so slightly towards country. At times, if you listen closely, you can hear a newfound twang in their voices. The Stockholm two certainly have found themselves a beautiful place within the Americana niche, delivering the kind of soul that many country artists could only dream of. Of course, however, they haven’t forgotten their signature Swedish roots, as some very charming folk tracks inhabit the album, such as My Silver Lining and of course the title track, Stay Gold. 

Song Recommendations: “Cedar Lane,” “Master Pretender,” “Waitress Song”

Just for fun, take a moment to watch where and how it all began:

5 years and 3,918,963 enchanting views later…

Here’s a look at First Aid Kit’s acoustic performance of My Silver Lining at Latitude in the City on the London Southbank:

“The paramedic thinks I’m clever ‘cause I play guitar; I think she’s clever ‘cause she stops people from dying,” Courtney Barnett reminisces in her most well-known song, “Avant Gardener” (which was also named Pitchfork’s Best New Track). She and her band (creatively called The Courtney Barnetts) are busy mesmerizing the audience of mostly men in the Bowery Ballroom on this hot pre-summer Tuesday night, and they not only seem to be having fun, but don’t look like they’re stressed or nervous at all. It’s this combination of ease, wit, and comfort that have made this writer a fan of Barnett and her music over the last few weeks.

Courtney Barnett, 26, of Melbourne, Australia, has quite the unique sound. She doesn’t have a wide vocal range (or if she does, she’s keeping it a secret from all of us), nor are her guitar parts particularly complicated. Neither of these are deterrents to her character: Barnett’s music is pleasant and often seem as if you’re just having a conversation with a friend. Her Dylan-esque singspeak rattles off stories of masturbation, gardening, wild nights, and the desire to make it in the music world. The simplicity of the lyrics and vocals are in accord with the instruments, making Barnett a sensory delight. For example, at this particular concert, Barnett and her band play “Are You Looking After Yourself?” — a song that is a conversation between a worried realist (Family member? Friend? Neighbor? We never really find out) and a struggling musician. The album version of the song includes a longer, jam-like outro. Live, however, this may not have worked. Instead, Barnett and her band members fill the spaces between verses with discordant, grungy guitar grinds. These crunchy chords work here, considering this song may very well be Barnett’s middle finger to people who doubted her ability to survive as a musician. The instrumentals reflect the feelings of chaos, insecurity, and rebellion that the lyrics present.

The crowd ate up Barnett and her band, as well as the 8-bit style animation on the backdrop behind them. The entire concert breathed effortlessness. Barnett’s stage banter was even casual, further enforcing the conversational atmosphere. When the lights came up, Barnett looked out into the audience and marveled, “You’re all so well dressed! Good to know. Well, if any of you don’t like your shirts, we have some for sale.” She pauses for a moment and laughs to herself. “Ugh! I didn’t even plan that! I used to work in sales.” We all laugh in agreement, and for a moment the image of Courtney Barnett selling a pair of slacks dances through everyone’s minds.

Barnett leaves the stage and comes back once more for an encore sans band. She stands alone on stage under one light, and explains that the final song she’s going to play is a new one off of her next album (“It’s a song about a thing, it’s got two chords”–even her set-up for a song is simple and leaves you wanting to know more), and takes place in Preston, a neighborhood in Melbourne. She goes into a melody about house-hunting in places away from the coffee house-populated streets and looking at a ramshackle house in a less-than-stellar neighborhood. Suddenly, Barnett sings that there are handrails in the shower and a picture of a Vietnam vet in the living room. The audience hushes as this revelation is met — this house-hunting adventure has just left casual and fun and has taken a dramatic turn into bleak and sad. As if to point out that she’s now got our attention, Barnett laments that “I can’t think of floor boards anymore,/whether the front room faces south or north” and suggests to the audience that “if you’ve got a spare half a million, you could knock it down and start rebuilding.” Her lyrics are real, funny, and heartbreaking — sometimes all within one song.

The lights come back up, Barnett leaves the stage, and the audience files out into the humidity. Barnett may not be big in America yet, but like her gut-punch lyrics in her encore “Depreston”, she’ll sneak up on you when you least expect it. You can listen to Barnett’s performance of “Depreston” on NPR’s Tiny Desk Concerts here:

Courtney Barnett – Tiny Desk Concert on NPR

Celebrate Brooklyn rises above your average free music event. You can release any daunting expectations of stifling crowds or finding only terrible spots to situate yourself. I can assure that you will be satisfied with the atmosphere and your experience, regardless of arrival time.

The Prospect Park Bandshell stage overlooks an ample seating area followed by a lofty grass area where attendees can place their blankets, tapestries and lounge chairs for an ideal view of the stage, without the obstruction of the many chairs in front. Unlike many (but of course not all) festivals or outdoor and unassigned performance events, the seating at this event had a compassionate turnaround. No fuss, no pressure, just easy. During the intermissions among the three acts, an adequate number of already-seated concert-goers moved from their seats and explored other areas of the park, providing others a chance at seated vantage points. The attractions included some very affordable and spectacular eats from The Farm on Adderly, an indigenous Brooklyn farm-to-table restaurant, and your not-so-affordable standard domestic beers with the addition of one or two craft brews.

I attended the concert with several friends who were unfamiliar with the three Americana acts present last night, but each left Prospect Park with three new musicians to listen, follow and spread the word about. Shakey Graves and Valerie June certainly pleased the audience but the highlight, of course, was the headliner, Shovels & Rope. I’ve been a devoted Shovels & Rope fan for almost two years now and I’ve seen them perform once before inside Fort Adams at Newport Folk Festival, and I promise when I say that I felt goose-bumps when they began to play “Gasoline.” The sound that spread throughout the bandshell was as potent as the smell of real gasoline.

The even more unmistakable presence during the performance was Trent and Hearst’s partnership. The husband and wife demonstrate a powerful and spirited counterbalance, which was most visibly evident by their interchanging of positions and instruments. Hearst began with acoustic guitar on the left, while Trent played drums and shakers on the right. Two songs in, Hearst took over the drums on the right and Trent grabbed his electric guitar and occupied the left. The switch took place at least one more time before they finished.

The Charleston duo’s innate performance strategy is all about having fun with each other and then amplifying it to their audience. In between songs, the pair experienced a delay as Trent tried to tune his guitar and also prep his harmonica. Hearst took advantage of the delay, leaned into her microphone and remarked on the unfriendly sound coming from the harmonica. She shouted, “There’s a lot of loogies in it. From blowin' it!!” And the unfailing innuendo predictably aroused the audience, as it always does.

If you’re looking to show your friends the Americana way, this is it. Shovels & Rope is everyone’s Americana. Remember to watch out for Swimmin’ Time this August.

KEXP premiered The Barr Brothers’ newest single this morning, entitled “Even the Darkness Has Arms” off their sophomore LP, Sleeping Operator, arriving October 7, 2014 (Secret City Records).

For the not-so-familiar, there’s a chance you’ve heard The Barr Brothers’ most popular track “Beggar in the Morning” and just don’t know it yet. If not, you have a lot of material to catch up on prior to today’s premiere. The Barr Brothers are a perfect addition to add to your driving playlist for this weekend’s getaway.

The Barr Brothers will be playing both Friday and Sunday during Pickathon, which I’ll be attending the first weekend in August.

I recommend listening to “Even the Darkness Has Arms” through the Soundcloud link on KEXP’s website, rather than through YouTube (both included below). The Soundcloud audio is much better.

http://blog.kexp.org/2014/06/25/kexp-premiere-the-barr-brothers-even-the-darkness-has-arms/

(Courtesy: https://missinginkshop.com/crowmedicine/store/remedy-cd)

It just so happens that I was fortunate enough to have my summer equinox inaugurated by Old Crow Medicine Show’s first available song, “Sweet Amarillo” (courtesy of WFUV), during an afternoon drive this Saturday. In preparation of the July 1st release of Old Crow’s new full-length album, Remedy, is now streaming on NPR’s first listen. Remedy arrives just in time for July 4th festivities and guarantees a spot on every backyard barbeque playlist. Be sure to catch my personal recommendations–”O Cumberland River” and “The Warden”–when you stream Remedy here:

http://www.npr.org/2014/06/22/322596225/first-listen-old-crow-medicine-show-remedy

Mountains…check. Music…check. Gondola…check! The Gondola Sessions is just about the neatest idea I’ve heard of since SerialBox Presents. They recruit bands for live acoustic performances inside surrogate recording booths, also known as gondolas, while gliding through the sky amidst the mountains of Aspen/Snowmass, Colorado. Rayland Baxter, Elephant Revival, Bombino and Steep Canyon Rangers (who will be the subject of a HEARTSTRINGS feature article soon), are among the knock-out musicians they’ve hosted already. It really just doesn’t get much better than that.

Keep an eye out for the upcoming release of Nathaniel Rateliff’s Gondola Session, and debut album Falling Faster Than You Can Run which is stunning all who are fortunate enough to listen.

For now, start with Rayland Baxter’s performance of “Willy’s Song” on the Gondola:

Mountains…check. Music…check. Gondola…check! The Gondola Sessions is just about the neatest idea I’ve heard of since SerialBox Presents. They recruit bands for live acoustic performances inside surrogate recording booths, also known as gondolas, while gliding through the sky amidst the mountains of Aspen/Snowmass, Colorado. Rayland Baxter, Elephant Revival, Bombino and Steep Canyon Rangers (who will be the subject of a HEARTSTRINGS feature article soon), are among the knock-out musicians they’ve hosted already. It really just doesn’t get much better than that.

Keep an eye out for the upcoming release of Nathaniel Rateliff’s Gondola Session, and debut album Falling Faster Than You Can Run which is stunning all who are fortunate enough to listen.

For now, start with Rayland Baxter’s performance of “Willy’s Song” on the Gondola:

My favorite husband and wife duo, Shovels & Rope, gave the world a new single today. “The Devil is All Around” is one of the tracks on their upcoming August release, a full-length album, Swimmin’ Time.

The vocals exchanged between Trent and Hearst are independent, while at the same time unified to such an extent as to become almost a third and integral member of the band. Hearst’s winsome voice dominates and embellishes, with her charmingly untamed and assorted harmonies, while Trent is the foundation which sustains the core of their chant. This interaction is a “gift that keeps on giving,” and giving, and giving.

Based on my listen of “The Devil is All Around,” it’s safe to say we can expect a resurgence of the sounds of their first album in Swimmin’ Time, which is exactly what their fans insist upon. Shovels & Rope doesn’t need to throw drastic differences our way, album-by-album, in order to hold our attention. Rather consistently, they feed their audience with thrilling nuances song-by-song, line-by-line. Their creations are dependable, yet ingeniously unpredictable.

Listen for yourself and take note of their sermon-esque introduction, resembling that of a church service (which I think we can all agree they have the congregation for):

http://www.justintownesearle.com

Yesterday Justin Townes Earle announced the upcoming release of his fifth studio album, entitled Single Mothers, expected this September! It’s been quite a while since Nothing’s Going to Change the Way You Feel About Me Now, which I must say, aside from one or two tracks, left just mediocre memories in comparison to his amazing prior releases: The Good Life, Midnight at the Movies, Harlem River Blues and even his debut EP, Yuma. We're excitedly awaiting more great music on Single Mothers, from one of our favorite sons, JTE.

This husband and wife duo are Abner Ramirez and Amanda Sudano, who, in case you were wondering, also just happens to be the daughter of Donna Summers. There is a lot of confusion surrounding the origin of the name “Johnnyswim”–everything from a homage to Jaws dialogue to a childhood goldfish, and even Ramirez himself being mauled by a loose cat.

Their brand new music video for “Home” is listed first below. The two subsequent videos are live recording performance must-sees. I am particularly affixed to their performance on “Live at Daryl’s,” but I swear by anything SerialBox and nothing beats a good, close-up and intimate sit-down performance. Ramirez and Sudano will surprise you with a rendition of a crowd favorite at the end.

Folk festivals offer a promise that their artists and patrons share a sole prerequisite—they are all entertainers. Some entertain on stage facing thousands, while others do so around a campfire in the company of several strangers, of whom they just met and agreed to share their shishkebob and blanket with. Sam Doores and Cameron Snyder found their third balladeer, Riley Downing, in a similar manner at the Woody Guthrie Folk Festival in Okemah, Oklahoma, and who would collectively soon be known as the Deslondes. The Deslondes, also comprised of Dan Cutler and John James, are formerly known as Sam Doores + Riley Downing & the Tumbleweeds, under which name they released their first album entitled Holy Cross Blues.

The Deslondes find themselves among a camaraderie of Country-Soul bands such as Hurray for the Riff Raff and Spirit Family Reunion, who are awakening the already buzzing city of New Orleans. Their track, “I Got Found,” off of Holy Cross Blues bellows a rugged and industrial sound. The song is measured by the mimicry of the wail of an oncoming train horn and the pounding of nails into a railroad track.

…Once I was lost
[well I got found]
I could not speak
[but I heard a sound]
from dead man’s blood.

Little train’s comin’ with a huff and a puff…

Here, I feel the fever of the imagined Southern sun on my shoulders, as Downing’s burning vocals are swapped and supported by the resonance of workmen chants.

The Deslondes have reserved a spot on the scene for years to come. They are making their way to several festivals such as Bristol Rhythm & Roots Reunion, Newport Folk Festival and its formerly covert after parties at the Newport Blues Café, alongside Joe Fletcher, Langhorne Slim and others. My only warning is when you find yourself giving the 12 songs of Holy Cross Blues a listen, bear in mind that the ever-enchanting pedal steel will once again stun you.

My parting request is make sure you check out “Reuben’s Train”—it’s the long-lost kin of Johnny Cash’s “Jackson.”

www.deslondes.com