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Well, I guess time has run out on "easing into the new year..."
I had promised some changes for 2018 here at E2TG and today, I am unveiling two of those changes.
I am not sure if this is going to be an every Monday thing or what, but I would like to introduce a new feature on E2TG.
Marie/Lepanto is a new inter-generational project that features Will Johnson (Centro-Matic) and Justin Peter Kinkel-Shuster (Water Liars). Their debut "Tenkiller" is due out on January 26. I will have some of the songs in my upcoming shuffles, but for today, I wanted to let you hear the first track released from that album. It's called "Iverness".
Will Johnson fronted Centro-Matic for two decades and is also frontman for South San Gabriel, a member of New Multitudes (Woody Guthrie lyrics set to new music, with Jay Farrar, Jim James), did a duo project with Jason Molina (Molina and Johnson), drummer and official member of Monsters of Folk (with James, Conor Oberst, and M. Ward), a duo with David Bazan as part of Overseas, and a member of the Undertow Orchestra (with Bazan, Mark Eitzel, and Vic Chestnutt). NPR has praised Centro-Matic's "superb rock records" and Johnson's "great images" and "superb songwriting." He lives in Austin, TX.
Meanwhile, Kinkel-Shuster co-founded Water Liars, about whom the NY Times said, "dark, lonely roots-minded indie rock is affecting, all the more for its sparseness." NPR called the band "a low-key triumph... prone to fits of stark gorgeousness" and Consequence of Sound said "Kinkel-Shuster's painted howl will stop you in your tracks." Julien Baker listed JPKS' 2016 album among her top ten albums of the year. Water Liars tooks its name from a Barry Hannah story and the band was on Misra Records and Big Legal Mess. The album is called 'Marie/Lepanto' after a sign on the freeway in Arkansas and was recorded at Sam Phillips Recordings Service, where Margo Price, Jason Isbell and more have taped albums. He lives in Arkansas and brings a deep south viewpoint to his work.
Nashville readers: Marie/Lepanto will be playing at the Exit/In on February 23 with Pedro the Lion.
Another reminder: E2TG will be hosting show at The Local (formerly known as The Country) this coming Sunday (January 14) featuring Conrad y Skordalia, Danny Henry, and Nelson Zimmerman Quinn (featuring members of Sean Quinn and the Tremblers. Music starts at 8:00pm, and it will be my birthday!
Today marks the return of "Music City Monday" to E2TG (with a bit of a twist). Today's shuffle comes not from my phone music player, but from Spotify. I have created an ever-evolving playlist of Nashville connected music - old and new, well-known and lesser-known, and crossing as many genre lines I can get away with. Here is the inaugural shuffle from that playlist....
"June" by Paul Burch
We start things off with a brief, instrumental track from Paul Burch's magical Meridian Rising album. The album is his fictional, musical biography of Jimmie Rodgers. Burch is a a fellow DJ on WXNA.
"Georgia on a Fast Train" (Live) by BR549
Coincidentally, the first two tracks from this new "Music City Monday" playlist, are acts that helped pave the way from the revitalization of Lower Broadway in Nashville. Around the time, Burch was making a name for himself at Tootsies Orchid Lounge, BR549 were doing the same at Robert's Western World. Here, we have their cover of a Billy Joe Shaver song which comes from a 2015 Live album - Live at the Astrodome, that was recorded in 2000.
"One the Fast Way" by Word Uprising
Next up, we have a track from the 2008 compilation album Return to Elliston Square, 1979-1989. I have to be honest, I was missed out on Word Uprising - who from what I can tell were only together for about a year. The band featured members of a couple of bands I did know: Faith Like Guillotine and Jet Black Factory. I really dug this song.
"Mountain Girl" by Richie Owens and the Farm Bureau
Next, we have the first of two tracks today from the 2014 album, In Farm We Trust, by Richie Owens and the Farm Bureau.. As I have previously mentioned, I first was introduced to Richie Owens's music from his band The Movement in the mid-80s, and for his production work for many of the local bands I loved. These days, you can catch Richie Owens with the powerhouse band Smokey White Devils. And occasionally reconvening the Farm Bureau.
"Younger Face" by Dan Baird
Like many people, I first was introduced to Dan Baird's music through his time with The Georgia Satellites. For me, it began with their debut EP Keep the Faith and then first hearing "Keep Your Hands to Yourself" on WRVU (about a year before I became a top ten hit). This track is from Baird's second solo album (Buffalo Nickel) which came about a decade after I first heard his music.
"The Love That Harms" by John Hiatt
John Hiatt has been in Nashville for over 40 years. This is a track from his 1983 (sixth album) Riding With the King, which was probably my introduction to John Hiatt (or at least the first album of his I owned). Not really much country or even "Americana" about this album - just great song. The album was co-produced by Nick Lowe (and features Lowe and Paul Carrack). Not much Nashville about it either (recorded in San Francisco and London), but Hiatt is undeniably a Nashville institution, and thus belongs in this shuffle. The title track became a hit for Eric Clapton and B.B. King several years later.
"Unpinpointable Frustration" by Cloverbottom
Next up, we have a track from one of Nashville's first punk bands and according to Rev. Keith Gordon, they were also one of Nashville's first original rock bands. This is a track taken from Return to Elliston Square Live (a live recording of the 2008 show that accompanied the release of the album previously referenced above). The show was held at the Exit/In. By the way, Elliston Square (for those who don't know) was a club located where The End is now - off Elliston Place.
"I Had a Vision" by Blackfoot Gypsies
Blackfoot Gypsies are, in my opinion, worthy heirs to the Nashville rock legacy of bands like Cloverbottom and Georgia Satellites. Their live shows are incendiary and a hell of a lot of fun. This is the first single from their latest album To the Top.
"Honey Bunny" by Richie Owen and the Farm Bureau
And, we close out this inaugural Music City Monday 2.0 shuffle with another track from In Farm We Trust. Smoke White Devil's did this song the last time I saw them.
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