We all know that us Canadians love our Presidents, we are the true, north, strong and…er, hold on, I am Canadian, we don’t have Presidents! Now why would I betray my own country and support the push for Presidents this election year? Why for the September release of the 3 disc box set for the Compilation: “Of Great and Mortal Men: 43 Songs for 43 Presidencies” from Standard Recording Company.
To get an idea of the magnitude of this release (I have been waiting over 2 years!!) - you can visit the actual blog page for the writers (whom are listed in this post title) that are the life blood of the compilation. Don’t let names like Mark Kozelek, Denison Witmer, Bill Callahan and even Jamie Stewart ( Xiu Xiu for those who are not aware) woo your ears from the true prize. The real talent for this release lies in the storytelling and writing of Kiefer, Pitcher and Gerken on each of the 43 presidential vignettes. For a little background on the trio you can do your homework here - Christian Kiefer / Jeff Pitcher / Matthew Gerken, there will be a test on this later, believe me.
This all started back in 2006, during the February Album Writing Month in which the FAWM organization brings together songwriters to write an entire album of new songs during the shortest month of the year. So get this, everyone has to write (and record) a minimum of a full album within the month and submit for judging!! Truly a feat if I ever heard of one (although I consider myself the furthest thing from a writer, it is altogether impressive no matter how you look at it). Now, we find ourselves 2 and a half years later and we are getting a 3 disc release with some amazing artists and I am absolutely foaming at the mouth to receive my pre-ordered copy.
So now that you are all heading over to pre-order your copy of the release [hint, hint], let me highlight for you the roots - nay, the heart of this entire project with original songwriting and delivery from Kiefer, Pitcher and Gerken. The three tracks below are the original recordings, so we will see in a few weeks when we get a chance to review a “Before and After” scenario;
George Washington performed by Christian Kiefer. When released it will feature Vince DiFiore of Cake!
From the title of this post you would think introductions are in order. Well my good readers, in fact they are! Introductions for both the writer as well as the main focus of this post – the fantastic talent that is Oweihops. What? Oweihops? …but wait, let’s not get ahead of ourselves; let’s start at the beginning.
Hello readers of You Crazy Dreamers! I am a newest resident of this great blog and I am starting my “YCD” life right now with this, my very first post. Some may know of me (no, seriously, who am I?) from the recent blog roll addition on the front page of the site for “Slowcoustic” which is my home base for daily ramblings of all things slower and quite possibly acoustic. That being said, this is the here and now and to introduce the real reason you are here…
“Oweihops” is the moniker and (dare I say) alter-ego of a Massachusetts based singer/songwriter talent Michael Metivier. While Michael may have started Oweihops, joining him in his movement to a “wintery twilight” of slowed down Americana are Aric Bieganek (drums, guitar, glockenspiel, vocals), and Rebekah Dutkiewicz (cello, vocals). This trio have recently joined forces on stage to bring the music to the people of the Eastern Seaboard. While I have been familiar with Oweihops for a couple of years, I feel I need to “out” him for what he is – a talented artist, busting of earnest songwriting. Michael’s first self titled release for Oweihops in 2005 brings a strong acoustic performance to the table, which just might need an “at dusk” open field or empty parking lot to be enjoyed. While this image may convey something bleak, I like to think of it as hauntingly beautiful at the same time. This has been followed up with the “Cinquefoil” EP from 2006, in which you can stream a couple of tracks, along with some demos of unreleased songs on his MySpace page.
Oweihop’s music is distributed by CDs at live shows, his aforementioned MySpace page and via online music forums of those in the know. I for one am hoping for a great label to pick him up and introduce his music to the numerous potential listeners that I know are waiting patiently. Michael assures me there are at least two projects in the works (a 4 track release and hopefully a full LP) for the near future and I look forward to hearing more from this up and comer. The two tracks included below are “Tortoiseshell” from his 2005 Self-Titled LP and two demos “Nightjars” and “Murderous Names” that will be “cleaned & filled out” before being included to the upcoming unreleased projects.
Lets hope now that we are introduced, we never lose touch.
Let me introduce you to Mr D, otherwise known as Paul Mclinden. This is his debut album and if you didn’t know he was from Glasgow like i’ve just told you, you would immediately presume he hailed from the sun drenched west coast of America. From the very first note on the opening track fools fall in love what we have here is sweet and lazy country pop at it’s finest. He’s picked a great day to grant YCD an interview as today looks like it could be the beginning of our so far awful summer. I’ve got this album blasting through my speakers, window down with the sun belting through and about to pour my first beer of the day, perfect. I would like to say there are bluejays singing their lonesome tune and lovers canoodling on the lawn outside just to put the finishing touch to this setting but the truth is there are seagulls going mental in someones left out garbage. Still, the music is loud enough to drown most of that out, hopefully more album sales will be generated from the whole of the street hearing it too.
This album has a real 70’s country sound to it with the Eagles being the first band that springs to mind especially on Island Girl, as an influence, also maybe some byrds too. If you wanted a more modern day comparison you would perhaps look towards The Thrills but where i think they maybe found country later in their lives i get the feeling Mr D has been listening to this stuff all of his. His soft gentle vocals are kept at just the right level to compliment the lush acoustic melodies which are maintianed from start to finish and even the instrumental Ode to Geraldine keeps you interested with it’s heavier bass line, Strings and some great acoustic guitar work. The 10 songs on this album in total make up just over 31 minutes with the longest track coming in at a staggering 3.26 !! It’s actually quite refreshing to hear 3 minute pop songs again just like you did back in the times when albums that sounded like this were around. Anyway, rather than me try and describe to you the who’s, the where’s, the how’s and the when’s of this and other future albums let’s hear it from Paul himself.
YCD - Hi Mr D, How’s it going?
Mrd D - Hi it’s all going great at the moment…but for how long I wonder.
YCD - Ok, might as well ask you now, promoting anything right now or recently released anything?
Mr D - Yes I’m currently promoting my debut solo record ‘Wings & Wheels’ and am in the process of getting myself ready for the follow up.
YCD - So where can we get a hold of this?
Mrd D - It can be bought from all the usual places: iTunes; Emusic; Amazon etc. All the info is on myspace.com/misterdreadmusic or www.mrdmusic.com - to be honest though someone’s probably making it available for free somewhere else online but I’m not gonna help you find that.
YCD - You are from Scotland so what or who influenced you to make sunshine coast country music?
Mr D - Well I think it’s no coincidence that I and a lot of my fellow Scots make music that’s influenced by the country/Americana scene. I reckon country music is very closely related to Celtic folk music and both use much the same techniques so it’s always seemed very natural to me. I try not to sing in an American accent though…
YCD - What are the biggest obstacles you feel a singer/song writer like yourself faces today?
Mr D - It depends really what you mean by obstacles. It’s always been quite a hard game to make any headway in but i don’t let that get me down to be honest. I think as long as you’re getting your music released you’ve managed to hurdle all the obstacles out there. Sometimes when i look at big star’s; their success seems to have become the biggest obstacle. Hard work is the key. As a great man once said –hard work only beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard.
YCD - Ok, I don’t know if you are aware but they have recently found an old law that says all musicians since time began are allowed to take any song from anyone they like from any moment in time and claim it as their own, Which one are you having then? Only one mind you.
Mr D - Well this answer would change every few weeks but right now id love to have written Owed T’Alex by Captain Beefheart. What a song!
YCD - What’s your guilty pleasure?
Mr D - Listening to ‘They Don’t Know’ by Tracy Ullman on repeat all night. Winston Churchill used to play the same songs over and over all night as well so I’m in good company.
YCD - What’s your best musical experience so far and why?
Mr D - Sitting with a bottle of wine listening to ‘In the Wee Small Hours’ because it’s unadulterated Sinatra and never fails to impress me. Its one of my favourite ever albums.
YCD - Who’s currently rocking your stereo?
Mr D - Grauzone, Willie Nelson, Sluts of Trust, George Jones and many others.
YCD - What band/artist would you most like to play with?
Mr D - I was playing bass guitar for a guy who lives near me who is in my opinion a genius and I don’t use that word lightly. For various reasons he has withdrawn from making music just now. It’s very sad for me to think that the world won’t get to hear his music and if I achieve any sort of success I will be trying hard to make sure that doesn’t happen.
YCD - What are your hopes and fears for you in the future, musically?
Mr D - My hopes are to be in a position where i can keep making music and putting it out the way i want to. I also feel it’s important that I make a better record than the last one each time. My fears are that someday that won’t be possible.
YCD - What did you think the last time you looked in the mirror?
Mr D - The last time i looked in the mirror? Oh that’s a hard one. I try and avoid eye-contact as much as i can - even with myself.
YCD - And finally, are you working on anything at the moment?
Mr D - Yes i’m working on my next record and hope to go in sometime before the end of the year to begin recording it. Think Billy Rae Cyrus meets Garth Brooks and you will be on the right track.
Many thanks for the interview and we here at you crazy dreamers wish you all the best for the future.
After months of searches through numerous search engines… I’ve finally succeeded getting in touch with the Toronto based songwriter Bryan Carney and above all, get my hands on his double album - a stunning debut collection of not less than 18 tracks.
mByronic have just released a double EP album entitled “Come on, Wind and Bobby Pins” independently featuring one album with full band and another with stripped down guitar, harmonica, organ and vocals.
If my preferences went to the ‘Bobby Pins‘ tracks initially (mostly due to the fact that i’m still in my acoustic, lo-fi mood these days - months, years ), the full band album - ‘Come on, Wind‘ also handles
several great songs. And now, to be honest, from start to end, I won’t be able to choose a favorite. Both are simply gorgeous ! And trying to find comparisons to tease your curiosity is not really an easy game dealing with mBryronic music. Sure, you could note some Bob Dylan, some Nick Cave too… but Bryan Carney has released here is own style sourcing the best of the last decades with a unique sense of the melody… If I can dare i’ll draw a parallel with the Beatles ! And I bet - according to Bryan’s kindness in our e-mails exchanged - that these guys should really rock on stage !
That’s enough for the compliments ! Have a listen on their great music - as usual when album is so good the opening track will do the job - while reading Bryan answering our regular interview !
YCD : Hello Bryan, how’s it going ? Bryan Carney : Hello Olivier/YCD! I’m doing very well, thanks– it’s full on summer now in Toronto and while my roommate and co-workers are talking air conditioners I’m slowly coming to life from the long winter sleep here and loving every degree.
YCD : Things seems to accelerate around your music these pasts weeks ! Tell us about the new band ‘mBryonic Heroes’ ? Bryan Carney : I have started playing regularly in Toronto with a couple of very talented musicians, bassist Paul Sorenson and drummer Vitor Dourado and I wanted to reflect the collaboration that takes place when we play by departing from the name “Carney” that I took from my last name when I was playing solo or with an ad-hoc band of mostly family members previously.
We’ve had good chemistry in the few shows and jams we’ve had in Toronto so far and have gotten a very positive response from people, so a new name seemed like a good way to sort of cement this new chemistry.
I chose mByronic Heroes because I wanted to use the Byronic Hero as a half tongue-in-cheek image of an aloof group of musicians that is overt yet playful enough to let us get away with the kind of lyrics I like to write. Its mByronic because it sounds like embryonic which rolls of the tongue better and adds some humility to the name.
YCD : What’s your story with music ? Bryan Carney : Its hard to pull off hyperbole about music because everyone wants to love it the most, but I’ll try. I think, like Vonnegut, that its the best most convincing argument for the existence of God or for me at least something holy in the world. I can remember the sort of goosebumps and holy feeling I got as a kid listening to my babysitter play the piano or listening to my parent’s Beatles or Cat Stevens or even Neil Diamond records and later Nirvana then Bob Dylan or Leonard Cohen albums on my own.
So that progression more or less gives my story — lyrics became more and more important to me in chasing that holy feeling that come from a really beautiful song to me. So I spend most of my effort getting down and revising the lyrics to get as close as I can to that ideal that hits me in certain musician’s songs.
At the same time I don’t want to neglect the instrumental side of things as some better lyricists can do almost as a matter of principle it seems like. I think that having the right mood and music behind the lyrics is absolutely crucial and in the end probably more important in terms of the final product and its appeal to others.
YCD : Is there a song you wish you had written ? Bryan Carney :That’s a tough one — I definitely aspire to write a whole album that is as meaningful or as beautiful to someone as say, Dylan’s “Blonde on Blonde” or Elliot Smith’s “Figure Eight” was to me when I discovered them. I don’t think I could pinpoint a song because even in my youth I’m one of those old-fashioned people who mourn the death of the album because I think you really need to sit and listen to the whole thing to sort of get the whole picture, at least in the case of any of those albums I consider to be masterpieces and that really give me that holy feeling.
YCD :If you could share a stage with any band or artist who would you choose and why? Bryan Carney : There are so many amazing and surprisingly little known bands I catch in Toronto or Montreal that I would absolutely love share a show with and it would be my preference to catch any band early in their most sort of experimental and humble stage — so hopefully we’ll get to share shows with lots of them.
But without a concern for being realistic, for sheer musical ability to share an actual performance with I would probably choose Wilco. I simply love their sound and I thought the stuff they did with Billy Bragg worked really well to add depth to his otherwise more singer-songwriter style.
YCD : What are your projects for the coming months ? Bryan Carney : The newly formed mByronic Heroes are working on lining up shows in July and September around Ontario, mostly with the material on my “Come on Wind & Bobby Pins” double album and some newer stuff that we’ll hopefully put out on a new album together later this year.
I myself and possibly Paul will be travelling in Europe for August and some musical shenanigan may ensue. All three of us like experimenting with different instruments and styles so there will be lots of jamming to work out ways to keep our live show fresh as we start booking dates again.
Thank you so much, Bryan for taking time to answer our questions.
Just got hold of the new album ‘DAYS OF MY ESCAPE‘ by Travel by sea. Kyle Kersten and Brian Kraft live in seperate parts of the states, Kyle in California, Brian in Colorado. Now i’ve never been to either of these places but after looking on Google earth it looks like it’s quite a nice drive and i would imagine this album would be the perfect soundtrack for such a journey. This is at times as sparse as that landscape (I’m guessing at the the landscape here as i’ve already admitted i’ve never been) but if they are trying to portray their distance from one another and the landscape in between through their music then they have done a pretty good job. Fans of Mojave 3, iron and wine and Dolorean would enjoy. They have two gigs coming up in California at the O C Tavern on the 9th July and then The Scene bar on the 29th. Perfect music for the time of year but then it’s always hot in Cali right?
I just love it when a fellow music lover recommends artist to me. Tom sent me a heartfelt thank you for writing about him but he needs not send thanks, his music is enough for me. So keep it coming Tom.
Without even having to ask who he was listening to at the moment, he directed me to the talented Joe Pug. Not just because he’s his buddy, but Tom was right he can really write a song. Joe is quickly becoming one of my favorites and I’m sure he is soon to become yours. Take a listen and if you like what you hear get his EP, you won’t be disappointed.
If you live in the Los Angeles area Joe will be performing a The Hotel Cafe on Monday, June 23rd at 7 pm.
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