I woke around midnight and begged her to shoot out her sirens. That’s the first incredible line on this the debut album from Pete Greenwood, Sirens. Some of you may recognise the name as he was the guitarist for Mojave 3 on their last tour and is also a member of the brilliant poppy surfy sounding The loose salute. “I’m sailing away my own true love” is what i’m singing at the beginning of track two thinking it’s a cover of Dylan’s Boots of spanish leather but it turns out to be his own composition, Negotiations and last words. I’m already in love with this album and i’ve only heard it twice but that’s no surprise given the fact i’m a Dylan freak and a big Mojave 3 fan. Nice fingerpicking acoustic guitar throughout and Petes soothing vocals it’s hard to pick faults with this album. Saying that there are two extremely short instrumental songs rather lazily called A and B which maybe could have been left off and made this a lengthy E.P but I’m sure Pete has his reasons for adding them on there and who am I to argue? I’m not going to write a lengthy piece right now as I’m still recovering from the flu but all i know is this album made me feel a whole lot better than i did before i heard it and I’m sure when you hear it regardless if you are ill or not, it will have the same effect on you. Album is released 25th August 2008 on Heavenly records.
It’s a long time, I did not write a single line about French music. If you were expecting a review from the last Carla Bruni-Sarkozy album, you’d better read : http://pop.gouv.fr. I was thinking streaming a famous Jacques Dutronc song : ‘L’Opportuniste’ (lyrics) in order to illustrate our president attitude these past months… Yes to be honest, I’m not really proud to be French these days.
Anyway, I can’t tell you how I’ve been directed to Oly Arkle’s music but those froggies really rock. I’ve got so few information about them that I’m even not sure these guys are really French… According to their myspace page, the band is leading by Javier (vocal, guitar), while Damien is playing bass and Stobal are dealing with drums. One of their song (From Paris to Barcelona) is available on the Waterhouse records compilation ‘Folks Pop In at the Waterhouse‘ including artists such as Herman Düne, Julie Doiron, Flowers from the Man who Shot your Cousin, Paloma…
Oly Arkle is sometimes named Olly Arkle (it could be useful if you want to google), and couple videos are also available under the name of ‘Trucks & Bohemians’.
I bought myself a beautiful 1976 Pioneer pl-510a turntable very recently and my first thoughts when i bought it was ‘That deserves summat old played on it’. Ok 1976 is not that long ago but it’s still long enough and that was the main way to play music for most people back then. Having had most of my vinyl stolen one Christmas eve about fifteen years ago i wasn’t sure what to play on it as my collection is pretty sparse now . I thought about playing some of my Neil Diamond as that would fit perfectly with the date it was made but I then had a call at the door by the postman (Have you noticed how late the postmen come these days?) and he had in his hand my Serious Sam Barrett vinyl E.P which he had kindly sent me, Sam not the postman. It seemed fitting that that would be the first record i should play on my new turntable (I have since been pre-occupied wondering what the first ever song played on it was, something i will never know of course). From the first track Tongue Tied Blues and it’s sliding folk/blues railroad riff and some lovely picking asking where his sweet heart has gone I was instantly hooked. Lately I have heard nu-folk, anti-folk, Homicidal-folk (My personal favourite), metal folk and yesterday came across something called Laptop-folk, wtf? What you get with Sam is folk, Pure and simple and all the better for it if you ask me. From Addingham in Yorkshire, his father is also a folk singer and his Mother a lover of the music of Guthrie, Leadbelly and Dylan so it’s no surprise he has crafted songs in that same style. However, he also has a love of 80’s Madonna records as well as Hip hop and Reggae as you will read in the interview below which he has kindly granted us. Also with Sams kind permission he has given me a couple of Mp3’s for your downloading pleasure but please if you like it buy his E.P (Preferably on Vinyl) form the links provided or from your nearest Independant record store who will either have it or can order it for you. A rising star on the folk scene in the UK and is about to embark on a UK tour, go see him play when he visits your area, offer him and his friends a place to stay if you can as their sleeping arrangements at the moment as far as i can gather is an old battered Ford Escort. For me personally it’s so refreshing to hear music like this still being made. Some people say it’s all been done before but who says music has to progress all the time? Perhaps the most perfect music has already been made and all we need to do is keep playing it and making it in that style? Enjoy.
YCD - Hello Sam, or shall I call you serious? How’s it going?
SSB - Alright man, thanks for asking.
YCD - Ok, might as well ask you now, promoting anything right now or recently released anything?
SSB - Yea my first record finally came out in May this year. It’s called the Yorkshire Rambler EP.
YCD - So where can we get a hold of this?
SSB - It’s being distributed by cargo so any independant record shop can get it for you if you ask nicely.
YCD - So you’re from Leeds right? Do you try and make music that reflects your landscape?
SSB - Well I’m from a village called Addingham originally which is a bit North of Leeds on the southern tip of the Yorkshire Dales. I’ve lived in Leeds for about 3 years now though. Yea, The older I get the more I try and put what it means to be from Yorkshire into my music, that is really important to me.
YCD - What are the biggest obstacles you feel a folk singer like yourself faces today?
SSB - An industry that favours the bland, dull, overproduced kind of folk music that you tend to hear nowadays. That’s what pisses me off anyway.
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.
SSB - Man that’s tough, as far as non-traditional songs go I wish I’d have written “Prove It All Night.” by Bruce Springsteen. That’s a beautiful song
YCD - What’s your guilty pleasure?
SSB - I’m not guilty about any of the music I listen to that a lot of people consider crap. I really like 80s Maddonna records.
YCD - What’s your best musical experience so far and why?
SSB - Going from Nashville to New Orleans with one of my best friends was amazing. We spent about 2 days pretty much in silence because it was such a moving experience finally being there.
YCD - Who’s currently rocking your turntable?
SSB - An old Scruggs style banjo compilation on the folkways label. A bunch of hicks on that record like the Stanley brothers and stuff. It’s ace.
YCD - What band/artist would you most like to play with?
SSB - I really like playing songs with my friends Mike Rossiter and David Broad. They inspire me more than anyone else who’s around nowadays to be honest. The only new music I really like is Hip Hop and Reggae. To me, that’s the only stuff that has the power and sincerity that old blues and folk records had.
YCD - What are your hopes and fears for you in the future, musically?
SSB - I hope to break even and keep travelling around playing songs to people. I only fear that one day I won’t be able to do that any more.
YCD - What did you think the last time you looked in the mirror?
SSB - I’m a greaseball.
YCD - You have a sound that is not dissimilar to the likes of Guthrie, Leadbelly and that depression era. Is this the kind of music you were brought up with?
SSB - Well yea, my Dad is a folk singer too and my Mum loves Woody and Dylan and Leadbelly. I’m a lucky man to have had such an amazing musical upbringing. My parents introduced me to loads of obscure folk music as a child.
YCD - And finally, are you working on anything at the moment? Tours, new albums etc?
SSB - Yup Myself, David Broad and Mike Rossiter are doing a UK tour in early November so check the myspace for the shows on that. I also have a new EP of Yorkshire songs coming out pretty soon. It’s going to be 3 traditional Yorkshire songs and also a song I wrote about growing up around here. I really wanted to make a record that is about where I’m from and the music from here so I’m really exited about it. It’s coming out on an awesome new label started by the guys who currently run Art Goes Pop called Yadig?. It’s sort of a DIY label with a folk/country/roots feel and I’m really happy to be a part of it because it looks really exiting.
YCD - Many thanks for the interview and we here at you crazy dreamers wish you all the best for the future.
SSB - Thank you for having me man, much appreciated.
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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.
You may be wondering why i’ve been so prolific in blogging the last week or so or maybe you haven’t, maybe you have not even noticed and are too busy to care but the truth of the matter is i had a small operation last week and so therefore have had a bit of time on my hands to listen to a lot more music than i have been able to recently which is about time to be honest as there doesn’t seem to be enough hours in the day recently.
Eef barzelay incase you are not aware is the lead singer of the brilliant and criminally overlooked alt/country band Clem Snide. They have been going on and off since the early 90’s (where the fuck did they go?The 90’s,not Clem snide) and Eef has released a few solo albums. His latest, lose big could be a midway contender for album of the year. Seriously not a bad track on this album, Songwriting to match anyone in this category or any other for that matter. His voice has an air of familiarity to it but can’t put my finger on it, i keep thinking Conor Oberst but not sure. Quite a diverse album is this, from the first track could be worse which is something that pehaps would sit gently on a Clem snide album. One of the stand out tracks is The girls don’t care which from the very first note with it’s heavy funky as hell bass line could be dropped into any dance club and it would get people moving, wouldn’t surprise me at all if someone does a re-mix of it, I might do one myself ! The soulful tone is maintained throughout the album but the real killer song on it for me is True freedom, a stop everything and listen track, stunning. Pick this album up asap, i have heard some superb albums so far this year and i keep saying to myself ‘album of the year so far’ but i will tell you hear and now, this one is taking some beating. It just flows effortlessly from one song to the next and when it’s finished you just want to go back and play it again and again. I have also added a track form his 2006’s Bitter honey, enjoy.
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?
Being one of five boys in my family i’m seriously thinking of getting us all together and forming a band because at the moment any band made up of such siblings seems guaranteed success. We have the Felice brothers, The sumner, The deadstring, Avett and now The Wood brothers. From what i can gather they are originally from Colorado but they went their seperate ways to try and forge a career in the ruthless music world. Some of you may have heard of Chris wood as he’s the bass player in Medeski, Martin and Wood. They released Ways not to lose in March 2006 and they have now just released loaded. Loaded may not be as rustic as the afore mentiond ways not to lose but it’s still down to earth enough with guest vocals from the likes of Amos lee, Pieta Brown (daughter of Greg incase you didn’t know) and is produced by John Medeski from MMW. What we have is country/folk/blues played extremely well by two brothers who clearly love playing together. Some comparisons have been made with Van Morrison but I also hear traces of the rather elusive Sanders Bohlke as well as Amos. Loaded comes with three cover versions, the tradional song ‘Make me down a pallet on your floor’, A pretty good version of Dylan’s ‘Buckets of rain’ and Jimi hendrixs’ ‘Angel’ with Amos lee. Currently on a pretty big U.S tour and from various reviews are meant to be a storming live act. It could be a great year for the Wood brothers.
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