The first thing I remember thinking as I listened to Old Californio’s Sundrunk Angels was that if only the Grateful Dead sounded like these guys, I would be more of a Deadhead.

Old Californio takes the best of California, borrowing heavily from the Dead, and a bit from Eagles and The Byrds, to create an uncommon yet familiar sound that is undoubtedly rooted in their home state, undeniably reminiscent of the psychedelic era, and unequivocally refreshing to my musical palate.

All that added up to a record I really enjoyed the very first time through.

The opening song, “Learn To Cheat”, with its McGuinn guitars and Garcia vocals, accompanied unobtrusively by a tasty mandolin and a tasteful rhythm section — man, this song had me grinning all the way through it. The harmonica on “Dark Fire” is worth the price of admission, and the guitar solos on “Jewels And The Dross” and “A Cool Place In The Light” are raw and refined at the same time. The second-to-last song, “Unsatisfied”, is a beautiful acoustic ballad, that leads into the perfect closer, “Come Tomorrow”, a soft-rocker, with a “bah-bah-bow-bah-bah-bah-dah-dah-dah-dow” chorus. Nice!

I have to admit that nothing really stood out to me lyrically on the album, but I will caveat that: every time I tried to focus on lyrics, I was transported somewhere else by the music. The sound is just that cool and interesting that I didn’t really care about the lyrics. Those voices combined with those instruments. Simply wow. I promise, however, I will find a lyric sheet and peruse it, then update this review ;=)

I will give this record the highest compliment I can give an album: It makes me want to see the band live. Hell, it sounds live, and I can only imagine the kind of jams Old Californio could unleash in a place like Sam’s Burger Joint in San Antonio (hint, hint).

I haven’t heard Old Californio’s other records, so I don’t know where Sundrunk Angels stands in their oeuvre quality-wise, but I can guarantee you that I’ll be owning those older records very soon, because this one is just that good.

RATING: 5 bullets

Not since Billy the Kid rode that New Mexico and Texas line has someone from the New Mexico side of the border had such an impact on his neighbors in Texas. In fact he might be an hier of Mr. Kid. He does have a baby face. The reality is that Mike Kelly’s new record “Wake the Dead” is a tour-de-force that sticks to the listener like west Texas dust.

Now based out of Austin the debut record by the Ruidoso native is going to leave its mark. Kelly is not just another un-tucked flannel shirt-wearing, first name, last name band singers who seems to pop up like blue bonnets in the spring in Texas, and are gone just as fast. At first listen to “Wake the Dead” it could be mistaken for just another one of those aforementioned records. However, after the third or fourth song the record sneaks up and revels something more. True, some of the themes are about drinking or having a fight with a girl, or about the most used Texas songwriter theme of coming back home after a long trip on the road. Yes, all of those same well-used and worn themes are in Mike Kelly’s songwriting on “Wake the Dead.” However, the difference is that Kelly like great songwriters before him uses them well and the poetry makes the difference. With these songs, he gives expression and not just words. Like Townes, Joe, and Guy of a generation before, or Owen Temple, Gordy Quist, and Adam Carroll of today, Kelly delivers the goods in a song even if the song is not some serious tome of universal truth. It is hard to do but he pulls it off.

Mike Kelly is a songwriter of distinction with a unique voice, and we can only hope that “Wake the Dead” is a start of something long lasting with more great records in the years to come.

Mike Kelly Official Video

Cody Canada and the Departed’s new single “Ballad of Rosalie” written by Randy Pease. The record is the new band’s much anticipated first record that is a tribute to Red Dirt bands and song writers.

A few days ago I received a press kit for a band that, until a couple of weeks prior to that, I’d known nothing about.  Upon opening the very nicely put together kit, which my 5 year old explained as “being very original” it was immediately clear to me that I was probably in luck for a very favorable listening experience.  The cover letter called the band, the “illegitimate lovechild of Marshall Tucker Band and Pearl Jam.”  Nice, I’m listening….I’ve always liked the idea of lovechildren, I revere Marshall Tucker, and I crave Pearl Jam.  Our magazine is called “Americana Music Times,” which means we can talk about anything from Red Dirt Country to “The Band” and everything in between.  By nature of the site, the three of us here at AMT are each entitled to our very different musical perceptions and preferences, and because we are primarily an internet site, there is nothing trafficking our expressions of them. This is a damn good thing for me. Today, it’s about a band from Austin, TX called Caravan Go.

It always hands me a laugh when people unwittingly imply my affinity for “Country music,” which I cannot deny exits, but the truth is I was cruising around in my dirty red Mustang rocking to the tunes of STP and The Black Crows long before I ever even heard of the the “Red Dirt” scene. I remember the first two “records” I was ever given, by my dad one Christmas when I was somewhere in the vicinity of eight years old.  One was Joan Jett and The Black Hearts.  The other was Bad Company.  They were both vinyls, and I wore ‘em out on my record machine, which my dad had also given me. Man I was good at workin’ that record needle. I’d had a lot of practice. My grandmother had an antique record player, the kind that opens in the front like an oven door and cleverly reveals the player itself. Had those really ornate old screen covered speakers that resembled some old war hero’s dreams of southern fences, or such. It had most likely witnessed countless hours of aristocratic men standing around, looking somewhat disheveled,  sipping brandy in well pressed suites, wearing pocket watches. The kind of night where women dressed up for each other, clad in expensive beads and feathers, smoking cheap cigarettes out of quellazaires, which they’d probably imported across the seas from some swanky, high class cigar shop. The thing is the size of an obnoxiously large dresser. We’ve still got it, but that is for quite another story.

I make mention of all of this, simply to make note of the fact that although much of my work is spun around the sounds of the typical Texas country scene, my roots lie quite elsewhere…and I love off the wall rock ‘ n’ roll. The album I received the other day is really neither…exactly.  Lead vocalist, Corey Vanderhoof calls the sound “Southern College Rock,” a very interesting concept to me, yet very fitting. Not quite John Mayer, not quite Allman Brothers, but definitely not country. And there is nothing not to like about a track that opens up an album with two straight minutes of nothing but music. I love a song like this. Starts out rockin’ with a riff that sets the tone for the rest of the song. I’ve seen it done a lot, and I almost always like it. So when the opening track of “Moving Still,” as the EP is called, began this way, I was excited. I was, however, thrown a little curve, when 45 seconds in I expected the lyrics. Instead, the sound builds a little, the tempo changes, and we rock on for another minute, and then some. Pretty groovy little sound, and I dig it to open up the record. The track is called “Sow Crates,” and has a very Monty Montgomery feel to it as far as tone. I’m a big fan of Monty Montgomery. This track is well placed here on the extended play, but since it’s not a full album, I can’t say wether or not it will remain the opening track. I hope it does, I really like how it works here. Cool tune.

As far as the rest of the album, there are definitely remnants of Mr. Vedder and the crew, as promised, although I heard a little less of the “Marshall Tucker” reference initially. As I listened to the album through again and again, especially the next track, “Stay,” which is a radio prepped track, I was picking up on something else, but couldn’t quite put my ear on it. I finally decided it was an old track called “Lucky” by Seven Mary Three…another one of those that was always spinnin’ in my player one way or another. Any takers? This track has a great riff at the end, but has that deep emotional feel in the beginning which I always tend to like. I can see why it’s a radio choice. I like the idea of strongly dirt-rooted lyrics, as “hiding out in the pouring rain” and “my sins are drowning in my beer “ being paired with a gritty garage band feel.

“Bitter” the other radio prepared track reveals the “Marshall Tucker” sound, although not as clearly here on the album as it does in the acoustic version of the song. Lyrically, I am definitely feeling the influence of the boys from Spartanburg, South Carolina, although sonically, it is more apparent in the acoustic cut. Both are really cool, however and the electric guitar at the end of the album cut is definitely reminiscent of classic Southern Rock. So here again there is a juxtaposition of two very different musical genres, which works really nicely. I do like the two “twin acoustic guitars” in that version of the song, but you’ll have to find that one at a live show.

This album takes me back, and simultaneously forward. I like what I hear, want to hear it live. Some down-home roots mix nicely with clear, intuitive vocals and I think put a very nice spin on things. Something that we don’t typically hear, but this scene needs. Even the title, “Moving Still” seems to be indicative of the unusual pairing of grass roots and concrete.  I dig it, period. Looking forward to the full album. Think the band deserves a live listen. Check ‘em out.

**Here are two sample tracks from “Moving Still.”  The others I tried to include were too large for this post, but go to the links below to see other videos and get more information on the band.

stay

bitter

www.GETRUNOVER.com

Pete Weiss on accordion! Okay, got that outta my system, but I wanted to emphasize it, because, dammit, I hate accordion. Usually. But not this time. I don’t know what it is about the accordion, but generally it grates on my nerves, makes me change the station. Usually. But not this time. Thanks, Pete!

AJ Downing follows up his fine debut, River Of Life, with Way Back Home, a rockin-rollin-redneck kinda record. Don’t read “redneck” the wrong way, though, because I’m using it here to describe a down-home-born-in-the-sticks sound. There are no trite observations of the wonders of drinking beer or the wisdom of calling in sick to work so he can float the river anywhere to be found here. Downing chooses to more often tackle the more serious side of life.

“Chisolm County” simultaneously celebrates and decries simple country life. “Rockin Little Rebel” is a surefire radio hit, if it ever gets targeted that way. And then there’s the whimsical “Facebook Song” about everyone’s favorite social networking website. Downing explores life to the fullest, the highs and the lows, but even when he brings the tempo down, Steve Sarber’s guitars keep things alive, making Way Back Home a fun and entertaining listen all the way through.

Oh, and Weiss’s accordion. It rowdily paces the first song, and is then strategically used throughout the record. Just the way it should be.

RATING:

The Lost DJ spins the following artists and songs in this October 2010 podcast #2:

• AJ Downing
• Glambilly
• Stephanie Briggs
• Daniel Thomas Phipps (The Kinfolk)
• K Phillips & The Concho Pearls
• Woody Russell
• Laura Marie
• Gary Floater (Owen Temple & Adam Carroll)
• Javi Garcia & The Cold Cold Ground
• Luke Leverett
• Daniel Barrett
• The Handsome Family

DOWNLOAD or PLAY
AmericanaMusicTimes.com – The Lost DJ – October 2010 #2
Filesize: 22.1MB
Length: 47:14

There is no doubt that Paul Thorn is one of the best Americana songwriters and touring performers. He is a walking personification of what is American music. Thorn is fast becoming one of the most popular club and small theater touring artists in the country and since that is where most real Americana artists tend to play that means he is at the top of the game.

His new release titled “Pimps and Preacher is perfect Paul Thorn. His blend of superb story telling about American culture  along with great musical arrangements that merge gospel, funk, rock, and country into a blend of sounds, tones, with rhythms that are guaranteed to bring a smile. Be you an old or new fan of Mr. Thorn this CD is a must have.

To be sure Mr. Thorn has to be held to a higher standard than a new artist given his years of recording and performing, but “Pimps and Preachers” meets that standard and exceeds it. “Pimps and Preachers” is a CD that bends genres and generations. It is a CD that is impossible not to like. Way to go Paul.

Pimps and Preachers Video

RATING:

The Lost DJ spins the following artists and songs in this October 2010 podcast:

• Guy Clark
• Javi Garcia & The Cold Cold Ground
• Mike McClure Band
• K Phillips & The Concho Pearls
• 907britt
• Jim Halfpenny
• AJ Downing & The Buick6
• Stephanie Briggs
• Woody Russell
• Luke Leverett
• The Pear Ratz

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AmericanaMusicTimes.com – The Lost DJ – October 2010
Filesize: 22.3MB
Length: 48:48

A great interview — although it’s now a year old, but it’s never before been published — we talk about and listen to some of the tunes on the latest Band of Heathens record called One Foot in the Ether. Keith Howerton talks with Colin Brooks and Ed Jurdi from the group and previews a few of the songs.

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AmericanaMusicTimes.com - Band of Heathens Interview
Filesize: 9.9MB
Length: 43:15

Haley has a great and candid conversation with Randy as he travels and promotes the new record. A big thanks for Randy for taking the time to chat with us. Great new record, by the way.

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AmericanaMusicTimes.com - Randy Rogers Interview
Filesize: 9.9MB
Length: 43:18