Steve Earle - "Townes"

Steve Earle is set to release Townes, his follow up to Washington Square Serenade, on May 12th. The 15-song set is comprised of songs written by Earle’s friend Townes Van Zandt. It will also be available as a deluxe two-CD set. The fact that the two were so close means this will be more than your typical tribute album. It will be his interpretation of his freind.

Check out this sneak preview:

To Live is to Fly

Hayes Carll the Heir Apparent

There have been a lot of reviews written already about the new Hayes Carll album, Trouble in Mind. It is no doubt an album that fully establishes him as an artist. Exactly what it establishes him as is what I would like to address. A lot of the Texas Troubadours are getting older. Some like Townes Van Zandt and Doug Sahm are no longer with us. When you consider artists like Guy Clark, Jerry Jeff Walker, Jimmy Dale Gilmore, Joe Ely, Ray Wilie Hubbard and many more I could name if time allowed, it begs one question. Who is leading the next generation?

It is an interesting question and definitely open for debate. In any case Hayes Carll is in the discussion. In fact, I feel he is the leader of the pack. His body of work is three albums deep now and shows that he has all of the elements to carry the torch of the aforementioned legends. What are these elements? What does Hayes Carll have in common with these legends? What he possesses is more that just geography. In fact, the Texas Music scene has developed to the point that you no longer need to be from Texas. Refugees are now accepted as long as they have talent. Take a guy like Adam Hood. He is a fellow Alabamian who has been adopted by the Red Dirt Scene.

First and foremost Carll can dish out the requisite humor. Why is humor so important? To answer that go to a Guy Clark show and see how many fans request “Texas Cookin.’” The scene will be repeated at other shows by other artists. The humorous lighthearted songs get requested most. There is nothing more important than bringing laughter into the lives of fans. No doubt part of the reason people love music is escape. Humor helps relieve stress better than anything. Another quality Carll has in common with the great troubadours, is that he doesn’t need a full band. His songs stand on there own. An acoustic guitar and maybe a microphone, depending on the venue, is all that is needed. Sure a band helps but is not required.

Hayes Carll is also a great storyteller. The characters in his songs are often as important as the music. This brings to mind Clark, Townes, Ely etc. Moreover, just like his influences and idols, his lyrics and stories reflect perspective on life as it is lived by real people. Some of his characters may be extreme but everyone can relate to them. No esoteric lyrics, cryptic meanings or elitist intellectualism. Just real life as it is lived by real people with real struggles.

There are certainly a lot of good young song-writers out there, but Hayes Carll seems to be carrying the torch for the next generation of the Texas /Americana Troubadours.

North By Northwest

Recently I have run across some music by a few artists from the Northwest and Canada. Canadian artists are often ignored in this country, but there is a healthy music scene in Canada. Canada's music roster includes a wide ranging group of songwriters, from the obscure country of Corb Lund to musical Icons like Bruce Cockburn and Hank Snow. Bands hailing from Canada include legends Rush and The Guess who as well as current progressive groups like Arcade Fire and Broken Social Scene. So I would like to take a few moments to introduce you to a couple of lesser known Canadian artists as well as one artist from the Seattle area, which is close enough I guess.

The Deep Dark Woods - Hailing from Saskatoon in Saskatchewan, they have just released their sophomore album Hang Me Oh Hang Me on Black Hen Music. According to the band they drew their inspiration from the long, depressing Saskatchewan winters. However, this is far from a depressing album. The songwriting is diverse and covers many genres. The music features rich vocal harmonies and the melodies draw you hypnotically into each song.

Check out the Title Cut

Jim Armstrong - Toronto based singer - Songwriter Jim Armstrong makes his debut with Mudtown He is an accomplished producer who has worked with number of independent Canadian artists. Although the comparison may not be fair, He is clearly influenced by John Hiatt. After working all of these years with other artists he is finally releasing a solo album of his own. In fact to call it a solo album is an understatement since Armstrong wrote or Co-wrote all of the songs, produced the album and played most of the instruments himself. The result of this tightly controlled process is an infectious hook laden Americana album.

Visit Jim Armstrong's MySpace Page

David Bavas - Originally from the Appalachian foothills, David Bavas now lives in Seattle. His style is unique, although his Appalachian upbringing definitely influences his music. However, his sound owes as much to Indie Rock as it does Roots Music. His newest album Songs of Love, Death and Trains was released on October 2nd by Proud Mountain Records. The album was mixed by Kevin Suggs (The Shins, Minus 5, Cat Power). Among his original tunes is an excellent cover of the Townes Van Zandt song "No Lonesome Tune."

Listen to All the Trains