Austin has long been a breeding ground of fine artistic endeavors, most notably in the music arena.
This is a fine example of said endeavors.
I swear, there is something in the water! :-)
UNCLE LUCIUS "AND YOU ARE ME"
1. Set Ourselves Free/4:17
2. Pocket Full of Misery/3:28
3. Rosalia/3:28
4. Willing Wasted Time/4:17
5. Keep The Wolves Away/4:35
6. Somewhere Else/4:24
7. All We've Got Is Now/5:15
8. New Drug/3:51
9. Just Keep Walking/4:44
10. There Is No End/6:41
11. I Am You/6:25
Tiger Anaya /Trumpet
Mike Carpenter
Kevin Galloway
Joshua Dane Greco
Jon Grossman
Matt Price /Trombone
Uncle Lucius
Hal Jon Vorpahl
Mark Williams /Cello
Mark Wilson /Flute, Sax (Baritone), Sax (Tenor)
http://uncleluciusmusic.com/bio/
Austin-based indie rock band Uncle Lucius is set to release its new studio album, “And You Are Me,” on August 28, 2012. Recorded in Austin and Nashville, “And You Are Me” finds Uncle Lucius stretching their musicianship and reeling in eleven songs that punch with a fullness reminiscent of The Doors to early Black Crowes. Uncle Lucius takes rock and roll from its deep roots, pushes it onward by putting their own honest interpretation of new rock sounds with elements of r&b and blues added. The band includes Kevin Galloway on lead vocals and rhythm guitar, Hal Vorpahl on bass, Mike Carpenter on lead guitar and vocals, Josh Greco on drums and percussion and Jon Grossman on lead vocals, and keys. The first single and video for “Pocket Full of Misery” will be serviced to radio and video outlets shortly.
The new album comes on the heels of a three-year run of tour dates that took Uncle Lucius across the continent strapped with 2009′s “Pick Your Head Up,” a self released album hailed for bringing rock and roll back to its heyday sound. Packed into their van the band toured everywhere from the corners of both coasts and throughout the Midwest from their Austin TX home pushing their rock and soul shows into late nights throughout the country. Songs from this 2009 album were featured on TV shows such as Castle and Friday Night Lights.
The band continues to tour leading up to the release of And You Are Me, and they pride their live show as a sacred and energetic experience, with a belief that this is still the truest form of communication with their fans.
I always eagerly await a Mark Knopfler release. This one, more so. as it is a two disc set. As noted below. "The album is a soulful and heartfelt collection masterfully performed by a group of world class players."
I am so diggin this.
http://www.markknopfler.com/about/
"A privateer is what I am, really," says Mark Knopfler.
The title track of the legendary singer-songwriter and guitarist's eight solo album evokes a swashbuckling era of seafaring plunder, merchant raiders and licensed pirates. But Mark finds an analogy with the modern rock and roll life. "I really get a buzz out of having this little group of people that sallies forth across the world. I enjoy being in command of it, the band, the crew, travelling through this ever changing landscape and playing in all these different places. You get where you get without any kind of assistance, really, making your own way in the world. There are no government grants to play this music. You're a privateer. And that's the way I like it."
Privateering is Mark Knopfler's first double album in a 35-year recording career. "The older I get, the more I want to write," he says. "Whether that is just panic at time running out, I'm not sure. I'm enjoying the process more than ever, writing, recording and playing live, I enjoy all of it. I'm almost tripping over songs."
These 20 tracks of consummately crafted folk, blues, country and rock originals reflect the creative exuberance of an artist whose exceptional abilities were recognised with a Lifetime Achievement Award at this year's Ivor Novellos. He has performed live in front of countless millions. He has collaborated with artists of the stature of Bob Dylan, Randy Newman, Emmylou Harris and Van Morrison. He has composed distinctive soundtracks for such classic films as Local Hero, The Princess Bride, Last Exit To Brooklyn and Wag The Dog. He has been regularly acclaimed as one of the greatest guitarists in the world. But what he sees himself as, first and foremost, is a songwriter. And this may be his finest-ever collection.
"I have always thought in terms of the transatlantic nature of music. My idea of heaven is somewhere where the Mississippi Delta meets the Tyne. What I wanted from the very first album with Dire Straits and songs like 'Sultans of Swing' was to write my own geography into the American music that shaped me, to identify the English, Irish and Scottish landmarks on Chuck Berry's road. I think what I'm doing now is both synthesising those influences and separating them. The band I have is so talented, and so flexible, they give me the kind of palette to go anywhere I want, so I can jump from a hill farm in the north of England and go straight to the streets of New York City or go down into the delta for a straight-ahead blues."
Privateering travels from the dreamy Americana of 'Redbud Tree', filled with trademark silvery Stratocaster licks, to the sea shanty pipes of 'Haul Away', the swaggering slide electric blues of -'Gator Blood' and the Celtic folk yearning of 'Kingdom Of Gold'. It is full of drawn characters like the tough northern sheep farmer of 'Yon Two Crows' and the boastful gambler of 'Hot Or What', and evocative situations like the embattled lovers in the rain swept 'Seattle' and the mysterious contemplations of mortality of 'Dream Of The Drowned Submariner'. The lyrical and musical detail in these songs is of the very first order, with Mark Knopfler's singing and playing always bringing the story home on the back of one of the finest bands in the world. Privateering is not a concept album. It is not a song cycle. It is simply one of our finest and most distinctive musical talents doing what he does best.
"I chose to make a double album this time just because of the sheer volume of material. I didn't want to separate songs into blues and folk and country and I didn't want to leave songs on the shelf. I just wanted it to be a reflection of the fantastic sessions we had. With a great bunch of players, it's the same as a great group of actors reading a script from the page, the thing can come alive in ways it just never has before. This is the band I have been working towards my whole life."
The line-up of musicians Mark has been gathering around him since the mid-90s includes Guy Fletcher (keyboards), Richard Bennett (guitar), Jim Cox (piano), Glenn Worf (bass), Mike McGoldrick (whistle and flute) and John McCusker (fiddle) with the recent addition of the fantastic Ian Thomas (drums). Special guests included Paul Franklin (pedal steel), Phil Cunningham (accordion) and Tim O'Brien (mandolin). Ruth Moody of rising roots band The Wailin' Jennys contributed her distinctive vocals. "To have Ruth singing on the record was very special for me," says Mark. "She is on the very top level of singers and songwriters out there and I can't take her off my jukebox." The blues material was infused with the harmonica playing of Kim Wilson of legendary blues rockers The Fabulous Thunderbirds. "One of the most important things about the blues to me has always been the harp. Seeing Muddy Waters as a kid made a big impression on me, the harp was burbling away all the time, the band was swinging. And to me the greatest modern exponent is Kim Wilson, he's been my top man for many years, so it was really great to have him on board. We hit it off straight away and got a great session going."
Recorded in Mark's own studio, British Grove, Privateering is a smart, subtle, soulful and utterly superb collection of songs from a class act with an unbeatable band. These are tough tales of real people, living hard lives in difficult times. And it is all carried off with the self-confident bravado of a latter-day privateer. The cover, featuring a battered van and a shaggy dog, says it all. "I remember in the early days, if you had a van you could get into a group, so band wagons have always had a special place in my heart. It was important to use something like that, to take it away from the nautical swashbuckler. To me a man in a van has got as much to do with privateering as a frigate or a gunboat or anything like that. He's on the road, he's making his own way, he's doing his thing, the best way he knows how. That's what I'm talking about. That's what we're all trying to do."
Amazon:
2012 two CD release from the British guitarist, songwriter, producer and former Dire Straits leader. Privateering is Knopfler's first double album, each song an original. They cover a wide range of locations and characters from both sides of the Atlantic and move through a number of genres which include several new Blues originals. The album is a soulful and heartfelt collection masterfully performed by a group of world class players. In addition to what has become Knopfler's long-time band, hand-picked guest aces include Kim Wilson (harp) of the Fabulous Thunderbirds, Tim O'Brien (mandolin), singer Ruth Moody of The Wailin' Jennys, Paul Franklin (pedal steel) and Scotland's Phil Cunningham (accordion). Twenty new titles were recorded at the artist's British Grove Studios in London with the following players: Richard Bennett (guitar), Jim Cox (piano) Guy Fletcher (keyboards), John McCusker (fiddle), Mike McGoldrick (whistle and flute), Glenn Worf (bass) and Ian Thomas (drums). Knopfler was assisted by co-producers Guy Fletcher and Chuck Ainlay.
ALBUM CREDITS:
Mark Knopfler: vocals, electric, slide and acoustic guitars
Richard Bennett: guitars, bouzouki and tiple
Jim Cox: piano and organ
Guy Fletcher: keyboards and vocals
John McCusker: fiddle and cittern
Mike McGoldrick: whistles and uilleann pipes
Phil Cunningham: accordion
Glenn Worf: upright and electric bass
Ian Thomas: drums
Kim Wilson: harp
Tim O’Brien: mandolin and vocals
Paul Franklin: pedal steel
Ruth Moody: vocals
Rupert Gregson-Williams: vocals
Chris Botti: trumpet
Nigel Hitchcock: saxophone
John Charnec: clarinet
Strings arranged by Mark Knopfler and Guy Fletcher
Strings conducted by Rupert Gregson-Williams
All songs written by Mark Knopfler
Except “Miss You Blues”, lyrics Mark Knopfler, melody “Deep Blue Sea”: trad arr Knopfler
Published by Hornall Bros Music Ltd/Will D Side Ltd
DISC 1:
01. Redbud Tree
02. Haul Away
03. Dont Forget Your Hat
04. Privateering
05. Miss You Blues
06. Corned Beef City
07. Go, Love
08. Hot Or What
09. Yon Two Crows
10. Seattle
DISC 2:
01. Kingdom Of Gold
02. Got To Have Something
03. Radio City Serenade
04. I Used To Could
05. Gator Blood
06. Bluebird
07. Dream Of The Drowned Submariner
08. Blood And Water
09. Today Is Okay
10. After The Beanstalk
http://eamonmcgrath.exclaim.ca/
http://whitewhale.ca/label/artist/eamonmcgrath/
At 23, Eamon McGrath has a list of accomplishments under his belt that would echo that of a writer twice his age: 250+ songs written and recorded, album of the year credits, multiple tours through the UK, Canada and Europe, and stints playing in the backing bands for both the legendary Daniel Johnston and Julie Doiron.
McGrath’s style is constantly changing and his shows range from sweaty, bombastic, punk and noisy garage-rock inspired barnburners, to quiet, intimate country best fit for a Western saloon. In the span of a single concert, and sometimes in the span of a song, heart-wrenching confessional lyrics pave the highway towards string-shredding guitar solos and an adolescent howl like no other.
“Young Canadians” takes his classic country/punk live show dichotomy even further. It’s dark, yet, beautiful with badass, 90s-era pacific northwest workouts like “Rabid Dog” and “Saskatoon, SK” lying next to the dirty soul in “Pain of Love” and quiet, haunting odes to time lost (”Auditorium”), all filtered through a youthful, fist-in-the-air nod to Canadiana.
“Young Canadians” is McGrath’s 3rd official release following “13 Songs of Whiskey and Light” (2009), and “Peace Maker” (2010). For Young Canadians, McGrath headed back into Vancouver’s JC/DC Studios with John Collins (New Pornographers) and Dave Carswell (Destroyer) and recorded it all within the span of one wild week.
It’s a grand novel bridging gaps between McGrath’s Albertan, prairie roots, and the ever-present spirit of punk rock that has come to define his life. McGrath sums up “Young Canadians” on the first track: ”My life could be a broken record by Canada’s Ramones. Eternal adolescents: I’m calling out your names. Rock and roll won’t ever be the same”.
“There’s an openness and honesty to the lyrics that belies his tender age and he can carry a song with the slenderest of help…he sounds around double his age and he sounds like someone who will still be worth listening to when he is forty two.”
- Americana UK
“The teenage kick in his raw Saturday night energy is even more authentically prodigious…his rasping Waitsian voice suggests an unlived lifetime spent in low company in smoke-filled bars. (4 stars)”
- Uncut Magazine
With Exile on Blues Street, Randy Labbe and Telarc Blues did not merely hit a home run, but a grand slam to win the World Series by one in the bottom of the ninth. Where The Blues White Album was a troublesome fit and The Blues on Blonde on Blonde was a near fit, Exile fits like a glove.
It begs the question: were the Rolling Stones the purveyors of New Blues, or is the music so enduring that it never lost its core regardless of how it was treated? Or was the vision of the Rolling Stones so perfect on Exile on Main Street – as a reinterpretation of the rural and urban vernacular – that the current generation of bluesmen could step right in and pick up where the Stones left off? The answer: who cares? This is a fun romp through the hallowed basement of a French Castle circa 1972, where the greatest rock and roll band in the world would while away their time in exile.
Labbe ensures consistency and continuity by employing the same rhythm section throughout the session, namely Stevie Ray Vaughan's Double Trouble: bassist Tommy Shannon and drummer Chris Layton. Add to the band guitarist Brian Stoltz, veteran of previous of Telarc's blues adventures, and the foundation is complete. So, how do the songs come off? Highlights below...
"Ventilator Blues" - Lucky Peterson delivers a molten version, supplying sticky slide guitar and soupy, full-bodied organ. This is one of the strongest covers on the recording.
"All Down The Line" - Christine Ohlman belts out the '70s Stones concert staple with the tasty tenor compliments of Ryan Zoidis. Stoltz's guitar is virile and potent.
"Sweet Virginia" - This is the piece de resistance of the recording. Jeff Lang's acoustic slide guitar expresses so many ideas in such a short amount of time that the song requires several listens to appreciate fully his sheer artisanship. His voice is desperate and dense. He doubles electric and acoustic slide work, just like the Stones on Mississippi Fred McDowall's "You Got To Move."
"Tumblin' Dice" - Andrea Re sings with conviction and Colin James provides the requisite slide guitar to this, the greatest Stones song. Great cover, but do not throw away Linda Rhonstadt's version of the same.
"Shake Your Hips" - Tab Benoit teases out all that is John Lee Hooker from this one- chord workout. He has just the voice also.
"Shine A Light" - Joe Louis Walker picks the songs perfect for him in these series. He sings with more soul and his guitar is a blues beacon. He transforms this gospel-tinged piece into a electric exorcism.
What? No "Turd on the Run"? We are blessed sometimes... and this is one of those times. Even the low points are high points.
For more information, see Telarc Blues.
Personnel: Brian Stoltz-Guitars; Tommy Shannon-Bass; Chris Layton-Drums; Andrea Re, Rob Roy-Background Vocals; Ryan Zoidis-Saxophones; David Noyes-Trombone.
Wiki:
Portraits of Bob Dylan is the title of Yes guitarist Steve Howe's ninth solo album, released in 1999. The album features his son Dylan Howe on drums and several other guest artists, including (former) Yes band members Jon Anderson and Geoff Downes, performing cover versions of Bob Dylan songs. Keith West, lead singer of the 1960s band Tomorrow (in which Howe was the guitarist), sings lead on "Lay Lady Lay."
Born in 1954, Scott Henderson grew up in an era where blues-rock was at it's peak. His formative musical years took place in South Florida where he played the clubs with various bands, playing everything from Led Zeppelin to James Brown. As he was learning his instrument, Henderson was influenced by Jimmy Page, Jeff Beck, Jimi Hendrix, Ritchie Blackmore, and his favorite blues guitarist Albert King.
Even though Henderson claims to be more of a blues-rock player, it was the influence of jazz that led him to the style of playing and composing that he is now famous for.
Scott finished school at Florida Atlantic University, then moved to Los Angeles where he played and recorded with Chick Corea's Elektric Band, violinist Jean-Luc Ponty, bassist Jeff Berlin and "Players", and a four year stint with Weather Report's Joe Zawinul.
Henderson formed the band Tribal Tech in 1984 with bassist Gary Willis, and after ten critically acclaimed albums, with the newest "Tribal Tech X" released on the Tone Center label in March 2012, Henderson has proven himself as a world class player and composer.
In 1991, he was named by Guitar World as the #1 Jazz Guitarist, and in January 1992, he was named #1 Jazz Guitarist in Guitar Player's Annual Reader's Poll. His first solo blues album "Dog Party", a welcome retreat to his musical roots, won best blues album of 1994 in Guitar Player Magazine.
His second blues album for Mesa/Bluemoon Records, "Tore Down House" was released in April 1997 and pairs Henderson with legendary vocalist Thelma Houston. The album received four star reviews in Jazz Times, Guitar Player, Guitar, Guitar Shop, and L.A Jazz Scene Magazines. Well to the Bone", Henderson's third and most accomplished work as a leader, is a trio record currently being played live by his band featuring Travis Carlton on bass and Alan Hertz on drums. The trio has toured extensively in the U.S., Europe, South America and Asia, playing music from the blues albums as well as some of Henderson's music recorded by Tribal Tech.
Scott has also released two albums with "Vital Tech Tones", a trio collaboration with bassist Victor Wooten and ex - Journey / Vital Information leader Steve Smith on drums. He's recently been touring with the HBC Trio, featuring bassist Jeff Berlin and legendary drummer Dennis Chambers. They completed a world tour in November 2011 and have finished their first album to be released in October 2012.
As is often the case with a musician of Scott's caliber, the demand is great that he share his knowledge with the current generation of guitarists. He is on the faculty at Musician's Institute in Hollywood, and has written columns for Guitar Player, Guitar World and Guitar School Magazines.
Alfred Publishing has released Henderson's instructional DVD entitled "Scott Henderson - Jazz Rock Mastery", which is a compilation of his two videos "Jazz Fusion Improvisation" and "Melodic Phrasing". Alfred has also released his first transcription book "The Scott Henderson Guitar Book". His other two transcription books, "The Best Of Scott Henderson" and "Scott Henderson - Blues Guitar Collection" are available through Hal Leonard Publishing, as well as his instructional book "Jazz Guitar Chord System", a revolutionary way for students to study the pluralities of jazz harmony.
