Category Archives: folk

Country, folk, Review

Drunkards, Misfits and Losers – Aaslandbros with Olav Larsen

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cover

This record is born out of love, love for music, love for traditional songs and love of playing. You can hear that the players really enjoy what they’re doing and it passes over to us listeners.  There is a thriving americana/country scene in Norway and quite a few bands are emerging. Not all of them are traditionalists or pure country performers, but there are elements of what Gram Parsons called “Cosmic Music” in much of the new music.

I’ve written about Olav Larsen and his different projects on several occasions(link1, link2,link3, link4). He really carry a torch for this kind of music. I have never seen Aaslandbros live, but have checked them out on Youtube and Spotify, they are a very fine band and shouldn’t be looked at as “just another tribute band”. They are much more than that. By the way, I have seen Erlend Aasland in concert many times, he is involved in so many projects that your bound to catch him on a stage somewhere. He is a fantastic musician. It is a joy to finally hear him sing on an album.

Follow the Drinking Gourd:

Follow The Drinking Gourd was used by an Underground Railroad operative to encode escape instructions and a map (and first published in 1928). These directions then enabled fleeing slaves to make their way north from Mobile, Alabama to the Ohio River and freedom. The drinking gourd refers to the hollowed out gourd used by slaves as water dipper. But here it is a metaphor for the Big Dipper star formation, which points to Polaris, the Pole Star, and North. A map to freedom, so to speak. It has been done hundreds of times and it is a feat to make it sound fresh and poignant again, but Aaslandbros and Olav Larsen does.

From the press kit for Drunkards, Misfits and Losers:

A late summer night in  2012 singer and songwriter Olav Larsen sent the following to Aaslandbros:

I’ve seen your band , Aaslandbros, live on several occasions. I must say, I’m really impressed by the way you honor the late great Johnny Cash. Erlend Aasland’s voice, the rhythm section together with Erlend’s guitar playing is extremely good. I cannot stop thinking about this. Wouldn’t it be interesting to collaborate? I’ve got some unfinished songs laying about that could be the basis for a musical marriage between Aaslandbros and me. If it fits, and I can not see why not, we should share this music with people in the form of a record (EP) and some concerts. I envision some kind of  “Boom Chicka Boom Rocka Fucking Billy” with lyrics paying tribute to the drunkards, the misfits and the losers. Are you in?

Aasland Brothers answered: Yes.

19th Sept 2013 Olav Larsen & Aaslandbros went into  Egersound studio together with  Eirik Bekkeheien. When they came out,the  21. Sep  they had recorded four songs live in studio live i studio. The results are on the new EP, Drunkards, Misfits & Losers.

The record sounds like it would sound if Felice Brothers, Johnny Cash and Stan Ridgeway (Wall of Voodoo) threw a party. Dark, fun and very well done.

If I should make an ordered list of the songs i would do it like this:

No Good Reason
Follow the drinking gourd
I am what I am
and Maria #5 (I haven’t quite cracked this one yet, but I expect I will soon…)

Great contrasting voices with Olav and Erlend and the lyrics and music just fits. One of the finest songs of the year on my list.

Let us keep our fingers crossed for a full album with Aaslandbros in the near future (and hopefully with Olav Larsen).

Produced, played and sung by Olav Larsen and Aaslandbros.
Recorded, mixed and mastered by Eirik Bekkeheien.
Beautiful cover design: Camilla Rosenlund.
The Aaslandbros are Christoffer, Erlend & Jørgen Aasland and Kenneth Andersen.

Drunkards, Misfits & Losers is available as a digital release on several streaming services and on iTunes.

I could not find any live clips of the songs from the EP, but here is a fine cover of Springsteen’s Highway Patrolman:

– Hallgeir

Bluegrass, Country, folk, Gospel, Music Calendar

Today: Carter Stanley passed away in 1966 47 years ago

Carter+Ralph Stanley

“That was Carter Stanley, the forgotten Stanley Brother, the one who died young without ever getting a decent payday, much less an armful of Grammys. In bluegrass circles, his star has never dimmed, and for good reason. Without Carter, there would have been no Stanley Brothers, perhaps the most revered brother act in country music history. Carter was the founding member and the driving force, while kid brother Ralph, at least in the early years, mostly tagged along for the ride.”

– The Washington Post (about the forgotten Stanley brother)

Continue reading Today: Carter Stanley passed away in 1966 47 years ago →

folk, Music Calendar

Today: Nick Drake passed away in 1974, 39 years ago

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nick-drake

 A singular talent who passed almost unnoticed during his brief lifetime, Nick Drake produced several albums of chilling, somber beauty. With hindsight, these have come to be recognized as peak achievements of both the British folk-rock scene and the entire rock singer/songwriter genre.
~Richie Unterberger (allmusic.com)

Continue reading Today: Nick Drake passed away in 1974, 39 years ago →

Country, folk, Rock, Singer Songwriter

Look out for: Rod Picott – new album and tour

rod picott

The great Rod Picott is currently touring in Norway, go see him!

Mr. Picott is not new on the scene, but he has not gotten the attention he deserves. He is a very good singer and songwriter.

Bio (from rodpicott.com):
The son of a welder from rural New England, Rod Picott is a masterful songwriter and soulful singer who carries with him as fine a suitcase of songs as you’ll find anywhere. Slaid Cleaves, Ray Wylie Hubbard and Fred Eagelsmith have recorded Rod Picott songs. A former construction worker who hung up his tools when he released his debut CD in 2000, Picott has carved a career for himself with a run of 6 beautifully crafted self released CDs over the last 13 years and a well earned reputation as a engaging, emotion fueled performer.

He is touring in Europe right now, promoting his new album (his 7th), Hang Your Hopes On A Crooked Nail. The album is produced by RS Field, who has also worked with Billy Joe Shaver, Justin Townes Earle and Hayes Carll.

I Might Be Broken Now (official video):

Hang Your Hopes On A Crooked Nails is a very fine album, and a natural successor to his last album (the great Weldig Burns). Rod Picott is a songwriter that tells us about life as he sees it, and he is a good storyteller. He tells everyday stories, he has a keen eye for the “small stuff”. I think he is a great observer of what is important in our everyday life. He sometimes remind me of Springsteen or Steve Earle.

Where No One Knows Your Name (live):

Picott is an experienced performer after about 12 years playing, he has a tremendous stage presence, and I urge everyone to catch one of his shows on this tour.

I am sitting here listening to his new album as I write this. I have talked about his skill as a lyricist, but what strikes me now is very fine melodies, this is a good record. I was a backer of his new album at Kickstarter.com, the album was then called Rod Picott’s Circus of Misery and Heartbreak. I like that he changed the title, it reflects the positivity and hope that is in his lyrics.

Here is his presentation from Kickstarter, very interesting and thankfully it got funded:

Highlights on the album for me (so far):
Dreams, I Might Be Broken Now, 65 Falcon, Where No One Knows My Name

The new album is not on Spotify yet, but here is a playlist from his earlier recordings:

– Hallgeir

Buy the album here

 

 

Here are his next dates in Norway:

Country, folk, Music Calendar

October 2: Gillian Welch is 47

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gillian welch

“Each person comes to have this musical experience, this moment with us, where they get to sink into our world for a little while. It’s this very unhurried world. It’s fairly quiet, it’s contemplative, but it can be quite panoramic. I think people think interesting thoughts at our shows, and they go rather deeply into some personal experience of their own. I’m really proud that our music seems to connect, because it’s not for everybody. But for the people that our music works for, it really gets down pretty deep in there.”
~Gillian Welch on her live shows (via Acoustic Guitar)

Gillian Welch – The way that it goes @ Cirkus, Stockholm, Sweden, 2011-11-02:

From Wikipedia:

Born October 2, 1967 (age 47)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Origin Nashville, Tennessee
Genres Bluegrass, Americana,Country
Occupations Singer-songwriter
Instruments singing, acoustic guitar, banjo,drums
Associated acts Dave Rawlings Machine
Website gillianwelch.com

Gillian Welch (born October 2, 1967) is an American singer-songwriter. She performs with her musical partner, guitarist David Rawlings. Their sparse and dark musical style, which combines elements of Appalachian music, Bluegrass, and Americana, is described by The New Yorker as “at once innovative and obliquely reminiscent of past rural forms”.

gillian welch

Welch and Rawlings have released five critically acclaimed albums. Their 1996 debut, Revival, and the 2001 release Time (The Revelator), received nominations for the Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Folk Album. Their 2003 album, Soul Journey, introduced electric guitar, drums and a more upbeat sound to their body of work. After a gap of eight years, they released their fifth studio album, The Harrow & The Harvest, in 2011.

Welch was an associate producer and performed on two songs of the O Brother, Where Art Thou? soundtrack, a platinum album that won the Grammy Award for Album of the Year in 2002. Welch has collaborated and recorded with distinguished musicians such as Alison Krauss, Ryan Adams, Jay Farrar, Emmylou Harris, The Decemberists, and Ani DiFranco.

“Stingy critics give Ms. Welch a hard time because she’s a California city girl, not an Appalachian coal miner’s daughter. But as Lucinda or Emmylou might attest, love of the music is not a birthright, but an earned right. Listen to Ms. Welch yodel, in a tune about that no-good “gal” Morphine, and you know she’s as mountain as they come.”
~Taylor Holliday (The Wall Street Journal)

Musical Style:

Welch and Rawlings incorporate elements of early twentieth century music such as old time, classic country, gospel and traditional bluegrass with modern elements of rhythm and blues, rock ‘n’ roll, jazz, and punk rock. The New Yorker‘s Alec Wilkinson maintained their musical style is “not easily classified—it is at once innovative and obliquely reminiscent of past rural forms”.

–

Concert @ BBC4 St. Luke’s Full Concert August 4, 2004 London:

Setlist:

00:30 – I Want To Sing That Rock And Roll
03:47 – Make Me Down A Pallet On Your Floor
07:11 – Elvis Presley Blues
12:17 – Look At Miss Ohio
16:24 – Red Clay Halo
20:10 – My First Lover
23:58 – One Little Song
27:23 – Revelator
35:12 – By The Mark
38:51 – The Way It Will Be
45:04 – Caleb Meyer
48:40 – I’ll Fly Away
52:39 – The Weight (with Old Crow Medicine Show)

 

Quotes about Gillian Welch:

  • Geoffrey Himes of The Washington Post described Welch as “one of the most interesting singer-songwriters of her generation“
  • In 2003, Tom Kielty of The Boston Globe observed that she was “quietly establishing one of the most impressive catalogs in contemporary roots music“
  • in a 2007 piece in The Guardian by John Harris called Welch “one of the decade’s greatest talents“
  • Critic Robert Hilburn of the Los Angeles Times wrote, “At every turn, she demonstrates a spark and commitment that should endear her to anyone from country and folk to pop and rock fans who appreciate imagination and heart.“

Tennessee:

Elvis Presley Blues:

Album of the day: The Harrow & The Harvest (2011):

gillian welch harrow harvest

 

Other October 2:

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