The Duke and The King

The Duke and The King are Simone Felice (The Duke) and Robert "Chicken" Burke (The King). They get their band name from two characters in the Mark Twain novel Huckleberry Finn. Simone was the drummer with his siblings in the Felice Brothers. He has apparently now left the band to concentrate on this new enterprise.

The Duke and The King have released their debut album "Nothing Gold Can Stay". They are playing at the East Brunswick Club on October 22nd. This will be the first visit to Australia by any of the Felice Brothers.

The Duke and The King on Myspace
Ramseurr Records

New Richmond Fontaine Video

Richmond Fontaine's Record Company El Cortez has posted the video for the new song "You can move back here" on youtube. It's from the forthcoming album "We used to think the freeway sounded like a river" due out 17th August.

Forthcoming!

Looking forward to the following.

Bottle Rockets - Lean Forward 11/8/09
Richmond Fontaine - We used to think the freeway sounded like a river 17/8/09
Drive By Truckers - The Fine Print - 1/9/09
Wrinkle Neck Blues - Let the Lead Fly - 22/9/09

Further information of The Drive-By Truckers plans. The Fine Print is a 12-track album of previously unreleased and rare songs. As with their most recent stuff it will be on New West Records. They will also release a CD / DVD combination of their entire Austin City Limits performance from September 2008 which is available now.



The Fine Print Track List:
1. George Jones Talkin’ Cell Phone Blues
2. Rebels
3. Uncle Frank (alternate version)
4. TVA
5. Goode’s Field Road (alternate version)
6. The Great Car Dealer War
7. Mama Bake A Pie (Daddy Kill A Chicken)
8. When The Well Runs Dry
9. Mrs. Claus’ Kimono
10. Play It All Night Long
11. Little Pony And The Great Big Horse
12. Like A Rolling Stone

Live from Austin City Limits Track List:
1. Perfect Timing
2. Heathens
3. A Ghost To Most
4. The Righteous Path
5. I’m Sorry Huston
6. 3 Dimes Down
7. Puttin’ People On The Moon
8. Space City
9. The Living Bubba
10. Zip City
11. 18 Wheels Of Love
12. Let There Be Rock
13. Marry Me

Son Volt - American Central Dust

The new album is out now in the States. I got my copy this week and you can expect to hear about three tracks on the show this Monday.

After reforming the band with a new line up about four years ago, Jay Farrar returns with the third album for Son Volt 2.0. He also returns to what he does best, the new album has echoes of his finest work on albums like Trace.As with the last two albums the line up is Dave Bryson on drums; Andrew Duplantis on bass and backing vocals; Chris Masterson on lead guitar; and Mark Spencer on keyboards and steel guitar.

The first two albums for Son Volt 2.0 (Okemah and the Melody of Riot and The Search) were both well received by critics and loyal fans but they failed to connect with a larger audience. As a result the band left Sony/Legacy and this new album is released by Rounder - a label well known for its country based releases. About Rounder Farrar has been quoted as saying "Rounder has shown a long term commitment to music forms, like folk and blues, that I have a lot of respect for," said Farrar. "Going with Rounder has been a kind of a full circle continuum -- the first Rounder person I met with was instrumental in booking Uncle Tupelo gigs years ago."

I'll be playing three tracks from the album, "Down to the Wire, "Roll on" and "Dust of Daylight". I've got to say that I was impressed on first listen and it has grown on me since. I love the return to the more simpler sounds (gone as the weird sounds of Farrar's solo albums) and a more alt-country sound as well which of course appeals enormously. I'd love to hear what you think.

No release date here in Australia that I know of but it should be in your favourite Indie Record Store or buy it from Amazon.

Wilco - Wilco (The Album)

Got my copy of Wilco's seventh studio album during the week and it's growing on me by the day. After a couple of listens I can already safely say that I am enjoying it more that their previous two albums Sky Blue Sky and A Ghost is Born. It is certainly a more mellow sound but also more assured (or should I say comfortable). That is, Tweedy and the band know exactly what they want and how to achieve it. They have probably reached that magic moment in their careers when they no longer care too much about what other people want (or expect) and are happy making music for themselves.

Wilco fans fall into two categories. Those that followed on from the demise of Uncle Tupelo and those who jumped on board after the success of Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. I fall into the former category and I still yearn for the more country sounds that appeared here and there on albums like A.M. and Being There(My favourite Wilco album) but each album since has always had something I really like that keeps me coming back. This new album seems to have more of those moments and therefore, for me, the album works. Songs like Solitaire, I'll Fight and the duet with Fiest, You and I are particular favorites, all mellow for sure but still with that magic Wilco spark. Through constant evolution the band has had a hard time pleasing both category of fans and they will never please them all (see above) but on this new album they will make more happy than not.

Tweedy has surrounded himself with some top notch musicians (Nels Cline, Mikael Jorgensen, Glenn Kotche, Pat Sansone and John Stirratt) who are all fantastic in their own right. Together they gel as probably the best makers of contemporary popular music in the world right now.

Tweedy and I are roughly the same age and I feel that we have been on a journey together all these years. I am happy to continue along for the ride.

Wilco's Website

Patterson Hood - Murdering Oscar (And Other Love Songs)

Patterson Hood, lead man of the Drive By Truckers has released his second solo album (Killer and Stars was released in 2004). It's released here in Australia by Rubber Records & distributed by Shock (Shock's website has finally been upgraded and is worth a visit).

Hood says that this album has been fifteen years in the making and it includes songs written as far back as 1994 up to 2005. Recording began back in 2005 around the time Hood and his wife were expecting a baby. Commitments to the Truckers and the baby's birth meant that the release date was pushed back four years. Hood resisted the urge to re-work or re-make the album while it sat on the shelf but he did add one new song, “Pride Of The Yankees”, that he wrote in 2006 whilst on tour with the DBT supporting the Black Crowes. More on the story around the making of the album is on Hood's website.



The album was produced by Hood and long-time DBT producer David Barbe (Sugar). Most of his DBT band mates join him on the album as well as Don Chambers, Will Johnson and Scott Danbom from Centro-matic/South San Gabriel. This is also the first time Hood’s father David Hood, famed Muscle Shoals bass player, joins him on a record.


Hood on Myspace
Hood's Website

Download from Amazon

STRINGER LAKE

Stringer Lake come from a place called Stouffville in Ontario Canada. Led by Allan Reesor-McDowell and Aidan Boyd, Stringer Lake create a sound that is similar in sound to maybe Belle and Sebastian but with more Americana - or should that be Canadiana! Pedal steel, dobro, lap steel, electric, and twelve-string guitars are used to create their sound which is pleasant, relaxed and very good. The only complaint is that the album is not long enough!

Listen out on the show on 29/6/09 for the tracks "Reap What you Sow" and "Time (Is all I need)"

Stringer Lake on myspace.

Download the album from Amazon.

AMA MUSIC AWARDS

The American Music Association has announced the nominees for the forthcoming award ceremony to take place at the Ryman Auditorium on September 17th. The night will be hosted by Jim Lauderdale and featuring a band led by Buddy Miller.




The nominees are as follows:

ALBUM OF THE YEAR

Real Animal, by Alejandro Escovedo

Written in Chalk, by Buddy & Julie Miller

Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit, by Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit

Midnight At The Movies, by Justin Townes Earle


ARTIST OF THE YEAR

Alejandro Escovedo

Buddy Miller

Justin Townes Earle

Raul Malo


INSTRUMENTALIST OF THE YEAR

Buddy Miller

Gurf Morlix

Jerry Douglas

Sam Bush


NEW & EMERGING ARTIST

Band of Heathens

Belleville Outfit

Justin Townes Earle

Sarah Borges


SONG OF THE YEAR

“Chalk,” written by Julie Miller, performed by Buddy Miller & Patty Griffin

“Country Love” by the Gourds

“Homeland Refugee,” by Joe Ely, Jimmie Dale Gilmore, and Butch Hancock, performed by the Flatlanders

“Rattlin’ Bones” by Kasey Chambers & Shane Nicholson, performed by Kasey Chambers & Shane Nicholson

“Sex And Gasoline,” by Rodney Crowell, performed by Rodney Crowell


DUO GROUP OF THE YEAR

Buddy & Julie Miller

Flatlanders

Kasey Chambers & Shane Nicholson

Reckless Kelly

Tune into the show this week to here some songs from the artists listed above.

NEW SON VOLT ALBUM DUE 7/7/09

Very exciting news about the new album from Jay Farrar's Son Volt. The album is called "American Central Dust" and is due 7/7/09 on Rounder Records.

I haven't heard any of it yet, here is the blub from Rounder

"After spearheading the alternative country movement with his band Uncle Tupelo, Jay Farrar pursued his vision with Son Volt, who recorded three landmark albums in the '90s before the groundbreaking artist put the band on extended hiatus and cut three solo records. Now back with his third Son Volt album of the decade, Jay Farrar has delivered what may be his finest work yet, American Central Dust. The new album exhilarating carries on the tradition of the Byrds, the Flying Burrito Brothers, Little Feat circa Sailin' Shoes, the Rolling Stones of Exile on Main Street and early R.E.M., with standouts like the exceptional "Down to the Wire," "Dynamite" and "No Turning Back." An epic lament for the heartland, American Central Dust is populated with readily recognizable characters, the most hopeful of them searching for love against a backdrop of rusted road signs and abandoned factories. Rarely does a musical work so powerfully capture the zeitgeist of its historical moment while also honoring the traditions of rock & roll with such rawboned grace."

Track Listing:

1 Dynamite
2 Down to the Wire
3 Roll On
4 Cocaine and Ashes
5 Dust of Daylight
6 When the Wheels Don't Move
7 No Turning Back
8 Pushed Too Far
9 Exiles
10 Sultana
11 Strength and Doubt
12 Jukebox of Steel

You can listen to Track 2 "Down to the Wire" via Son Volt's Myspace page. You can read more about the album at the Son Volt Website

ALELA DIANE - TO BE STILL

Originally from California, singer-songwriter now calls Portland Oregon home. Now signed to Rough Trade, "To be Still" is the follow up to her debut album from 2006 called "The Pirate’s Gospel". Diane has been likened to Sandy Denny and Karen Dalton, both being valid comparisons. She has toured with The Decemberists, Iron & Wine, Akron/Family and Vashti Bunyan and has a big following in Europe, especially France.

myspace
Rough Trade

TODD SNIDER - THE EXCITMENT PLAN

Regular listeners to the show would know that Todd Snider is one of my particular favourites. He has made a habit of releasing albums on a regular basis and his latest "The Excitement Plan" is out now on Yep Roc. Once again it a beauty! Made with the help of legendary producer Don Was it's a more personal album than last years "Peace Queer". Snider's greatest gift is his talent for words and once again each song has you listening intently for words of wisdom. For me, Snider has the ability to articulate the way I feel and think about things better than I ever could and I think that's why I love his work so much. The album also contains a duet "Don't Tempt me" with Loretta Lynn.

As always it best to leave it up to Snider himself to tell us what it's all about;
"Initially The Excitement Plan (June 9th on Yep Roc Records) wasn't supposed to be about anything. I was just trying to come up with the best... most open hearted ... well-thought-out lyrics I could come up with. I wanted every song to be sad and funny at the same time, vulnerable and entertaining at the same time, personal and universal at the same time. I wanted every song to be as uniquely written as possible and then I wanted to perform them in a studio loose and rugged and hopefully as uniquely as I could. My hope is to be hard to describe and/or new…I'm not saying I am. I'm just saying that's the hope."

It's available from YepRoc and eMusic or in all good record stores.



Website
Myspace

FROG HOLLER - BELIEVE IT OR NOT

"Believe it or not" is the sixth full length album by the Berks County, Pennsylvania based band. Still fiercely independent, the band put the album out on ZoBird Records earlier this year. Originally a bluegrass outfit they have evolved over the years but still maintain that original element in their music.

The band convenes every Tuesday night at the house of one of the band members to play music and share a meal. They have a rehearsal space and a recording studio at the house and the album was put together in these comfortable surrounds. Frog Holler sings songs about hope for the future in uncertain times and that the lessons learnt from the past will be remembered.The album is available from eMusic or CdBaby



Band Website
MySpace

LEO RONDEAU - DOWN AT THE END OF THE BAR

Originally from North Dakota, Leo Rondeau’s now lives Austin, Texas. His 2007 debut, "Bangs, Bullets and the Turtle Mountains", mixes traditional country and bluegrass and is mostly about stories of his younger days in ND. His latest album is called "Down at the End of the Bar" and it continues on from where his debut left off. And as with the first CD, it is self-released via cdbaby or iTunes.

Rondeau possess that classic gravel-based country voice that sounds as old as time itself and much like other new kids on the block, Ryan Bingham and Hayes Caryl, he is sure to keep gaining new fans.

myspace

THE LOW ANTHEM - ON MY GOD, CHARLIE DARWIN

The Low Anthem hail from Rhode Island USA. It's probably the first time I've played a song from a band from there. The band are Ben Knox Miller, Jeff Prystowsky and Jocie Adams. The album "Oh My God, Charlie Darwin" was originally released in 2008 in a limited run of only about 2000 copies with cover art hand painted by the band. Nonesuch have re-released the album in the USA this month. No news on a local release but the album is available from itunes, eMusic and Amazon.

All three members of the band are multi-instrumentalists and they shared around different instruments while making the album. Described as chamber folk and compared to the likes of Sufjan Stevens, Sam Beam and even Nick Drake the album is a gem. Recommended also for those who enjoyed the likes of Fleet Foxes and Bon Iver last year.

Low Anthem Website
Myspace
Nonsuch

John Doe and The Sadies - Country Club

John Doe and the Sadies have delivered a great album with "Country Club". The result of a drunken promise made a while back when The Sadies were playing with Doe's band The Knitters. It really is a corker.

They pay homage to their country music heroes by covering songs by Merle Haggard, Waylon Jennings and late-night ballads by Tammy Wynette and Roger Miller. They also provide four originals, three of them by The Sadies (two are instrumentals) and one by Doe with his long time musical partner (X and The Knitters) Exene Cervenka.

John Doe has made the country album he has always threatened to make and it's a fine tribute to the Bakersfield and Countrypolitain Nashville sounds of days gone by.

More at Yep Roc

Jim White and John Doe live 9th March

The Easey Street Sessions: Jim White and John Doe (9th March 2009)

Tune into 5ft High and Rising with Myles O'Neil-Shaw at 1pm on Monday 9th March to hear Jim White and John Doe live!



Jim White was born in 1957 in Pensacola, Florida to a Pentecostal family, and was influenced in his childhood by gospel music. According to various sources, he has been a comedian, a fashion model, a boxer, a preacher, a professional surfer, and a New York cab driver. Before embarking on a music career, White attended film school at New York University, and entered a self-described “deep hole of sickness and depression and poverty”. However, during a party organized by film school friends, White began to perform, and began writing material for an album soon afterward.



John Doe was born John Nommensen Duchac in 1954 in Decatur, Illinois. He is singer, songwriter, actor, poet and bass player who was the founder of the legendary and massively influential LA punk band X. His musical compositions and performances also include country and folk music. He is also a film and television actor, appearing in such films as Roadside Prophets, Salvador, Boogie Nights, and music videos for The Doors’ “LA Woman” and The Ramones “Something to Believe In”.

These two alt country legeds are coming together for the Golden Plains Festival.

As Heard on 5 Feet High and Rising

Here is some information of some of the new music heard on 5 Feet High and Rising recently. Come back often as I hope to make posts here more frequent:-)

Strand of Oaks - Leave Ruin



Following on the heels of the success of Justin Veron and his band Bon Iver we have another quirky folk album by another relatively unknown artist called Timothy Showalter. He records under the name Strand of Oaks. Showalter spent some time in the highlands of Northern Pennsylvania recording “Leave Ruin”, his debut album. Showalter wrote the songs for this album after he lost his house in a fire. Using borrowed instruments he wrote the songs in hotel room and on park benches. His style has been compared to Will Oldham and like Oldham you can hear the longing and desperation in his voice. All told a great debut from an artist to watch in 2009.

Doug Paisley - Doug Paisley



Not to be confused with his namesake Brad, Doug Paisley is a Canadian artist with a fondness for his countrymen Neil Young and The Band, Levon Helm in particular (yeah I know Helm was a yank) and enjoys writing and singing low key quieter songs. . Paisley also has a similarity to Bonnie Prince Billy (Will Oldham) whom he toured with recently. Pedal steel and piano fill the tracks as does harmony vocal from Simone Schmidt. It’s all done with just enough of a country feel to keep us interested.

Phosphorescent - To Willie



Matthew Houck, who records under the name Phosphorescent has made an album length tribute to Willie Nelson, simply called “To Willie” – a play on one of Willie’s own albums released in 1975 called To Lefty from Willie, a tribute to Lefty Frisell. Sounding even more laid back than Nelson (if that’s possible) Houck and a revolving cast of collaborators has produced a loving and respectful tribute to one of the greats. Houck has trawled through the extensive Nelson catalogue and has resisted the urge to cover Nelson’s better known tunes. Instead he has chosen some lesser known gems, the results of which are stunning and well worth a listen – or two.

PBS Live Music Week

Live Music Week is launched at Federation Square on December 13th. More info at www.pbsfm.org.au



On my show December 15th will be Skipping Girl Vinegar. Tune in at around 1.30pm to hear them play.

Also, Matt Joe Gow will be on the show this Monday to play a couple of tunes. Matt is one of the main artists playing at Fed Square.

5 Feet High And Rising Podcast Episode Two

This podcast is a spin off of the radio program I present on 106.7 PBS-FM Monday afternoons from 1.00pm AEST.

With this podcast I aim to highlight the great alt-country talent we have here in Australia.

There are a couple of ways you can listen to the podcast.

1.You can download this episode via itunes HERE.
2.Visit the 5 Feet High and Rising page on mypodcast.com HERE.
3. You can download the podcast as an mp3 file. Right click HERE.

In this podcast I will be featuring an interview I recorded at PBS with Andre Hooke from Khancoban. Andre has a chat about the bands debut full length album and plays a couple of tunes from it for us.

I will also be playing some music from a great bunch of artists primarily based here in Melbourne. They have all recently released or are about to release new material and most have helped out on each others recordings. They are a great example of the vibrant alt-country and Americana scene here in this city.

Sean McMahon - Welcome to Gippsland

On my first podcast I played a song from the Downhill’s Home album called Minor Birds. Now Sean McMahon the singer and songwriter from the band has released a solo album called Welcome to Gippsland.

Sean has called the whole project a “Story Book Album” It’s a collection of fictional narratives from the perspectives of four characters. Sean takes the lead role and the rest of the cast is made up of special guests including Matt Walker in the role of a “friend of Jim’s”, Liz Stringer as Mary and Laura Jean as Case. Together with Sean they have created an album of sparse country licks and somber blues.

Liz Stringer also makes an appearance on a couple of the other songs featured on this podcast plus I will play a song from her own album later as well. Welcome to Gippsland is out now through Major Label Records.

Van Walker - Celestial Railroad and other Stories



Van Walker was born in Tasmania in 1978. He moved to Melbourne with his brother Cal in 2000. They formed a rock band called the Swedish Magazines and played around with the more country stuff on the side. Taking a break from the Swedes, Van has just released his debut solo album called Celestial Railroad and other stories. It’s filled with songs about paranoid spies and love-sick rabbits, urban bandits and tram-hopping misadventures. The album is released through Croxton Records. Other than Van and Cal the band consists of Zane Lynd on bass and Chris Altmann on drums. Other performances come from Jeb Cardwell and Liz Stringer.

Khancoban - Limbs may fall



Khancoban was formed back in 2004 by Andre Hooke with his partner Jemima Hooke as a two piece. Andrew Bonnici on Lap Steel & banjo and Pete Cohen formerly of Sodastream on bass have since joined the band. Prior to their Debut album Limbs may fall they released a self titled ep in 2006.

The band takes its name from a small town nestled in the Snowy Mountains in NSW close to the Victorian border. They are signed to the Sydney based label Half a Cow. These two facts alone have lead to a misconception that the band is from NSW. But they are actually Melbourne based.

Andre came into the PBS studio recently to talk about the band’s first album and he played a couple of tunes as well.

Fireside Bellows - No Time To Die



On my first podcast I played a couple of demos from the then forthcoming album by the Fireside Bellows. The album is due out on November 15th through Vitamin Distribution. The album is called No Time to Die and it’s a beauty.

Recorded live over 9 days at Spicerack Studios in Brunswick, Melbourne, No Time To Die is a remarkable debut album from the alt. country harmony collaboration of local acclaimed Melbourne Song-smith Jordie Lane and Canadian singer-songwriter Tracy McNeil. The two met on line a while back and Tracy came to Melbourne unannounced and found Jordie quickly by hanging out in local Melbourne music venues. Within a year they had formed the band, co-written and now released this stunning debut.



Country and bluegrass influenced the album celebrates a shared love of American roots music, No Time To Die also displays this duo's unique connection in the art of co-writing and harmony singing.

The album features many guest appearances including Liz Stringer, Andy Baylor and the brilliant pedal steel work of Garrett Costigan.

Liz Stringer - Pendulum



We’ve heard a lot of work so far from some great artists made with some contribution from Liz Stringer. It’s now time to play something from her new album called Pendulum. Distributed by One Little Indian Enterprises many of artists that Liz helped out return the favor on Pendulum. Jordie Lane, Matt Walker, Jen Anderson, Michael Hubbard from Downhill’s Home plus a few others all make a contribution.

Skipping Girl Vinegar - Sift the Noise



Taking their name from the iconic Melbourne neon sign of Audrey the ‘Skipping Girl' in Richmond, Skipping Girl Vinegar is Chris Helm (drums), Mark Lang (Lead Vox, Guitar), Amanthi Lynch (Keys) & Sare Lang (Bass).

They released their album Sift the Noise recently on the label Popboomerang Label. The album was recorded in living rooms, bedrooms, kitchens and studios across Melbourne, as well as ‘The Lookout’, a beach shack in Aireys Inlet on the Great Ocean Road. Testament to the band’s obsession with melody, pop-hooks, and the search to stretch their song craft, the result is a dark, warm, organic record that reflects the environments and journey of the band throughout the writing and recording of the album.

The album packaging itself is a sight to behold. Made to look like a library book, it opens gatefold style and includes two booklets, one with the song lyrics and the other with photos of the band. If you buy the album at gigs it also comes with a small calico library bag.

Album of the Month - November

Fireside Bellows - No Time to Die

It's a pleasure to feature my first Australian album as "Album of the Month".

The album "No Time to Die" by Fireside Bellows is a wonderful album of high quality Americana harmony singing by Jordie Lane and Tracy McNeil in the style of Gillian Welch & David Rawlings or Caitlin Cary & Thad Cockrell.

Recorded live over 9 days at Spicerack Studios in Brunswick, Melbourne, No Time To Die is a remarkable debut album from the alt. country harmony collaboration of local acclaimed Melbourne Song-smith Jordie Lane and Canadian singer-songwriter Tracy McNeil. The two met on line a while back and Tracy came to Melbourne unannounced and found Jordie quickly by hanging out in local Melbourne music venues. Within a year they had formed the band, co-written and now released this stunning debut.

Country and bluegrass influenced the album celebrates a shared love of American roots music, No Time To Die also displays this duo's unique connection in the art of co-writing and harmony singing.

The album features many guest appearances including Liz Stringer, Andy Baylor and the brilliant pedal steel work of Garrett Costigan.

Fireside Bellows launch the album at an afternoon show at the Northcote Social Club on November 23rd. The album is released on November 15th on Vitamin Records.

Fireside Bellows on Myspace