Jesse Hanson - Sojourner Truth

Rosanne Cash - Rose Theatre Brampton January 30, 2014

Marble Fork - Joe Mello

The River Has Many Voices - If You Gotta Go (Go With Me)

The Roosevelts - Everybody Knows

Jared & the Mill - Western Expansion

Greg Campagna - Christmas Everyday

The Sweetback Sisters - Santa Claus is Coming to Town

Donna Oakley - Kissin' Under the Mistletoe

Michael Ashworth - Follow Your Star

The Sweet Sorrows - Ain't No Devil Ever Gonna Come Steal My Soul

Nick Young - It's All Over Now

nickyoungonline.com

Jason Daniels - You're An Angel

The Deep Dark Woods - 18th of December

Ugly Valley Boys - Silver City

The Lone Bellow - I Let You Go

Andrew Greer, Phil Madeira & Emily Deloach - The First Noel

NEW SINGLE FROM TOM APPLEMAN OFF HIS DEBUT ALBUM 'BIG FLIRT'

For more than 15 years—since he was a teenage bass phenom with hip-hop/funk-rock act Epileptic Disco—Tom Appleman has been a tireless journeyman musician, playing onstage with everyone from the Drifters to Robbie Krieger of the Doors to the Aerosmith tribute band Draw the Line. He has toured Japan, celebrated Superbowl victories with Kid Rock and been fired by teeny-bopper star JoJo. His latest single "Pour It All Over"  combines classic rock and a swirl of funk to create an idealistic sensual mood to get you grooving with that special someone.

But Appleman generally played songs written by others, and he rarely sang except for back-up. Then Appleman went through a bitter divorce. “When you’re with a woman for 13 years, then you’re by yourself, you pull out the keyboard, you pull out the guitar, and you write some songs,” he says. “That gets it off your chest.”

Appleman hadn’t written lyrics since high school. But once he started writing complete songs again, music and lyrics, he didn’t stop. Now he has hundreds of songs. “Most have to do with breaking up somebody and then meeting someone else—feeling a new love and also feeling the pain of an old one. And then just songs about life.” All were recorded in his apartment with Appleman singing and playing all parts—vocals, piano, electric piano, guitar, drums, and, of course, bass.

Best described as a mix of mellow pop and heartfelt rock ‘n’ roll, Appleman’s sound often evokes the best elements of well-written 1970s soft rock and R&B. His flawless, seemingly effortless musicianship blends charmingly with honest lyrics and raw, naked vocals.

“I’m doing this out of a need,” Appleman says. “After all the heartache and bullshit, this is the most natural thing to do. This is what I did when I was 16. Now I’m free again, what do I do? Well, I’m not gonna play with my wrestling figures! I’m gonna write songs like I did back then—but now I’m a lot better and I’ve been playing music for the last 15 years, and I know a little more about it. So you approach it at this stage and the product is pretty damn good!"

Hey Dave Music is proud to announce the release of songwriter/singer DAVID G SMITH's ONE HOUSE, his second studio release, on FEBRUARY 25, 2014

ONE HOUSE was produced, engineered and mixed by Blue Miller (who’s recorded and toured with several music legends to include Bob Seger, Albert King, Peabo Bryson and Isaac Hayes, and who co-produced Grammy winner India Arie’s breakout album, Acoustic Soul) and mastered by Jim Lightman.  ONE HOUSE  features 10 original songs (including co-writes with Mike Willis/Jackie Kavan, Lori Shropshire/Deanna Walker, Dean Madonia, Tom Favreau, and Mike Willis) and is filled with old friends, mentors and collaborators.   Joining Smith (acoustic guitar/vocals) in the studio were Doug Kahan (bass), Jon Fletcher (drums), Blue Miller (percussion, electric/acoustic guitar, keyboard, papoose, kalimba, background vocals), Edward J Smith and Joe Robinson (electric guitars), Jelly Roll Johnson (harp), John Catchings (cello), Larry Franklin (fiddle, chin cello), Denny Hemingson (steel guitar, lap steel), AND Mitch Fletcher, Alicia Michilli, Chantae Cann and Mary Gauthier (background vocals).

 Real life stories drive David G Smith's songs. The album opens with the title cut, “One House” a call to action for anyone who lives on planet earth. Smith’s storytelling shines in “Jesus Is In Prison” a surprising story of death row redemption, and “Angels Flew” celebrating the spontaneous armada that rescued people in Lower Manhattan on 9/11. In each, the stories unfold effortlessly over strong rhythms and unforgettable melodies. Gauthier, once again, makes an appearance. Inda Arie backup singer, Chantae Cann lends her angelic voice.

 Raised in a musical family in the hills of northeastern Iowa’s Mississippi Valley, David G Smith dropped out of college to form the band, Clay Mills, with his brother, Ed. The group mixed reliable bar covers with Smith’s original material for a while, until a return to college ended the run. But only briefly!

 The new graduate headed to Denver, Colorado where he helped to create a touring group that could focus on creating new music. For 10 years, he toured the Rockies with several groups, including Robin Banks, an all-original rock band managed for a time by Ed Cassidy, drummer for the 60’s band, Spirit.

 Finally, his passion for songwriting combined with a leap of faith compelled him to move his young family to Nashville for the first time.

 "The old story about: I didn't choose writing, it chose me.... it was like that. After a couple of test run trips to Nashville, off I went to learn from the best."

 Five years of day jobs and songwriting in Nashville created a network of friends and musicians still influencing him today. But family transitions called him back to Iowa, a surprising catalyst to his songwriting.

 First came family – helping to raise his daughter, Calista. Then came an unexpected storytelling opportunity. Smith worked as a medical investigator, examining complaints against physicians most often made by real people in life-changing situations. The work required extensive interviews, observation and note-taking, nurturing the kind of specificity that makes his songs absolutely unique.

 
While living in Storm Lake, Iowa Smith helped create Pangaea, a four-piece band that stretched his writing voice in new directions.

Following his daughter’s high school graduation in 1997, Smith returned to Nashville, visiting monthly as a student bent on “learning to write the best song I can.”    He soaked in technique and advice from mentors Hugh Prestwood, Angela Kaset and Rick Beresford. In a succession of songwriter retreats and sessions, Smith co-wrote with some of Nashville’s best writers including Barry Dean and John Schweers. Smith enjoyed a successful string of cuts with other artists.

 Along the way he developed a writing process. "I read a lot. Jot down ideas. Get things simmering subconsciously. Then I show up to work every day and wait for the muse to speak."

His song catalog began to explode, but at a price.  "I started losing my soul writing material that didn't speak to me in the name of writing songs for others to sing.  It was an insidious process and eventually the muse was not showing up and I didn’t know why. “

He ventured on a song-writing retreat to Costa Rica with Americana all-stars Darrell Scott, Beth Nielsen Chapman, and Mary Gauthier. He recalls both Darrell and Mary looking him straight in the eye and challenging him to stop writing songs to pitch to others. Their advice: To stop chasing the Nashville music scene and start performing his own songs. But their real challenge cut to the bone: Write the truth!

 A few months later, with the help of friends and producers, Miles Wilkinson and Buddy Mondlock, Smith created his first full-length album titled Non-Fiction at Bolton Farms Studio in Nashville, with a special guest appearance by Gauthier.  The national debut drew raves.  Smith debuted the CD with sold-out release shows at The Redstone Room in Davenport, Iowa and the Bluebird Café in Nashville.

 Taking his mentors’ advice to heart, Smith followed the release with heavy touring including radio stops and interviews: clubs, cafes, taverns, auditoriums, house concerts, solo and with bands. His national tour included opening spots for Justin Townes Earle, Bruce Robison and Kelly Willis, Rory Block, and performing with Rissi Palmer, Jelly Roll Johnson and Buddy Mondlock. He remains a regular performer at The Bluebird Café.

Following Non-Fiction,  Smith released two EPs: From the Ellen Kennedy Fine Arts Center  (his opening set for Justin Townes Earle) a digital-only release; and Live From Nashville joined by his musical family, brothers Ed J Smith, Danny Ray Smith and nephew Dillon T Smith recorded at the famed Third & Lindsley club.

His songs have been featured on Fox Network’s “Saving Grace”, Travel Channel’s “Rissi Palmer’s Country”, and Lifetime’s “Chasing Nashville”. He earned First Place in the 2008 International Song Competition, country category for "Made for You".   A new song Smith wrote with Roxie Randle,  "No One To Anybody", (about a teenage girl who seems invisible to everyone around her), has just been released by Randle as a single.

A major component of Smith’s career is “give-back” which includes donating time and/or money to St Jude’s Children’s Hospital and Boys Town and others who are in need.

"To have a good life we can build on/To Have a future for our children/It takes a place that is safe and sound/Can we live in One House?/Can we live in One House that's built on higher ground?"

www.davidgsmithmusic.com

Ervin Stellar - Hope Street Sessions - Thanksgiving Eve 2013

Introducing Ruby Jane in her debut music video "Ticket Out"

Ruby Jane already has the poise at 19 years old that comes with opening for Sheryl Crow, performing with Blues Traveler, Big & Rich and fronting her own band at Lollapalooza and Austin City Limits Music Festival.

Ruby Jane is a 19 year old singer, songwriter, guitar and fiddle playing prodigy. Introduced to the fiddle when she was 2 years old, at age 10 she was the youngest ever invited fiddler on the Grand Ole Opry. By the time she was fourteen, Jane had been on the road playing with the Willie Nelson Family Band and Asleep At The Wheel.

Born in Texas, raised in Mississippi, and now in Austin, Ruby Jane has fronted her own band and toured for years. She writes and sings her songs in a voice that resonates with compelling emotion.

The Far West Release Second Album of Alt-Country 'Any Day Now' February 25, 2014

Los Angeles’ The Far West came together in 2010, thanks in part to a Craigslist ad featuring nothing but a link to a live clip of Waylon Jennings on YouTube.  Each of the five members left other bands for a common goal: to make music inspired by artists such as Gram Parsons, Uncle Tupelo, Son Volt, and The Band. They released their self-titled debut album in 2010. Before long the band partnered with respected booking agent Mongrel Music, and have been consistently growing and selling out shows in the West ever since.Their second album, Any Day Now, is out February 25, 2014 on Medina River Records and is steeped in alt-country with a few flourishes.

Their debut in 2010 immediately attracted attention. “The Far West bring LA’s signature Gram-Parsons-style country rock together with the type of honky tonk that is unmistakably Texan,” said Turnstyled Junkpiled. “But whatever it is they play, The Far West exceed in coming together to produce a distinct sound that is undeniably their own.”

Any Day Now stays close to the roots of their inspiration. The album kicks off with “On The Road,” written by vocalist and guitarist Lee Briante from the Hudson Valley. Driven by train-beat drums and haunting Leslie organ, "It's about my perception of Hollywood after moving here," says Briante. "It’s a place of self-created identities and it may certainly seem like people out here think they are the next big thing, but there's a bigger Tinsel Town ethos and mythology at play.”

But not everything has a roadhouse sound. “Leonard,” about the folk-artist who built the famed Salvation Mountain in the California desert, includes horns. "You can definitely hear the influence of songs like 'Minnie the Moocher' here," says Briante, "but this arrangement is also influenced by Springsteen’s Seegar Sessions, and some of Levon Helm’s horn treatments.” The band called on Nic Chaffee, who added the warm and vibrant brass.

“The Bright Side” has a little more kick reminiscent of The Old 97s with excellent picking on guitar by Aaron Bakker. Writer Robert Black (bass, mandolin, vocals) says, “We all take our little trips to the dark side from time to time. ‘The Bright Side’ is your fist-in-the-air anthem for those days when you wish the rest of the world would just ‘f--k off’ already.”

“The song ‘Wichita’ is about the journey back to a certain time and place when I was a kid,” says Black. The band decided to give the title something of a double-meaning and, in keeping with the Midwestern theme, they pay respects to some of their favorite music from the region including Son Volt, Wilco and of course The Jayhawks on this song -- a deliberate homage.

Black backed many a band in his home state of Texas as well as groups from the across the country. Briante, from New York state, has played in dozens of bands since he was a teen, and found Black in LA via the sparse Waylon Jennings Craigslist ad. James Williams has lent his keys to several acts over the years and has performed live on KCRW's Morning Becomes Eclectic with Nic Harcourt. Chicago native Aaron Bakker (guitars, vocals) found his true passion for music when he picked up his first guitar at fourteen. He was an integral part the Chicago outfit Dorian Taj, and dozens of others.Travis Popichak has been a hotly sought-after drummer in Los Angeles for years.

This is producer Colin McLean's second album with The Far West. He recorded their first album at an American Legion Post while the bar was open for business – and, in keeping with his interest in using unusual spaces, recorded Any Day Now in a vintage hot rod repair shop. “The room you use to record really makes an imprint on the overall sound of a record, so using places that have lives of their own adds something special I think,” says McLean. The album’s title, Any Day Now, was borrowed from an article on the band that asserted expectantly, "A follow up album is due any day now." That was over a year ago, and any day now has finally come.

San Antonio to Los Angeles: Medina River Records Sets Up New Headquarters

The newly reminted Medina River Records of San Antonio, Texas will be branching out with headquarters in Los Angeles and has announced the signing of its first two artists, Rod Melancon and the band, The Far West.

Medina River Records (MRR) was founded in 2006 by Peter Bowman specifically to oversee the release of the critically acclaimed album, Cold Beer and Hot Tamales from The McKay Brothers.   After a seven-year hiatus, the label will be revived with the intent of developing independent artists and restoring Los Angeles as a major source of great independent country and Americana music.

Bowman has partnered with fellow Texan, Steve Cicero of Americana Music Times and two Angelenos heavily involved in the Americana music scene, Ben Reddell and Matt Farber.  Cicero, co-founder of web design company, Maxcreative is also known for his concert photography and videography.  Bowman worked with Circeo developing music videos for bands in Texas and they collaborated to create a video record of San Antonio’s one and only Indie Fest in 2007.

Reddell and Farber co-curate a weekly Americana music series in Los Angeles called, The Grand Ole Echo.  Founded by Kim Grant and Liz Garo in 2005, Reddell and Farber were appointed to oversee the talent booking in 2013.  In addition to these duties, Reddell also manages the well respected, Bedrock LA Studios where music, culture and business collide and where MRR will house the label.

Medina River Records will be presenting artists that are broadening their musical identities outside the limits of mainstream country music.  They will release two albums in 2014, Any Day Now from The Far West and Rod Melancon’s Parish Lines.

The Far West is a 5 piece roots-rock band that is based out of Los Angeles.  Their sound has been described as an “authentically Americana sound” and “technically pure, slightly jaded, no-nonsense and honest with stellar storytelling”.  Their 2^nd record, Any Day Now will be released on February 25^th, 2014 and was produced by Colin McLean.  The band members are:  Lee Briante, Robert Black, James Williams, Travis Popichak and Aaron Bakker.  http://www.thefarwestband.com/

Rod Melancon-a native of Southern Louisiana-is a singer-songwriter in the tradition of Johnny Cash, Merle Haggard and Bruce Springsteen.  As scribe Terry Roland wrote on the No Depression site, “Today he may be marked Americana,' but make no mistake; he is country to the bone.”  Parish Lines will be released on March 4, 2014 and was produced by Brian Whelan (multi-instrumentalist and vocalist for Dwight Yoakam).  http://www.rodmelancon.com/

Los Angeles has played a significant role in the history of country music, which is often ignored.  But the city has never stopped producing first-rate, unsurpassed country and Americana music.  Medina River Records plans to unearth the myriad of gems and bring these independent talents to the forefront of the Americana music faction.

Kim Richey - Sunday Morning Coming Down

The Grisly Hand - Country Singles

The Far West Outfit - The River

JD and the Rescuers - Trouble Bound

Haymaker - Just Like Me

Jeremy Squires - "When Will You Go..."

Jeremy Squires has been battling demons and fears for many years all the while chronicling them on his albums, and his new album When Will You Go... really isn’t any different from his previous records. However, what is different is, Jeremy had some help from indie songstress Anna-Lynne Williams (Lotte Kestner) singing background vocals and Kalispell’s and Field Report’s Shane Leonard playing fiddle, drums, and organ. With their help, Jeremy self-produced a collection of brilliant songs for When Will You Go... that are haunting and melodic.  

When Will You Go...is available as either a CD or digital download here.

The Lumineers - Submarines

Solitude - Alone