‘Rebel’ Rod’s Reviews – With Eric Hisaw’s latest, “Ghost Stories”, He has raised the bar for himself –

By ‘Rebel’ Rod Ames

I first met Eric Hisaw at a little coffee bar in Kerrville, Texas called the Java Pump. It was a funky little dive and my friend, the late Susan Gathings booked him, his guitar, and his songs. He captivated the souls that had wandered out of an AA meeting and into his performance. I noticed something special about Eric that night and told my wife that he was going to make it big someday.

His songs contain layer upon layer of texture. They tell stories that are easy to visualize, and if they are turned into screenplays, they will look great on the silver screen as well. That would be for lazy folks though. I prefer to close my eyes and allow his lyrics to paint the picture, using my brain as its canvas.

With his third release “Ghost Stories”, he tells stories almost anyone can relate too. He sings of telling ghost stories under the stars. Who hasn’t done that? Who can’t relate to that? So why, outside of Austin, isn’t Mr. Hisaw a household name?

I believe it’s because he refuses to sell out. His production values are impeccably simple and he keeps the sound his sound. What we hear on the record is what he hears in his head. In my opinion, that is exactly how it is meant to be. I dislike listening to overproduced music.

For instance, let’s take Johnny Cash. Add an orchestra and it steals away his art. It over powers the lyrics and the emotion the artist is trying to convey to his listeners, ultimately turning into something that belongs in the background instead of the forefront. It leaves the listener empty and cheated. You’re not hearing what the artist wants you to hear; you’re hearing what some record company dictator thinks well sell millions of records.

Mr. Hisaw doesn’t appear to care how many records he sells. Don’t get me wrong, he wants to make a living with his gift, but not at the expense of his craft.

“Ghost Stories is one of those records, that is just great from track one, the title cut, “Ghost Stories”, to track ten, “Sleep”. There is not a weak moment on the entire album. Hell, I can’t even decide which tune I like the best. I love them all!

For this endeavor, Eric assembled a fine cast of players. Eric of course, sings and plays guitar, Ron Flynt is on bass, keyboards, vocals, and percussion, and Vicente Rodriguez plays the skins. Lloyd Maines plays pedal and lap steel along with dobro on several tunes. Chrissy Flatt helps out with vocals on several tunes, as does Bracken Hale.

Eric Hisaw self produced this gem and did a tremendous job.

“Ghost Stories” is available now on CD Baby and everywhere else on August 16. This record is definitely one that any connoisseur of the roots rock/alt-country genre will want to add to their collection. Hell, this is a record that anyone would want to have in their collection!

‘Rebel’ Rod says check it out.

‘Rebel’ Rod’s Reviews – Beau Hinze and the Backporch Shufflers – Out of Brenham, Texas comes "uncut" bluegrass music at its best –

By ‘Rebel’ Rod Ames

From the very first rhythmic sounds that came flowing out of my speakers when I played this gritty EP from Beau Hinze and the Backporch Shufflers, I was hopelessly hooked.

The first tune is called “Swamp Rabbit Boogie” and it is a witty little ditty that had me placed in a very colorful, almost cartoonish, Louisiana Swamp. I picture the wildlife that is sung about here all emulating human beings, up on their hind legs boogyin’ to the music.

It’s an all-acoustic endeavor that will remind you of bands like The Gourds, but Beau Hinez and the Backporch Shufflers stand on their own. What amazed me more than anything about this little gem is its range.

Beau Hinez’s voice is not restricted to only singing fun little tunes about Swamp Rabbits. He can just as easily belt out a ballad as pretty as anything I have ever heard as evidenced by “Tears in My Pillow” containing gut wrenching lyrics – “struggle for a soul nights rest/gritting my shaking teeth, gripping my chest/praying for peace, I’m holding my breath/suffocating from, suffocating from tears in my pillow”. The entire tune is so complexly written and arranged, you may forget you’re listening to a Texas Roadhouse type of a record. That feeling is short lived though.

The next tune is an up-tempo song about what else but a train, more specifically, “Hurricane Train”.

Yes, this is an EP containing six original tunes, but it has the feel of an LP. Probably because each song is either right at, or well over four minutes in length, some approaching five minutes.

There is layer after layer of texture here. Texture that feels as if it has grown from beneath your feet, right out of the rich dark Texas soil, sprouting what the band refers to as a “mix between Texas Roadhouse music and uncut bluegrass”

The band is Beau Hinez who writes and performs most of the music, as well as the fiddle of Josh Droegemueller (who also co-wrote “Six Pack”), and Doyle Spitzer on harmonica. “Racecar” Jim Bernick plays the bass and Josh Reddoch on percussion supply the solid rhythm. Luke Adair and Slim Bawb on banjo, dobro, and slide guitars, guest on the record to help add an extra punch to the already well-written and performed material.

This is a well-crafted EP that will probably at least find its way to my top 20 list of records this year, if not the top 10.

‘Rebel’ Rod says check it out.

'Rebel Rod's Revelations - Guy Clark to release "Songs and Stories" August 16 on Dualtone Music Group-

Live Album Includes "The Randall Knife," "Homegrown Tomatoes," "The Cape" With Stories and Insights At the tail end of his performance of “L.A. Freeway,” master songwriter Guy Clark pauses to share a memory from that time decades ago, about a landlord and a grapefruit tree that might have added to the final push to say, “Adios to all this concrete. Gonna get me some dirt road back street.” It’s the kind of story you want to hear from a legend like Clark and on the live album Songs And Stories out August 16 on Dualtone Music Group, not only are there the beloved songs, “The Randall Knife,” “The Cape,” “Homegrown Tomatoes,” and “Stuff That Works,” but also the essential asides and insights that can only be experienced from a seat in the audience. The album was recorded at the Belcourt Theatre in Nashville, Clark warmly surrounded by his current musical family -- his longtime sidekick and co-writer Verlon Thompson, along with Shawn Camp, Bryn Davies and Kenny Malone. It feels like a 3am guitar pull at the Driskill Hotel, or the egalitarianism of  Clark's famed dining room table where troupes of greats including Steve Earle, Shaver, Rodney Crowell, Emmylou Harris, Kristofferson and more gathered for show-and-tell song swapping sessions. Before beginning the song “If I Needed You,” written by his longtime friend Townes Van Zandt, Clark shares the story about the surprising ease Townes had writing the popular song when living with Clark and his wife in Texas in 1972. “Townes came in for coffee one morning, picked up his guitar and laid this piece of paper on his leg and sang this song…and I said ‘where did that come from?’ and he said ‘I wrote it last night in my sleep, I just rolled over and wrote it down and turned over and went back to sleep.’” Clark laughs, adding, “Suspicion confirmed.” Just months prior to his 70th birthday, Guy Clark remains a national treasure and folk icon, crafting masterful, poignant melodies and insightful lyrics. Inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Foundation's Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2004, Clark was honored with the Americana Music Association's Lifetime Achievement Award for Songwriting in 2005. The following year, the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum named Guy Clark as its prestigious 2006 Artist-In-Residence. Workbench Songs (2006), released to universal critical acclaim and the delight of his worshipful fans, was nominated for the 2007 Grammy award as Best Contemporary Folk/Americana Album, as was his most recent studio album Somedays The Song Writes You. TRACK LISTING: 1. Introduction                                                 13. Story: I’m From Greasy Bend 2. L.A. Freeway                                               14. Darwettia’s Mandolin 3. Story: Sometimes They Come Easy        15. Story: Hang In There 4. Maybe I Can Paint Over That                  16. Joe Walker’s Mare 5. Story: Townes’ Road Keets                       17. A nod to Rodney Crowell 6. If I Needed You                                          18. Stuff That Works 7. The Cape                                                      19. Out In The Parkin’ Lot 8. Homegrown Tomatoes                               20. Intro: The Randall Knife 9. Shawn and Verlon                                       21. The Randall Knife 10. Story: The Legend Of Sis Draper           22. Curtain call for the cast 11. Sis Draper                                                   23. Dublin Blues 12. Magnolia Wind Dualtone Music Group Guy Clark Website

Crawling out "From Under the Basement" - Dan Miraldi to release "Rock 'N Roll Band"-

Cleveland Based Rocker Delivers Raw and Rocking EP

Cleveland, OH—With Cleveland being dubbed the rock ‘n’ roll capital of the world, the home of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum often spawns musical acts with a diverse rock pedigree.  Dan Miraldi is one of those artists--with influences that began with The Beatles and Elvis Presley; graduated to Bob Dylan, The Rolling Stones and The Ramones; and then dabbed a musical paint brush into the sounds of The Format, Green Day and The White Stripes.  That blend of classic and current has shaped Miraldi’s sound into a simple yet positively commanding sound—and he’s back with a new EP, aptly titled Rock N Roll Band (due September 6).

“I am very excited about this new album,” said Miraldi.  “It’s probably the most straight-up rock and roll thing I’ve done.  You’ll hear elements of soul blended with White Stripes-style garage rock, and bits of punk sandwiched with Brian Wilson-influenced harmonies and Beatles-like pop.  It’s a very joyful and fun record, with love songs, lust songs and bar fight songs.”

Upon graduating from the College of Wooster in 2009, Miraldi began working with award-winning producer, Jim McKell.  The result was Dan’s highly-praised solo debut, Thirsty.  In 2010, he put together his live backing band, the Albino Winos, made up of long-time friend and drummer, Sarah Luffred, guitarist Alex Bowers, and bassist Joe LaGuardia.  Dan and the Albino Winos soon began promoting Thirsty with their high-energy rock show.  In the summer of 2010, Dan released his three-song EP, Tease.  The songs “Tease” and “Lucinda” garnered radio play in stations from Boston to Cleveland, while “The Holy Roller Stone Revival” became a finalist for the best rock song in the John Lennon Songwriting Competition.  In the spring of 2011, Dan again teamed up with Jim McKell to record Rock N Roll Band, cut in Atlanta with the help of his entire touring band.  

“This EP combines the best aspects of my earlier releases, Thirsty and Tease,” said Miraldi.  “It has the warmth and joy of Thirsty with the energy and sass of Tease.  “I think recording the tracks live gave them a genuine dirty rock and roll energy.  Of course, Jim McKell is a pro and is always pushing and challenging me to be the best I can be.  And I think everyone involved had a blast making this record, and I think you can hear it in the music.”

In addition to his solo work, Dan was a founding member of the Washington, DC- based band The Silver Liners, dividing his time between Cleveland and DC.  Dan played multiple instruments for the band and co-wrote some of the music, and appears on their first two EPs.  In June 2011, he stepped down from the Silver Liners to fully focus his energy on promoting his solo work.  Constantly writing and integrating new material into his performances, Dan looks forward to the release of Rock N Roll Band, and his upcoming tour dates.  

For more information check out: www.DanMiraldi.com

A From Under the Basement Exclusive - Concord Music Group's Stax remasters series continues on September 13 with reissues from Rufus Thomas, The Dramatics, & Shirley Brown-

Rufus Thomas’s Do the Funky Chicken, Shirley Brown’s Woman to Woman, and the Dramatics’ Whatcha See Is Whatcha Get are fortified with bonus tracks

LOS ANGELES, Calif. — In 1968, on the heels of the label’s severance from Atlantic Records, Stax Records president Al Bell decided to initiate a massive 28-LP release program that would auger the label’s return to the top. The initiative fostered a new generation of Stax hitmakers including the Dramatics and Shirley Brown. And, it proved an artistically and commercially fertile time for Stax veteran Rufus Thomas.

On September 13, 2011, Concord Music Group, as part of its Stax Remasters series , will reissue Rufus Thomas’s Do the Funky Chicken, the Dramatics’ Whatcha See Is Whatcha Get and Shirley Brown’s Woman to Woman — each featuring a chart-topping title track. All three reissues feature 24-bit remastering, rare bonus tracks, and new liner notes to frame the recordings in historical context.

Rufus Thomas: Do the Funky Chicken:
Although Rufus and his daughter Carla Thomas had given Satellite Records (precursor to Stax) its first hit in 1960, followed in turn by Rufus’s solo hit “Walkin’ the Dog,” his star had faded by the late ’60s. The self-proclaimed “world’s oldest teenager” (age 51 in 1968) found inspiration in 1968 when he recorded Eddie Floyd’s “Funky Mississippi,” backed by Booker T. & the MGs and the Memphis Horns, for an album that never saw the light of day titled May I Have Your Ticket Please? A year later, Thomas entered the studio again — this time with his son Marvell Thomas on keyboards and members of the Bar-Kays — to record “Do the Funky Chicken.” The song was a smash, reaching #5 R&B and #28 Pop. Rufus was back on top, and the album Do the Funky Chicken was hailed as a career highlight. The follow-up, a two-sided hit of the menacing voodoo funk of “Sixty Minute Man” backed with the gospel-inflected “The Preacher and the Bear,” made it to #42 R&B. The reissue is rounded out by “Funky Mississippi,” “Funky Way” and  “Itch and Scratch,” the last recorded not at Stax but rather at Jackson, Mississippi’s Malaco Studios. Stax historian Rob Bowman contributed liner notes.

The Dramatics: Whatcha See Is Whatcha Get:
In diversifying the A&R focus of Stax, Al Bell brought in Detroit producer Don Davis to work with core artists Carla Thomas and Johnnie Taylor. He brought with him a Motor City vocal group called the Dramatics. Davis turned to fellow Detroit producer and songwriter Tony Hestor to work with the group. Hestor wrote a great song with “Whatcha See Is Whatcha Get” and crafted an extraordinary arrangement as well. Annotator Bowman writes, “The slight Latin feel fit the first wave of disco like a glove while the use of claves and congas combined with a fuzzed lead guitar line and seraphonous strings and horns.” The chemistry of artist, song, and arrangement drove the record all the way to #3 R&B and #9 Pop in the summer of 1971 on the Volt label. The follow-up was “In the Rain,” of which then-lead vocalist Ron Banks recalls, “We looked at each other and said, ‘Whoa, that’s a smash.’ And for once we were right.” The song went to #5 Pop. The Whatcha See Is Whatcha Get reissue contains no fewer than nine bonus tracks including charting hits “Fell for You” and “Hey You! Get Off My Mountain,” both recorded in Detroit instead of Memphis. The closer “Hum a Song (From Your Heart)” was produced at Atlantic South Criterion Studios by the legendary production triumvirate of Jerry Wexler, Tom Dowd, and Arif Mardin.

Shirley Brown: Woman to Woman:
“Phenomenon means having your first single, ‘Woman to Woman,’ sell a million in its first eight weeks,” wrote Stax employee Deanie Parker in her liner notes for Shirley Brown’s Woman to Woman album, released in 1974 on Stax’s Truth imprint.  The East St. Louis native came to Stax by way of Albert King, who’d discovered her when she was all of 14.  When matched with the powerful James Banks, Eddie Marion, and Henderson Thigpen composition “Woman to Woman,” Brown hit a nerve with female listeners. In a spoken intro, Brown said: “Hello, may I speak to Barbara? Barbara, this is Shirley. You might not know who I am, but the reason I am calling you is because I was going through my old man’s pockets this morning. And I just happened to find your name and number.” After presenting her case, Brown sang earnestly about not letting anyone else “break up my happy home” because “I love that man and he’s mine.” The song notched #1 R&B and #22 Pop.  A follow-up, “It Ain’t No Fun” by Fredrick Knight, charted #94 Pop.  Songs by Knight, Sir Mack Rice, and the late Jerry Ragovoy round out the original album release. The reissue contains five bonus tracks by writers Carolyn Franklin, Otis Redding, Aretha Franklin, and Stevie Wonder. After Stax’s closure, Brown signed to Arista and with Stax’s co-founder Jim Stewart and Bettye Crutcher producing, reaching #15 with “Blessed is the Woman (With a Man Like Mine)” and has more recently recorded for Malaco.

About Stax Records:
Stax Records is synonymous with Southern soul music. Originally known as Satellite, the Memphis company was founded in 1959 by Jim Stewart and his sister, Estelle Axton, and took its new name in 1961 from the first two letters of their last names. Among the many artists who scored hits on Stax and its Volt subsidiary during the ’60s were Rufus and Carla Thomas, Booker T. & the MGs, Sam and Dave, Johnnie Taylor, Albert King, and Otis Redding. Redding's death in 1967 signaled the end of the first Stax era (to which Atlantic retains distribution rights). Subsequently the company spawned a new crop of hitmakers, among them Isaac Hayes, the Staple Singers, the Dramatics, and Shirley Brown. In June 1977, a year-and-a-half after Stax went bankrupt, the company’s masters were purchased by Fantasy, Inc. Concord Music Group purchased and reactivated Stax in 2004 to release both new soul recordings and catalog reissues.
 

# # #