It goes without saying that HearYa are big fans of Joe Pug. We’ve had him pay us a visit two times – here and here. Not to mention that Shirk produced his first album. He’s about as genuine guy as you’ll meet in the business, always ready with a smile. Here’s the story about the video and some tour dates.

When Joe Pug relocated from Chicago to Austin, TX in 2010 he certainly knew he was heading to a part of the country that had musical history without peer. What he didn’t know is that he’d quickly strike up a friendship with a local legend that he hadn’t even heard of at that point, Harvey “Tex” Thomas Young. Taken with the simplicity and subtlety of his work, Pug made Young’s haunting tale of redemption and perserverance “Deep Dark Wells” a staple of his live show.

It was clear pretty quickly that the audience was connecting to it on the same level as I was, and I’m qutie proud that we decided to make it the first cover song we’ve included on the album,” says Pug. “Harvey’s music may not be well known outside of Texas just yet, but hopefully whatever small exposure this version gets will bring it one step closer to its rightful inclusion in the American songbook.”

The video is as sparse and simple as the song, primarily featuring video short by Pug himself throughout his fall 2012 tour.

JOE PUG SUMMER 2013 TOUR DATES

May 23 Boulder, CO — E-Town Hall
May 24 Denver, CO — L2 Arts and Culture Center
May 26 Black Forest, CO — Meadowgrass Festival
May 31 Iowa City, IA — Englert Theatre
June 1 Nelsonville, OH — Nelsonville Music Festival
June 2 Chicago, IL — City Winery
June 3 Chicago, IL — City Winery
June 4 Detroit, MI — The Magic Stick
June 6 St. Louis, MO — Twangfest
June 22 Chicago, IL — Beat Kitchen (SOLD OUT)
June 23 Chicago, IL — Green Music Festival
July 15 Helena, MT — Myrna Loy Center
July 18 Rapid City, SD — Main Street Square
Aug 3 Elkin, NC — Reevestock Music Festival
Aug 22-23 Fayetteville, AR — Fayatteville Roots Festi

Normally when some bros get together and knock out some barroom blues, it doesn’t register on the musical landscape. But when those bros are Justin Vernon (Bon Iver), Phil Cook (Megafaun) and Brian Moen (Peter Wolf Crier); it at least makes some ripples over in HearYa World HQ. This isn’t about them pushing the limits or trying to recreate the wheel. It is three talented musicians knocking out some great tunes to kick back and drink some cool ones to.

And although this album came together on the spur of the moment, there are some gems in here. Gallup, NM has a great closing jam that sounds like something off of Sky Blue Sky. Heaven Knows is an incendiary blues number that packs a wallop. Vernon doesn’t so much as sing as he is growls through the number. New Theme sounds like something out of a quality R&B revue.

So while Grownass Man is unlikely to be bestowed in a place in the indie history pantheon like For Emma, Grownass Man is a quality listen made my three insanely talented musicians. My real pleasure would be seeing them in a live setting. For a taste of that, check the video below.

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Good God, Merge is a great label. I knew nothing of Mikal Cronin prior to reading this review at The AV Club. Based on that and the fact that he’s on Merge, I just went online and bought it. And damn, I’m glad I did. I would review the album, but frankly speaking – I’m not doing a better job than Austin L. Ray did. So check out the video and read the review.

Watching that video made me want to be young again. Sadly, I am not. Here’s another cool video of Mikal tooling around San Francisco talking about his new album MCII.

On the first night of SXSW 2013, I made it a point of seeing Spirit Family Reunion. Some time during their set, some members of Hurray For The Riff Raff made their was on to the stage for a real back porch jam session (for the record, they were playing on something that looked like a porch). As I watching that tune, I said to my self, “Self, why did you ignore the last HFTRR album?” Two days later, I was watching them at the Paste party and real regret sat in. I said to my self, “Self, you’re going to write some half-baked review when you get home.”

Since Austin, Look Out Mama, has been in steady rotation. The centerpiece of HFTRR remains Alynda lee Segarra and her right-hand woman Yosi Perlstein on the fiddle. Look Out Mama is a great follow up to Young Blood Blues. It is still square in the Americana frame but Look Out Mama shows real growth and gives the impression that Segarra is going to be an important voice in the folk / Americana scene moving forward.

There is also a gospel element in their music. No better tune exemplifies this than the video below for Little Black Star. Ramblin’ Gal is a lovely number where it is only Segarra. Its a song you could see Gillian Welch writing. Lastly, they take a stab at telling one of rock and roll’s most known stories in Ode to John & Yoko. Its a well done tune that strays away from their Americana roots into appropriately enough, some 60s style Brit pop.

Well, lesson learned. I won’t sleep on another HFTRR album again. These guys are legit and Segarra is going to be a force moving forward.

Follow me on Twitter at @WoodyHearYa

Got this track in the ol’ inbox today and I dug it immediately. The band reminds me of The Everybodyfields. Here’s the lowdown on Lowland Hum.

Lowland Hum, the multisensory artistic collaboration of husband and wife duo Daniel Levi Goans and Lauren Plank Goans will self-release Native Air, their first full-length album on August 6.The self produced Native Air was recorded at Daniel’s parents’ home and mixed by Rick Parker, who’s recent work with Lord Huron they admired. The album was funded by a successful Kickstarter campaign and was mastered by Brent Lambert at Kitchen Mastering in Carrboro, NC.

Although folk music is the primary medium of Lowland Hum, the band incorporates a curated multisensory experience to fully engage audiences during their live show. Inspired by Lauren’s independent design and publishing business, Florida House Press, the band seeks to seamlessly integrate visual, musical and even olfactory methods during performances. The duo create illuminated art installations to frame their performances, distribute handmade lyric booklets and bread from local bakeries to cultivate a communal experiences.

Daniel and Lauren met while he was working on his solo album where she quickly became one of his most trusted collaborators, singing on four tracks. Shortly thereafter, they married and formed Lowland Hum. The pair were drawn to the name as it alludes to “what is felt but not seen; the buzzing electricity underneath everything.” The pair write and record all their songs collaboratively working to arrange songs and harmonies while performing in unison with one another.

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I first saw The Mother Hips 20 years ago on a trip out to San Francisco. Headed over the bridge to San Rafael in a VW bus. Well, 20 years later and eight albums released, they are just getting better. Their latest effort will be called Behind Beyond and will be released on July 9th via their own label. We had the pleasure of doing a session with them back in 2010. Check it out here.

Here is some info via the PR machine.

Behind Beyond, recorded over the past year at Mission Bells Studio in San Francisco with co-producer Dave Simon-Baker, finds Bluhm wading cautiously into midlife, exploring thoughts of mortality as if it were a hazy dream. Loiacono, the man behind the many instrumental passages that weave through the album, says that this album “stretches out a lot more than any of our other records.” There’s a sense of ease with these songs, from the laid-back feel of “Isle Not of Man” to the psychedelic guitar interplay of “Jefferson Army.”

When asked what makes this album special, the two bandleaders come at it from a different angle. Loiacono references the second track, “Freed From A Prison,” a song he wrote but that Bluhm sings, citing the ability to let go of the song that made it work. “That song is about the concept of being freed from a prison you didn’t even know you were in,” he says. “It’s this idea of finally opening up to an experience that was there for you the whole time. To me, a lot of this album is like that.”

Portland’s indie army, Typhoon, is following up on the excellent EP – A New Kind of House – with White Lighter. White Lighter will see the light of day on August 20th via the fine folks at Roll Call Records. Here’s the lowdown from the PR firm and if that isn’t enough, there is a great interview with lead singer, Kyle Morton, on the Wall Street Journal.

Recorded at Pendarvis Farm in Happy Valley, Oregon, Typhoon isolated themselves from outside distractions to arrange and record this collection of songs with an impressive emphasis on storytelling and melody.

“On the farm, we were living inside the record” says songwriter Morton. “I had one place in the woods where I would write and rewrite one song, and a different place for working another. The whole thing was laid out spatially over so many acres. I built a small fort in the wood barn where I kept my books and guitar. Slept a couple feet away from the recording desk. When it was cold, we built wood fires, when it was warm we went swimming down the road. Friends came and went, sometimes recording with us.”

My talented friend, Chris Hershman, who filmed some of our standout HearYa Live Sessions with Alabama, Shakes, Plants and Animals and Mates of State keeps his days busy filming guitar porn and live sessions over at Chicago Music Exchange on Lincoln Ave.  CME is one of the sexiest damn music stores I’ve ever spent time in.  It’s just gushing with vintage guitars…I have to force my self to leave.  Back in March while we were down in Austin at SXSW, Chicago Music Exchange hosted a Live Session with Brian Blade and The Fellowship Band right on their showroom floor.   Brian is hands down my favorite drummer out there.  I became familiar with his talents through Daniel Lanois’ solo projects as well as the recent Blackdub album.  Blade releases his own solo work as well as contributing on many other artists’ projects, including the latest Iron and Wine release.  His album credits go deep and his love of making music even deeper.  Here’s the latest video from that Live Session at CME.  It’s of a song titled “Stoner Hill”.  I also recommend you check out the first release from this session titled “Kings Highway”. It’s a scorcher.  I love watching this guy play drums.

HearYa has been waiting on this day for quite some time – new music from The Love Language. Shirk has become good friends with Stu McLamb over the years. They’ve been trading texts regarding the status of their 3rd LP. With every update Shirk gave me, I became more and more anxious to hear it. Based on the first single, Calm Down, it is going to be well worth the wait. The fine folks at Merge had this to say:

Gone are the days of a Love Language as a selfish salve for perpetual heartbreak. Ruby Red produces new standards for the Carolina pop songbook, finding The Love Language as an extroverted community art project made by responsible citizens of a loosely packed scene who know that Stuart McLamb will match whatever they contribute.

We have done two sessions with them. The video below is from the second effort. Check them out via the links below. Some of the best shit we’ve ever done.

Session One

Session Two

@WoodyHearYa

As the snow began to fall on a March morning, I wondered if this session was even going to happen.  Luckily, Field Report, aware of the impending blizzard in Chicago, left Milwaukee early to beat the weather.  This would be my first session since relocating SHIRK studios to its new location.  The wiring and equipment had barely been tested and to say I was nervous would be an understatement. The band’s early arrival gave us some extra setup time and by the time I was ready to hit record, everything was sounding and behaving like I thought it should.  The guys in Field Report were  relaxed and friendly and made the setup process really easy.  Turns out, Ben Lester (pedal steel) had been in for a HearYa session with A.A. Bondy a few years back.  So it was great to have time to reconnect.

This would be our first session with “StubHub! guests” (as we call them).  A few days prior to the session, the band announced on Facebook that they’d be recording a HearYa Live Session in Chicago.  The first to respond were admitted into the session on behalf of StubHub!.  Four guests were invited but due to the heavy snowfall, three of the guests (Chicagoans mind you) had to cancel. The fourth guest however, made it just in time.  How, you ask?  Because he flew in FROM BOSTON just for this session and their show at Space in Evanston later that night.  I have no idea how his flight even landed at O’Hare – they must have closed the runways just as his flight touched down.  His cab dropped him off as we were about to start and he was smiling from ear to ear.  Kirk, I’m glad you could join us.  Kirk is a Field Report super-fan and a gentlemen and couldn’t have been more excited to witness them playing live in-studio.

The band eased into the session with a beautiful rendition of “Route 18” followed by “Circle Drive” at Kirk’s request.  After that, Field Report gave us a treat, performing an unreleased tune that they had just begun to play titled, “40/40”.  The song has a great dynamic that builds from a repetitive floor tom pattern then closes out with a ferocious jam.  The band finished the session with most of the band members huddled around one mic performing and acoustic rendition of “Taking Alcatraz”.  I think we captured a nice roomy vibe on that one, but next time I’ll remember to turn off all the buzzing/hissing guitar amps before we cut the track.

Following the session, the band and I spent the next hour or so pushing their van and trailer out of the parking spot we had them wedged into behind my studio.  Eventually we just removed the trailer and pulled it out by hand and drove the van down the wrong way of the one-way street.  Much to the chagrin of a shouting soccer mom in her SUV.  I drove home with soggy shoes, cold hands and a big smile on my face, having just completed my first session in my new studio and spending the day with a great group of musicians.  I clearly recall saying to myself, “I love my job.”

Be sure to check them out on their spring/summer tour.  They’ll be at Schubas in Chicago on May 11th.

Exclusive: Field Report – Route 18

Exclusive: Field Report – Circle Drive

Exclusive: Field Report – 40/40

Exclusive: Field Report – Taking Alcatraz

Download the Field Report Live Session as a zip file.