The Howlin' Brothers Announce NEW Album 'Trouble' + Tour Dates

THE HOWLIN’ BROTHERS TO RELEASE NEW ALBUM TROUBLE

APRIL 29 IN THE U.S. AND CANADA

A year after the release of their critically acclaimed HOWL, 

acoustic trio with indie edge returns with 13 new original songs.

  

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The Howlin’ Brothers had a very good year in 2013, following the release of HOWL, their first nationally and internationally released album.

HOWL, featuring Warren Haynes (on one track, “Big Time”), brought instant success to the band. In one year they graced the cover of Acoustic Guitar magazine’s January 2014 issue; recorded in the legendary Sun Studio; were featured in a national PBS show (The Sun Sessions, which will broadcast throughout 2014 in more than 100 markets); shared the stage with Grammy® winner Ricky Skaggs; placed on over 17 end-of-year “best of” lists, and reached #6 on the Americana Music radio chart (was also #30 on that year-end chart, the highest charting position by an act/artist new to the format last year). The trio toured their brand of “old-time string country blues with an indie-rock edge” throughout the U.S. and into Canada. The majority of the 13 original songs that comprise Trouble were influenced by the people they met and struggles they encountered on the road over the past year. 

Trouble was produced and engineered by indie rocker Brendan Benson of The Raconteurs and solo career fame. It will be released on CD and digitally April 29th via Benson’s independent label Readymade Records (in the U.S.), and distributed by Thirty Tigers/RED. In Canada, it will be released via Dine Alone Records, and distributed by Universal. It will be released throughout Europe via CRS on April 28th.  The vinyl configuration will follow on May 27th in the U.S. and Canada, and on May 26th throughout Europe.  

Benson describes Trouble as “effortless artistry . . . woebegone, lovelorn and wrought with pain, but not without installments of lightheartedness and beauty, downtrodden and then uplifted.” He adds, “The Howlin’ Brothers are somehow able to conjure images of a bygone era and make it believable. Trouble is all over the map and I don’t just mean figuratively. The listener gets a glimpse into the troubadour lifestyle, traveling (among other places) to Louisiana for a Cajun romp on the bayou and across the Arizona desert to California on a search for a misses. It’s a journey very much worth the while. Hoooowwwwllll!”

Benson continues: “The Howlin’ Brothers live the life they sing about in their songs. They are authentic and the real deal through and through.  On top of that, they are the hardest working musicians I've come across.  They play their instruments every waking moment and are truly possessed by music.”

Amidst all the touring and other activities the guys did to support HOWL, Brother Jared Green got married and became a dad, making the time away from home even harder for him. But every night on stage he brings the joy of playing and dancing to the music alive. His Taylor guitar is almost as worn as Willie Nelson’s famous guitar “Trigger,” with its extra sound hole created by too much pickin’. In addition to playing guitar, harmonica, dancing’ up a storm and singing, Brother Jared is an accomplished piano player (check out his playing on “Tennessee Blues” from The Sun Studio Session EP). He sings lead vocals on the songs he wrote:  “Monroe,” “Pack Up Joe” and “Hard Times”.  

According to Green, “The songs on Trouble are very different from one another. It’s a collection of beautiful music influenced from personal experience. We tend to write songs separately and collaborate after a melody or lyrics are fully thought. Trouble is a gumbo of stories that we hope the whole world will hear. It was a blast working with Brendan Benson again, getting as far out sonically as we could dream of, all in the midst of having a brand new baby and coming right off the road from a busy year. A time of my life I will never forget.” 

 

TROUBLE TRACK LISTING: 

1. Pour It Down               

2. Boogie                        

3. Night and Day             

4. Monroe                                   

5. World Spinning Round 

6. Troubled Waltz            

7. Sing a Sad Song                      

8. Pack Up Joe                 

9.  Love                                        

10. Hard Times                 

11. I Was Wrong   

12. Louisiana                                 

13. Yes I Am!                                         

He adds: "HOWL received great reviews from all over the world. I am still impressed by the overwhelmingly positive response it has received. We toured our asses off in 2013 gaining much insight into ourselves and the world we live in. It is beautiful to see people from all walks of life getting down to our music and it’s a wonderful feeling knowing that we are growing our fan base.”

Trouble’s songs touch on lots of experiences from each side of the same coin in the band’s life. Though these guys have more depth and dimension than just two sides as people, players, and songwriters. Their individual strengths combine in the bands’ whole in ways that really do solidify their bond as musical brothers. They all met in college up in Ithaca, N.Y. and migrated to Nashville, Tenn. Afterwards, where they immersed themselves further in the Southern music they love and began to further hone their craft.  Prior to HOWL (2013), they self released four albums - Tragic Mountain Songs (2007), Long Hard Year (2009), Baker St. Blues (2011), and a very limited edition compilation of live performances, Old Time All the Time (2012). These previous releases had been sold exclusively at shows, however they may become available on the band’s website sometime in 2014.  An old-time pickin' party and the wash tub bass led to them meeting Brendan Benson, who later tapped them to perform on a Cory Chisel record he was producing, soon after Brendan & the guys teamed up to create HOWL.  

They ended their HOWL Tour in style last year opening for and then participating in the Brendan Benson & Friends benefit concert (for The David Lynch Foundation) at The Ryman Auditorium in late December. They will reprise the same role on the 2014 version of this show in London at Shepherd’s Bush this coming October 11th.  

Brother Ben Plasse plays stand-up bass and sings lead vocals on the songs he wrote:  “Boogie”, “Love”, "Troubled Waltz” and “Louisiana”.

“HOWL was very well received, and I think we owe a lot of that to great bands like the Carolina Chocolate Drops and Old Crow Medicine Show among others, who paved the way for a new generation of string bands to have success. It’s a beautiful thing to see so many young bands making music on fiddles and banjos.”

Brother Ian Craft plays banjo, fiddle, mandolin, and sings lead vocals on the songs he wrote:  “Pour It Down,” “Night and Day,” “Sing a Sad Song,” “World Spinning Round,” “I Was Wrong” and “Yes I Am!”  

Craft says: "Trouble is an awesome recipe for tasty sounds your ears will be happy to take the journey with us from Jays songs of love and Cajun food to Ben’s travels to get a mojo hand and find the girl who has yet to present herself, to my tunes of love gone wrong and finally a little moment in an old church on top of a smoky ole Tennessee mountain top.”

In the fall of 2013, The Howlin’ Brothers recorded and digitally released The Sun Studio Session EP in the U.S. and Canada. Recorded as part of the PBS series The Sun Studio Sessions, this six-song collection features four new originals (one of which, “Troubled Waltz,” was re-recorded for TROUBLE), a re-record of “Tennessee Blues” (from HOWL), and a cover of the Carl Perkins' classic “Dixie Fried.” A limited edition vinyl pressing will also be released via independent music stores on May 27th in the U.S. and Canada as well, and the EP will also be released in Europe on July 7 in CD, digital, and vinyl. Their segment (#8) of the PBS show has already begun airing and will be broadcast on TV in as many as 100 markets throughout this year in the U.S. The guys treated the opportunity to record in that historic studio with respect and really captured the spirit & tradition of those famous early rock ’n’ roll recordings that helped change the music world, by breathing new life into the process — adding subtle modern touches via their own influences and vision.

This EP was a bridge between HOWL and Trouble and is worth seeking out for all  who dig those old Sun recordings and fans of The Howlin’ Brothers alike. The legendary Sun Studio in Memphis is still a going concern. A tourist destination during the day, the “Birthplace of Rock ’n’ Roll” often hosts sessions after hours with some of today’s best up and coming acts.  

   

The Howlin’ Brothers begin a Pledge Music campaign the week of March 3 to help raise funds for a new van (so they can keep touring), some videos & marketing help for Trouble, and to better fund their overall business efforts.  

The Howlin' Brothers are:    

Ian Craft (Banjo, Mandolin, Fiddle, Kick-drum, Vocals) 

Jared Green (Guitar, Harmonica, Piano, Vocals) 

Ben Plasse (Upright Bass, Vocals) 

Special guest artists on Trouble include:

Ricky Skaggs - mandolin on "Hard Times" and "Sing a Sad Song"

Etta Britt (also Brother Jared’s mother-in-law) - Background vocals on "Love" and "Yes I Am

Mike Freid - Pedal Steel on "World Spinning Round”

Gregg Stock - drums on “Sing A Sad Song"

Brendan Benson - Washtub Bass on “Boogie” and background vocals on “Yes I Am!"

TOUR DATES 

Mon., March 3  NEW YORK, NY  Rockwood Music Hall 2

Tues., March 4  TEANECK, NJ   Mexicali Live

            RELIX Magazine office performance/taping, 2 p.m.

Wed., March 5   WILMINGTON, DE   World Cafe at the Queen World Cafe Live; co-             bill w/The Honeycutters

Thurs., March 6   WASHINGTON DC   Gypsy Sally’s; co-bill w/The Honeycutters

            WAMU 88.5 FM interview and performance taping, 4 p.m. 

Fri., March 7   FREDERICK, MD   Weinberg Center for the Arts co-bill

          w/The Honeycutters and Steel Wheels 

Sat., March 8  JOHNSON CITY, TN   The Down Home

          NOTE: webcast LIVE via ConcertWindow,   HYPERLINK "http://www.concertwindow.com/shows/3953-howlin-brothers"

Mon., March 10  LUFKIN, TX   Standpipe Coffeehouse

Tues., March 11  ROUND ROCK, TX   The Roost

            KDRP 101.3 FM, on-air interview & performance, 5 p.m.

          

Wed., March 12  AUSTIN, TX   SXSW Music & Media Conference  
            •Guitartown/Conqueroo Present Kickoff 2014 The Dogwood, 715            W. 6th St. (outside stage), 1 p.m.

           
          •KCA Artists official showcase  Shotguns, 503 East 6th St., 1 a.m.

        

Thurs., March 13  AUSTIN, TX   SXSW Music & Media Conference

          •5th Annual Radio-thon, WLVR  91.3 FM, 2050 South Lamar, noon     

          •Lucy’s South By South Austin Fried Chicken Revival, 2218 College Ave., 2 p.m. 

          •GRAMMY Museum presents Musical Milestones: The Rolling Stones,        Red Eye Fly, 715 Red River, 9:40 p.m.

          •Readymade official showcase, Maggie Mae’s Gibson Lounge, 512 Trinity    Street, midnight. 

Fri., March 14  AUSTIN, TX   SXSW Music & Media Conference

            •Grand Ole Austin, Maria’s Taco Express, 2529 S. Lamar Blvd., 3:30 p.m.

      

            •The Midway Foodpark, 1905 S. Capitol of Texas Hwy., 6 p.m. 

   

Sat., March 15  WIMBERLEY, TX   Blue Rock Studio Birthday Party (private, 1:30      p.m.) 
NOTE: Though not open to the public, webcast live via ConcertWindow, 

Sun., March 16   FT. COLLINS, CO   Avogadro’s Number

Tues., March 18  BOISE, ID   Neurolux

            KRBX  89.9 FM, Radio Boise presents … (t), on-air interview, performance       TBD 

NOTE: * denotes McMenamin’s Great Northwest Music Tour             

Wed., March 19   BEND, OR   Father Luke's Room at Old St. Francis School *

Thurs., March 20    PORTLAND, OR   Kennedy School Gymnasium *

Fri., March 21   GEARHART, OR   Sand Trap Pub at Gearhart Hotel *

Sat., March 22   McMINNVILLE, OR   Mattie’s Room at Hotel Oregon *

Sun., March 23   PORTLAND, OR   Lola’s Room at the Crystal Hotel *

Mon., March 24  KSMF Jefferson Public Radio interview and performance taping in      Ashland, OR (air date TBD) 

Tues., March 25  CENTRALIA, WA  The Olympic Club Theater *

Wed., March 26   BAINBRIDGE ISLAND (SEATTLE), WA   Treehouse Cafe 

 Thurs., March 27   TROUTDALE, OR   Edgefield Blackberry Hall *

Fri., March 28   FOREST GROVE, OR  The Compass Room Theater at Grand Lodge*

Sat., March 29   BELLINGHAM, WA   The Green Frog Acoustic Tavern

Sun., March 30   VANCOUVER, BC  The Railway Club

Tues., April 1   MISSOULA, MT   Missoula Winery

Wed., April 2   BOZEMAN, MT   Live From The Divide taping. NOTE:    will broadcast           later on Montana Public Radio

Thurs., April  3 (t) SALT LAKE CITY, UT or LINCOLN, NE TBD

Fri., April  4   DENVER, CO   Swallow Hill’s Cafe

Sat., April  5   KANSAS City, MO   Knuckleheads Saloon

Sun., April  6   ST. LOUIS, MO   Gramophone

Thurs., April 10   (t) ATLANTA, GA   Smith’s Olde Bar

          WDVX - FM, Blue Plate Special, noon. 
          (t) Wildman Steve Radio taping, 2:30 p.m. 

Fri., April 11   BROOKVILLE, FL   Sertoma Ranch/SpringBreak Festival

Sat., April 12   ATHENS, GA   The World Famous

Tues., April 15   WSM 650 AM Morning Show, on air interview and performance,         9:15 a.m. 

Thurs., April 17   OKLAHOMA CITY, OK   The Blue Door

Sat., April 19   CONROE (HOUSTON), TX   Dosey Doe Music Café; opening for The    Black Lillies

Sun., April 20   AUSTIN, TX   The Saxon Pub

Fri., April 25   INDIO, CA   Empire Polo Field/Stagecoach Festival

Sat., May 3   CARBONDALE, IL   Tres Hombres

Sun., May 4  NASHVILLE, TN  3rd & Lindsay, 8 p.m. Broadcast live on WRLT   100 FM, Radio Lighting

Fri., May 16   GETTYSBURG, PA   Gettysburg Bluegrass Festival

Fri., May 23   ALBANY, NY   The Linda

Fri., May 30   GOSHEN, IN   Ignition Music

Sat., May 31   LOUISVILLE, KY   Decca Restaurant

Sat., June 14 PALISADE, CO   Riverbend Park/The Palisade Bluegrass & Roots          Festival

Fri., Aug. 22 LAWNDALE, NC   Clear Mountain View Music Festival

Fri., Oct. 10 LONDON, UK   Shepherd’s Bush Empire Brendan Benson & Friends,

          a benefit for the David Lynch Foundation.

RELEASE DAY! Diane Cluck's NEW Album Boneset

Photo by Scott Yates

Diane Cluck is a Virginia-based singer-songwriter. Her ecstatic vocal style has been noted for its uniquely clipped, glottal beauty. She accompanies herself on instruments ranging from guitar to piano, harmonium, zither, percussion, and toy accordian, and often plays alongside cellist Isabel Castellvi.

Diane releases her seventh album, Boneset, through Important Records on March 4, 2014—a rich journey seeded with birds, death, wealth and poverty, boldness and heart. “Cluck’s sparse compositions seem to float defiantly from some fortress the conscious self had long left behind”, a reviewer from The Providence Phoenix recently wrote.

Fellow folk musician Devendra Banhart championed her early, referring to her as “my favorite singer-songwriter in all of New York City”, and choosing one of her songs for his Golden Apples of the Sun compilation. Other supporters / collaborators include CocoRosie, who invited Cluck to open shows in the U.S. and Europe and released her Countless Times album through their personal label imprint. Sharon Van Etten, Florence Welch (of Florence And The Machine), and Laura Marling have all cited Diane’s work as influential.

Prior to achieving cult-like success, Cluck was a standout performer in New York’s Lower Manhattan and Brooklyn music scenes. She recorded and self-produced six albums that went on to receive international distribution and acclaim. Songs from her album Oh Vanille / ova nil appeared in Noah Baumbach’s film Margot at The Wedding and the U.K. television series, Skins.

In 2012 Diane launched Song-of-the-Week–a fan-funded, subscription-based project through her website (dianecluck.info/sotw-songs) in which she writes, records and delivers new songs to subscribers. The process helped her develop many of the songs that appear on Boneset, and continues to generate new material for live shows and future albums.

Directed by Cluck, Derrick Belcham, and choreographer Miguel Gutierrez, "Sara" manifests the amalgam of inspiration from what swiftly flowed from Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer's church of Saint Sara, Hindu goddess Kali (the Destroyer), to Ereshkigal documented in Diane's Song-Of-The-Week project from 2012

DIANE CLUCK US TOUR DATES

Feb 27 - Los Angeles, CA -Echo Country Outpost*
Feb 28 - Stanford, CA - Stanford University*
Mar 01 - Sacramento, CA - Third Space Satellite*
Mar 02 - Arcata, CA - Mazzotti's*
Mar 04 - Portland, OR - Blue Monk*
Mar 05 - Olympia, WA - The Northern*
Mar 06 - Seattle, WA - Gallery 1412*

Mar 08 - Eugene, OR - Campbell Club, University of Oregon*
Mar 09 - Nevada City, NV - Cafe Mekka*
Mar 10 - San Francisco, CA - The Chapel*
Mar 11 - Santa Barbara, CA - Biko Garage*
Mar 21 - Charlottesville, VA -BON Coffee
Mar 22 - Philadelphia, PA - Rigby Mansion/ FOLKADELPHIA
Mar 23 - Harrisburg, PA - MakeSpace
Mar 24 - Lancaster, PA - The Seed
Mar 26 - New York, NY - Rockwood Music Hall
Mar 27 - New York, NY - Rockwood Music Hall (SOLD OUT)
Mar 28 - Montague, MA - Montague Bookmill
Mar 29 - Providence, RI - Columbus Theatre
Mar 30 - Biddeford, ME - The Oak + The Ax

* w/ Sondra Sun-Odeon

NEW Album Darrin Bradbury and Cameron Carrus LIVE at the Garden, Charlottesville, VA

Hot on the heels of Darrin Bradbury and Cameron Carrus terrific Valentines Day release of True Love posted here The traveling minstrel's of merriment release a LIVE album recorded at the Garden, Charlottesville, VA

Darrin Glenn Cook - Valley of the Lost Trees

Couch By Couchwest Alumni (In Tha Chicken Coop), Sling Shot entrepreneur and member of Efren, Darrin Glenn Cook released a Solo album 'Valley of the Lost Trees' the 19 songs expand on his work with Jazz/Fusion Quartet Pocketful of Claptonite, Darrin plays off the natural sounds of the world around him creating a soundtrack for the everyday sounds that become so entrenched in our lives we ignore them.
The album was recorded between 1988-2000.....all recorded with a Tascam 8 track cassette recorder......using Shure,Rodes Nt-1and AKG 3000 mics....I played all the instruments and voices... except where noted....recorded in the Bedroom and living rooms of the houses we lived in at the time.....
Released 19 January 2014
____________

First Listen Ruby the Hatchet Drop Two New Fireballs

We got a glimpse of "Paralyzed" when Ruby the Hatchet performed it for the Key on WXPN back in April, now they back it with the nine minute full doomified ”Eliminator”
Stream “Paralyzed” and “Eliminator” below and stay tuned for a 7″ release coming soon, as well as Ruby the Hatchet’s next full-length
Released 25 February 2014
Jillian Taylor: Vocals
John Scarperia: Guitar
Michael Parise: Bass Guitar
Owen Stewart: Drums,Vocals
Sean Hur: Organ

Ruby The Hatchet "Paralyzed" from The Angry Mountain on Vimeo.

Al Lover's Austin Psych Fest 2014 Mixtape Volume 2

Dig in to these groovies compiled by the incomparable Al Lover



TRACKLISTING:

1. The Brian Jonestown Massacre - Fade To White
2. The Dandy Warhols - Boys Better
3. Temples - Colours To Life
4. Panda Bear - Slow Motion
5. Morgan Delt - Beneath the Black and Purple
6. Peaking Lights - Cosmic Tides
7. Graveyard - Goliath
8. Cosmonauts - What Me Worry
9. The Fresh & Onlys - God of Suez
10. Bardo Pond - Taste
11. Mark McGuire - The Instinct
12. The Octopus Project - Perhap
13. The War On Drugs - Red Eyes
14. Pink Mountaintops - Lord, Let Us Shine
15. The Brian Jonestown Massacre - Anemone
16. Bombino - Her Tenere
17. Greg Ashley - She
18. Mind Over Mirrors - Storing the Winter
19. Guardian Alien - See the World Given to a One Love Entity (Part 1)
20. Higgins Waterproof Black Magic Band - Hugh Beaumont is Dead
21. Eagles Gift - My Siberian
22. Pure X - Thousand Year Old Child
23. Mirror Travel - Mexico
24. Mikal Cronin - See It My Way
25. Sleepy Sun - The Lane
26. Doug Tuttle - Turn This Love
27. Perhaps - Kamikaze
28. Roger Sellers - I Guess I'm To Blame
29. Secret Colours - It Can't Be Simple
30. Gnod - Visions of Load
31. Dahga Bloom - Zuu Zuu
32. Les Big Byrd - Indus Waves