Author Archives: philfavorite@gmail.com

June Podcast Picks

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Jason Boland’s new record “Hard Times Are Relative” is out and ready to be a Summer 2018 Red Dirt classic.

Stream or download June Podcast Picks: June ’18 Podcast Picks

Let another Summer of Great Music begin!

To kick off your summer with some great tunes, we present our Podcast Picks for June. And what better to start things off with than a sweet blast of world class Red Dirt Country from the man who’s been carrying the torch for nearly 20 years, the great Jason Boland and his killer band The Stragglers.

Nobody does it better than Boland and his band, whose new album “Hard Times Are Relative” arrived recently just ahead of a full slate of summer shows. The band is joined by Texas singer Sunny Sweeney on “I Don’t Deserve You,” a tune that celebrates the serendipity of love against all odds — a sweet notion to start off the summer.

We also share some “new” music from Jason Isbell. His debut record “Sirens of The Ditch” is being reissued with a few lost classics, including “The Assassin,” written by his friend and former Drive-by Trucker bandmate Patterson Hood.

Lots of newly released songs flow throughout, including simply amazing new stuff from American Aquarium, Karen Jonas, Kayla Ray, Ashley McBryde and the mighty Chuck Westmoreland, a Portland-based artist destined for world renown thanks to his killer new album “Long Winter Rodeo.” Mercy, we can’t stop playing that record! So good.

When it comes to rock solid alt-country, you can’t do much better than Justin Townes Earle, Lydia Loveless and M. Ward. And for straight country, we share a deadly combination: Dwight Yoakam and the red-hot Charley Crockett.

Our picks also include a tune from Portland-based Wes Youssi and his band The County Champs, who’s record “Down Low” has been catching the ears of raving critics nationwide. And as a little surprise, we share a newly released tune by The Lonesomes, whose singer is one of our own — podcast producer and co-host Phil Favorite. Their new tune “Alone On Foster” is a staggering blast of slide-guitar-driven rock and roll.

Lots and lots and lots of goodies to chew on here, folks. So dig in!

Here’s our list of picks for June:

I Don’t Deserve You, Jason Boland and the Stragglers
Trinity Lane, Lilly Hiatt
The Assassin, Jason Isbell
My Sweet Arsonist, Karen Jonas
The World Is On Fire, American Aquarium
Then Here Came Monday, Dwight Yoakam
Hell Of A Day To Drink All Night, Kayla Ray
Prisoners, Chuck Westmoreland
Masterpiece ((solo)), Big Thief
Green Dream, Wes Youssi and the County Champs
Girl Goin’ Nowhere, Ashley McBryde
Poor Tom, M. Ward
Harlem River Blues, Justin Townes Earle
Steve Earle, Lydia Loveless
Alone On Foster, The Lonesomes
A Lovely Conversation, The Harmed Brothers
Deportee, The Tex Maniacs
Stitch In Time, Pharis & Jason Romero
Lonesomes As A Shadow, Charley Crockett

 

May Podcast Picks

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You’d be smiling, too — Brent Cobb has a hot new album out and an upcoming summer tour opening for Chris Stapleton.

Stream or download May Podcast Picks: May ’18 Podcast Picks

Can it get any better for a guitar picker and songwriter than it is these days for Brent Cobb?

He’s out west wrapping up a headlining club tour this week highlighting songs from his critically acclaimed new album “Providence Canyon” and will be hitting the road supporting Chris Stapleton along with Marty Stuart on country music’s highest profile summer tour. We caught him last week at Portland’s Doug Fir Lounge, when the 31-year-old delivered an impressive performance with his band Brent Cobb & Them.

Brent Cobb on stage at Doug Fir Lounge in Portland, OR, USA. Photo by Phil Favorite for That Much Further West Podcast

We kick off this month’s podcast picks with “King of Alabama,” a beautifully rendered tribute song that shows Cobb’s well-honed talent for word play and melody. It’s just one of an album full of great tracks — we highly recommend you pick up this record. At turns swampy, Skynyrd-y and stunning, “Providence Canyon” is already staking ground among the best records of 2018.

This month’s picks include tunes from several of the best new albums to hit the street in recent weeks, including tracks from Charley Crockett, John Calvin Abney, Western Centuries, Sarah Shook & The Disarmers and the incomparable John Prine.  We share a new song from Lucero, and also feature a pair of excellent duets — one from Lera Lynn’s new duets album featuring the great John Paul White, and another from Midwest country rocker Joe Stamm, joined on this track singer Tasji Bachman.

And if you love great singers and like to keep it country, we have cool songs from Will Stewart, Margo Price, Dillon Carmichael, Kashena Sampson, Petunia & The Vipers and Tenille Townes.

We also feature a few of our local faves — Jenny Don’t & The Spurs are out touring the country now, and Miller & Sasser continue to hone their traditional, AM radio-influenced country right here in our backyard.

Lots more goodness for your listening pleasure this month, so have at it. Here’s the playlist, enjoy!

King of Alabama, Brent Cobb
Rosalee, Will Stewart
The Sky’d Become Teardrops, Charley Crockett
My Only Desire, Jenny Don’t & The Spurs
Summer’s End, John Prine
Hell On An Angel, Dillon Carmichael
Get Your House In Order, John Calvin Abney
It’s a Long Way Back, Kashena Sampson
Earthly Justice, Western Centuries
Almost Persuaded (featuring John Paul White), Lera Lynn
To My Dearest Wife, Lucero
Ambulances, Joe Fletcher & The Wrong Reasons
A Little Pain, Margo Price
First Saw You, Joe Stamm featuring Tasji Bachman
Mind Of It’s Own, Miller & Sasser
Alabama, Bishop Gunn
Years, Sarah Shook & The Disarmers
Heavy and Lonesome, Petunia & The Vipers
Where You Are, Tenille Townes

Episode #86 featuring Kendall Core

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Kendall Core and her trusty six-string in The Helm. Photo by Anne Marie for Local Hero Media

Stream or download Episode #86: Episode 86 w/ Kendall Core

With a poet’s sense for drama and eye for detail, Portland-based singer-songwriter Kendall Core delivers songs with a dark edge — the action creeps from the shadows where the truth often hides from the light of day. A young woman attempting to harness the powerful forces of a world gone mad, Kendall releases her debut album, Crazy Dog, this week.

We were thrilled to have Kendall join our podcast team in The Helm to perform songs from the new album and talk a bit about what makes this talented artist tick. With an education steeped in the arts, she has taken to the guitar as a vehicle for self-reflection and deep expression and put together a stellar band to show off her stuff.

Kendall Core belting it out in The Helm. Photo by Anne Marie for Local Hero Media

They’ll be performing this coming Sunday, May 13, at Mississippi Studios in Portland to celebrate the release of Crazy Dog. On this episode of the podcast, Kendall shares a few live performances including a song “Fickle Hearts” that was written just after recording for the new album had wrapped. She also talks about some of the artists who inspire her, including Leonard Cohen and Buffy Sainte-Marie, and picks some songs to share from a few of her other favorite writers.

So kick back and take it all in. It’s Episode #86 of That Much Further West Podcast. Here’s the playlist:

Sweet Champagne, Kendall Core
Fickle Hearts (Live In The Helm), Kendall Core
Sitting In The Rain, Kendall Core
Cod’ine, Buffy Sainte-Marie
Alone With The Owl, Jason Molina
Angelene, PJ Harvey
Nowhere (Live In The Helm), Kendall Core
Crazy Dog, Kendall Core

Episode #85 featuring Wanderlodge & The Deadstring Family Band

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Brothers from The Deadstring Family: Matt Cadenelli, Kurtis Brothers and Kris Stuart in The Helm. Photo by Anne Marie for Local Hero Media

Stream or download Episode #85: Episode 85 w/ Wanderlodge/Deadstring Family Band

We’re winding it down at The Helm, our home base for every podcast episode recorded in the 2.0 version of That Much Further West. That’s four-plus great years and 85 episodes featuring some of the best singers and songwriters from the Pacific Northwest and beyond. It’s been a great run and a whole heckuva a lot of fun.

But before we exit The Helm and point the ship toward our next destination, we gathered a few very special friends to record Episode 85: Kris Stuart and Matt Cadenelli, the duo that currently perform as Wanderlodge, and also make up two-fifths of The Deadstring Family Band, led by our other guest, Kurtis Brothers.

The lads stopped in to talk about the two projects and spread the word about Wanderfest, the second-annual music and camping event they’re hosting in Gaston, OR, on June 29 and 30. (Tickets, lineup, more info) With a killer lineup featuring some of the best of the best acts in our local Portland rock, folk and country scene, Wanderfest promises to be an amazing two days of music and revelry.

Matt Cadenelli, Kurtis Brothers and Kris Stuart of The Deadstring Family Band, performing live in The Helm. Photo by Anne Marie for Local Hero Media

Kris and Matt share a live performance of the song “I Want More,” the tune that opens the tour CD they were selling while out on the Wanderlodge Spring Tour through California and Oregon. We add in a couple of recorded songs from a few of the Wanderfest, including tunes from The James Low Western Front and Redray Frazier.

Then Kurtis joins the fray to talk about his move from Nashville to the Pacific Northwest and that fateful weekend in July 2013 when he met all the parties involved at the Wildwood MusicFest & Campout. For Kurtis, who met his wife that same weekend, it was a sign of the changes to come and the twists and turns that led him to relocate from Nashville to Portland.

With Kris and Matt riding shotgun, Kurtis fronts The Deadstring Family Band and leads a set of stellar acoustic performances that prove to be a perfect way for us to cap our time at The Helm.

All the fun, facts, fibs, stories and songs are right here in Episode 85, so kick back and enjoy. Here’s the playlist:

Green Volvo, Wanderlodge
I Want More (Live In The Helm), Wanderlodge
Smile, The Deadstring Brothers
Whiskey Farmer, The James Low Western Front
Like Rain, Redray Frazier
Lucille’s Honky Tonk (Live In The Helm), The Deadstring Family Band
Sacred Heart (Live In The Helm), The Deadstring Family Band
Blindfolded (Live In The Helm), The Deadstring Family Band

Review of Years by Sarah Shook & The Disarmers

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Years by Sarah Shook & The Disarmers (2018, Bloodshot)

100 Words on Years
By Mike Lee
That Much Further West Podcast

How do you avoid the sophomore slump when your debut album punched through the country music scene in 2017? You craft 10 country songs infused with a frantic punk rock energy spinning a carousel of earnest lyrics about love, whiskey, heartbreak, redemption and two middle fingers up at the music establishment. Years expands where Sidelong left off teaching a lesson of all thriller and no filler. Tight, well crafted songs with an efficiency of rhythm, melody and lyrics that had me reminiscent of the mighty, Los Angeles, cowpunk legends, X!

Sidelong was the setup and Years is the knockout punch.

Mixtape Trio Bravo:

Listen to “Good As Gold”:  Good As Gold

Listen to “The Bottle Never Lets Me Down”:  The Bottle Never Lets Me Down

Listen to “Lesson”:  Lesson

Catch up on all things Sarah Shook and the Disarmers on their Facebook page or through Bloodshot Records. WEST COAST PEOPLE be sure to catch the band in July  as they hit the left coast and play our favorite festival, Wildwood Music Fest & Campout July 20-22, 2018.

Springtime Podcast Picks

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Brian Mathusek and Merry Young make up the powerhouse folk-blues duo The Mutineers. Photo by Anne Marie for Local Hero Media.

Stream or download Springtime Podcast Picks: Springtime ’18 Podcast Picks

Spring has sprung in the Pacific Northwest, and despite the usual string of cloudy days, the occasional sun breaks promise brighter days ahead!

The Mutineers tearing it up in The Helm just before they hit the road. Photo by Anne Marie for Local Hero Media.

To keep the good vibes flowing, we present our Springtime Podcast Picks. And to lead things off we have podcast favorites The Mutineers, who tore it up this past weekend at the Treefort Music Festival in Idaho and are south to California for a run of shows the next few weeks (tour dates). If you like high energy folk and blues, you can’t go wrong with The Mutineers, a heavy-touring outfit with ties all over the country.

Festival season is well underway, and a couple of artists shared on this playlist are coming off big-time star turns at South By Southwest in Austin: Sarah Shook and Billy Strings. Shook and her band The Disarmers leaked the second song from their upcoming record “Years” and we share it here, a fun and snotty little number called “New Ways To Fail.” Mr. Strings released his ambitious bluegrass album “Turmoil & Tinfoil” last fall, and we include the lead track after hearing reports of his turning SXSW on its ear with a string of mind-blowing sets.

We also include songs from several artists who will be coming to Portland this spring with dates that are circled on our calendars. In fact, Lindi Ortega was here last night playing Mississippi Studios. Looking forward to upcoming shows by Whiskey Myers and Courtney Marie Andrews, whose new album on Fat Possum records is ready to set the world on fire.

And a quick note of congratulations to our friend Jamie Stillway on her sensational new album “City Static,” out now on Fluff & Gravy Records. Jamie is a world class guitar picker known for her work on acoustic and steel-top resonator guitar, but she’s expanded her palette to feature compositions inspired by picking up a Telecaster electric. Take a listen to the moody and groovy “August” included in this round of picks.

Lots of other incredible tunes from artists new and old included here, so dig in and enjoy! Here’s the playlist:

Break Your Fall, The Mutineers
New Ways To Fail, Sarah Shook & The Disarmers
The Comeback Kid, Lindi Ortega
On The Line, Billy Strings
The Rebellious Sons, Ray Wylie Hubbard
Stone, Whiskey Myers
I’ve Hurt Worse, Courtney Marie Andrews
Gin, Smoke & Lies, The Turnpike Troubadours
Cold Apartment, Warm Girl (Someone Tell Me How), Brad Parsons
Oom Sha La La, Haley Heynderickx
The Trial, The Sadies
I’ll Keep Ramblin’, Blackberry Smoke
August, Jamie Stillway
Nashville 1972, Rodney Crowell
I Want Love, Chris Stapleton
Avoiding Catatonic Surrender, Tim Barry
Fulton County Jane Doe, Brandi Carlile
Me and You, Willie Nelson
Madeline, BJ Barham
Tonight, You’ll Be Breaking My Heart, The Swearengens

Review of Crushed Coins by Caleb Caudle

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Crushed Coins by Caleb Caudle (2018, Cornelius Chapel)

100 Words on Crushed Coins
By Mike Lee
That Much Further West Podcast

Pushing the boundaries of sadness appears to be the job of today’s songwriter and it stands in stark contrast to the smiley-face emoticon façade of social media. However, to the discerning listener, there is so much more than melancholy in the works of the modern-day troubadour. The great albums will give us love and laughter along with tears and pain all paired side by side with adventure to add spice to the experiences of life. This album covers a plethora of emotions, giving us a glimpse of the wholeness we seek for ourselves.

Mixtape Trio Bravo:

Listen to “Lost Without You”:  Lost Without You

Listen to “Empty Arms”:  Empty Arms

Listen to “Love That’s Wild”:  Love That’s Wild

February Podcast Picks

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Stream or download February Podcast Picks: February ’18 Podcast Picks

There’s so much new music out there in our sphere, we can barely keep up with it all. This month’s podcast picks include first releases from upcoming records by Western Centuries, Blackberry Smoke and Charley Crockett; another tune from the much-anticipated new record from Courtney Marie Andrews; a new instrumental from an album full of them by Richmond Fontaine; and killer cuts from new records by Calexico, Ruby Boots and Wes Youssi & The Country Champs.

But we start things off with a brand-new song from alt-country powerhouse Sarah Shook & The Disarmers and their upcoming Bloodshot Records release Years, set to hit the streets in April. Following up their very well-received Bloodshot debut Sidelong, the North Carolina band appears ready to unleash its high-energy, straight-ahead cowpunk on a wider audience in 2018.

“Good As Gold” offers a solid example of the swagger Sarah Shook brings to her music. “It’s about picking yourself up and dusting yourself off after years of being trampled and beaten down,” she said, describing the new album. “Jutting your chin out, head high, after they’ve done their worst, and saying, ‘Still here.’ ”

Scroll to the bottom of this post to check out the Sidelong track “Keep The Home Fires Burnin'” filmed live at the Wildwood Hotel in Willamina, OR by Great Northwest Productions during the band’s swing down the west coast last fall.

With 2018 off to such a great start, we find ourselves still catching up on some of the best stuff from last year. Our picks also include a handful of some of the best tunes from 2017, including songs from Tyler Childers, The Secret Sisters, Zephaniah Ohora, Emily Herring and The Turnpike Troubadours.

And we wrap it with a dose of some of our favorite alternative music heroes, including the great Walter Salas-Humara, who will be coming to our hometown of Portland, OR, USA this week to play a set on Friday, Feb. 23, opening for local legend Mike Coykendall at the LaurelThirst Public House.

So get your week started on the right foot and dial in our February Podcast Picks. Here’s the playlist:

Good As Gold, Sarah Shook & The Disarmers
Tattoos, Tyler Childers
Night Out With Diego, Richmond Fontaine
He’s Fine, The Secret Sisters
Dead In The Water, Calexico
Earthly Justice, Western Centuries
Just Outside Of Austin, Lukas Nelson & The Promise Of The Real
Take Your Love Out Of Town, Zephaniah Ohora and The 18 Wheelers
Last Of The Houston Honky Tonk Heroes, Emily Herring
The Hard Way, The Turnpike Troubadours
Mr. Jukebox, Josh Hedley
I’ll Make It Through, Ruby Boots
Flesh And Bone, Blackberry Smoke
Cadillac Man, Wes Youssi & The County Champs
Misery And Gin, Jaime Wyatt
Smoke ‘Em If You Got ‘Em, Mike and The Moonpies
Kindness Of Strangers, Courtney Marie Andrews
I Wanna Cry, Charley Crockett
2 Cool 2 Be 4-Gotten, Lucinda Williams
Nobody’s Business, Walter Salas-Humara
Mr. Fly, Mike Coykendall

Episode #84 featuring Bret Ervin of Countryside Ride

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Bret Ervin, bellied up at the bar in The Helm. Photo by Anne Marie for Local Hero Media

Stream or download Episode #84: Episode 84 w/ Bret Ervin

The gang from Countryside Ride knew they had the songs and the inclination to make a great second album. But they remained patient while looking for a way forward — some kind of sign to show them which direction to go.

They found it when the band did a studio session at The Deer Lodge, a Portland-based music hub where producer and engineer Ezra Meredith was compiling songs for a tribute CD to country music great George Jones. In making its contribution to the compilation, the band and Meredith immediately clicked, and from there Countryside Ride saw the path to making their fabulous new album, “I Hope He Breaks Your Heart.” It’s a long-playing blast of pure country music that eschews modern production tricks and will delight traditionalists and new fans searching for a truer sound.

Bret Ervin belting it out in The Helm. Photo by Anne Marie for Local Hero Media

Countryside Ride singer Bret Ervin Lien stopped into The Helm to record Episode #84 in advance of the record’s release and the band’s big show this coming Saturday at The Secret Society in Portland. He talked about the band’s natural progression from a trio to a five-piece, the inspiration he draws from his daily life for his songwriting, and finding a second home for his band at The Deer Lodge.

He also offers up some songs from a few of his major influences and plays a few stripped-down versions of tunes that highlight the new album. One listen to this podcast and you’ll know why we’ve come to love and admire this very humble, talented singer-songwriter as well as the super cool folks he calls bandmates. So sit back, buckle up and enjoy a ride through the Pacific Northwest countryside.

Here’s the playlist:

All You’ll Ever Be, Countryside Ride
I Hope He Breaks Your Heart, Countryside Ride
Since You’ve Been Gone (Live In The Helm), Bret Ervin
Ramblin’ Lips, The Cedar Shakes
Pay No Attention To Alice, Tom T. Hall
Other Side Of The Blues, Mike Stinson
Truck Driver’s Lament (Live In The Helm), Bret Ervin
Breakfast Blues, Countryside Ride
Trailer Of Love (Live In The Helm), Bret Ervin

Countryside Ride, 2018: Jessica Kunze, Ian Miller, Bret Ervin Lien, Joshua Kunze and Johnny Payola. Photo by Mirifoto (www.mirifoto.com)

TMFWP Exclusive: The first track from Wanderlodge

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Wanderlodge: Kris Stuart (l) and Matt Cadenelli

Stream “I Want More” by Wanderlodge: I Want More

By Phil Favorite

Kris Stuart and Matt Cadenelli of the new Portland-based roots duo Wanderlodge are getting ready to take their act on the road in February. But before they load up the bus and head for sunny California, they decided to share a taste of what they recently cooked up in a one-day recording session at Mike Coykendall’s Blue Rooms Studio.

Known as terrific band leaders in their own right, Stuart and Cadenelli show off the raw power and beauty they can conjure with just a couple of guitars and their voices on “I Want More.” Backed by Cadenelli’s shimmering harmony, Stuart takes the lead on a simple, original song that examines the dangerous pull of desire and the warm comfort of redemption.

“I Want More” is the first track on a nine-song CD to be available exclusively on the group’s upcoming tour. No downloads of the tracks (most were written by friends and heroes of the band) will be made available, as the band reserves the right to make digital singles of the songs they wrote. Other bands and artists invoked include Jezebel’s Mother, Deadstring Brothers, Drunken Prayer, Ronnie Lane, Tom Petty, Gillian Welch and Kevn Kinney.

Folks in California — especially in Cadenelli’s old stomping grounds of Santa Barbara and Ojai —will have plenty of chances to catch Wanderlodge on this tour, which includes a stop at Pappy & Harriet’s in Pioneertown. The band returns to the Pacific Northwest to wrap the tour in the first few weeks of March.

For a full track listing on the tour CD and for a full list of tour dates, see below:

Track list:

  1. I Want More (K. Stuart)
  2. Blanket of Soul (M. Cadenelli)
  3. River Don’t Care (J. Carper)
  4. Can’t Make It Through The Night (K. Marschke)
  5. Pearls and Swine (M. Geer)
  6. One For The Road (R. Lane)
  7. Even The Losers (T. Petty)
  8. Annabelle (G. Welch)
  9. The Country Song (K. Kinney)

Tour Dates:
Feb. 15 — Sutter Creek Provisions, Sutter Creek CA
Feb. 16 — The Deer Lodge, Ojai CA
Feb. 17 — The Brewhouse, Santa Barbara CA
Feb. 18 — Figureroa Mountain Brewery, Buellton, CA
Feb. 21 — Laginitas Brewing Co., Azusa CA
Feb. 22 — Madewest Brewery, Ventura CA
Feb. 23 — The Libertine Pub, Morro Bay CA
Feb. 24 — Foxtail Kitchen & Bar, Santa Barbara CA
Feb. 25 — Topa Mountain Winery, Ojai CA
Feb. 26 — Pappy & Harriet’s, Pioneertown CA
Feb. 27 — Lander Brewing, Landers CA
March 3 — Old School MusicFest, Willamina OR
March 4 — Seaside Brewing, Seaside OR
March 5-7 — Pickled Fish, Long Beach WA
March 9 — Workers Tavern, Astoria OR
March 10 — Sou’wester Lodge, Long Beach WA
March 20 — Springhouse Cellar, Hood River OR