TMFWP Special: Live From The Helm, Vol. 1

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Bar lights at The Helm . . . our home base in Portland, OR, USA. Photo by Christopher Sohler

Live From The Helm, Vol. 1

It’s a bar. It’s a basement. It’s a warm gathering space for friends. And it’s our home base here at That Much Further West Podcast.

The Helm, so named in honor of the great Levon Helm, is all that and so much more, for in a little over a year it has been a place for co-hosts Eric Kotila, Mike Lee and Phil Favorite to record the show and receive their guests for good times and great performances.

So to kick off 2015, we’ve gathered some of the best live performances from our first year-plus in The Helm to create this very special podcast. You’ll hear songs not only by some of our best friends but also folks we’ve come to admire for their fantastic talents and artistic integrity. The performances are raw, righteous, some a little bit flawed, but all straight from the heart and aimed at your soul.

We’re looking forward to inviting more and more great singers, songwriters and players into The Helm as 2015 continues. It’s a great way for you to get to know them better and for them to promote record releases, upcoming performances and tours. And as you’ll discover by playing this podcast, we’re blessed by an abundance of talented friends both local to Portland and Oregon but also California, Washington and across the U.S.A.

Special thanks to all the artists who took the time to support the podcast and lend their talents, and also a big thanks to the Kotila Family — Eric, his lovely wife Jean and their beautiful baby Ruby (who makes a cameo on this podcast) — for opening up their home to our wonderful community.

So here it is . . . the playlist for Live From The Helm, Vol. 1. Dig it.

Step By Step, Chris Miller and James Sasser (Miller & Sasser)
Call Your Shot, Willy Tea
Slave Boy, Ron Rogers (with Deborah Giles)
Think Too Much, Kris Stuart (of Root Jack)
Greedy, Sarah Gwen
Little Birds, Freddy Trujillo
The Road, Joel Roth (of The Low Bones, with Paul Brainard)
On Mobile Bay, Morgan Geer (of Drunken Prayer, with Christa Geer)
Just Like A Fool, Rich West Blatt
Used To It Now, Nate Wallace (of Hearts of Oak, with Ezra Meredith and J. Lever)
My Beloved, Bradford Loomis & Beth Whitney
Peaceful Release, Nick Foltz (of Lowlight)
Only Blind, Tate Peterson (of The Resolectrics)
Crowhurst, Henry Kammerer (of Hillstomp)

Episode #15 featuring Bradford Loomis and Beth Whitney

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Beth Whitney and Bradford Loomis

Episode #15 w/Bradford Loomis and Beth Whitney

Back in the saddle after a wild, wonderful President’s Day weekend. This week’s podcast  features a terrific performance and interview with Bradford Loomis and Beth Whitney live in The Helm with host Eric Kotila.

Beth and Bradford were in Portland last week recording their new record, “The Banner Days,” the product of a successful crowd-funding campaign that has them crackling with creative electricity and confidence. You can hear it in their voices as they share some songs, talk about their influences and tell the backstory of how two great solo artists and friends came together to write and record the new record.

We couldn’t help but kickoff this week’s show with another tune from the awesome new Lydia Loveless LP, which hits the streets today. We also have new music from The Low Bones, whose captain, Joel Roth, will be our guest on next week’s show in advance of their big CD release show at Secret Society here in Portland.

We added in a bunch of cool stuff from some of our favorite troubadours and tons of local music including cuts from Jake Ray and the Cowdogs, Copper & Coal, Mike D., McDougall, The Delines, Truckstop Darlin’ and Countryside Ride.

Here’s this week’s playlist. Hope you enjoy the show!

Wine Lips, Lydia Loveless
Our Own Way, The Low Bones
Roadworn and Weary, Supersuckers
Waltz, Trains, Wires and Wood, Soda Gardocki
Bound To Ride, Jayke Orvis and the Broken Band
Busted Knuckles, Tom VandenAvond
The Mountain, Lucero
Oh Henry, The Civil Wars
Interview with Bradford Loomis and Beth Whitney
Come Dance With Me (Live from The Helm), Bradford Loomis and Beth Whitney
My Beloved (Live from The Helm), Bradford Loomis and Beth Whitney
Come To Jesus, Mindy Smith
Troubadour, Arliss Nancy
Waiting Around To Die, The Be Good Tanyas
Anita, Jake Ray & The Cowdogs
Long Story Short, Copper & Coal
Swingset Assassin, Two Cow Garage
I Love The Rain, Michael Dean Damron & Thee Loyal Bastards
Gates Of Victory, McDougall
I Won’t Slip Up, The Delines
Trailer Of Love, Countryside Ride
Bluegrass State, Truckstop Darlin’
Detlef Schrempf (Live Acoustic), Band Of Horses
Gin, Smoke, Lies, Turnpike Troubadours
Hurricane, Possessed By Paul James