Tag Archives: Mike Coykendall

TMFWP Special: An American Forrest

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Forest Van Tuyl in his natural habitat — the mountains of Eastern Oregon. Photo by Ben Herndon

When you give up the paved highways of the West for the horse trails of Eastern Oregon’s Wallowa Mountains, life slows down. Nature’s beauty reveals itself more subtly, as do the people who take to life in the backcountry.

Forrest VanTuyl is one of those people. A few years back he decided to pursue the life of a horseman and settled in the tiny town of Joseph, OR, a remote place in Northeastern Oregon that serves as a gateway to some of the most beautiful landscape in the world.

And as he’s learning the packing skills and tack of a mountain trail outfitter, he continues to apply his keen eye for detail to his poetry and the songwriting that he shares as An American Forrest — an insightful blend of Western folk and country music that has drawn praise from fans and critics alike.

Podcast co-host Phil Favorite caught up with Forrest during his recent stop in Portland to play one of 20-or-so shows his band is playing in support of the new An American Forrest record, “Oh Bronder, Yonder Donder?” Landmark Saloon in SE Portland seemed an appropriate meeting place for the interview, it being just blocks from where “Oh Bronder” was recorded by Mike Coykendall at his Blue Room Studio.

Over the course of this special episode, Forrest talks about his life as a horseman in Eastern Oregon, his connection to the tradition of cowboy poetry and music, life on the road with his talented singer-songwriter wife Margo Cilker, and the mining of inspiration from his many hours spent in the backcountry. Also we share a number of tunes from the new album (listed below).

An American Forrest will be playing the Northwest Folklife Festival in Seattle this weekend and will be at Fort George Brewery in Astoria, OR, on Sunday, May 26. Also, be sure to check out the video below offering an intimate look inside the making of “Oh Bronder.”

Sam’s House
Yonder Mountain
Rawhide
Pendleton Overcoat

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

TMFWP Special — Live From The Helm, Vol. 2

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The Helm . . . our home in Portland, Oregon, USA. Photo by Christopher Sohler

Live From The Helm, Vol. 2

To put the wraps on another year of podcasting from our hometown of Portland, Oregon, USA, we’re excited to share “Live From The Helm, Vol. 2,” our second-annual collection of live performances from the 20 artists and bands who were featured on Episodes #40 through #60 of That Much Further West Podcast in 2015.

Needless to say, we’re grateful to the talented folks who helped make this year’s podcast collection bigger and better than ever, and also to the many friends and fans of the show who listened in and served as a wonderful live audience during our show tapings at The Helm.

We hope this collection of live performances will bring back some great memories from 2015 and build some anticipation for what we’ll have in store for next year. We’re expecting big things for the podcast in 2016 and we hope you’ll come along for the ride.

Below is the list of songs and artists included in this year’s collection for you to enjoy. From all of us to all of you, Happy New Year!

Saving Me, Timber County
Prison Song, Denver
San Andreas Fault, The Earnest Lovers
Ants In The Kitchen, The HIllwilliams
The Fire, Jenny Don’t & The Spurs
It’s Ain’t Gay To Love Jesus, The Git Rights Gospel Revue
Hold You Like A Harness, Hip Hatchet
Love Looks Like A Master, Morgan Geer of Drunken Prayer
Adopt A Highway, Alex Salcido of The Harmed Brothers
Chris Bell, M. Lockwood Porter
Man Of The Year, Purusa
Then And There, Barna Howard
Beer Holder, Bad Assets
You Don’t Have To Treat You That Way, Mike Coykendall
A Life In Progress, Ray Vietti of The Harmed Brothers
The Man I Am Today, Stars of Cascadia
Mutiny, Sassparilla
Your American Past, Indianhead
Ocean Rock And Sand, Moody Little Sister
The Whisper, Jeremy Wilson

 

Episode #53 featuring Mike Coykendall

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The one and only Mike Coykendall. Photo by Chad Lanning (courtesy of Fluff & Gravy Records)

Episode #53 featuring Mike Coykendall

We’re gearing up big time this week for the upcoming Wildwood MusicFest & Campout here in beautiful Oregon, but we made time to gather with friends for another hot summertime episode in The Helm, this time featuring local musical treasure Mike Coykendall as our guest.

Mike has a fantastic new record coming out this week on Fluff & Gravy Records called “Half Past, Present Pending,” the follow up to his terrific release from a few years back, “Chasing Away The Dots.” He’ll be doing promotional shows all week locally, so if you’re in the Pacific Northwest and want to see a truly original performer, be sure catch one of these handful of gigs (click on our “Live Music Portland” tab for a listing of local shows).

On this episode, Mike tells us about his musical upbringing and the path that led him from America’s heartland to Portland via San Francisco, where he formed and made three great records with the band Old Joe Clarks in the 90s and early oughts. Mike also is a very-much-in-demand audio engineer and producer, having worked with the likes of M Ward and Richmond Fontaine, and has toured the world as a member of M Ward’s band and its popular spinoff, She & Him.

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Mike Coykendall, telling stories and sharing songs  in The Helm. Photo by Christopher Sohler

Mr. Coykendall also shares a couple of sweet live performances on his Baby Taylor acoustic, both songs from the new record. One is a cover of Syd Barrett’s “Late Night,” and the other an original tune called “You Don’t Have To Treat You That Way.”

We also play a couple of recordings from the new record, including “Spacebaker Blues,” a song quite reflective of what Mike’s “rig” shows sound like . . . one man singing, jamming fuzzed out guitar, playing drums with just his feet and occasionally twisting the knobs on an array of assorted electronics. His spin on Roger Miller’s “In The Summertime” illustrates his ability to take somebody else’s song and put his personal stamp on it.

This episode also has new music from some of our favorite artists and bands, including Aaron Lee Tasjan, Jason Isbell, Heartless Bastards and The Swearengens. Lots to chew on with this episode.

So dial it in and crank it up, folks! We’ll see you at Wildwood at the end of the week. Here’s the playlist:

American Tan, Aaron Lee Tasjan
Something More Than Free, Jason Isbell
Ode To Whiskey, Deception Past
Late Night (Live In The Helm), Mike Coykendall
You Don’t Have To Treat You That Way (Live In The Helm), Mike Coykendall
Spacebaker Blues, Mike Coykendall
In The Summertime, Mike Coykendall
Cigarettes, Matthew Lindley
Black Cloud, Heartless Bastards
Last Ride, C.W. Ayon
Stono River Blues, Shovels & Rope
Long Lonely Winter, The Swearengens
Cherokee, John Moreland
Nobody Asked To Be Born, Shane Sweeney
15 White Horses, HIllstomp
I Still Believe, Frank Turner