Tag Archives: Miller & Sasser

March Podcast Picks

Posted on by

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS

Tylor & The Train Robbers are set for a big year in support of their new album, “Best of the Worst Kind,” due in April.

As lineups for the Northwest’s big summer music festivals are being revealed, a familiar name continues to pop up, included among several impressive billings.

Tylor & The Train Robbers, the Idaho-based country rock four-piece fronted by singer Tylor Ketchum, is on the bill at three of the festivals on the That Much Further West Podcast radar: The Jackalope Jamboree in Pendleton, OR in June; the Wild Hare Country Festival in Canby, OR in July; and the Braun Brothers Reunion — the annual three-day event hosted by members of Reckless Kelly and Mickey and the Motorcars — in Challis, ID in August.

Here in Portland, OR, USA, we won’t have to wait that long to catch Tylor and the band. They have back-to-back shows scheduled, headlining March 12 at Landmark Saloon and opening for fellow Idahoans Jeff Crosby & The Refugees at Mississippi Studios on March 13.

The shows will provide a great preview of the Train Robbers’ new record, Best of the Worst Kind, due for release on April 26. We open this month’s podcast picks with “Hide Your Goat,” one of a dozen fresh cuts that make up the new record. We’re stoked to be able to share the tune and to catch the band as they roll through town.

Clara Baker’s new record, “Things To Burn,” hits the streets March 8.

Speaking of hot releases, we also share a tune from the new record by avant-folk artist Clara Baker, who celebrates the release with a show at The Old Church in Portland this Saturday, March 2. Born of the bleak, frozen woods of the Midwest, “Doubt” illustrates Baker’s ability to mix measured, lyrical expression with lush instrumentation and arrangements reminiscent of Bon Iver.

Maybe it’s inspiration from Baker, who knows why? But we get pretty folky with this month’s picks, including great songs by Taylor Kingman, James Low, M. Lockwood Porter and Emma Hill. We also were influenced by some of the great shows we’ve witnessed recently, including recent Portland performances by Blackberry Smoke and Drunken Prayer.

We also include great new songs from Robert Ellis, Hayes Carll and Son Volt, and re-stamp our country card on the strength of some fine tunes from Little Sue, Miller & Sasser, Whitney Rose, Dee White, Charles Wesley Godwin and wrap it with a stunning new tune from breakout Country Soul singer Yola.

It’s all there just for y’all, so crank it up!

Here’s the track list for our March Podcast Picks. Enjoy!

Hide Your Goat, Tylor & The Train Robbers
Mind of Its Own, Miller & Sasser
I’ll Keep Ramblin’, Blackberry Smoke
Ain’t No Grave, Drunken Prayer
I Called You Up To See If You Were Dead, Taylor Kingman
Down To You, Little Sue
The Stars Don’t Care, The James Low Western Front
Doubt, Clara Baker
None’ya, Hayes Carll
The 99, Son Volt
Stumbling Toward The Dawn, M. Lockwood Porter
Just Good Night, Michigan Rattlers
Going To California, The Lil’ Smokies
Don’t Knock On My Door, Emma HIll
Nobody Smokes Anymore, Robert Ellis
You Don’t Own Me, Whitney Rose
Crazy Man, Dee White
Coal Country, Charles Wesley Godwin
Ride Out In The Country, Yola

Episode #89 featuring Wes Youssi

Posted on by

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS

Throwback country singer Wes Youssi outside Portland little opry, Landmark Saloon. Photo by Joshua James Huff (www.JoshuaJosue.com)

Stream or download Episode #89: Episode 89 w/Wes Youssi

It’s a long way from Belividere, Illinois to the Pacific Northwest. But when singer Wes Youssi (pronounced YOW-see) wants to get in the right head space for writing his particular brand of traditional-style country music, he lets his mind travel back to that place from his childhood that holds so many warm feelings and fond memories.

The process has served Youssi well, inspiring the kind of songwriting that has earned him plaudits from near and far following the release of one of the best-loved records of 2018. Down Low, the first full-length record by Wes Youssi & The County Champs, has connected with the kind of audience Youssi only could have dreamed about upon its release last January.

Youssi has become a key player in Portland’s burgeoning country scene, which is why we were thrilled to have him join us at Landmark Saloon as the guest for Episode #89 of That Much Further West Podcast. Over the course of an hour, he shares details about the making of the album, his songwriting process, his journey from the Midwest to the West Coast, and how he came to eat a cockroach as part of a personal growth exercise.

Wes Youssi — solo and live at Landmark Saloon in Portland. Photo by Joshua James Huff

He also shares live, solo acoustic performances of the some of the songs that have will have Down Low on many lists of the year’s best records. With a throwback style in the tradition of Hank Williams and Jim Reeves, Youssi has connected with listeners and critics who long for a simpler, more direct sound that once held sway before the bombast, beats and bedazzled jeans of modern country music took over Nashville and terrestrial country radio.

You can listen to or purchase songs from Down Low and also its predecessor, the three-song Devil Woman EP, at Wes’ page at Bandcamp, and search the internet to read a rave review or two of Down Low. In the meantime, kick back and dial up this latest podcast episode to learn more about the man behind the music. And be sure to scroll down to see a video performance referred to during the interview.

Here’s the playlist from Episode #89 of That Much Further West Podcast:

Cadillac Man, Wes Youssi & The County Champs
Crazy Train (Live at Landmark)
Ready To Run (Live at Landmark)
Devil Woman (Live at Landmark)
Into A Bottle (Live at Landmark)
Green Dream, Wes Youssi & The County Champs

May Podcast Picks

Posted on by

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS

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

December Podcast Picks

Posted on by

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS

Chris and Morgane Stapleton — a beautiful and formidable partnership.

Stream or download December Podcast Picks: December ’17 podcast picks

Howdy folks! We’re back! And so, for that matter, is Chris Stapleton, whose new album “From A Room, Volume 2” came out last Friday to the usual round of critical acclaim. We thought it appropriate to launch our December Podcast Picks with the song “Scarecrow In The Garden” because it shows off the beautifully matched voices of Chris and his secret weapon — his wife and musical partner Morgane Stapleton.

Whitney Rose’s new album, Rule 62, is creating a lot of buzz. She’ll be at Bunk Bar in Portland in February.

In fact, there’s an awful lot of wonderful singing on this collection of picks, which skews country in a major way. In the long while since we last put out a playlist, several of the artists included here have released great new records for you to discover and explore. And in the new year, several will be rolling into our town — Portland, Oregon, U.S.A. — and showing off their skills in the live setting.

So give it a spin, make some notes and support these acts when they come through your town. Here’s the playlist, enjoy:

Scarecrow In The Garden, Chris Stapleton
Wake Me In Wyoming, Whitney Rose
65 Days In L.A., Cody Jinks
A Little Pain, Margo Price
El Camino, Left Arm Tan
Highest Building, Anna Tivel
Mind Of Its Own, Miller & Sasser
Postcard, First Aid Kit
Thirteen Silver Dollars, Colter Wall
Troubled End, Jade Jackson
Oh, What A Bummer, Micah Schnabel
If I Could Make You My Own, Dori Freeman
Marfa Lights, Paul Cauthen
Fat And Famous, Ashley McBryde
Diggin’ Holes, Brent Cobb
Jackpot, Nikki Lane
Wannabe, Taylor Kingman
How Tall The Glass, Kristina Murray

Review of Tell It To The Jukebox by Miller & Sasser

Posted on by

Miller & Sasser
Tell It To The Jukebox
(2017, Never Lucky)

By PHIL FAVORITE

There’s a small AM radio station north of Seattle that plays what I would define as classic country music — the hit songs I heard in my mother’s Ford Granada (no FM radio) back in the 70s and 80s. I wasn’t a huge fan of that music back then, but these days when my travels take me up that way, I love switching to that station because it offers such sonic relief and pure contrast from the same-sounding singers, songs and raunchy, computer-generated beats that populate country music radio today.

I get that same feeling of “ahhh” listening Tell It To The Jukebox, the new CD by the Portland-based country duo Miller & Sasser. Their music takes you back to the early 70s when the Charlies — Charley Pride and Charlie Rich — were dominating the charts with songs that went straight for the heart instead of the crotch. No bedazzled jeans here; just great songwriting, killer picking and some really, really fine singing.

The title cut — with its tight twin telecasters and vocal harmonies — tells of a love gone wrong from too much time in the honky tonk. “Lonesome Eyes” is a masterful demonstration of country melody executed with a terrific twangy mix of mandolin, acoustic and electric guitars. And the clever combination of guitars and the smooth vocal delivery of Chris Miller on “Way Out Of No Way” will take you right back to 1974.

More than simple nostalgia, the 10 original songs on Tell It To The Jukebox show how two talented country artists — Mr. Miller and his partner James Sasser — can use the old playbook and still deliver a sound that feels crisp and refreshing.

And if you close your eyes, you can imagine what the AM radio in my mom’s Granada sounded like during country music’s Golden Era.

Podcast Trio Bravo:

Listen to “Tell It To The Jukebox”:  Tell It To The Jukebox

Listen to “Way Out Of No Way”:  Way Out Of No Way

Listen to “Lonesome Eyes”:  Lonesome Eyes

To download or purchase a copy of “Tell It To The Jukebox,” visit Miller & Sasser’s page at Bandcamp. Miller & Sasser will be performing live at the Laurelthirst Public House in Portland on Friday, Nov. 10 with Matty Charles + Katie Rose. Visit the Miller & Sasser website for more info.