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Kris Stuart (L) of Root Jack with our own Mike Lee

Episode #10 new Root Jack!

By PHIL FAVORITE

Merry Christmas everybody! Thanks for dialing into That Much Further West Podcast. We’re very pleased to be able to share some of our favorite tunes from this past year on this latest episode, and also a brand-new cut from Root Jack’s upcoming full-length release.

Rise Again, a smoldering riff-riddled rocker, is presented here as Exhibit A for why we think Root Jack’s new album, “Oasis Motel,” will be one of 2014’s best listens and most talked about records. Our pal Kris Stuart, Root Jack’s leader, was kind enough to share the final mixes with us so we could share them with you! And that is what we plan to do in the coming weeks ahead of the record’s release. So stay tuned for more new killer tracks from Root Jack.

From the playlist, you’ll see we tried to balance some of this year’s more notable releases from the Americana sphere along with a number of cuts local to our scene here in our homebase of Portland, Ore. Many of the tunes were simply favorites from the past few years that we really dig and thought you’d enjoy.

Here’s the playlist . . . hope you like the show! Happy Holidays, y’all.

That Much Further West (show theme), Lucero
Rise Again, Root Jack
Caroline Williams, Band of Heathens
Fox In The Hen House, Rachel Brooke
Bartender’s Blues, Countryside Ride
Parted Ways, Heartless Bastards
Some Days, Sturgill Simpson
Tin Star, Lindi Ortega
Kiss The Bottle, Lucero
Good Time Gal, Copper & Coal
Penny, The Honeycutters
Up On The Hill, The Resolectrics
Kristin & Billy, Slim Cessna’s Auto Club
Hail Hail, Shovels & Rope
No One Alive, Wilkinson Blades
Sweet Roseanne, Kristin Hirsch
Can’t Be Satisfied, Hillstomp
Antique Hearts, American Aquarium
Barricades, Son Volt
Hot Denver #1, Denver
Ruby, The Black Lillies
No Honky Tonks, The Bastard Sons Of Johnny Cash
I Can See You Are Always So Sad, Drunken Prayer
Stockholm, Jason Isbell
Sweet But Bitter Life, Possessed By Paul James

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Episode #9 Deer Lodge George Jones tribute

By PHIL FAVORITE

Welcome back to the blog everyone. Super stoked to share this week’s episode featuring songs from the great new tribute to country legend George Jones compiled by producers Ezra Meredith and Bert Sperling of the Deer Lodge. The project, which features 30 songs on two CDs — more than 20 of which were recorded at the Deer Lodge studio in Portland — is due to be released locally in Portland toward the end of December, and we at That Much Further West Podcast are beyond thrilled to be able to share so many of the tunes in this week’s episode.

We invited Ezra and Deer Lodge recording artist Nate Wallace of Hearts of Oak (who has a track on the tribute) to join us in The Helm for the recording of the episode, and Mike, Eric and I had a great time hanging with these two fine gentlemen. Both are super talented dudes: Nate’s an awesome songwriter who I greatly admire as both an artist and a friend, and Ezra’s an extremely musical engineer with an tremendously deft touch in the studio and phenomenal taste in music. Big thanks, dudes, for taking some time for us. Good whiskey, good times.

So, how to describe the Deer Lodge? Well, it’s both a record label and physical plant. From the outside, the place looks like your typical unassuming single-family suburban home. But beyond that streetscape lies a three-pronged musical monster: the basement of the home serves as the recording studio space; the garage is a clubhouse complete with a bar with running taps and is decorated as a tribute to great music and culture from the 60s and 70s; and the backyard features a covered stage and a performance space for shows hosted during the summer months.

Over the past several years, I’ve become a quite of fan of the music coming out of the studio, with records from Drunken Prayer, Hearts of Oak and the Meredith Brothers in steady rotation. But I’m simply blown away that Ezra and Bert managed to bring this compilation from conception to fruition in just six months.

The project features a number of personal friends and many of local Portland acts that I’ve come to admire over the last few years. It also has several artists and bands I’d never heard before, which makes it a rewarding listen in multiple ways. So cool.

I’m sure you’ll agree once you give the new episode a spin, so without further adieu . . . After the show theme (Lucero’s That Much Further West), here’s this week’s playlist:

Songs from Deer Lodge, A Tribute To George Jones

White Lightning, Sassparilla

Still Doing Time, Lewi Longmire with the Portland Country Underground

The Race Is On, Water Tower

When The Grass Grows Over Me, Tyler Stenson

Walk Through This World With Me, Copper & Coal

The Grand Tour, Keeter & Ali

Seasons Of My Heart, The Tumblers

He Stopped Loving Her Today, Stephanie Lynn

Tennessee Whiskey, Brush Prairie

The Ghost Of Another Man, Shawn Smith

Wings Of A Dove, Fernando

We’re Gonna Hold On, Hook & Anchor

The Battle, Meredith Brothers

If You Couldn’t Get The Picture, Bert Sperling

Must’ve Been Drunk, Hearts Of Oak

Golden Ring, Neon Renaissance

The Door, Owen Grace

I Just Don’t Give a Damn, Gabe Rozell

Selfishness In Man, Drunken Prayer

Man, what a great collection of music. Be sure to look these artists up to learn more about their music and when they’re playing out live near you. And Portlanders, look for me at the George Jones Tribute record release celebration at The Landmark Saloon on Dec. 20. Stay tuned for more news about the worldwide distribution of the double disc and for more music from the tribute in coming episodes.

Thanks again for tuning in! Enjoy the Episode.

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AP Dugas

Episode #8 with AP Dugas

By PHIL FAVORITE

What a great couple of sets Saturday night at Landmark Saloon in Portland by The Ganges River Band. Killer mix of original tunes from the band’s self-titled debut album and classic country covers. They even delivered a cool version of No Expectations by the Rolling Stones . . . one of my all-time favorite tunes.

Big thanks to AP Dugas for taking a little time out after the show to tell the band’s story — there’s a lot classic rock, southern rock and punk in his background. Interesting how a rocker from the heat and humidity of Houston, Texas, winds up a rising country star in the rainy Pacific Northwest.

With last week’s holiday pushing us all to the brink with work and family, Mike, Eric and I decided to do another all-music episode this week. We compiled a rib-stickin’ mix of rock and country to tide you over until we hit The Helm again this week for more vulgar merriment and holiday fun.

Big shows coming up with Drunken Prayer’s CD release at Dante’s here in Portland this coming Saturday night, and our Podcast showcase at Alberta Street Pub with Wilkinson Blades and Spirit Lake on Dec. 12. Locals can check out the Live PDX page here at the website for more show listings

But in the meantime, we hope you enjoy this week’s show. Here’s the playlist.

That Much Further West (show theme), Lucero

Van Gough, Two Cow Garage

Dead Man’s Blues, Matt Woods

Mayberry, I Can Lick Any Sonofabitch In The House

Arizona Death Song, Jackrabbit

Western Town, The Lonesomes

Driver Pull, Tim Barry

The Crease, Arliss Nancy

The Dalles, Bad Assets

Turn Up The Bottle, Whitey Morgan and the 78s

I Still Believe, Frank Turner

Six Bottles Of Wine, The Ganges River Band

Interview with AP Dugas of The Ganges River Band

I Am Your Man, The Ganges River Band

Tennessee, American Aquarium

Somebody Loves You, Austin Lucas

The Closer You Get, Lucero

Whiskey Bent and Hell Bound, Hank Williams Jr.

One Steals The Load, Emily Herring

Am I That Lonely Tonight, Justin Townes Earle

32 Mouths Gone Dry, Slim Cessna’s Auto Club

Tickin’ Bomb, Shovels & Rope

Missouri Boy, The Hooten Hollers

Women Without Whiskey, Drive-By Truckers

• A few thoughts about this Episode . . . maybe a one long stream of consciousness rant? . . . Have you heard a better song than Dead Man’s Blues by Matt Woods this year? What a powerhouse that young man is . . . Arizona Death Song by Jackrabbit never fails to hit that hole in the heart left by the loss of anyone you’ve loved. Powerful stuff . . . This episode marks the first time on the podcast that we’ve played a song from my band, The Lonesomes. Eric was nice enough to suggest and Mike to pick Western Town, a song I’m extremely proud of because it was co-written with my dear friend and guitar partner Mark Dybvig. If you’ve never seen the band, we’ll be playing the “second Thursday” Podcast showcase in January at Alberta Street Pub with the very cool Sarah Gwen. . . . Which brings me to a thought that’s kind of been bugging me about the show . . .

• There’s a bit of a hubbub these days regarding the lack of female voices on mainstream country radio, which got me thinking, “Hey, the podcast isn’t doing much better.” We have a few of our favorites that we’ve shared, like our friends Carra Stasney and Leslie Beia from Copper & Coal; Lydia Loveless, who has a kickass new CD out; and this week our old pal Emily Herring, whose greatness transcends all stereotypes and boundaries. A few more as well (Kate Mann, Shovels & Rope, Neko Case); so many great female voices out there. But one only has to look at this week’s songlist to see it might be time for a more concerted effort to get the ladies in our musical lives a little better representation. Let’s see if I can back that up in the coming weeks.

OK, keeping it kind of short this week. We have tons of great stuff brewing in the coming weeks, so please stay tuned! Thanks for coming along for the ride. Always a good time. Cheers!

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Willy Tea Taylor

Episode #7 with Willy Tea Taylor

Ah, yes, it’s great to be back and excited to share Episode 7 with all of you. Here to bring healthy dose of bonus information to go with the latest show, which features an interview Eric did about a month back with the great Willy Tea Taylor.

Willy T. and his world-class beard were in Portland in October to play a show with the Harmed Brothers and he came by The Helm to sit down for a chat with Eric and strum a few tunes. We also have a Trio Bravo from our favorite bartender, Matt Doran from the Hawthorne Theater Lounge (or as we like to call it, the bar that no one will name). Always great to see and hear from Matt, who’s just about the nicest guy in town.

So let’s get started, shall we? Here’s the playlist for Episode 7.

That Much Further West (show theme), Lucero

All I Need, Root Jack

When You See Me, The Harmed Brothers

Mountain, The Deep Dark Woods

All I Know, Lydia Loveless

Wichita Skyline, Drag The River

Frenchy, Drunken Prayer

Get The Wheels A Rollin’, J.B. Beverley

The Trial, The Sadies

Songs We Used To Sing, Possessed By Paul James

Blue Eyes, Riviera

Trio Bravo from Matt Doran

I Hope He Breaks Your Heart, American Aquarium

Birmingham, Shovels & Rope

Life Is Beautiful, Willy Tea Taylor

Inteview with Willy Tea Taylor

Open Range, The Drew Landry Band

Words, The James Low Western Front

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Episode #6 "All Music"

Welcome back to the blog, folks. Philly here, kicking back in front of the computer enjoying an “all music” version of the podcast. Our team of burly ogres ran into some technical difficulties during our weekly recording of the podcast, which forced our hand into providing you with a shenanigans-free episode. I’m sure this will come as a welcome relief to many of you, and hey, it’s all about the music, right?

Well, expect us back in all our vulgar glory soon. But for now, let’s enjoy some great music. This week’s playlist has tons of terrific stuff local to our scene here in Portland, plus lots of cool songs both new and old from the world of alt-country. So let’s get started, shall we.

Here’s this week’s playlist:

That Much Further West (show theme), Lucero
Chinatown, James Sasser
Whisky Bottle, Pat Macdonald
Soul Salvation, Ron Rogers & The Wailing Wind
Katherine Belle, American Aquarium
Tell The Ones I Love, Steep Canyon Rangers
16 Days, Whiskeytown
Brazil, Drunken Prayer
Somewhere In My Heart, The Volebeats
Pastor of the Pines, Root Jack
Bloody 98, Blue Mountain
Roll On The Rusted Days, Howlin Rain
Stopping By, Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit
Walking Out The Door, John Doe
Everybody Run, Digger Barnes
Where They Say You Been Livin’, Tom VandenAvond
Troubadour, Arliss Nancy
Bikeriders, Lucero
My Great Gatsby, Two Cow Garage
Looks Like I’m Up Shit Creek Again, Nora O’Connor
Hurricane, Possessed By Paul James
Doreen, Old 97s
Watch Me Fall, Uncle Tupelo
Perfect Day, Lou Reed

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Austin Lucas

Episode #5 with Austin Lucas interview

Back in the saddle after a week away. For this week’s podcast, we’re celebrating the birth of Eric and Jean’s beautiful baby girl, Ruby, and cranking up some great music to share with you all.

Nice to think we were able to rally back after missing just one week; it’s like it never happened! And right up to the moment Ruby arrived, Eric was busting his ass to bring you a great interview with Austin Lucas while Mike and I were hitting some key shows around town, including the Harmed Brothers CD release show at Mississippi Studios here in beautiful Portland.

We reconvened last week in The Helm to crank out Episode #5 and raise a glass to the wee one and her rock star mother. So, let’s see what we came up with.

Here’s the playlist for this week:

That Much Further West (show theme), Lucero

Stubborn Blood, Mulehead

Starting All Over Again, The Sadies

Go West, Austin Lucas

I Need You To Tell Me Who I Am, John Moreland

I Made A Mess Of This Town, Scott Miller & The Commonwealth

Mantle In ’56, Two Cow Garage

Mexican Blanket, Scotland Barr & The Slow Drags

Dealth Of The Life Of The Party, Drag The River

Change The Locks, The Silos

Colorado Cool-Aid, Johnny Paycheck

There’s a Heartache Going ‘Round, John Paul Keith

TRIO BRAVO (three songs picked by Daisy Fulgham, supercool wife of Jackrabbit singer Tony Fulgham)

Can’t Make It Through the Night, Deadstring Brothers

You Can’t Be Told, Valerie June

I Am Your Man, The Ganges River Band

Interview with Austin Lucas

Top Dollar, Whiskeytown

Jesus Was A Wino, Lydia Loveless

Sweet But Bitter Life, Possessed By Paul James

When You See Me, The Harmed Brothers

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Kurtis Marschke

Episode#4 with Kurtis from the Deadstring Brothers

Greetings folks! It’s Philly again, back with your weekly dose of info and thoughts on the latest podcast. This one features a ton of great music including a Trio Bravo from listener Chris Green and a sweet interview and performance by Kurtis Marschke of Deadstring Brothers, who Eric, Mike and I pinned down for an interview at last summer’s Wildwood Music Festival.

Just a quick note to say thank you all for the great input we’ve received about the podcast and blog so far. Feedback mostly has centered on the Flash-based website and the inability to view it and play the podcast or blog on mobile devices. We’re taking steps to solve these problems so the podcast can be a more enjoyable experience for more folks. Big changes in the works. Stay tuned.

Also, we unsuccessfully tweaked our recording levels for this podcast, which may require you to ride your volume knob throughout the podcast. Hey, it’s interactive! Hah! Sorry about that. Plus, our file was a little too large to be served well on a Firefox browser. Oh well, more things to fix.

Rocktober continues with tons more great shows here in Portland over the next few weeks, so look for us out and about. We’re hitting as many as we can and will report back to you of our comings and goings.

Here’s a look at this week’s playlist:

Playlist for Podcast No. 4 (recorded 10-9-13)

That Much Further West (Demo; show theme), Lucero

Drunken Poet’s Dream, Ray Wylie Hubbard

Concrete And Barbed Wire, Lucinda Williams

Cowboys Are My Weakness, Kate Mann

Reba, Lee Bains III & The Glory Fires

You Can Have The Crown, Sturgill Simpson

Love Like This, Drive-By Truckers

Drunk & Single (for George Jones), Joe Fletcher & The Wrong Reasons

Tulsa County Rail, Rubella Graves

Whiskey Rain, Railbenders

Good For You, Truckstop Darlin’

TRIO BRAVO (three songs picked by superfan Chris Green)

Blues Of Sin/Babylove, Pat Macdonald

She Don’t Care, White Trash Blues Revival

Somebody Take Me Home (LLRS Live), Phillip Roebuck

Interview with Kurtis Marschke from Deadstring Brothers.

Let Me In, Austin Lucas

She’s A Lot Like Texas, The Derailers

Meanest Jukebox In Town, Whitey Morgan and the 78s

Daddy Raised A Boy, Scott Miller & The Commonwealth

I Can’t Believe I’ve Fallen, Copper & Coal

Money Back, The Resolectrics

Pappy, Ugly Valley Boys

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Matt Woods

Episode # 3 with the Matt Woods interview

And off we go with Episode #3 and a big couple of weeks of live music staring us in the face. It’s me, Philly again, sharing some notes and thoughts from our latest podcast, taped live last week at The Helm, our secret hideout in North Portland.

A little late with the blog this week because I’ve been buried in live shows all weekend, including Sunday night’s TMFWP team-building field trip to the Lucero show at Mississippi Studios. I’m sure you’ll be hearing more about this grand event in our next episode. To say the least, the show was a little disappointing. It was Lucero’s second show of the day, it started really late, and frontman Ben Nichols was admittedly too drunk to sing or play. Mike and Eric were pretty bummed because they both love Lucero and they wanted the show to kick my ass. Needless to say, it didn’t, though I can see how I probably would have liked it had Nichols been able to keep it together. Alas . . . best team-building moment came when some smacked-out twerp idiot threatened to punch me in the face (for reasons still unknown to me) only to have big Mike step in and explain his options: back off, or die. Eric played peace maker. It was all pretty funny. Spent the rest of the show waiting for a brawl to break out, and hoping I could avoid it. It was one of those nights . . . super drunk crowd . . . you had to have your antennae up.

Anyways, back to this week’s show. We got some really great new music, a cool interview with the great singer and songwriter Matt Woods, and a Trio Bravo from our buddy Bryan Childs of Ninebullets.net. Here’s the playlist:

Playlist for Podcast No. 3 (recorded 10-2-13)

That Much Further West (show theme song), Lucero

Iron Road, Old 97’s with Waylon Jennings

The Very Best, The Harmed Brothers

Unhinged, The Drams

Hopeless, Riviera

The Travelin’ Kind, Tom VandenAvond

My Rolling Wino, Whiskey Folk Ramblers

Murphy Bed, Matthew Lindley

Gin, Smoke, Lies, The Turnpike Troubadours

Louisiana Beauty Queen, American Aquarium

Postcards and Apologies, I Can Lick Any Sonofabitch in the House

Interview with Matt Woods

TRIO BRAVO (three songs picked by Bryan Childs of Ninebullets.net)

Zip City, Drive-By Truckers

Feed The Family, Possessed By Paul James

Amy’s In The Kitchen, Left Lane Cruiser

Used To It Now, Hearts Of Oak

Jail Free, Rich West Blatt & The Once In A While Sky

Recovery, Frank Turner

For Awhile, The Swearengens

Blood On My Hands, Old Man Markley

Birmingham, Shovels & Rope

Hot Denver #1, Denver

Joe Hill’s Ashes, Otis Gibbs

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Willy Vlautin

Episode #2 with the Willy Vlautin interview

Back in a blaze of glory, welcome to the blog supplement to our second podcast!

It’s me again, Philly, sharing some more info from our latest show. We’re very excited to announce that we have a name for our secret hideout, the bar in North Portland where we tape the show. Thanks to the brilliance of the lovely, talented and very pregnant Jean Kotila (Eric’s bride), our new home has been dubbed “The Helm.” Considering there’s a framed portrait of Levon Helm perched proudly on the back of the bar, among several bottles of whiskey, I’d say that Jean hit a home run with this one. Thanks Jean!!!

Which reminds me . . . we need to start posting some photos. I promise to get on that.

Now, brace yourself for another fun and sometimes vulgar thrill ride on the back roads of Americana music and an interview with author Willy Vlautin, leader of one of our favorite bands, Richmond Fontaine.. Here’s the playlist:

Playlist for Podcast No. 2 (recorded 9-25-13)

That Much Further West (show theme song), Lucero

Late In The Night, Heartless Bastards

Just Like a Gillian Welch Song, Split Lip Rayfield

We Welcome You Home, Possessed by Paul James

Last Song About Satan, Slim Cessna’s Auto Club

Way To Kansas, Carrie Nation and the Speakeasy

Truck Driver, Scott H. Biram

Something Changed, Chris Knight

A Killer’s Dream, Rachel Brooke

Always On The Ride, Richmond Fontaine

Interview With Willy Vlautin of Richmond Fontaine

TRIO BRAVO (three songs picked by Derek Phillips of Riviera)

American Dreamer, Gene Clark

North Star, Magnolia Electric Co.

Fast Escape, The Don Of Division Street

C’mon Quinn, Tim Barry

Tow Truck, The Good Luck Thrift Store Outfit

Down The Highway, Son Volt

Bad Luck Man, Delaney Davidson

Ain’t No Grave, Drunken Prayer

Tears Don’t Matter Much, Lucero

Sweetness, That’s Your Cue, Slobberbone

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Kris Stuart

Episode #1 with Kris Stuart from Root Jack

Welcome to the first post for the new That Much Further West Podcast blog. It’s me, Phil Favorite, the newly added producer and co-host, sharing some thoughts, insights and information as a supplement to the podcast. I heartily accepted an invitation from Eric Kotila and Mike Lee to join the team, and it’s been a blast so far. I worked with the boys at the Wildwood Music Festival in July corralling and conducting interviews of the many bands who played the event, and now have survived our first show as a trio!

We’ve decided to change the format from an internet radio show to a podcast to give us the flexibility to gather interviews, present guests and share music on our own schedule. Also, we expect to change the format from time to time: our first show was set up in the standard fashion, a two-hour blast of rollicking music and silly humor with friends and guests joining in. At times, we’ll also be doing shorter podcasts that will focus on single themes such as big concerts, new releases, special guests and maybe even the local Portland shows that will be presented under our TMFWP flag. On that note, expect to hear a lot about our regular monthly showcase at the Alberta Street Pub in Portland, happening on the second Thursday of every month and featuring bands that fit the TMFWP profile, meaning they’re tangy, twangy, raucous and rockin’.

You’ll also be hearing a lot about our new digs: we’ll be holed up in a private bar in North Portland and outfitted with the essentials: a cold keg of Rainier and enough bourbon to kill an elephant. You may notice the direct effects of this new arrangement in the second hour of this first show. It’s sloppy from the start, but gets better (for the most part) as we go on.

One thing definitely remains the same from the old show. We’re gonna share it with you warts and all. All the tapings will be live with no editing, so our many gaffes will be there for you to mock and enjoy. We launch the first show with a pretty good whopper, but our ears were pinned and there was no turning back.

So let’s get started, eh? Here’s the playlist from the first show:

Playlist for Podcast No. 1 (9-18-13)

That Much Further West (show theme song), Lucero
Long Lonely Ride, Deadstring Brothers
Stars & Gutters, Two Cow Garage
Get Up Jake, The Band
War With Hell, The Hooten Hallers
Alone in Memphis, Austin Lucas
Traveling Alone, Jason Isbell
What Do I Know, Jackrabbit
Let’s Go Burn Ole Nashville Down, Jello Biafra (with Mojo Nixon)
The Very Beginning, The Sadies

Kris Stuart of Root Jack (solo acoustic)
Barlights
Interview
Think Too Much
Johnny Ray Dupree, Matt Woods

3:59am, John Moreland

TRIO BRAVO (three songs picked by Kip Lindig of WhistlePunk!)
Come Pick Me Up, Ryan Adams
Black Rose, Waylon Jennings
No Sense In Lovin’,  Uncle Tupelo

Another Fine Mess, Have Gun, Will Travel
Mr. Fly, Mike Coykendall
I Think I’ll Stay Here And Drink, Merle Haggard
Bastard Child, Hellbound Glory
Lost In The Trees, Richmond Fontaine