Tag Archives: Morgan Geer

Wildwood ’19 Sessions — Drunken Prayer

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Morgan Geer of Drunken Prayer debuts a new song, “Nachos For One,” in the podcast RV at last summer’s Wildwood MusicFest & Campout. Video courtesy of Local Hero Media

Stream or download Wildwood ’19 Sessions — Drunken Prayer: Wildwood ’19 Drunken Prayer

There are a lot of great memories to unpack from last summer’s Wildwood MusicFest & Campout, but certainly one of the best was Drunken Prayer’s Friday night headlining set.

Flanked by a cast of talented Portland-based musicians, frontman Morgan Geer whipped the crowd into a frenzy while delivering tunes from the band’s spectacular breakout album of 2019, Cordelia Elsewhere.

The next day, the crew from That Much Further West Podcast welcomed Geer into the festival podcast RV to talk about the performance and get up to date on all things Drunken Prayer. Geer was in the midst of a cross-country road trip, traveling from his home in Asheville, N.C., along with his wife Krista and 6-year-old son Leon, covering thousands of miles and performing dozens of shows over a 75-day stretch.

He also shared a couple of performances on acoustic guitar, including a brand new song called “Nachos For One” (see video above) that he wrote while on the road in Europe opening for The Handsome Family.

Whenever Morgan and co-hosts Eric Kotila and Mike Lee get together, a lot of laughs ensue. So give it a listen and stayed tuned for more sessions from the RV at Wildwood in coming weeks as we try to shake off the winter doldrums and look ahead to warm, sunny days ahead.

Morgan Geer salutes the crowd after delivering the festival-opening blessing alongside Malachi Graham of Small Million at last summer’s Wildwood MusicFest & Campout in Sheridan, OR, USA. Photo by Anne Marie for Local Hero Media.

TMFW Podcast Special: Catching up with Morgan Geer of Drunken Prayer

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Asheville, N.C.’s Morgan Geer is back with what critics are calling maybe his finest work yet with Drunken Prayer: “Cordelia Elsewhere” is set for release Friday, April 5.

A couple years back — around the time he was about to embark on tour as lead guitarist for alt-country icons Freakwater — Morgan Geer debuted an original song that’s been haunting us here at That Much Further West Podcast ever since.

“Cordelia” has a melody and chorus so catchy it’ll stick in your head like a piece of gum might to your shoe. But it was the fact that Geer — the man behind one of our favorite bands, Drunken Prayer — had recently moved from Portland to the greener pastures of Asheville, N.C. that really made the song hit home.

It’s all come full circle since. Geer recently visited Portland and played a series of shows ahead of the release of his brand-new record with Drunken Prayer, titled Cordelia Elsewhere, due out this Friday on Deer Lodge Records. We caught up with Morgan to talk about the nice response the new record is receiving and our continuing fascination with the title cut.

“Cordelia” is a song about the “scooping out of the middle class,” as Geer puts it, a state of affairs that has become all too common in trendy towns where gentrification is driving up prices on everything from rent to food to real estate.

Geer also talks about how the current state of American politics creeped in as an overarching theme for the new record. He speaks to how divided the nation has become, and about how so many Americans are trapped in costly living situations they can’t get out of.

As for the record, American Standard Time put it this way: “Beware Cordelia Elsewhere. Here Drunken Prayer is exploring pathos with a variety of American sounds. Whistling past the graveyard with garage rock, country, soul, and a power pop vibe that buoys listeners in its murk. Here is the best thing Drunken Prayer has ever done. Emotional work songs for dark days. Songs to sing along to as you dig your own grave.”

In our interview, Geer also shares his plans for the rest of the year, which include a summer trip back to the west coast for a series of shows, including an appearance at this year’s Wildwood MusicFest & Campout in July.

And all along the way we play new cuts from the record. So kick back and have a listen and learn more about what makes this killer singer-songwriter tick and why you won’t want to miss his next performance when he visits a town near you soon.

Enjoy! Here’s a playlist of songs included:

Into The Water
It Happens All The Time
Cordelia
Science
Rubble & Dust

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 #47 featuring Morgan Geer of Drunken Prayer

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The one and only Morgan Geer of Drunken Prayer re-visiting The Helm. Photo by Christopher Sohler (christophersohler.com)

Episode #47 with Morgan Geer

His home base these days is Asheville, N.C., USA, but the Pacific Northwest always keeps a light on for Morgan Geer of Drunken Prayer, our guest in The Helm for Episode #47. A longtime friend and favorite of the podcast, the Reverend Geer stopped by while doing a spate of shows — some solo, some with a filled out Drunken Prayer — in Oregon and Washington over the past few weeks.

In the course of our interview, Morgan talks about the different approaches he’s taken to the three Drunken Prayer records, the single he put out last year featuring songs by The Band and Willis Alan Ramsay, and the album he’s working on that will be coming out this summer on Fluff & Gravy Records. He also tells how he’ll be playing tour dates as a touring member of the seminal alt-country band Freakwater, which will be out supporting a new record on which Geer played guitar.

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Love Looks Like A Master — Morgan Geer, laying it down at The Helm in April 2015. Photo by Christopher Sohler

Morgan also shared a few solo versions of songs to expect on the coming Drunken Prayer album — “Love Looks Like A Master” and “Machines.” He said the new record won’t be as lo-fi as the previous Drunken Prayer record, House of Morgan, but not necessarily “just another Drunken Prayer record.”

He’ll be back in the Pacific Northwest this coming summer to play some shows in support of the new record, so we’re pretty sure we haven’t heard the last of Morgan Geer here at That Much Further West Podcast. And we made sure to play a few cuts from the previous records to help you get a feel for the wonderfully varied rock and soul Morgan cranks out under the Drunken Prayer flag.

We also play some great songs from some more of our favorite bands, including Big Shoals, The Calamity Cubes, The Bottle Rockets and a pair of tunes from the new record by John Moreland. Co-host Phil Favorite even risks his street cred by sharing a song by The Gin Blossoms. Call it a guilty pleasure.

So here’s the song list for Episode #47. Just press play and enjoy!

12 Steps, Big Shoals
Jumper Cables, Widower
Love Looks Like A Master (Live In The Helm), Drunken Prayer
Machines (Live in The Helm), Drunken Prayer
Take This Hammer, Drunken Prayer
The Missionfield, Drunken Prayer
Kite, The Calamity Cubes
Radar Gun, The Bottle Rockets
Cheatin’, The Gin Blossoms
Black River, W.C. Beck
Vanport 1948, Lewi Longmire
Mirror Behind The Man, Kate Mann
Hang Me In The Tulsa County Stars, John Moreland
Heart’s Too Heavy, John Moreland

Episode #12 featuring Morgan Geer of Drunken Prayer

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Morgan Geer with Christa and Leon

Episode #12 with Morgan Geer/Drunken Prayer

Holy moly, what a week we’ve had here at the Podcast. We celebrated the launch of the new website by hitting the shows hard in Portland, among them: American Aquarium, Patterson Hood, Jayke Orvis and James Hunicutt and, of course, the usual smattering of top-notch local acts that we love to support.

The weekend wrapped with an incredible evening at Root Jack’s CD Release. The band was in top form, as was the crowd. Great stuff. Needed all of Sunday to recover from that one. Mercy.

This week on the podcast we’re airing for the first time a performance and interview that Eric recorded in The Helm with Morgan Geer of Drunken Prayer. Morgan returned to his former hometown to play some shows celebrating the release of his new record, House of Morgan, out now on Fluff & Gravy Records. He’s joined here by his lovely bride Christa, who shares some sweet backing vocals on a couple of very nice tunes. We think you’re gonna dig it, naturally.

The show also features plenty of brand new music from some of our favorites. We have a new songs from soon-to-be-released records by Lydia Loveless, Scott H Biram and The Low Bones. Also, a song from local boys The Resolectics, who will be featured at our next Podcast showcase show on Feb. 13 at the Alberta Street Pub.

So thanks for dialing in!

Here’s this week’s playlist:

That Much Further West (Demo, show theme), Lucero
Dead Man’s Hand, Root Jack
Really Wanna See You, Lydia Loveless
High Water, The Resolectrics
Slow & Easy, Scott H Biram
Jerry Was a Race Car Driver, Les Claypool’s Duo De Twang
Hard-Core Troubadour, Steve Earle
Your Mistake, Emily Herring
And So It Ends, James Hunnicutt
Broken Bottles, Sons Of Bill
The Jealous Kind, Chris Knight
Bound To Ride, Jayke Orvis and the Broken Band
Bring The Noise, The Unholy Trio
On Mobile Bay (Live from The Helm), Drunken Prayer
Interview with Morgan Geer
The Selfishness Of Man (Live from The Helm), Drunken Prayer
Frenchy, Drunken Prayer
Waiting For The Dawn, The Low Bones
O, Jolene!, The Hooten Hallers
Lonesome Down And Out, Jason Eady
Made To Break, Otis Gibbs
Knock Out Roses (For Levon), Tim Easton
Factory Girls, Flogging Molly (featuring Lucinda Williams)
Far From Any Road, The Handsome Family
Whiskey Angel, The Black Lillies
I Dreams I Saw Jesse James Last Night, Charlie Parr
Lift My Jug, William Elliott Whitmore
Fuck Oh Dear, Jackass
Skid Row, Chris Shiflett & The Dead Peasants
Gone, I Can Lick Any Sonofabitch In The House
Oval Room, Blaze Foley