by Chris Familton When you talk about contemporary alt-country of the last few decades, one name is essential to the discussion – Portland Oregon’s Richmond Fontaine. The band, led by singer, guitarist and songwriter Willy Vlautin, were active from 1994 – 2016, with the core line-up of guitarist/pedal steel player Paul Brainard, bassist Dave Harding, guitarist … Continue reading
BETWEEN THE PAGES As any righteous fan and music nerd will attest, biographies and autobiographies of their favourite artists and albums are an invaluable insight into the life and creative journey of a songwriter. Even in this day and age of smorgasbord information access via the internet, an in-depth and well-researched book by a writer … Continue reading
Sounds Of The Silver Screen Soundtracks always play a crucial part in establishing mood, location and emotion in film, and country and folk music is purpose-built for filling that role – whether it’s adding colour to a bar-room brawl, chronicling broken hearts or conveying the power and fragility of nature and the great outdoors. The golden … Continue reading
The Cryin’ Pedal Steel You’d be hard pressed to find an instrument so intrinsically linked to the sound of country music as the pedal steel guitar. Acoustic guitars and fiddles are ubiquitous instruments that cross a number of genres but for the pedal steel, country music is its undeniable home. Developed from the lap-played Hawaiian … Continue reading
1969: A Watershed Year For Americana Music Half a century ago, in a single calendar year, an avalanche of albums were released that would go on to have a lasting and monumental impact on what would become known as alt-country and more recently Americana music. Looking back at 1969 and pursuing the list of albums … Continue reading
SONGS OF TRIBUTE For my Waitin’ Around to Die column in Rhythms I recently took a look at some of the outstanding releases in the field of tribute albums. Specifically those that fall under the umbrella of Americana and alt-country, whether it’s in recognition of an artist’s body of work or a fundraiser to assist them … Continue reading
BLOODLINES: Musical Offspring Does music run in one’s blood? Can the spirit and verve of an accomplished songwriter be passed down from one generation to another? There’s probably a case for both nature and nurture playing their part but over the decades there have been some strong examples of artists whose offspring have also forged their … Continue reading
LOST GEMS AND REISSUING NOSTALGIA One of the features of the last few decades has been the ever increasing proliferation of reissues. They come in all forms – remastered, remixed, re-pressed and expanded and thankfully the world of Americana music is no exception. Reissues serve two important purposes. Firstly they cater to the nostalgia crowd … Continue reading
Reinterpreting the song of another artist is a strong tradition in country music, perhaps more than any other genre. The catalogue of classic and iconic songs stretches back nearly a century. From The Carter Family to Hank Williams, George Jones to Waylon Jennings, Dolly Parton to Emmylou Harris – the collection of timeless songs to cover … Continue reading
AMERICANA PODCASTS One of the great strengths of Americana music is that it celebrates and honours both the traditional and contemporary aspects of the many strands and variations of country, folk and blues music. Musicians and songwriters are always moving forward, singing about modern times while incorporating the instruments and compositional structures of those who … Continue reading
EXPLORING THE GUITAR FRONTIER The guitar is synonymous with country and folk music, it’s the glue that ties it all together and has always been an essential songwriting and performing instrument in those genres. In the world of Americana music the guitar is also a medium for exploration and experimentation on the outer fringes of … Continue reading
