Texas Music Journal » Folk

Sarah Jaffe Prepares for New Album Release

Sam Moore — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 04:53:50 +0000

New York, NY – Sarah Jaffe is thrilled to announce the April 24th release of her new full-length studio album – The Body Wins – on Kirtland Records. The new album was produced by John Congleton (St. Vincent, Explosions in the Sky, Wye Oak, etc.) and is the follow up to her critically acclaimed debut full-length Suburban Nature which earned raves from New York Times, USA Today Pop Candy, Paste, and NPR among others.

As Jaffe gears up for the release of The Body Wins, she will be performing select dates across the US in February and March. She kicks things off on February 5th with Lucinda Williams, John Hiatt, Rhett Miller of the Old ‘97s, The Civil Wars and more on the Camayo Cruise. Shortly after, Jaffe will head up to NYC for a special show at the Mercury Lounge on February 22nd where she’ll be playing songs from The Body Wins. Then out to the West Coast where she joins up with Guthrie (Jay Farrar, Will Johnson, Jim James, and Anders Parker) for a handful of dates before heading back to Texas for this year’s SXSW.

It’s been nearly two years since Jaffe released her debut album Suburban Nature and these dates will give her a chance to play songs from The Body Wins live. A few songs on the new album were included in an earlier incarnation on the September 2011 CD/DVD release – The Way Sound Leaves a Room. However, expect the unexpected as Sarah has left her acoustic guitar behind (for the most part) and really developed the demos into riveting new songs which can all be found on the forthcoming album The Body Wins – out April 24th on Kirtland Records. Confirmed dates are below and visit http://sarahjaffe.com/ for the most up to date information.

Confirmed Dates:
Feb.     5th-12th             Camayo Cruise w/ Lyle Lovett, Lucinda Williams & More.
22nd                  Mercury Lounge         New York, NY
Mar.    6th                    The Fillmore*              San Francisco, CA
7th                    Avalon*                       Los Angeles, CA
9th                    Crystal Ballroom*       Portland, OR
10th                  Showbox*                    Seattle, WA
13th – 18th        SXSW                           Austin, TX
*With Guthrie

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Terri Hendrix Fighting Fire with Love

Sam Moore — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 16:07:42 +0000

Terri Hendrix wants to help the central Texas fire victims. And she is asking everyone to join her.

Prior to her performance Saturday night at the Austin Acoustical Café, she plans to go shopping for the victims of the fires that have ravaged the state. She will then deliver them to the Capital Area Food Bank to Central Texas Wildfire Relief , those who will distribute the goods, during her performance. Go to her website, www.terrihendrix.com to find out how you can contribute to the funds she will use to shop.

Those attending the performance Saturday night can also bring donations. Most desired food donations are healthy, non-perishable items such as:

- Water and enhanced water such as Gatorade
- Ready to eat meals preferably with pull-up, pop tops or foil packets such as chili, stew, canned pasta w/sauce
- Single serving snacks such as protein or granola bars
- Single serving foods that do not require refrigeration such as Lunchables
- Diapers
- Baby formula

Terri has also dedicated a music video to the fire victims. Acre of Land can be seen on YouTube.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PFvOHFY2IvE&feature=youtu.be

Sarah Jaffe Talks About Her Career

Sam Moore — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 21:54:42 +0000

By Charlie Vann

Denton recording artist Sarah Jaffe is a Texas musician to definitely follow. Her folksy, indie style makes her stand out, not only in North Texas but throughout the South.

As a member of the Kirtland Records stables, Sarah has opened for Grammy winner Norah Jones, and will tour soon with Lou Barlow, former bassist of the hit indie rock band Dinosaur JR. Last month Jaffe’s full-length album “Suburban Nature” was released in stores, and can be downloaded on iTunes, as well.

I had the chance to talk to Sarah about teaming up with Barlow, about opening for Jones, and what she thinks about the North Texas music scene as a whole. To hear the interview, follow the link to http://cvann.podOmatic.com/entry/2010-06-03T12_19_29-07_00.

A lot of Texas in a little bit of time

Rick Matos — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 04:19:17 +0000

A few weeks ago, we returned to Uncle Calvin’s Coffeehouse in Dallas. With their lyrics, vocals and instrumentals, Terri Hendrix and Lloyd Maines brought us all into their hearts.

Terri and Lloyd started off with “Bring ‘em All in to My Heart”, an upbeat song with a driving rhythm guitar beat and mandolin harmonies to boot. They drove the message straight to our hearts with this one.

Photo by Mary Keating Bruton

They then hit us with “The Spiritual Kind” of music on dobro and guitar. All you people of faith, any faith, know what I’m talking about, the kind of music you stand up and sing, “I am the spiritual kind”.

I then reminisced while “Goodbye Charlie Brown” filled the air. With Lloyd on guitar and Terri dueling it out with a guitar and harmonica, I wondered what I had done with my collection of Charlie Brown books. If only I could kick that ball and hit the sky. I miss Charles Schultz.

One of my favorites, hands down, was “My Brother Throws Like a Girl”. As a guy having gone through the awkward stages of guy-hood, I laughed. As a brother of a way more athletic brother, I admitted I shared some things in common with Terri’s brother. As a father of daughters with boyfriends, I almost peed laughing at how similar some of them were to her brother. What a riot!

Terri and Lloyd then turned it all upside down with “If I had a Daughter”. Spoken and sung. Strummed and hummed. Terri made a few of us wish she had been our mom. If she can live according to those lyrics, one day Terri is going to make a fantastic mother.

Terri shared a big piece of her life in “The Ring”, a song about her growing up in San Antonio, her Dad, a soldier’s life, the cost of war, and the quiet within our families and each of us. I moved around a lot in my “growing up years” and I still have a quiet dad. I could relate. Life is a ring. Some are gold, some are old, some are new and some are used, but every ring brings a reason to sing.

For every man who has ever stopped by a diner and had a piece of cake, “Dana Blues” might make you reconsider. Dana baked cakes for every man in town, including … Well, let’s just say, some poor guy got his goose cooked when he went for the sweets instead of his sweetheart. Thank goodness I eat pie.

I guess you can say that I’m a fan now. I left Uncle Calvin’s with two CD’s and a decision to attend Terri and Lloyd’s songwriting workshop (www.wiloryrecords.com) “Life’s a Song. Live it… Write it… Play it!” in Port Aransas, TX on November 13-15. See you there!

Album Review: Mike Darnell – The Promised Land

John South — Wed, 20 May 2009 15:00:04 +0000

Mike Darnell brings us an offering of the “flues” as he calls it – a combination of Folk and the Blues. Like much of Texas music, it’s really the confluence of the many events, people and music that have impacted Darnell. He moved around the country as a youth and was impacted by folk and rock that he heard.

Darnell counts “…Buffalo Springfield, The Byrds, Stephen Stills, Neil Young, Jackson Browne, Jim Messina, Roger McGuinn, Dan Fogelberg, Paul Simon and Bob Dylan…” as musicians that early on influenced him. You can hear a bit of each of these in his music. His album features songwriting that tells a story and provides rich instrumentation from a small number of instruments.

Vocal harmonization plays an important part in Darnell’s music. “Baby, It’s A Long Way Home”, “Old 982”, “The King of Barataria”, “Delia” and “Slow Down” all feature exceptional vocal work from the likes of T. C. Smythe and Gary Taylor (http://www.myspace.com/smytheandtaylor), Richard Gaudette, Mark Gillick, and Bill Aspinwall (see the Texas Music Journal article on Aspinwall & Friends, “Free Range Trout”). With a small number of instruments and the excellent djembe and cajon work of Peter Gruezmacher, each artist makes a big contribution to each song.

Speaking of Bill Aspinwall, Darnell tells us in his biography how he, Mike Crippen, and Bill began playing together. “With the turn of the century and new interest in music, I ventured out to take a few lessons and meet some other players. It was at an informal gathering of guitar pickers (Guitar Circle) with similar musical intentions that I met Mike Crippen and Bill Aspinwall. Similar musical backgrounds yet distinct styles drew us together and we began to meet more often to trade songs. And these guys knew their way around the fret board! We each began to write songs and with the encouragement from our Guitar Circle friends and families we played a few gigs. The trio, “Big Lizard Boys”, was born. In 2005 we recorded the album, “Pick Yourself Up”, engineered and co-produced by Houston music legend, Jack Saunders.”

Darnell has two previous albums, “The Last Mango in Harris” and “It Takes Two to Mango” which he self-recorded and produced. “The Promised Land” was engineered and co-produced by Lloyd Daniel of Songbrush Sound. As in Bill Aspinwall’s “Free Range Trout”, Daniel shows why musicians like Darnell refer to him as “The Dalai Lloyd”. He is a master of producing the best with musicians.

Each track on the album emphasizes the musical influences in Darnell’s past. Two tracks take us back to the musical storytelling of an earlier age. “Old 982” tells us the story of the wonderful old locomotive as it retired from a lifetime of service to be placed on display in Houston’s Hermann Park in 1957. The essence of this song is the final move of the locomotive to Union Station: “she’s come back to where it started…can’t you hear the whistle blowing.”

Another interesting story is “The King of Barataria”: the story of Jean Lafitte and the privateers that operated out of the Bay of Barataria at the turn of the 19th century. It is an interesting part of American history and Darnell does the story well through his lyrics and instrumentation. Kristen Jensen’s fiddle work in this song and in “Slow Down” provides interesting dimension to the instrumentation hinting at a touch of southeast Texas, a touch of swamp and even a touch of emotion with its wailing undertone.

The title track, “The Promised Land” provides us hints of Seals and Croft and perhaps a bit of early Simon and Garfunkel. An interesting aspect of this track is the accordion work of Don Magdill which provides a musical counterpoint to the flues vocal and guitar work with zydeco style emphasis. The overall effect works well.

Another interesting track is “Delia” featuring the harmony vocals of Bill Aspinwall. The song is the tragic tale of a woman leaving town for Hollywood: “It’s a long from nowhere to Hollywood. Talk’s so cheap and the money sounds so good. Don’t believing everything you’re told, everything that glitters isn’t gold. “ The song has strong guitar work that emphasizes the tragic nature of the song.

Overall, “The Promise Land” is an album that highlights Mike Darnell’s attention to lyrical detail and his ability to draw the most out of a minimalist approach to instrumentation. His folk and blues influences shine throughout the album. “The Promise land” delivers on the promise of good music and good musicians.

Further information about Mike Darnell and his music can be found at his website:

www.mikedarnellmusic.com

“The Promise Land” is available at MyTexasMusic.com. At My Texas Music, one can also purchase Mike’s previous albums, “The Last Mango in Harris” and “It Takes Two to Mango”, as well as the Big Lizard’s Boys, “Pick Yourself Up”.

Tracks:

1. Baby, It’s a Long Way Home**
2. Cold Wind
3. Old 982**
4. The Promise Land**
5. Rainbow’s End
6. Mr. T
7. Boquillas
8. The King of Barataria**
9. Delia **
10. Slow Down **
11. Ike
12. Gus’ Blues

(Notable Tracks denoted by **)

Performers:

Mike Crippen: Banjo
Richard Gaudette: Harmony vocals
Walter Bryant: Bass
T. C. Smythe and Gary Taylor: Harmony vocals
Don Magdall: Accordian
Mark Gillick: Harmony Vocal
Peter Gruezmacher: Cajon and Djambe
Bill Aspinwall: Harmony Vocal
Kristen Jensen: Fiddle
Lloyd Daniel: Electric Guitar

Co-produced and recorded by Lloyd Daniel, Songbrush Sound, Tomball, Texas. Daniel also supplied some fine guitar work on “Slowdown”.

Singers/songwriters or bands that would like their album reviewed can send 2 CDs and their contact information to our office (Texas Music Journal, 8920 Pocono Dr., Plano, TX 75025). We try to get the album reviewed within 5- 7 days of receipt. That gives us time to review the music and contact the artist for short interviews related to their music. As all albums are peer reviewed, we have two people review every album then compare and contrast notes.

Album Review – Bill Aspinwall “Free Range Trout”

John South — Sun, 17 May 2009 15:00:43 +0000

Bill Aspinwall offers us an album that crosses a number of Texas musical styles including folk, pop and blues. He has brought together a talented set of friends to produce an album that highlights their versatility and creativity including Gibson, the dog and Satchmo, the cat (highlighted in “Mister Crippen’s Banjo”). This is the first of two albums that we will be reviewing that were recorded by Lloyd Daniel at his Songbrush Sound studios near Houston.

Aspinwall was born and raised in Boulder, Colorado, but has been a traveler most of his life, having lived in Ohio, Illinois, California, Florida, Texas, Louisiana, and Oklahoma. Now residing in Austin and Houston, his music is a corollary to the historical development of Texas music. He combines the experiences of many places and different musical styles to express a musical statement that is truly his own.

The oneiric opening track sets the stage for an interesting musical experience. “Restoration” provides an illusion of being underwater. Aspinwall describes it as a dream-like state where we are being liberated from an underwater prison. As we transition into an angelic telecaster riff calling us to freedom, the count down into the title track begins. This opening sets us off on a fun musical journey.

The guitar is the integral force in Aspinwall’s music. Even as he shows his versatility with the instrument, he brings into the compositions string artists who compliment his playing style. Mike Crippen is a true artist with his fingers dancing across the banjo and lead guitar. There is Bill Dessens (http://www.riverroadboys.com) on pedal steel guitar … there is just something about a pedal steel master that adds real Texas soul to a song. And, Bill Dessens is a master of the pedal steel, having been inducted into the Western Swing Society Hall of Fame in Sacramento, California, the Pioneers of Western Swing Hall of Fame in Seattle, Washington, the Western Swing Music Society of the Southwest Hall of Fame in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and the Texas Western Swing Hall of Fame.

T.C. Smythe and Gary Taylor (http://www.myspace.com/smytheandtaylor) add their musical flair to various songs on the album. Smythe and Taylor recently were awarded Vocal Duo of the Year at the 2009 Texas Music Awards, quite an accomplishment among a group a talented nominees. Smythe adds strong vocal support on “Second Chance” and “Mr. Crippen’s Banjo”. Taylor plays the background guitar work on an unusual part of the album.

T. C. Smythe’s vocal work on “Second Chance” highlights her ability to deliver a strong performance on a complex melody. Combined with Bill Dessens’ pedal steel work, “Second Chance” is a memorable track. It’s easy to see why both artists have been recognized by their fellow performers and fans as outstanding musicians.

In the latter half of the album, there appears a recorded commercial from around 1950 featuring a disk jockey named Cowboy Nate. I could tell you the story about Cowboy Nate, the song “My Rose” and why both are important to this album, but, paraphrasing Paul Harvey, you’ll have to wait to hear “the rest of the story”. Watch the Texas Music Journal; this story is worthy of an article on its own. After reading it, you will understand why this album would be missing something without the commercial and the track “My Rose”.

In “My Rose” the fiddle work is provided by another member of the River Road Boys, Clyde Brewer. Clyde is known in many of the music circles in Texas. Like his friend and fellow performer, Bill Dessens, Clyde has been inducted into numerous Halls of Fame – the Western Swing Society Hall of Fame in Sacramento, California, the Texas Western Swing Hall of Fame, the Golden Spike Country Music Hall of Fame in Utah, the Pioneers of Western Swing Hall of Fame in Seattle, Washington, and the Western Swing Music Society of the Southwest Hall of Fame in Oklahoma City. Additionally, he was recently inducted in the International Country Music Hall of Fame.

Aspinwall is a member of the Houston Association of Acoustic Musicians (HAAM) (http://www.myspace.com/haam2) and the Houston Songwriters Association (HSA) (http://www.houstonsongwriters.com). Within these organizations are many fine musicians and songwriters. The HSA honored Aspinwall with two awards in one year: Songwriter of the Year (2005) and Song of the Year (2005).

The Song of the Year, “Fractured Lives”, was co-written with Tracy Timpanaro and is featured on “Free Range Trout”. Adding to solid lyrics that tug at your heart strings, Mike Darnell (http://www.mikedarnellmusic.com/) provides the heartbeat to the song with his djembe work and adds good backup vocals. Jack Saunders (http://www.jacksaunders.com/), who has been a strong part of the Texas music scene since the 1970’s, contributes outstanding guitar work for the track. This is one of the more notable tracks on the album.

Another musician featured on the album is Lena Shammas. We are hoping to reprint an article written by Bill Aspinwall on Lena. In addition to being a good songwriter, Aspinwall is quite adept at writing. Lena’s story is an intriguing one and he tells it well.

The production work of Lloyd Daniel at Songbrush Sound is impeccable. He balances each instrument and voice in way that highlights their part of the song while allowing the listener to hear the important contribution each makes. With this album and the next one we review, Mike Darnell’s “The Promise Land”, we see that Daniel is as much a master of the science of sound engineering as he is a master of the art of producing the perfect sound for a song.

“Free Range Trout” is Aspinwall’s first solo effort, but obviously, he draws upon more than just his outstanding songwriting abilities. He engages the talents of many notable Texas musicians to provide the musical development of his ideas. Like the free range trout, this album traverses many streams of musical themes; but, in the end, highlights the talents of Aspinwall & Friends.

“Free Range Trout” can be purchased at MyTexasMusic.com.

Track Listing

1. Restoration
2. Free Range Trout**
3. Hole in My Pocket**
4. Second Chance**
5. El azur del invierno
6. Fractured Lives**
7. Goin’ Back to Chalmette**
8. Mr. Crippen’s Banjo**
9. Cowboy Nate
10. My Rose
11. Open Arms
12. In Winter Knows
13. Little Cat**
14. Waiting Here for You

** Notable tracks

Performers

Bill Aspinwall – vocals, acoustic and electric guitars, bass
Mike Crippen – banjo and guitar
Willie B – electric guitar
Lisa Canida – vocals
Tony Kozel – bass
Dave Corbett – drums
Mike Darnell – mandolin, djembe and back-up vocals bongos
T. C. Smythe – duet vocals and harmonies
Gary Taylor – Guitar
David and Kelly Hanshaw – harmonies
Bill Dessesns – pedal steel guitar
Lena Shammas – vocals
Jack Saunders – baritone & resophonic guitars and bass
Little Terry Rogers – Harmonica
Kelly Lancaster – mandolin
Cowboy Nate – radio ad
Clyde Brewer – fiddle
Jen Rathbun – piano
Rev. Dr. Otis Futhermucker – harmonica
Kat Rose & Molly Wear – harmony vocals
Sandy Warren – harmony vocal
Tony Ryan – bass

Recording Engineer – Lloyd Daniel, Songbrush Sound

Singers/songwriters or bands that would like their album reviewed their albums can send 2 CDs and their contact information to our office (Texas Music Journal, 8920 Pocono Dr., Plano, TX 75025). We try to get the album reviewed within 5- 7 days of receipt. That gives us time to review the music and contact the artist for short interviews related to their music. As all albums are peer reviewed, we have two people review every album then compare and contrast notes.

Hendrix, Maines Combo Creates Outstanding Texas Music

Sam Moore — Fri, 08 May 2009 22:00:55 +0000

One of the great things about living in Texas is you never know where and when you will run into some great music.

TMJ recently attended a concert in Fort Worth at the First Jefferson Unitarian Universalist Church. Each month they host the Jefferson Freedom Café, a listening room which features mainly Texas performers. On this night, we were treated to an outstanding performance by Terri Hendrix and Lloyd Maines.

The duo performed many songs from Terri’s newest CD, “Left Over Alls”. It features songs she has written in the past, but never released. “Posey Road Stomp” is an upbeat tune featuring Terri on her still-learning-how-to-play harmonica. “Hole in My Pocket” is more mellow song which would have fit perfectly into the soundtrack of “Oh Brother, Where Art Thou.” And “Give Me My Flowers” is a simple, touching song which asks the listener to “give me my flowers while I’m living and let me enjoy them while I can. Don’t wait ‘til I’m ready to be buried and slip some lilies in my hand.”

Throughout the performance, Terri’s bubbly personality came through supported by Lloyd Maines’ sense of humor. At one point, while he was tuning his guitar for a particular song, he told the audience, “I tune because I care. Next week, we go to Massachusetts – I won’t tune there!”

Lloyd was particularly excited about the newest honor to his celebrated career. He is one of the newest inductees into the Steel Guitar Hall of Fame. He even used this to generate some humor.

“I’ve just been named to the Steel Guitar Hall of Fame,” he said, “but I’m still driving Terri back and forth to Austin.”

Watch the Texas Music Reporter for a future story on the Steel Guitar Hall of Fame and some of the outstanding musician honored there.

Terri’s rise to success is inspirational. In exchange for tending goats, she received music lessons from Marion Williamson. From there, she began hauling her own P.A. in the back of her beat-up pick-up to gigs throughout the Texas Hill Country. She is one of the many Texas musicians whose careers were launched at the famed Cheatham Street Warehouse in San Marcos. Before long, her fan base began building.

By the time she recorded her debut album, 1996’s Two Dollar Shoes, Terri shopped around for a record label. She was turned down by three. She released the record independently, and never looked back. She jokes that after twelve years she is still in business and the record labels rejected her aren’t!

Terri’s style flows seamlessly in her songs from folk and country to pop, jazz and Texas swing. With Lloyd as her musical and personal support, Terri performances are uplifting and inspirational. When you leave her shows, you can’t help singing one of her songs as you walk to car.

For more information on Terri and Lloyd, visit HERE.
To learn more about the Fort Worth musical event, visit HERE.