Baby Robot Media

Brazilian publication Roadie Music reviews Craig Gerdes’ new single “I Could Get Used to This”

At faithfully and genuinely representing the American country style, artist Craig Gerdes has shown himself to be among the best. A solo artist, his songs are impeccably produced, with verses that all those who listen can identify with.

As mentioned above, his recent song “I Could Get Used to This” displays his fidelity to the American Country style. The arrangements are well-produced, and Gerdes engages in a real dialogue with listeners in the form of his expressive, sincere and captivating verses.

by Baby Robot Media

Americana UK rates Katie Jo’s new debut album a 7/10, crediting her as a contemporary of Margo Price & Whitney Rose

Pawn Shop Queen is the debut album for Los Angeles-via-Wichita songwriter Katie Jo, and there is plenty to enjoy in this raw and rootsy offering. She boasts a voice that has more in common with Patsy Cline and Kitty Wells than with most contemporary artists, although her style would sit easily alongside the likes of Margo Price and Whitney Rose. The songs have a vintage country sound, featuring pedal steel, fiddle and twangy lead guitar. Indeed, this record sounds like a well-practiced band set up all together in a studio, playing songs much as they would at a live show. As a result, the feel is natural and unprocessed, and it is refreshing not to be overwhelmed by over-compressed production and autotuned vocals.

Katie Jo has already experienced some immense personal challenges in her young life, and these are detailed in some depth on the biography pages of her web site. When an artist faces challenging life circumstances, the temptation to pour a little too much of their own story into their music is not always a blessing for the listener. However, Katie Jo appears careful to channel her experiences into a more universal lyrical setting. For sure, there are lines which occasionally cut through, and the closing songs ‘Are You Coming Home Tonight?’ and ‘Little Bird’ certainly provide some of the more heartfelt moments on the record, with the latter delicately suggesting that “sticks and stones can build a better home in time…(and) even broken wings can move you a little further down the line.”

by Baby Robot Media

The Boot praises Craig Gerdes’ new autobiographical love song as “straight-down-the-middle country”

Craig Gerdes tells his own love story in his new song “I Could Get Used to This.” The single, due out on Friday (May 7), is premiering exclusively on The Boot.

“From the opening lyric, this song is entirely true,” Gerdes tells The Boot. As the song details, the singer and songwriter married his high school sweetheart, Janel; they were 16 when they first got together and will celebrate their 35th anniversary in September.

“I wanted “I Could Get Used to This” to be a feel-good song, relatable in the fact that you can overcome anything if you put your mind to it and don’t let the outside world get in your way,” Gerdes says, adding, “My last album, Tough as Nails, was about the people. My last single, “You’re Not in the Picture Anymore,” was somebody else’s story. “I Could Get Used to This” is ours.”

Gerdes’ frequent collaborator, legendary steel guitarist Jim Vest, produced “I Could Get Used to This.” CMA Musician of the Year winner Jenee Fleenor, who plays fiddle on the song, is among the musicians who turned Gerdes and his wife’s story into a sentimental track that’s straight-down-the-middle country.

by Baby Robot Media

Americana Highways calls Katie Jo an “edgy original,” compares the singer to country legends Loretta Lynn, Tammy Wynette & Patsy Cline

Nostalgic country-roots singer Katie Jo has an approach sharp & delightful on her debut. Sings of topics few country singers dare. Has a young voice but a lived-in voice. Lots of authority. The 9-cut Pawnshop Queen (Big Ego Records) came on April 9th. Think Patsy Cline, Loretta Lynn, Tammy Wynette & Kitty Wells. When Katie sings in her less twangy voice (title track) she’s an edgy original. Easily a voice for road songs, & saloon tales.

by Baby Robot Media

Wichita NPR affiliate KMUW interviews Katie Jo about her new debut, Pawn Shop Queen, an album that “connects on a deeply human level”

Katie Jo’s new debut record, Pawn Shop Queen, is deeply in tune with country music of a bygone era, adorned with pedal steel guitar and the singer’s authoritative and authentic voice. In some ways, it harkens to the country music that came out of Los Angeles in the early ’70s via bands such as The Flying Burrito Brothers or as heard on early albums from Jackson Browne and the Eagles.

But there’s something that goes even further back, into the music’s rural roots. The lyrics are untouched by trappings of contemporary life: There are no references to heartbreak delivered via text message or old flames reignited thanks to the wonders of social media. Instead, the songs emanate from the most timeless of places: the heart.

Joined by an impressive cast of musicians, Katie Jo has delivered a debut album that connects on a deeply human level and leaves the listener spinning their own ideas about the threads that connect the material on Pawn Shop Queen as they return for multiple listens.

by Baby Robot Media

Americana UK on the 3-step secret behind Katie Jo’s “glorious” new single “Pawn Shop Queen”

This is the title track from Katie Jo’s new album – and it is glorious. Some songs are so perfect you can’t help but wonder how they happened. Luckily in this case we know, the album was recorded in three days using a band assembled by producer Chris Schlarb at Big Ego Studios in Long Beach. READ MORE…