Margaret Chavez is the moniker of the Austin-based project led by Marcus William Striplin. Fascinated by music at a young age, his mother Margaret noticed her son’s interest and equipped him with a tape recorder and acoustic guitar. A dreamy coat of folk rock soaks “Into An Atmosphere.”
Seattle-based artist Left at London (aka Nat Puff) follows up the release of last year’s EP Transgender Street Legend, Vol. 1 (more on that here) with her new digital 7″ single, Jenny Durkan, Resign in Disgrace, out today. READ MORE…
“If Adam Silvestri channeled elements of Springsteen as Radiator King when he first graced PopMatters with “So Long (Charlie)”, now the NYC Americana artist is looking to 1970s pop-rock this side of Elton John. Centered on a wistful piano progression, Radiator King’s “Madame Marie” is a gorgeous ballad that looks back on the innocence of childhood. Shining through the understated anthem is a sweet sentiment of childlike wonder. Looking ahead through younger eyes, there’s a clean slate to be filled with one’s wildest dreams. The clear skies that Radiator King uses as his canvas effortlessly capture this feeling through sepia-tinted lenses, longing to keep that zest for life kicking into adulthood.
Available on 21 July, “Madame Marie” is available to pre-save now. “Madame Marie” is featured on Radiator King’s upcoming LP, Unborn Ghosts, due out on 21 August. It, too, is available to pre-save.
Radiator King tells PopMatters, “The central instrument of ‘Madame Marie’ is the piano, which is played by Shaul Eshet. We recorded this one with Don DiLego at Velvet Elk Studio in the Poconos. He had this really old upright piano from 1898 in the studio. I knew the minute I heard it that it was a perfect match for the song. It looked and sounded like it could have been in a saloon or a brothel in the wild west. It was oozing with mystique and mojo.” READ MORE…
Seattle musician, Nat Puff (aka Left at London), creates music that sounds like it was poured from the pitcher of her heart. Blood, sweat and tears saturate the artist’s songs, which have raised eyebrows and earned the attention from the prominent Emerald City radio station, KEXP 90.3, and fans around the world. READ MORE…
“They say that it’s who you know that helps move you along in life. Granted, it takes talent — and lots of it — to become successful. But surrounding yourself with influential individuals can’t help but further the cause.
The Rev. Greg Spradlin was fortunate enough to associate with a revered batch of musicians, starting with the late, great player and producer Jim Dickinson, the man he considered his mentor. Hi-Watter, Spradlin’s belatedly released new album, features a supporting cast that includes a number of venerable, veteran contributors — bassist Davey Farragher of Cracker and John Hiatt and Elvis Costello’s bands, Los Lobos co-founder David Hidalgo, the late keyboard player Rudy Copeland and another Elvis alumni, drummer Pete Thomas, among others — still carries Dickinson’s spirit in both style and set-up. Indeed, Hi-Watter is an auspicious debut, and yet, it nearly didn’t get released at all.
Spradlin’s songs had been gestating for quite some time prior to 2010, which is when the album was recorded. However before it could be released, a series of tragic mishaps occurred which not only delayed the album, but threatened to derail it entirely. The list of unfortunate events that transpired reads like a script from a soap opera. First, a close member of Spradlin’s family passed away. Then his former drummer and close friend of 15 years died, followed by his dog and his cat. The air conditioning in his home went out in the midst of an Arkansas summer, which was especially troubling given that his wife was pregnant at the time. To complicate matters even further, Spradlin was dealing with the uncertainty of the music biz and the trials and tribulations of attempting to secure a record deal.
“It turned into a hectic year, and that stretched on into another nine,” Spradlin recalls. “I’m real bad about working on records and then letting go. I’m never happy with it. It’s not like I’m a perfectionist, but I have to reach a level where I’m happy. So that made it easier to let go. I wanted to do it right and put it out right. I wanted it to have a happy birth. After all those years, I I think that was achieved.”
In the interim however, Spradlin had decided to pack it all in. “I thought, you know what — maybe I should take a hint.,” he mused. He travelled overseas to work with a non-profit charitable group and eventually ended up in Ghana aiding poor African villagers living in less than ideal conditions.
Nevertheless, he eventually realized that being away wasn’t the answer to his misgivings either. “The whole time I was doing it, I had this feeling that maybe this was something I was supposed to be doing now,” he recalls. “But it’s not the thing I’m supposed to be doing forever. I know that making music was the thing I was meant to do with my life. I was fighting with the universe. I should have just relaxed and let it happen.” Reclaiming his musical muse, he went home, rediscovered the recordings, and found a label that was willing to release the music a full ten years after its recording.” READ MORE…
I’ll listen to anything featuring Kelly Hogan’s harmonies. She’s the special sauce secret ingredient in some of my favorite recordings by Neko Case, the Decemberists, Mavis Staples, and tons more. Her solo stuff is great too. Plus, she tended bar at the Hideout for most of the time I lived in Chicago.
Back in 2001 she told Jim Derogatis that she’d record with just about anybody who asks (“I’m pretty slutty that way, pretty easy, but I always enjoy a challenge.”), but she’s been more selective lately. The drummer for Young Antiques used to be in Hogan’s old band the Jody Grind.