ALONG FOR THE RIDE 2-22-13
We get lots of music. For releases from new artists, we think the best spot to give a listen is in the car. Along for the Ride is a weekly focus on independent artists with some great songs-- artists who hit what they were aiming at in making an album.
The Crawdaddies
Live from the Road works as an album title for The Crawdaddies. The group has the sound and feel of the type of bar band that was on stage for your best night ever. The band is Northeast-based and puts the regional roots/rock and Americana sound into their songs and raises the audio ante by incorporating Louisiana Cajun and Zydeco styles. “Carolina Baby” has a Texas swing groove and “Shake ‘N Bake” is a dancing tune that pushes feet with its accordion riffs and washboard rhythms. Whether the beat sticks to southern rock (“Take That Bottle”), teeth rattling rhythms (“The Difference”) or funks it up with a solid groove (“Cuttin’ the Body Loose”), The Crawdaddies got the goods. If you missed the last tour, the boys have gathered highlights and high steppers onto Live from the Road. DANNY McCLOSKEY/RA
Listen and buy music from The Crawdaddies HERE
Euferzine
Denise Reagan turned 50 recently and she needed something to mark that milestone age. Over gentle music rambles that she terms organic mountain soul music, she presents Excuse Me, I Have Something to Say. The album is the audio complement to the knowledge that Denise has gathered in her half century. “How Could I” questions a love that had all the warning signs that Denise ignored; “Won’t Settle for Less” wipes the slate clean for a new love, choosing to forget the past and focus on the future, and “Gotta Give In” describes the day that love breeched the walls erected around a heart. The band name, Euferzine, is explained by Denise Reagan, “She was my grandmother, a little woman with such a strange name. Her memory haunts me. She was born in 1898 in Riverton, TN where life was hard. I don’t know much about her, but there are a few things I remember. She didn’t have electricity or “running water” in her house. She kept her milk in an ice-box. She baked me cornbread in her cast iron wood stove. She smelled like snuff. I think she is the saddest person I have ever known. She would stare into space and go somewhere far, far away where no one could reach her and life couldn’t hurt her. I have spent my life trying not to recreate hers. She didn’t say much. She wasn’t a big talker. I think life wore her down and took all the words away.” Euferzine lets Denise make up for that loss with Excuse Me, I Have Something to Say. DANNY McCLOSKEY/RA
Listen and buy music from Euferzine HERE
Duffy Kane & the Freedom Train
If Duffy Kane is in the room then the sound of guitar notes are filling the air. The man is a player, first and foremost. On his latest release, Citizen Kane, Duffy’s guitar presence is a constant. Though there is barely a moment when notes don’t flicker, there is never a feeling of guitar filler just to use the space up. Duffy Kane has a natural form with his playing. Many of tracks on Citizen Kane are instrumental, allowing the guitar to take center stage. Sonically, Duffy Kane fingers funnel a mix of jazz, blues, country and rock. Citizen Kane belongs to a universal sound and has no need to be ghetto-ized into a particular sound or style. “Diamond in the Rough” is a runaway train rhythm with notes flying by like blurred glances out the window of the steaming locomotive. “Why My Road” lets a slow cooked blues take control. The rhythm demands head nods while the frenetic guitar work acts like a strong cup of morning coffee for balance atop the lazy groove. Album opener “Hummingbird” flutters along over jazz rhythms that push the volley of notes flying from Duffy Kane’s guitar. DANNY McCLOSKEY/RA
The Saddletones
The Saddletones are proud purveyors of a Rock-Boppin Country sound that is nothing short of infectious. Hitch Yer Wagon is a swing around a honky-tonk dance floor. “The Last to Know” frolics amid piano and guitar riffs and “Give Me A Little Bit” spices the sound with a dose of Tex-Mex, with enough accents left over to slow down the beat for a Texas Tornadoes-style “What Happens in Vegas”. Lead vocalist, and songwriter, Miss Laurie Ann, has a voice that is pure classic country in the vein of Kitty Wells meets Wanda Jackson. The Saddletones weave and wander across the landscape of Hitch Yer Wagon with a bopping bounce that is as warm and friendly as your favorite watering hole. DANNY McCLOSKEY/RA
Listen and buy music from The Saddletones HERE
Brad Cole
Brad Cole has wandered with his songs and his guitar. The Chicago native recorded his most recent album outing, Down the Line, in Nashville, before returning to his current base of operations, New York City. The cultures and the sound variation from local music scenes help back his words on Down the Line with a strong musical foundation. The sadness of one night stands, the world of a singer/songwriter, and the one left behind, are scribed and felt in “Something About Goodbye”. Brad’s soulful delivery on the tune brings the pain front and center, held in place by circumstance and choice. Brad Cole sees the final recordings on Down the Line as quieter than his previous two releases. “I think it’s a reflection of being able to empty a lot of the noise from my head and run directly with what my muse is giving me. It addresses the emotions of being uprooted and unstable, but somehow a message of hope prevails.” DANNY McCLOSKEY/RA
Listen and buy music from Brad Cole HERE
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