Jeff Kranz- Songs From Skeleton Bridge Road

Jeff Kranz hails from the little Midwest town of Oshkosh WI. As a member of the seminal bands The Lunch Monkees and Gimme My Bike, Jeff and his songwriting partner Jim have built up a collection of original songs spanning the course of over 20 years. Jeff recently revisited the songs, stripped them to the bone and recorded as the new collection “Songs From Skeleton Bridge Road.”

Those who have known Jeff over the years have long known to expect the unexpected. When the first track of Skeleton Bridge Road reveals itself to be equal parts lullabye and nod to Buddy Holly,it should come as no surprise. 'Baby Girl' is a gutsy way to start a record, to be sure, and it's buoyed by a strong melody and performance that's sure to pique the listener's interest.

What follows, from the whimsical ‘Catching Fishes’ to the greasy, low down, lazy blues of ‘Creepy Eyes’; from the darkly poetic ‘Karen’s song’ to the serious yet soaring ‘Grinding Gravel’ and ‘How Far Away is Here’, Songs From Skeleton Bridge Road is a stripped to the bone, tour-de-force of 11 vocal and acoustic guitar songs culled from 20 years of writing and performing. The songs are born from heartache and late nights and frustration from breakdowns of vehicle and band. The songs born from joy and despair and pathos and…life.  The performances on Songs From Skeleton Bridge Road are concise yet full of humanity, sung by a writer who did not pen them for an open-mic quick fix, but rather crafted them for the long haul. Lyrically, the words are carefully chosen and placed well in music that shows the enduring influence of Townes Van Zandt, Leonard Cohen and Jonathon Richman. The melodies are catchy throughout, and with the entire collection clocking in at a simmering 26 minutes, Songs From Skeleton Bridge Road plays like a driving, energetic alt-folk record with the attitude of a punk rock classic. And when the last strains of the last song wind down, you’ll find yourself wanting to hear the opening notes of the first track all over again.

Listen Here:    

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Danny McIntosh- No Ordinary Angel

Finally back.

Enter the long awaited full length debut record from Montana-via-Michigan singer songwriter Danny McIntosh. Folks have long said: The devil's in the details and true rewards come to those who persevere- two themes which weave throughout the entirety of 'No Ordinary Angel', Danny's hot-off-the-press new record.

'No Ordinary Angel' is a journey on the roads and characters of the American Experience, as seen through Danny McIntosh's eyes. The resulting ten song canon is quite remarkable. Danny's keen lyrics and heartfelt delivery remind this listener of a young Kris Kristofferson, especially on 'Heaven the Devil and Me' which echoes the lineage of the aforementioned artists 'To Beat The Devil'. Good company to be in, Danny possesses a true songwriters ability to make the listener feel as though they know the characters. On 'Good Ole Boys' Danny sings:

he used to be the first cup of coffee at the diner every morning
and the last man working at night
the first guy that you would call in a bind
and the last guy you'd ever call out to fight

I know that guy. You probably do too. He could be your father or uncle or brother. He may have his demons but he finds balance in taking time to help another. That's the message of this record. Give back a little more than you get, persevere and keep your chin up. Danny and the team of musician's set a fine example of such a message in their detailed and nuanced production of the record. Culling a cast of musician's from across the country and co-produced and recorded by Montana's Wayne Murphy, the radio-ready sound of 'No Ordinary Angel' features warm guitars, crisp drums and standout performances which really make the songs come alive. Notable are the backup vocals by Amy Thompson, her accompaniment suits Danny's vocals and songs perfectly and brings a real spark to the recordings. Danny and his production team were clearly trying to reach a wide audience with this release; here's hoping 'No Ordinary Angel' finds a home on the airwaves near you.

Visit Danny, preview and purchase the record, get tour dates and news at:

http://www.dannymcintosh.com/

Deidre Heaton- Lost Prairie

It seems there are two kinds of people who live efficiently and without alot of extra baggage: The farmer and the perpetual traveler. Montana's Deidre Heaton has been both- raised on a farm and set out on the road at an early age Deidre discovered and uncovered her own songs, the results of which are unveiled on Lost Prairie, Deidre's long awaited debut. Efficient, well crafted and straight to the core of the land, Lost Prairie is twelve songs of genre wandering Americana tales weaved into a sound Heaton makes her own.

Recorded at Snoring Hound Studios, Deidre's tales are beautifully accompanied with just enough fiddle, dobro and upright bass to make the songs come alive without stepping on the well crafted melody and verse. The first couple songs of Lost Prairie make it abundantly clear that Deidre is no newcomer to the performing scene. Heaton sings with a natural confidence and talent that will no doubt spark folks minds with thoughts of Emmylou Harris and Iris Dement. What will linger is the evocative imagery, from small towns and open prairies, from Saturday Night sin to Sunday Morning repentance of which Heaton deftly gets to the heart of the character, putting into the stories folks could be someone you've known or could be you. And when the record ends and you replay it to try and discover who is who, you'll realize you've inhabited the record. That is a record worthy of purchase.

General information and tour dates:

http://www.deidreheaton.com/

Previews and purchase:

http://cdbaby.com/cd/deidreheaton

Billy Southern- El Chivato

Well I've been fortunate enough to land a "preview" copy of El Chivato, the second release from Duluth songwriter Billy Southern and on first listens it seems as appropriate a record as any to rekindle these pages with a little writeup. Like it's predecessor "Swamp Dog," El Chivato is ably recorded and engineered by Jake Larson (Charlie Parr, Off The Mike Mark et. al) and is once again accompanied by longtime live show cohort Barry Schwarz on lead acoustic guitar as well as Karl Anderson on upright bass along with Jillian Lantry on fiddle and backing vocals and Greg Tiburzi on percussion.

El Chivato starts unassumingly enough with Three Lakes Road, a true story of a couple of young kids (one a young Southern) lost in the woods of Northern Minnesota and forced into an unplanned all-night vigil, hiding from the snow under a balsam tree. Southern's confident picking and Lantry's fiddle provide a tempo that drives like the wind and snow through the night and sets an apt platform for the rest of the record to unfold. This little tale obviously belied a sense of confidence and survival which Southern has carried with him through the years, as a "Billy the Kid" character loosely weaves through the rest of the fourteen songs of which the writing and playing display considerably more grit and less pathos than many singer-songwriters. Interesting that Southern would choose this inspiration, the storied "El Chivato" as the protagonist for his songs as Billy himself says that he is a songwriter, a storyteller first, then a musician. And the literary bent to the lyrics, along with the well played acoustic accompaniment really works. El Chivato doesn't really sound like anything else. Sure, if you like the efficient carefully chosen words of John Prine, if you like the wry humor of Todd Snider, if you like the edgy rawness of Guy Clark you will like Billy Southern's new record. But Billy doesn't really sound like an offshoot of any of them. Billy Southern just sounds like Billy Southern. And isn't that what makes a new record truly stand out?

Previews/availability info at www.myspace.com/billysouthernmusic

Bail Out Your Boat

I wasn't looking to win
I was just looking to play
I wasn't looking for riches
At the end of the day

I'd been mulling over this blog for a while now, and since the little record label that could has pulled the plug, I guess this is as good a place to start as any.

Folk singing is a comedy of errors in it's practical absurdity, yet I love it.

~
Cardinal rule #1 of playing a songwriters contest. Don't freak out on stage. Follow that, you probably will do as well as anyone.

And even if you don't win, at least you didn't lose. At least they would never announce it. One would think. Witness a good friend, who really was just looking to get a little stage time and ended up hitting lighting in a bottle. Second place! Truly a grand achievement. But, then the unthinkable. They announce there's been a mistake. They proceed to announce that they got the order completely backwards. Sorry my friend, you got second to last.

I didn't feel real bad for the person that got "third," as they apparently had the good sense to bail out much earlier. For the first place winner, I felt terrible. For my friend, I felt sick

Once a rogue troubadour
Now a broken down poet

It was at that very point at that very day, that the decision was made that you've truly got to take this thing with a grain of salt. A big grain. Like sea salt. While its a real privilege and one of life's great pleasures to play among friends to a great audience

And on the good nights
It falls into place

there are going to be times when it just goes crazy bad, and the drunk at the end of the bar cannot wait for you to end your set

And on the bad nights
You fall on your face

Actually folk singing is more errors than comedy, but I still love it. I relish the futility. I love knowing that no matter how hard I try, the bar will always be so high, that it will be a struggle to get by, and I know that there will be a reason to wake up and grab the coffee each and every morning. It's a bucket that will never be full. It's a boat that will never be bailed.

You're damned if you do
And you're damned if you don't
Better pick up a bucket
And bail out your boat

These are the stories of some folks I know, some that they know, and a few you know. These are reviews of under the radar records you may not know, but will want to hear. This is news of shows you'll want to check out, and reviews of those you've missed.