Cotton Jones with Oh My God and Paul Jacobsen and the Madison Arm
Cumberland, Maryland-based band, The Cotton Jones Basket Ride is an indie folk-pop band currently signed to Suicide Squeeze Records. The band started as a side project for Michael Nau, lead singer and creator of Page France, and has since become a full-time project, releasing a series of EPs and embarking on its first large scale tour.
Biology says: That people who live at high altitudes must develop physiological adaptations to the decreased amount of oxygen available in order to maintain homeostasis. The list of adaptations includes a heart that is proportionally larger thanthat of a person living at sealevel. Michael Nau and Whitney McGraw have hearts huge, hearts full of music that mixes elements of soul, rock and gospel into a gauzy cocoon of small town sound.
The Portland, OR, folk duo Horse Feathers consist of singer/songwriter Justin Ringle (acoustic guitar, vocals, percussion) and multi-instrumentalist Peter Broderick (violin, banjo, mandolin, cello, viola, piano, saw, percussion, vocals). Ringle grew up in Idaho and played in several short-lived indie rock bands during his teenage years, but moved to Portland in 2004, where he met Broderick, who was already a member of the more established Portland band Norfolk & Western. They spent much of 2005 writing songs and honing their live performances at various Portland open-mike nights. Influenced by both the stark folk music of Bruce Springsteen’sNebraska and the post-classical work of Scandinavian composer Max Richter, the duo entered the studio in February 2006 to record its debut album, Words Are Dead, 11 chamber-folk tracks featuring Ringle’s high, reedy vocals and enigmatic lyrics and Broderick’s baroque filigree. Words Are Dead was released on Lucky Madison Records in September 2006. The band inked a deal with the Kill Rock Stars label the following year, releasing House with No Home in 2008. – All Music Guide
Mayfield first performed with her family bluegrass band One Way Rider at the age of 8. They began touring as a family band, boarding a 1956 tour bus (once belonging to Bill Monroe, Kitty Wells, and Ernest Tubb) and headed south from Ohio to Tennessee. At age 11, Jessica began playing guitar and writing songs. She asked her brother David to show her a few chords, and then she started using those chords to write her own songs.
Jessica got her first break at the Europe Gyro in Kent, Ohio playing for tips and free pizza every Monday. The place is known for its rough and unforgiving crowd and the experience toughened her act up considerably. For this residency, she had a fresh batch of songs she had just written after a breakup with her first boyfriend. It was then that she realized she had somewhere to channel her sadness: into her music.
Kilby Court 748 S Kilby Court Salt Lake City, UT 84101 (801) 364-3538
June Madrona is a folk band based out of Olympia, Washington. They create songs that will make you laugh, cry, and dance all in less than 4 minutes. I recently got to talk with lead singer, Ross Cowman, and melodica player, Micah Ellison, about how they came together, their Europe tour, campfires, secret music projects, and Clint Eastwood.
Nicolaas Zwart began recording as Desolation Wilderness in 2005, mapping a course without compass or sextant. The tools are vibraphone, tape delay, glockenspiel, electric guitar. A synthesizer, too. Voice plays its role, though Desolation Wilderness speaks volumes through audio themes without words. The themes of Desolation Wilderness are rarified and also mundane, the usual in common with literature, art and the midway at Coney Island. If Lawrence Ferlinghetti went on a rabbit run to that midway with popgun in hand, Desolation Wilderness would be his ringtone.
Biology says: That people who live at high altitudes must develop physiological adaptations to the decreased amount of oxygen available in order to maintain homeostasis. The list of adaptations includes a heart that is proportionally larger thanthat of a person living at sealevel. Michael Nau and Whitney McGraw have hearts huge, hearts full of music that mixes elements of soul, rock and gospel into a gauzy cocoon of small town sound.
Mayfield first performed with her family bluegrass band One Way Rider at the age of 8. They began touring as a family band, boarding a 1956 tour bus (once belonging to Bill Monroe, Kitty Wells, and Ernest Tubb) and headed south from Ohio to Tennessee. At age 11, Jessica began playing guitar and writing songs. She asked her brother David to show her a few chords, and then she started using those chords to write her own songs.
