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For Ben Morrison, the guitarist and one of the vocalists for The Brothers Comatose, recording their second album, 2012’s Respect the Van, was a very different experience than recording their debut album, 2010’s Songs from the Stoop. Continue reading
In order to make her last album, 2012’s Bridges, come to life, Lisa Forkish — a South Eugene High alumna, current music educator at the Oakland School for the Arts and jazz vocalist — had to jump into the deep end and pray for the best. Continue reading
The Shook Twins live a charmed life. Whether performing their quirky brand of indie folk pop solo, opening for Blitzen Trapper or the Carolina Chocolate Drops or partaking in side projects like Morning Ritual with Portland jazz luminary Ben Darwish, people love them to death. Focusing on variety has certainly helped, especially with regard to their content. Continue reading
It’s been three years since local singer-songwriter Anna Gilbert was dubbed Eugene Weekly’s Next Big Thing, and she has been busy. Since then, she has released an acoustic-themed holiday release (2011’s Christmas), spent time writing country songs for other artists and now she is back with a new album, The Able Heart, which was released Nov. 5. According to Gilbert, it was time for a shift in her songwriting priorities. Continue reading
As Evan Way, the lead singer and songwriter for the Portland-based rock band the Parson Red Heads, can attest, every experience can be a learning experience. “With our previous record [2011’s Yearling] we spent maybe two years working on it, and when it takes that long to finish making an album, the one thing you want to do is not spend even close to that amount of time making an album ever again,” Way says with a laugh. Continue reading
Hank Williams III — better known as Hank 3 — is a maverick. If you want proof, consider the fact that he just released a double country album (Brothers of the 4×4) and a punk album (A Fiendish Threat), and did so on the same day. But that’s not even a record for him. Continue reading
When Chris Henderson, the singer and songwriter for the indie-roots Bronze Radio Return, talks about the band’s most recent album — Up, On & Over — he is practically breathing a sigh of relief. “It’s always nerve wracking, putting out a new body of work, wondering if people are going to say, ‘I like their other albums better,’” Henderson admits. “But we’ve been really fortunate. Our fans have had a lot of positive things to say about it, so it’s been really exciting.” Continue reading
Love ‘em or hate ‘em, you have certainly heard the Cherry Poppin’ Daddies’ popular Zoot Suit Riot album enough to have an opinion about the band. But stardom — and the backlash that came with it — was never something they expected to achieve when they formed in the late ’80s. Continue reading
The members of Seattle’s alt-folk The Head and the Heart are growing up. According to drummer Tyler Williams, their approach to music is too. “When we first started out, music was our passion and it was a hope, a goal, that we would get to do this for a living,” he says. “And then when you start to travel around and tour it does become your job in a way, but that doesn’t necessarily make it a bad thing. We’re just more responsible people at this stage in our lives.” Continue reading
Matisyahu wanted to do something different with his most recent album, 2012’s Spark Seeker. But when he began the process, he didn’t know “different” would involve starting work on one album, doing some other music for fun on the side and then realizing that the off-the-cuff stuff was what the album should actually sound like. He says that the lack of pressure he felt helped make these tracks flow more naturally. Continue reading