Top Picks Archives - Page 10 of 34

Spotlight: Savannah Rae

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What music did your parents play to you on long car journeys and what are you choosing to listen to now? My parents gave me a vast love and appreciation for all types of music. They threw everything at me from rock to pop to country to, you know, like fifteenth-century lute music, you name it, they pretty much threw everything at me. But I would say that the main two ones that they threw at me were rock music. Then of course, being from Texas, was country music. Those are the two that I connected with the most, especially nowadays. Can you remember the first song you ever wrote? I remember the first song I ever wrote. It was like a play off of the ABCs, I was five years old. And I was like, I’m gonna write a song about the ABCs, but it’s not going to be the ABCs, it’s going to be different. I think I tried to relate it to like friendships, but I never ended up finishing the song. What’s the strangest thing you’ve ever written a song about? I do some writing exercises, just to keep my mind fresh, and find different ways to spin things. So I’ll find any inanimate object in a room or just where I’m at and write a song about it. It could be a stick, it could be a rock, it could be this candle. There’s a song by Hardy called ‘About a Rock’ but he spins it into so many different things, I think one of them is like, the church and like God and stuff, he spins the rock into a ring – put a rock on her finger. There’s so many different ways to spin things, so I do like those little songwriting exercises like that. READ THE FULL INTERVIEW IN THE LATEST ISSUE OF MAVERICK AVAILABLE HERE! Media Contact: Zoe Hodges, Editor Email: editor@maverick-country.com

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Spotlight: Michael Coleman

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When did you first know that you wanted to be a musician? That’s an interesting question as I don’t really fancy myself as a musician, per se. I classify myself more as an artist. What I mean by that is I am more of a creator of artistic work and my main medium happens to be music. I look at it that way as I do so much more than just pick up a guitar or sit down at the piano. When I composed the theme song to the NAGAAA Softball World Series which is featured on our latest album, “From His Mind” I composed that by tapping it out on the dashboard of the car on a cross country road trip. There were no instruments involved until we went into the studio. With that said, I think I first knew I wanted to be an artist early on in life. When I was 7 or 8 I had the dream of being a dancer/choreographer and that was my main focus for quite some time and it wasn’t until later in life that I decided to write songs and create music even though music was always a huge part of my life. Tell me more about the creation of ‘See Your Shadow Songwriting’ and what its aims are? Well See Your Shadow was started initially as a means for me to set myself apart from all the other writers trying to crack the Nashville market. Instead of presenting my work as just another writer, I formed the entity known as See Your Shadow and presented my work as the entity. Over the years it has morphed into many different iterations, but the cornerstones have always been the songs I write. I chose the name See Your Shadow because my birthday is Groundhog Day and our original logo before we rebranded was a groundhog coming out of the ground and its shadow was wearing a cowboy hat. See Your Shadow’s goals are simple and that is to create good art – plus I would like to have more recognition for our work here in the United States. We are embraced more in the international markets.

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Spotlight: Hillbilly Vegas

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Hillbilly Vegas, with their blend of Southern Rock and Outlaw Country, have a string of Billboard top 20 Rock singles under their belt and headline festivals in their home country. Now, with a new album on the way, ‘The Great Southern Hustle’, Hillbilly Vegas will make their live debut as they play a show at The Troubadour in London, a venue where Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix, Jimmy Page & Robert Plant, Paul Simon, Elvis Costello, Ed Sheeran & Adele made their mark. Steve Harris, lead vocalist of the band, filled me in on how it all began. Since this is our first time connecting, can you tell me about the formation of Hillbilly Vegas please? We weren’t a band. We were just hanging out at Johnny’s house out in the country playing songs and telling stories. It was just for fun but pretty soon we were writing songs and the truth is…if you put a a bunch of musicians in a room they’ll eventually start a band. We did and here we are. Who were your earliest influences when you were growing up? Honestly, 70s rock along with the early Outlaw country stuff. In my opinion, it’s the greatest era of music ever. For me personally it was Paul Rodgers, Glenn Hughes and taking a weird left turn in there somewhere Hank Jr, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Charlie Daniels and Waylon Jennings. Can you tell me about the process for writing and recording the new record ‘The Great Southern Hustle’? This is our favourite part. The creation. These songs are our lives. We are story tellers first. Each song is about us, maybe someone in our lives or just personal observations. It’s all 100% us. As for the recording process most of the record was done with Alex Gerst at Empire Sound in Dallas. It’s our home away from home. Our producer for the record is also our Keyboardist Geraldo Dominelli. Geraldo is so in tune with our sound and who we are. He makes these songs sound like us. Believe it or not, that’s not always a given. We’ve worked with people early in our career that took our personality away and created something we didn’t even recognise. We promised ourselves we would never let that happen again. So being in control from writing to the finished recording is our process. READ THE FULL INTERVIEW IN THE LATEST ISSUE OF MAVERICK AVAILABLE HERE! Media Contact: Zoe Hodges, Editor Email: editor@maverick-country.com

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Spotlight: Engelbert Humperdinck

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Can you tell me about the decision to record ‘Forever Blowing Bubbles’ and its use in the film ‘Bullet Train’? When I heard about the request to record a song for Sony Pictures, I was very honoured and when I heard it was staring Brad Pitt, I was in. I was on tour traveling on The Bullet Train in ’73….many stations ago!   The song has been a family favourite as my sister Bubbles sang it constantly.  We had a great time at Capital Records Studios. Your latest single, ’You’re The First, The Last, My Everything’, has a country influence to it, and a number of your past hits have had strong links to genre – what does country music mean to you? That country thread has run through so many of the songs and decades of my life. The core of country is the relatability of the stories told. The writers are the true artists as a great country song can be covered by many singers and still touch you and the icons of country can get you from the first “Hello Darlin!”  We put some Nashville on Barry White’s massive R&B hit and shot a video and it looks like I’m going to have to learn some new moves and pull out my old boots for stage. A good song can have more than one turn on the dance floor.  The new project has quite a few unexpected song choices that we reached back to. I’m looking forward to putting them in the show.   READ THE FULL INTERVIEW IN THE LATEST ISSUE OF MAVERICK AVAILABLE HERE! Media Contact: Zoe Hodges, Editor Email: editor@maverick-country.com

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Spotlight: For King & Country

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Can you tell me the story behind your new single ‘Love Me Like I Am’? “Love Me Like I Am” was one of those rare occasions (I hope that whoever is reading this has had this happen) where you have a dream about something, and you wake up in the middle of the night and think, “Oh, that’s a really good idea!”. In our case, Joel actually woke up with this phrase “Love Me Like I Am,” so he wrote it down. He woke up the next morning and still thought it was actually a good idea- because, you know how it works most of the time, the ideas that we dream about don’t usually end up becoming good ideas. So the next day we are in the studio, and he brings that phrase up- “Love Me Like I Am.” And one of the other guys we were working with said, “It’s amazing that you can love me like I am.” And, the truest of loves is when you can love someone for who they are – a father’s love – the love a father has for a child, that’s the truest. The love a mother has for a child, I think, that’s the truest love. Because it’s not based off who they are, or their performance, or what they’ve done, or what they’ve accomplished. It’s simply because of who they are. I think that’s the most powerful of loves. How did the collaboration with Jordin Sparks come about? The collaboration with Jordin Sparks actually came from just the idea that she’s been an artist and a voice that we’ve loved for many, many years, obviously since her early days on “American Idol,” and her name just kinda popped up to us. So we reached out to her and said “Hey, what do you think about this?” We got on a zoom call to chat about it. Talked about what she thought of the song. And she was so thrilled to be thought of. We were actually doing a fair out in San Diego that summer, so we performed the song live together. We did a little music video for it…a live music video for it out there as well. She’s just a wonderful person. Super sweet! And she’s become someone we’ve really enjoyed collaborating with. We are very grateful to her for lending her voice. READ THE FULL INTERVIEW IN THE LATEST ISSUE OF MAVERICK AVAILABLE HERE! Media Contact: Zoe Hodges, Editor Email: editor@maverick-country.com

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Review: David Massey ‘Darkness At Dawn’

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David Massey is back with his sixth, independently released studio album featuring six brand new tracks. The first thing I notice is Massey’s melodic vocals, clear and concise sitting nicely in the mix. His blend of folk, rock and bluegrass with an unpolished production, gives off a sense of authenticity. Lyrically it is clear Massey is a craftsman whilst his band is skilful. A highlight for me is ‘Watch Your Back In Hell’ which features a mesmerising fiddle part, Massey’s soft voice almost acting as a call and response with the instrument. The ballad, ‘Daddy’s Wedding Dance’ is a beautiful way to end the record. It’s relatable for all the daddy’s and daughters out there and the subtle backing vocals bring out the emotion in certain lines, it is a very well thought out arrangement. It’s a strong record from Massey, it’d be great to see him bringing these songs to life in a live setting. Media Contact: Zoe Hodges, Editor Email: editor@maverick-country.com

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Review: Paul Gurney – ‘Blue Horizon’

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After honing his craft for several years as part of The DeSotos, New Zealand native Paul Gurney has released his second solo album. Firstly, it’s worth noting (and applauding) that Gurney lives and breathes music and knows it’s value in society through his work at Toi Ora Live Arts Trust, a trust which supports people who are experiencing mental health issues with arts classes. From the emotive and evocative tales of struggle in ‘Ricochet’ to the light hearted ‘Moonlight Waltz’, this record takes you on a journey through every emotion. The production feels quite simple but the soundscapes created are atmospheric. On songs such as ‘Fragile’ which is the standout track for me, the raw emotion causes Gurney’s voice to quiver slightly giving a sense of vulnerability to his artistry. It’s a strong collection of songs from Gurney who delivers a record which speaks to the soul. Media Contact: Zoe Hodges, Editor Email: editor@maverick-country.com

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Review: The White Buffalo

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‘Year of the Dark Horse’ goes beyond a concept album, it’s almost like a mini musical of the past year of Jake Smith’s life. Not only has he released a brilliantly written album featuring 12 personal songs but it is accompanied by a visual, artistic interpretation of the story of the album, created by Jake Smith and features four different directors tackling each of the 12 songs. The music lends itself to this cinematic approach as the record takes you on a journey lyrically. Smith makes a statement of intent from the first track ‘Not Today’ which boasts a catchy chorus, his strong, gritty vocals accompanied by an explosive production. A stand out track for me is ‘Kingdom For A Fool’ which I think showcases Smith’s ability to turn a common phrase into a clever song and apply it to his own experiences. In conclusion, it’s a bold project from The White Buffalo but one I hope will pay off, it’s innovative, intriguing and captures the imagination. Media Contact: Zoe Hodges, Editor Email: editor@maverick-country.com

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Review: Alex McEwan – ‘What Is Love’

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A homegrown talent, Alex McEwan has had an exciting career so far and has rightfully received the backing of such high profile industry folk as BBC’s Janice Long. This latest offering, the five-track ‘What Is Love’ EP, continues that momentum and sees McEwan rediscover his talents. Opening with the title track, McEwan asks the big question and after an atmospheric introduction, the mood changes and we hear a driving acoustic guitar. When the chorus hits the song really opens out and we hear McEwan’s strong, clear vocals belting out these sustained notes. Lyrically he tells these relatable stories throughout the EP that are well thought out. ‘In A World We Don’t Know’ is my favourite song of McEwan’s, the strings and backing vocals at the end of the chorus really bring it to life as the song continues to build throughout. The production throughout is fantastic. This is part of a bigger album project, set to be released early next year, and we look forward to what McEwan does next. Media Contact: Zoe Hodges, Editor Email: editor@maverick-country.com

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Review: Broken Heart University – ‘Too Close to the Border’

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This is another new artist to me and an air of mystery surrounds this release. The album opens with ‘Banditos in our Minds’ and instantly the vocals have me gripped, strong with great diction. Sonically, the arrangement reminds me of something Marty Stuart might release – proper country. I love the use of fiddle in ‘Expecting Rain’ and the upbeat tempo of the track has you tapping along. We hear a new side to the band on the ballad ‘Loveless By The Sea’. There is space in the production for the lyrics to really land with the listener and these are descriptive enough to paint a picture in the listeners mind. There is a delicate nature to the vocals which works well with the strings and high notes on the piano. To summarise, I am so glad I’ve been introduced to this band, there songwriting is strong, the production is of high quality and it’s all delivered by a beautiful, raw vocal. Media Contact: Zoe Hodges, Editor Email: editor@maverick-country.com

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