Mark Olson
Last year everything suddenly seemed to go terribly wrong in Mark Olson’s life. He split up with his wife and fellow songwriter, Victoria Williams, and this subsequently caused the collapse of The Original Harmony Creekdippers, the folk-bluegrass outfit Mark Olson formed with Williams after leaving The Jayhawks in 1995. His new album, The Salvation Blues, finds the experienced – and in these parts, legendary songwriter back on his own feet with what has been desribed as his most personal and daring album to date. In this exclusive interview Americana UK’s Soren McGuire has a word with Mark Olson about putting his own name on a record, about not doing it the “Uncle Tupelo way”, working with Gary Louris again and the Jayhawks reunion that might just be lurking in the shadows. Interview by Søren McGuire, December 2007. Read more... Updated Wednesday, December 12, 2007 | | Jim White
Jim White’s music is as beguiling as his life story, encompassing everything from digging graves to modeling and turning it all into southern country soul music. He says this about his new album…. "Transnormal Skiperoo is a name I invented to describe a strange new feeling I've been experiencing after years of feeling lost and alone and cursed. Now, when everything around me begins to shine, when I find myself dancing around in my back yard for no particular reason other than it feels good to be alive, when I get this deep sense of gratitude that I don't need drugs or God or doomed romance to fuel myself through the gauntlet of a normal day, I call that feeling 'Transnormal Skiperoo.'"
Morag Rose called him up to find out more and also to talk about the DVD release of “Searching for the Wrong Eyed Jesus,” the road trip he took for Arena. Read more... Updated Monday, October 22, 2007 | | Bob Frank and John Murry
Bob Frank and John Murry make an odd and curiously mesmerizing couple. Frank’s a 70s troubaour and self proclaimed cult artist turned recluse; Murry is a descendant of William Faulker from Memphis who moved to California to work on his songs and play with various bands.
Actually talking to them about World Without End, their Tim Monney produced album of murder ballads based on a grim catalogue of true horror proved to be something of an adventure involving over zealous security, broken fuses and a very very long wait. Eventually Morag Rose tracked them down after their recent Manchester show supporting Chuck prophet….. Read more... Updated Monday, October 22, 2007 | | John Edginton – Robyn Hitchcock: Sex, Food, Death and Insects
Robyn Hitchcock: Sex, Food, Death... and Insects is a new film about the maverick singer songwriter and former Soft Boy. It is directed and produced by John Edginton, who previously made the acclaimed omnibus Pink Floyd and Syd Barrett Story as well as documentaries such as Battle for the Trees and Mumia Abu-Jamal: A Case for Reasonable Doubt? He spoke to Morag Rose about why he’s focused on the English singer songwriter. Read more... Updated Tuesday, July 24, 2007 | | Jason Ringenberg
Legendary Nashville singer-songwriter and alt-country, cow-punk pioneer Jason Ringenberg has an identical twin whose success may be about to eclipse that of the ex-Scorchers frontman. Children's entertainer Farmer Jason has just released his new album Rockin in The Forest With… and embarked on a tour of UK schools whilst the ever glamorous Mr Ringenberg rocks out in the evening. He gave Morag Rose a quick call (on a very crackly phone line) to give Americana-UK the latest news…. Read more... Updated Thursday, July 05, 2007 | | Michael Weston King
Michael Weston King came to prominence as founder, leader, singer and songwriter with The Good Sons, one of the pioneers of alt. country in the UK (whatever that means) The Good Sons were the first British band to sign to Glitterhouse Records, after Their fourth, album, Happiness the band went their separate ways in 2002. Since then Michael has toured extensively both on his own and sharing the bill with many great artists including Nick Cave, John Cale, Steve Earle, Roger McGuinn, and more. He also headlined the first ever Americana-UK Festival. He has also recorded eight diverse solo albums and his songs have been covered by a number of established artists – including Townes Van Zandt. His new album, A new Kind of Loneliness, is out now and represents another change of direction.
An email exchange with Morag Rose, June 2007 Read more... Updated Friday, June 22, 2007 | | Redlands Palomino Company
I am not Everett True, I mean I hate that kind of arrogant journalism that’s all about the rock hack and hut forgets about the music. However it's disingenuous to pretend I'm objective and sometimes it’s necessary to declare an interest. I was quite ridiculously nervous about this interview. I've not had the best few months and amongst the sickness and despair the unthinkable happened: I got bored of music. A few records got me through the winter and restored my faith. The most important of these, the only one that wasn’t an old musical companion, was Take Me Home by RHP. So - not only had the band made a precious record but I’d not spoken to anyone outside my security buffer for a long time. Plus I was acutely aware I needed to redeem myself having lunched out on my avowed mission to make the A-UK interviews section sparkle. Read more... Updated Monday, April 16, 2007 | | David Celia
Siân Claire Owen writes: Toronto-based singer-songwriter David Celia has just released his second album “This Isn’t Here”, which grapples with issues such as yoga, Cactus People, and good old fashioned love and friendship. But don’t be fooled, Celia is no tree-hugging hippy. His accessible brand of music is a tasteful blend of folk, country, with a sprinkling of prog rock, and even some occasional jazz. Nice. His impeccable vocal and instrumental arrangements, coupled with a genuine DIY ethic certainly makes for an interesting album. At the time of the interview David Celia was touring Europe to promote “This Isn’t Here”. We had arranged to meet during his sound check at the Borderline, London. However, as it happened he was in desperate need of a new harmonica, so we kicked off with a trip to the music shops along Denmark Street…
Read more... Updated Monday, April 02, 2007 | | Be Good Tanyas' Frazey Ford
The Be Good Tanya’s make old time folk with a contemporary edge; the sweetly yearning harmonies and traditional musicianship meshing with contemporary themes and their own unique sparkle. The band recently released their third album Hello Love, three years after Chinatown and a period away from the constant travelling they had long embraced. Morag Rose rang Frazey Ford to find out more. Read more... Updated Wednesday, January 10, 2007 | | Califone's Tim Rutili
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Califone’s earliest roots lie in the band Red Red Meat, from whence came Califone’s founding members Tim Rutili and Ben Massarella and its longtime producer Brian Deck. Orignially conceived as Rutili’s solo project they soon evolved into something more. The band’s first release was a self-titled EP on Flydaddy in 1998, followed later by the full-length debut, Roomsound, in 2001 In three years, they recorded four albums (two instrumental, two song-based) and toured heavily in between with Wilco, Modest Mouse, Sea and Cake and others. After the tour for Heron King Blues in 2004, Califone took a breath whilst the members worked on other projects.
Rutili moved to LA to work on soundtracks, including Rank, a documentary about professional bull-riders and a feature horror film called The Lost as well as producing and guesting on Freakwater’s Thinking of You. Califone got back together to start recording in October 2005; Rutili has said “Before we started to work on the new the record, I was listening to Orchids by Psychic TV on repeat,” says Rutili. “This song made me want to start writing songs again.”
The result is Roots and Crowns an astonishingly beautiful and atmospheric record which Rutili has said is “Uniting where you come from – your roots -- with what you strive to be or what you reinvent yourself to become – crowns. At the bottom of these songs are the memories and images you sift through in the process.”
Morag Rose grabbed a few words with Tim Rutili via a very crackly phone line whilst he was in London for a few gigs at the end of last year. Read more... Updated Wednesday, January 10, 2007 | | Pernice Brothers - Joe Pernice
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Morag Rose writes: I was really looking forward to interviewing Joe Pernice. This years ‘Live a Little’ is the latest in a long line of literate and lovely bittersweet records he has made both with The Scud Mountain Boys and The Pernice Brothers.
In my world he’s the kind of person clichés like prolific genius and cult hero were invented for. The comparisons to Morrissey don’t seem far wrong. Pernice also wrote ‘Meat is Murder, my personal favourite book about The Smiths (I’m typing this in a rented room in Whalley Range so this is high praise indeed.)
So anyway, like I said I was really looking forward to interviewing the man. He asked for the questions by email because he’s in Canada with a new baby and didn’t want to be disturbed. Fair enough. Saves the phone bill.
I sent 10 lovingly researched and thought provoking questions (or so I thought) but he didn’t like any of them. He wanted to answer questions he asked himself. Because he’s Joe Pernice I didn’t argue. Perhaps I should have, but I was curious to read what he wrote.
So, I’m still looking forward to interviewing Joe Pernice. This is what he says to himself: Read more... Updated Monday, December 11, 2006 | | Songdog
Acoustic music with a strap-on. Waiting For Godot sung to a three-chord trick. Songdog are really all about the songs. Dark, literate songs sung from the prison-cell of the heart (from where you can sometimes see just as far as from the top of any mountain)… that’s what is says at the top of the dreaded myspace page and I’m not inclined to argue. An interview with Lyndon Morgans writes and sings the songs: Please complete as many (or as few) of the following sentences as you feel like, in whatever way you choose, using as many or as few words as you wish. Team twang will be eternally grateful and shower you with kind words, rose petals and beer. Read more... Updated Tuesday, December 05, 2006 |
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AUK Interviews 2007
