I first heard the Whiskey Shivers when my partner El Demento & I went to see Ralph Stanley & the Clinch Mountain Boys play a show a few months ago. Whiskey Shivers were the opening band and they left an impression on me. They are very energetic on stage and really just exceptional performers and musicians. El Demento called them soon after to book a session and before you know it we were all gathered ’round, shooting the breeze and getting ready to record. I guess to just put it out there up front that they have some serious chops, the very first song had pretty some pretty intense pickin’. Then they stepped it back a bit, seemingly having proven whatever they wanted to prove, and treated us to some great songs.
So see these guys when they come through your town. They’re a hoot!
We’ve done several sessions with the White Ghost Shivers over the last ten years. What a crazy bunch of ne’er-do-wells these folks are! Anytime I’ve ever seen them play live, the place has always ended up in almost a riot by the end of it. That may not sound like the best time to some of you, but when you’re in the middle of all the craziness it sure is fun. You never know just what the hell is going to happen at a Shivers show, but you’ll certainly have stories to tell if you remember any of it.
Long story short, this is very catchy music played by wonderful people who have a great time making sure that you’re doing the same. Go see ’em, and don’t forget to contribute to the general chaos and anarchy when you’re at their show!
Here’s the last set they did with us, featuring some new and unreleased material unavailable elsewhere:
James Hand was about to put out his critically acclaimed album Mighty Lonesome Man when he stopped by to play a set for us. We invited his record label to come hang out for the session and they brought the proofs for the album artwork to show James. He looked and nodded his approval, and that’s about most of what you’ll get out of James much of the time. He’s a very polite, extremely nice, and soft-spoken Southern gentleman. Once you put a mic in front of his face and a guitar in his hands he’s not quite so shy, though.
James’s music is a return to much more traditional country music than most of what you hear on the radio these days. It’s refreshing to hear real country music that hasn’t been Nashvilled to death! Jame’s album is available to purchase on all of the digital services, and you can buy the record on vinyl at Amazon.com.
New Country Rehab is everywhere these days. If they haven’t toured through your town recently, then surely you’re on an upcoming leg of their seemingly endless tour. While they were in town they took time to record some tunes with us, and also to play music for us while we swam in Onion Creek on a lazy afternoon. I don’t think I’ve ever had live entertainment while swimming before, but I sure hope to have it again!
Frank Solivan and his band Dirty Kitchen came to do a quick session with us before heading on down that ol’ dusty road, and they sounded fantastic! In addition to being just all-around great guys, they are some fiery pickers to boot! Have a listen to this session and go see them when they come to your town!
Instead of waiting to release these all at once, I’ll just put these out there in small batches. Old Settler’s was a blast, as usual. I have to thank the festival for being gracious enough to use their vans to transport bands and equipment to and from our portable studio. They really went out of their way to accommodate us, and in general just couldn’t have been nicer people if they tried. The people that make this festival happen are some of the most helpful and welcoming people I’ve come across.
During the day we brought musicians over from the main stages to our little recording outpost. Late at night we packed up our gear and went to Camp Goodtimes to record until the wee hours. For a guy (me) who enjoys recording acoustic music, what more could I really ask for? That’s what I lived and breathed for four long days and nights. There was not a lot of sleep, but there were many good times.
The Bluegrass Outfit:
The Bluegrass Outfit is a bluegrass supergroup based in and around Austin, Texas. For this recording there were at least 12 musicians all pickin’ their hearts out. The little stage at Camp Goodtimes was so full that some people had to stand offstage and play their instruments. Featuring members of the Two High String Band, Green Mountain Grass, Milk Drive, Wood & Wire and The Blue Hit, this band’s talent speaks for itself. http://archive.org/details/TheBluegrassOutfit-liveFromCampGoodtimes2012
Railroad Earth:
Railroad Earth came over to see us and play a few songs while they were killing time before they headlined the main stage. We were dealing with some insane wind, but managed to fiddle our way out of the worst of it. This link will take you to 4 tracks. The first three are the three songs they played for us, and the fourth is one long track that includes all songs and the short between-song interviews we did with them. These guys are really a fantastic band, check ’em out: http://archive.org/details/RailroadEarth-liveForKaosRadioFromOldSettlersFest2012
Greensky Bluegrass:
Greensky Bluegrass had a hard time finding us, but we’re glad they did! One of them (Dave) is the spitting image of our good friend Dirty Charley, and their mandolin player Paul gave a special shout out to the Austin Facial Hair Club. We should have invited them to play the Goodtimes stage, but didn’t know they would have the time until it was too late. Their guitar player Dave ran into my cohort El Demento in the campground and insisted they swap shirts, because he just had to have a Team Goodtimes shirt. So both of them took their shirts off in the middle of everyone and swapped. How long has it been since you’ve swapped shirts with someone right on the spot? That’s good stuff. Anyhow, these guys are super nice and are also most excellent pickers. As it turns out, next month at DelFest they’re playing a late night gig with Railroad Earth that will stretch out into the wee hours. Man, I wish I could see that. Here’s their set, done in the same format as Railroad Earth. 3 songs, then the 4th is the complete set with interviews. http://archive.org/details/GreenskyBluegrass-liveFromOldSettlersFest2012
Country Willie:
Country Willie is a perennial favorite, and a legend around these parts. This is the set he did for us at our little campsite studio. We’ll be posting another (yet-to-be-edited, as of this posting) set that he did Thursday night on the Goodtimes stage with a full backing band. For this set, however, it’s just Willie on guitar, vocals and harmonica backed by his friend Thomas Oliver on drums. Enjoy! http://archive.org/details/CountryWillie-liveAtOldSettlersFest2012
Sam Baker, Carrie Elkin, Raina Rose & Andrew Pressman:
We did a quick in-the-round recording of Sam Baker, Carrie Elkin and Raina Rose with Drew Pressman playing standup bass. We first met Sam when Jim White brought him along to a session he recorded with us for the South By Southwest music festival. Drew and Raina’s new son Emmett was just hanging out with his mama while they played for us. Did I mention that this is a family-friendly festival? My wife and I brought our 4-month-old son with us and I think he had just as much fun as we did. Here’s the quick set we got from these four great musicians: http://archive.org/details/SamBakerWRainaRoseCarrieElkin-liveFromOldSettlersFest2012
The Blue Hit:
The Blue Hit finally played the main stage of the festival this year, but we recorded them out in the campground. They took the stage around 1:30am and played to a packed house. Everyone was super quiet, just sucking up all they could get out of this band. You can even hear the crowd do a meow-along, which is something I’ve never heard outside of a Blue Hit show. They are a great band and have just released two new records. Check ’em out! http://archive.org/details/TheBlueHit-liveFromCampGoodtimes2012
Hendrikz McLeod:
Hendrikz McLeod did one of the very few electric sets in the campground this year. They are a very unique band from San Marcos, Texas. Their guitar player, Mike McLeod, is currently working with Ryan McGillicuddy on Ryan’s long-awaited album, due out later this summer. We’ll have a couple McGillicuddy sets coming soon, so stay tuned for that. Until then though, here is Hendrikz McLeod to get your booty shakin’: http://archive.org/details/HendrikzMcleod-liveFromCampGoodtimes2012
The New Folk Revival 