The David Rawlings Machine recently released its second album, Nashville Obsolete (2015). In the video for the lead track on the album, “The Weekend,” David Rawlings and Gillian Welch take us on a fast road trip from Nashville to California.
Before The David Rawlings Machine released its first album A Friend of a Friend in 2009, David Rawlings already had an established music career doing things like producing Old Crow Medicine Show and co-writing songs with Ryan Adams such as “To Be Young (Is To Be Sad, Is To Be High).”
Now Rawlings is making great music with Gillian Welch with harmonies that remind me of the Jayhawks. Check out the video for “The Weekend.”
Singer and musician Caitlin Cary was born on October 28, 1968, growing up in Ohio but eventually ending up in Raleigh, North Carolina. Most folks have probably heard her voice through her association with Ryan Adams, which began in 1993 while she was in graduate school at North Carolina State. The two formed the legendary alt-country group Whiskeytown.
In the performance below of Whiskeytown’s “Houses on the Hill” on Austin City Limits in 1998, Cary plays the fiddle and backs up Ryan Adams on vocals. The song about a woman whose lover goes off to war first appeared on Whiskeytown’s album 1997 Strangers Almanac. Check it out.
Although Cary has not had quite the career that Ryan Adams has had after Whiskeytown, she has continued to make great music. I am a big fan of her debut full-length album as a solo artist, While You Weren’t Looking (2002). Below is Cary’s song “Pony” from the album.
Since While You Weren’t Looking, Cary has continued to make music as both a solo artist and in collaboration with other artists. Following her 2003 solo album I’m Staying Out, she recorded a 2004 album Sweetwater and a 2006 album Bloom, Red & the Ordinary Girl with Tonya Lamm and Lynn Blakey as the group Tres Chicas.
In between the Tres Chicas albums, she recorded Begonias (2005) with Thad Cockrell. Below is the Cary-Cockrell collaboration on “Two Different Things.”
More recently, she has recorded as part of the group she created with Matt Douglas, The Small Ponds. In 2010, the group released Caitlin Cary & Matt Douglas Are The Small Ponds.
Even more recently, she co-founded NC Music Love Army, a music group focusing on promoting progressive politics in North Carolina, as discussed earlier on Chimesfreedom. NC Music Love Army released We Are Not For Sale: Songs Of Protest in 2013.
Every year or two, there has been talk of Cary and Ryan Adams getting back together for a Whiskeytown reunion. But for now, I am satisfied that Cary continues to make interesting music. Happy birthday Caitlin Cary!
What is your favorite song with Caitlin Cary? Leave your two cents in the comments.
This video of a live performance combines one of my favorite Foo Fighters songs with one of my favorite singers, Ryan Adams. On July 21, 2015 at the Sydney Opera House, Adams busted out an acoustic version of “Times Like These” as a tribute to Foo Fighters lead singer David Grohl, who has had some recent injuries while still being devoted to his music.
Earlier this year, Grohl announced he had broken his rib after performing at Sasquatch! Music Festival. He continued touring only to break his leg mid-set last month. Adams noted his admiration for Grohl, who even finished the concert where he broke his leg. And then Adams gave a moving acoustic rendition of “Times Like These.” Check out his cover of the song from the Foo Fighters 2002 album One by One.
What is your favorite cover of a Foo Fighters song? Leave your two cents in the comments.
The band Runner of the Woods has released its debut album, Thirsty Valley. I like the alt-country sound of this group, which is fronted by Nick Beaudoing, who used to play with the Doc Marshalls of New York City.
In Beaudoing’s voice on some of the tracks, I hear a sound a little like Justin Townes Earle with a touch of Ryan Adams, partly affected by Beaudoing’s move south to Nashville. On Runner of the Woods’s website, it describes the new Thirsty Valley album as “the sort of record a man makes when love has gone good but something else is still missing. It’s the thousand-yard stare that accompanies boozy recollections of perfect northern lakes or some girl you used to know.”
Below is a solo acoustic version of one of the songs from Thirsty Valley, “Good Things Will Come.” Check it out.
To hear other songs from the new debut album, head over to the band’s website. Runner of the Woods, whose band’s name is a reference to both the natural beauty of Tennessee and to Beaudoing’s French-Canadian heritage, consists of: Nicolas Beaudoing (Guitar/Vocals); Jonathan Gregg (Pedal Steel); Craig Aspen (Bass); and Nic Wiles (Drums).
I long have been a fan of Caitlin Cary‘s music that includes her days as part of Whiskeytown (with Ryan Adams) and her solo career. One of her latest projects finds her joining her musical talents with others to make a statement. In 2013, Cary and singer-songwriter Jon Lindsay co-founded NC Music Love Army. The group is a collective of musicians with a connection to North Carolina who wanted to make a statement about regressive politics in the state. The artists released an album of protest songs in 2013 called We Are Not For Sale: Songs of Protest.
In 2014, as we approach election time, the group is releasing additional songs. Below, listen to Mary Johnson Rockers sing “Senator’s Lament,” a song about the land that sounds timeless while also being timely. After the song, you may listen to alternate versions on the player too.
In “Dear Mr. McCrory,” Lindsay wrote a song directed at the governor of North Carolina, Pat McCrory. On the song about voter suppression in the state and civil rights, Lindsay is joined by Cary and BJ Barham (of American Aquarium).
In “Dear Mr. McCrory,” Lindsay asks a question we wonder about for many politicians, “When you were a young man did you wanna be / This person here before us today?” Check it out.
You may download “Dear Mr. McCrory,” “Senator’s Lament,” and other songs through NC Music Love Army’s website. [October 29, 2014 Update: Check out the latest release through NC Music Love Army of “Train Coming” by Dasan Ahanu and Jrusalam.] Leave your two cents in the comments.
. Check it out.
(2002). Below is Cary’s song “Pony” from the album.
