 Hailing from Fort Worth, traditional country resurgence group, Keeper Of The Plains, is bringing back a red dirt sound that hasn’t been heard on country radio in quite some time. Their debut radio single, "Keep On Rollin'", a breezy, fiddle accented tune with meaningful, uplifting lyrics, is already gaining traction on the Music Row Country Breakout Chart delivering their music to a wide range of welcoming listeners. Here frontman Michael Gutierrez answers his Essential 8 and talks musical mentors, KISS, Brantley Gilbert, and more!
Did you have a musical mentor? If so, who was it and how did they influence you? I would have to say my music teacher in junior high school, Mr. Hayels. He was truly an inspiration as well as a great mentor to me. He encouraged me to pursue my dream of becoming an entertainer through his words and his confidence in me. What’s the best advice you have ever gotten from another musician? The best advice I’ve gotten from true musicians was to keep reaching for the stars. The struggle is real and cruel but if you keep being persistent, your hard work will pay off some day. If it was easy everyone would be in the entertainment business so keep on keeping on. What’s your dream venue and why? It would have to be the Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Colorado. It’s one of the most beautiful venues, indoor or outdoor, that I have ever seen. Who would you love to collaborate with? I would love to collaborate with Brantley Gilbert. I think we could have a good time writing some tunes together, maybe so good that I could open up for him. Haha! With our gritty tone and rock country feel I think it would be awesome!
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Singer-songwriter Nina Ricci keeps her footing in folk revival with her debut album Designs On Me. A storyteller by nature, each of the project's seven songs tell a tale revealing her sentimental side and sketching dream-like images that stay with the listener well after first listen. Here, Ricci kindly took the time to answer her Essential 8 and spoke about the album, songwriting, her dream venue, and more.
Why did you choose to anchor the album with these songs? When I started to get the idea it was time to record an album I was going through a reemergence of writing. My personal mode of writing is a little different. I don’t write all the time. I let time pass between my writing sessions so that I have something new and fresh to write about with new aesthetic influences. That way I am not writing the same song over and over. My reason for choosing these songs is simple, they were ripe for the picking. They were my newest and freshest works, the cream right off the top, and they carried that youthful vibrance a song has when it’s newly written. I looked back on my older songs as candidates, but I felt the new ones had a sort of connection to each other that I didn’t want to break up. I think that’s because my approach to writing songs changed around this time. I wanted to relate to my audience in a personal way. Whereas as a folksinger, I tend to act as an interpreter of narratives that are aesthetically old and difficult for people to grasp, I felt that these songs had a “right now” kind of relevance. For example, I was starting to bite the bitter end of the truths about being a performing musician when I wrote “Numbers Don’t Show.” The difference in a successful career and a mediocre one is based on the number of tickets sold at your concerts. Because we as musicians are all in this race together and we have the same struggles for our music to be heard, I wrote “Numbers Don’t Show” to them. “Folk City” was inspired by a day trip that took me to Greenwich Village. My dad lived there in his 20’s and some of my favorite folksingers played in the music venue Gerde’s Folk City, back in the day. I wasn’t able to write the song for a long time until I had one last wind of inspirational gusto when I learned about a theater group called “Folk City Musical” who is bringing to life the historicity of the Greenwich Village folk scene on stage. “I Never Deserve Any Good Thing I Got” was a clear contender because of it’s poetic lyricism and humanity. It’s me, looking at myself like I am, and that’s the design I had for the album: to show people who I am as a person, a writer, a performer, and an overall musical craftswoman. 
Originally formed as a tribute project to recreate the early music of the 1970's band Little Feat, the Nashville-based progressive blues outfit Big Shoes soon garnered an impressive following that led them to carve out their own unique identity. On February 23rd, the seven-piece released their new album, Step On It! and here Big Shoes' drummer/bandleader/producer Andy Peake answers his Essential 8 and talks touring, the Hollywood Bowl, fave fan gifts, and more.
Do you have any touring tips? Enjoy it! I have been to more places as a result of my career than most people ever have a chance to. Being a musician has allowed me to be a world traveler. In addition, though, treat it like a job, a fun and interesting job. What's the best advice you have ever gotten from another musician? Do your homework. Prepare with a passion. Then have fun. What's the best advice to give to a musician just starting out? The luckiest people are usually the ones who work the hardest.  Credit: Jeannine Marie Photography In 2016, Singer, pianist, and songwriter Joyann Parker's debut album, On The Rocks, garnered national and international attention, landing on the Roots Music Report's Top 100 Blues Albums chart and being nominated for an Independent Blues Music Award for Best New Album. Now the accomplished artist is prepping the release of her new album, Hard to Love, on April 13th and here she answers her Essential 8 and talks songwriting, 80's music, Beth Hart, and much more.
Where do you draw inspiration from when writing? All inspiration for me comes from life, be it my own, my friends or family or just a stranger I may overhear in a coffee shop on the road somewhere. I am a storyteller at heart and I weave them all together from real human experiences. That is why I think they are so relatable, because they are genuine. I am a very empathetic person and I feel energy around me, whether it be from people or even the building I happen to be in. Those energies give me insight into those people and places which then inspire songs. I’m not particularly good at writing about something that I’m not passionate about. When/where do you do your best writing? I write everywhere and anywhere. I’m a very busy mom of 2 when I’m not doing all the other things in my life, so alone time is sparse. Inspiration strikes at the craziest times. One of the songs on my first album was written in my car while driving with my kids in the backseat. I told my phone to record and made an extremely rough recording, so I could remember the tune later on when I had time to write it down. Why did you choose to anchor the album with the songs you did? A lot of these songs were written after my second trip to Memphis, TN. I have always loved the Memphis soul sound but after a trip to the Stax Museum I was totally inspired. The next few months I drenched myself in Otis Redding, King Curtis, Carla Thomas, Aretha Franklin, Wilson Pickett, Staples Singers and the like and wrote a bunch of the tunes you hear on this record. I always like to put a few surprises into my albums and shows, so there are a couple of those on the record as well, especially the title track, “Hard To Love.” I love the classic sound of the Great American Songbook and wanted to do a stripped-down version on which I could play piano and show another side of myself. 
Born in Illinois, Bill Bloomer began his career in Portland, Oregon, found himself living amongst Buddhist forest monks at a temple in Thailand, and eventually “settled” in France. All of these influences seep their way into his latest release, Jubilee. Released on March 30th, the songs on Jubilee are as varied in sound and lyrical content as the man who wrote them. The binding force is Bloomer’s unique baritone that demands the listener hear the lyrics which are honest, raw, and personal. Bloomer recently took the time to answer his Essential 8 where he talked about Jubilee, Steve Goodman, and more.
Did you have a musical mentor? If so, who was it and how did they influence you? Steve Goodman always impressed me with his benevolence and commitment to serving the audience and song with a generous balance of painfully deep or humorous lighthearted fare. The full palette of entertainment. Is there a story behind your album’s title? Jubilee is a mix of s celebration of bridges built and crossed over raging and tranquil tides and times in gratitude to our family of troubadours. Do you write about personal experience, the experience of others, observations, made-up stories, something else or a combination? For me , everything is possible. Sometimes a mix of all things. The person, tense, gender or attitude of a character or topic isn't dominant. |