Lauded by Pop Matters and Glide, Folk-pop duo Fox and Bones released their latest outing, Better Land, today, October 19th. The ten-track project features reflective songwriting alongside jovial sing-alongs, moving ballads, and brass-tinged bluesy hip swayers. Here, Sarah and Scott answer their Essential 8 where they talk their biggest success, eating healthy on the road, hot springs, heroes, and more!

What’s the best advice to give to a musician just starting out?
Sarah: Play music, all the time. When I started out, I was so hungry. I bought tons of books, signed up for online courses, attended open mics, met people in the local scene, set “informational interviews” with big hitters in the business. I lived and breathed the music industry, soaking up everything I could. Networking is everything, and I think the best way to start is doing at least one, if not multiple, open mics a week and meeting other musicians. I find that as you grow your network, people start asking you to play shows with them, or ask you to play at their bar, or whatever. I worked as a bartender in a small town when I first started out, and I’d always bring the guitar to work and sing for my patrons, so I became known as the singing bartender. One of my customers told a local venue owner about me, and he ended up hiring me for my first paying gig that turned into a standing monthly gig for over two years! Just work hard, and meet everyone you can, make a reputation for yourself as someone who gives it their all. Oh, and learn how to write a good email! Check spelling and grammar, get to the point quickly, be polite, and thank them for taking time out of their busy day to read your email. You’d be surprised how many musicians don’t have these basic skills.

Which song of yours gets the best crowd response?
Scott: We play a version of our song “Lay You Down” and at the end of it we ask for word suggestions from the crowd and we then make up a verse about the suggested word. Our improvisational skills are moderate at best and it usually ends in some form of nonsense but the audience loves it. There is something communal about being silly and willing to embarrass yourself for the sake of entertainment.

What has been your biggest success?
Scott: Our biggest success is completing our most recent record “Better Land.”  The amount of time and money that goes into making a record can be overwhelming, especially while touring constantly. With the help of producer Dominik Schmidt and engineer Matt Greco, we were able to gather the perfect musicians together to make something that we can truly be proud of. We’d plan a week off in between tours and camp out at The Rye Room in Portland, recording as much as we could before we had to head back out on the road. After the dust settled, Better Land is the record we always dreamed of.

With influences ranging from Mississippi John Hurt and Taj Mahal to progressive musicians like Charlie Parr and Jack White, Eric Long’s music is timeless folk steeped in some of America’s earliest musical roots. Releasing October 19th, his new album, A Long Way From Home, expresses much, connecting with the listener on songs of love, loneliness, and home. Here, Long answers his Essential 8 where he talks about the album, songwriting, his professional bucket list item, and more.

Did you have a musical mentor? If so, who was it and how did they influence you?
I’ve always wanted a musical mentor. Maybe I still will someday.
 
With any particular song, was there an “a-ha” moment when you knew the song was completed and perfect?
Hey Now Baby took me a really long time to write. The lyrics came quickly but it took a long time for my fingers to catch up to the melody that I was hearing in my head. Buying a resonator guitar helped in the process of finishing the song because I always head it on resonator but never had one of my own to develop the song with.
 
Is there a story behind your album’s title?
The line comes from the 1st track on the album “Pennsylvania on My Mind.” I think it has a lot to do with being torn from living on the east coast in Pennsylvania where I grew up and living in California where I live now.
 
When/where do you do your best writing?
I tend to have the best ideas in the morning but to come up with the best music/melodies late at night to it tends to be one of the two.

This past September, rising country artist Kendall Gary, who has performed at the House of Blues, AT&T Cowboy Stadium, Hard Rock Café and more, released her debut album, This Is To You, a ten-track project that features summer anthems, ballads, and infectious country pop tunes. Here, Kendall answers her Essential 8 where she talks about the album, what she listens to on the road, how she spends her days off, and much more!

​Is there a story behind your album’s title?
I wrote out by hand all the titles of my songs that were on my CD. I then tried to think of what all the songs had in common. I then came to realize that they were all for someone. Whether it was for a love interest or to encourage someone, each song was written as if it were for a particular person in the listener’s life.

Do you write about personal experience, the experience of others, observations, made-up stories, something else or a combination?
My writing is a good mix of everything you listed. When I co-write, I feel like that gives a good mix of my experiences, observations and whatever else along with the person I am writing with. I try not to get too personal because I would not want people being like, “oh! This song is about [name of person]!” That’s just not my thing.

What are your “must have” albums for the road?
That’s a tough one because it depends on my mood. My mom and I just recently took a road trip (by the way, check out my song ‘Road Trip’) and one second I have RaeLynn on, then Demi and then like Panic at the Disco or something! As long as whoever is in the car with me can sing and jam, we are set!

Based in Katoomba NSW, Linda Mizzi blends folk, jazz, and blues - along with life experience - into her own unique style which can be heard on her latest album, Real People (May 2018). Here, she answers her Essential 8 where she talks Patti Griffin and Rickie Lee Jones, shares the story behind her album's title, and much more.
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Did you have a musical mentor? If so, who was it and how did they influence you?
I have a few actually, but I would have to say Patty Griffin. Her writing is so very honest – it’s almost divine. I’m lyric driven and love listening to wordsmiths who can also write and sing melodies that are so unique – the ones that leave you pondering “where did that come from?” She just continues to do what she does. She has hits and then she just has great, great, songs.

Is there a story behind your album’s title?
Absolutely. ‘Real People’ is my tribute to the people around me who are forthright in who they are, how they say it – the big hearted ones who are comfortable in their own skin – despite where they come from. Real struggles, real love, real life. I despise liars, false and bitter people who belittle others - pretending to be someone or something they are not. Particularly the holier than thou people – the ‘Sunday hypocrites’.

Where do you draw inspiration from when writing?
As expressed - Real life experiences. Stories from others – and the emotion that goes along with it. There is a song on my album that I wrote in the back smokers den at a pub one evening – listening to a story of a friend over a drink - and jotting ideas on a coaster. I still have that coaster. It’s special to me.

Born and raised in South Texas Jim Wyly has spent the last 40 years living and playing in the Austin area. While the obvious label for his music is “Texas Songwriter”, Wyly’s sound and songs are influenced from a multitude of directions, ranging from folk to R&B and rock and roll. Having spent time as a member of several bands, Jim has been widely regarded by his peers as a master of the songwriting craft. At the young age of 72, Wyly is stepping away from the sound and life of being in a band and releasing his solo debut, The Artisan (available now). Here, Wyly answers his Essential 8 where he talks about writing and the road, offers insight into drinking at gigs, and more.
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Did you have a musical mentor? If so, who was it and how did they influence you?
My Dad was a piano player and singer. He was a crooner back in the 30's. He would play piano and sing in the living room, where the piano was and I became interested in music as I used to sit and listen to him. He taught me simple chords on the piano and I took it from there.

Where do you draw inspiration from when writing?
I don't know if inspiration is the right word. I think it's more what interests me.  If I have an idea about some subject that interests me, I'll make an effort to right about it.

When/where do you do your best writing?
At home late at night.

Do you write about personal experience, the experience of others, observations, made-up stories, something else or a combination?
I think I would fit into the combination category, a little bit of all those subjects.

The Dark Ride Brothers are a Finnish-German band founded in 2014 by Sven Langbein and Vesa Winberg. They started with two acoustic guitars, and since then their journey has been open-minded, determined and consciously disregarded all boundaries. In the beginning, DRB played a lot of cover songs. Quite soon, however, their repertoire also included their own productions. 


With their refreshingly different sound – the band stands for rousing fireworks of pop/rock music equipped with an extra load of country - the band is on a never-ending adventure trip with their fans. Their music creates a sense of togetherness that cannot be put into words, which is why their fans see themselves as part of a big Dark Ride Family. Here, member Vesa Winberg answers his Essential 8 where he talks musical mentors, inspiration, challenges, what he's listening to, and much more!

Where do you draw inspiration from when writing?
In songwriting everything starts and ends with the melody. Usually, the first part that pops into my head is the chorus, followed by the verse that grows around it. The lyrics come last and they support the melody. When it comes to melodies, the simple and mind-blowing ones are the most challenging but also the most rewarding ones to create.

Did you have a musical mentor? If so, who was it and how did they influence you?
The songwriters that have inspired me the most are those who managed to successfully combine melodies and catchy, simple lyrics. Of course, Paul McCartney and John Lennon have defined the structure of the modern pop song. Out of the later songwriters, Per Gässle (Roxette), Jon Bon Jovi, Bryan Adams, and Desmond Child have all put a real simple core to their songs. And then again, Avicii totally redefined songwriting and managed to combine different genres to create something completely unique. Being technically talented is not enough if the songs themselves don't have that certain something.

With any particular song, was there an “a-ha” moment when you knew the song was completed and perfect? 
When "Jetplane" first popped into my head, it was a small, folk-inspired song that never made a big deal about itself. However, the song had me tightly in its grip and suddenly there was a chorus to it! Another "aha" moment occurred when we were working on "Safe and Sound". The song just appeared in front of us and was almost instantly ready. Also, it was a very easy song to rehearse. We cannot wait for it to be recorded in the studio.

When Brandon Fulson writes and sings about the country, he’s talking about the real country: a place where “hillbilly heroin and alcohol,” grifters, hookers and people just generally making bad decisions are more likely to be neighbors than those happy-go-lucky characters.

It’s the place where Fulson grew up and still lives and it permeates his new release, Forgotten Appalachia, the follow-up, and musical companion, to 2016's Dark Side of the Mountain. Here, Fulson answers his Essential 8 where he talks in depth about the album, his favorite "gift," Ray Wylie Hubbard, and more!

Is there a story behind you album's title?
I came up with the title "Forgotten Appalachia" while visiting my childhood home place. I lived in a holler called Beans Fork in Middlesboro, Kentucky and when I went back to see it, I was blown away at how different it looked. I caught myself saying the place looked "forgotten." Since most of my songs are about the area I grew up in I felt Forgotten Appalachia was a good fit.

Why did you choose to anchor the album with the songs you did?
Forgotten Appalachia is a sequel to my 2016 release Dark Side of The Mountain. I felt like the album had to pick up where Dark Side left off and work it's way to the conclusion, so the album pretty much wrote itself. To fully understand the story I'm telling I recommend folks  listen to the two albums back to back. Dark Side opens with the preacher preaching and works it's way through the drug epidemic, growing up in a dry county, coal mining, cut throat bars, ghost stories, snake handling preachers and a drunken car chase. Forgotten Appalachia focuses more on my struggles and is more character based with stories about my own family and ends with the song "Lonely Place To Be" which is me coming to my own conclusion about life in Appalachia. That song is me washing my hands.

With any particular song, was there an "a-ha" moment when you knew the song was completed and perfect?
For me, every song I write has an "a-ha" moment and that moment comes when I make my own self laugh. It's as though someone whispers something in my ear and I laugh out loud as the pen hits the paper. If I say "oh no, you can't say that" then I immediately know that's what I must say.

Singer-songwriter Kari Arnett's new album, When The Dust Settles, showcases her affinity for lonesome melodies, a vulnerable grit, and an authentic lyricism, that articulates the love, pain, and the struggle of the American Life. Together with her full band they created a raw sound, from warm, vintage acoustics to a retro, cinematic feel making When The Dust Settles a collection of deeply personal songs with universal appeal. Here, Arnett answers her Essential 8 and talks about the album, songwriting, Netflix, The Ryman, and much more!

Is there a story behind your album's title?
Yes.  When The Dust Settles became a reoccurring theme throughout the album due to the many chaotic situations I was dealing with at the time.  I wanted to write and tell the story of what would happen AFTER the storm of your life rolls through and know that you may come out a different, changed person after those things occured, but the knowing that you could become stronger for it.  

Do you write about personal experiences, the experience of others, observations, made up stories, something else or a combination? 
I tend to write more from my perspective, but it's through observation and long reflection that I tend to come to the finished song.  Usually, having a melody in mind makes it easy... but the content has to move me in a deep, honest way... and it always has to be real.  Most of my songs are as if I am writing a letter, either to myself or someone else, something tangible that you can understand.  Keeping it simple works best. 

What's the best advice you have ever gotten from another musician? 
One of my friends once told me to talk to myself as if I were a friend.  That has been on my heart ever since.  I think as musicians or artists we can be our own worst critics... I think that was a piece of beautiful and solid advice.  As hard as it is to remember sometimes, it is valuable to be kind to yourself.

Trey Ackerman has country music in his blood.  His singer-songwriter grandmother, Patti White, toured with artists like Bill Monroe and Faron Young while his father, Willie Ackerman, was a first-call session player and the staff drummer on the Grand Ole Opry and Hee Haw. 

As Trey grew up, his early forays into music included learning to sing, play guitar, drums and piano beginning at age 8, co-writing his first published song – recorded by Webb Pierce – at age 12, and as a rhythm guitarist in the Nashville Davidson County Sheriff’s Department band during his teenage years. 
In high school Trey moved from Nashville to Laredo, Texas where he paid his dues touring with regional acts as a guitarist, drummer and backup singer. 

After returning to Nashville and continuing his work as a drummer and sound engineer, Trey enthusiastically stepped into the role of husband and father, complete with a shift to more “legitimate” work in the IT industry. Even as he and his wife, Karen raised their children, Trey never lost his love for making music.  After losing both his parents, and upon a chance meeting with Hall of Fame guitarist Wayne Moss, Trey decided that the best way to simultaneously honor his musical legacy and talent was to re-enter the music business, this time with a singular purpose: to record an album along with his father’s musical peers.

Trey’s debut record is unique to his particular style of writing and performing, while also paying homage to his childhood memories and the music of the late 60’s and early 70’s. Here he answers his Essential 8 and talks musical mentors, his new album, Lonely On The Road, songwriting, and more!
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Did you have a musical mentor? If so, who was it and how did they influence you?
I’ve had so many influences over the years and they’re really quite varied in genre (Country, Folk, Americana, Jazz, Blues, Rock, Pop, Latin).  As for straight up mentoring, Nashville session guitarist Wayne Moss has been my most recent influence. He gives me a lot of rope creatively but will help reign me in as well. I listen to everything he has to say.

With any particular song, was there an “a-ha” moment when you knew the song was completed and perfect? 
95% of the time that “a-ha” moment is very elusive. However, the title track of my first EP, Lonely On the Road, was a rare exception. That song came very quickly and I knew the moment it was finished with the exception of one line. When I took it into the studio, I had 3 or 4 alternate lines written down and actually mixed up my words and sang something completely new. It was totally spontaneous and, as luck (or the Universe) would have it, the mistake was the best line of all of them so we ended up keeping it.  The rest of the time, a song is done when I’ve either started performing it at writer’s nights around Nashville or I’ve taken it into the studio & recorded a demo version, which kind of locks it in. I still have songs from 30+ years ago I consider to be unfinished.