Vandoliers on "Forever"

It’s been a busy last few months for the Vandoliers. They released their 3rd album ‘Forever,’ their first for Bloodshot Records in February, debuting at 25 on the Americana charts. They were a force during SXSW, earning praise in Rolling Stone, and were featured in the 30 Best Artists We Saw SXSW 2019. We’ve been keeping our eye on our neighbors to the north for a while now, and we caught up with Joshua Fleming a few days before Forever came out.

Luck: Let’s talk about the new record, this latest LP is about 2 years in the making. It’s gotta feel great getting this out there, right?

Vandoliers: It’s incredible! Our first record ‘Ameri-Kinda’ was piecing the band together over a series of months, just recording everything separately. With ‘The Native’ we got to record as a band but... we had just changed bass players and we hadn’t even toured as a full band yet. But as soon as we released it, I began writing what would eventually become this new record, ‘Forever’. 50 songs & 400 shows later we’re sifted through and figuring out how we want to represent ourselves at this point in time. It’s been a crazy road of writing, recording, arranging rehearsing and touring, all to lead up to 8 days in a studio in Memphis.

We worked with Adam Hill (Low Cut Connie, Deer Tick) who really pushed us to perform the songs as a band and as a group. Ya know, try not to utilize punch ins & all that shit. He just made us a better band. After that we had to sit on it for 5 months, waiting for this release. During that time it’s been really crazy for us cause we've changed labels, management and booking agencies. Theres a sense of anxiety with that, like  “Oh fuck, I hope all this work was worth something!” I’m really proud of it and I’m proud of my band. I can’t wait to see what people think.

Luck: Sounds like 2019 is the year to hit that next gear?

Vandoliers: Absolutely, it's been really cool just to see our fan base grow with us. You know it started in the punk clubs and then with ‘The Native’ we got thrown into the alt-country, red-dirt… Americana base. It’s been really cool to see our punk rock fans stay with us, and then grow into what our fanbase is now. Now I don’t even know very many of them! It’s not like they are obligated friends and family who are sitting out in the crowd. The music is speaking to people and I feel like we have found our sound with this record. That’s one of the biggest stepping stones for a band -- setting yourself apart from everybody else and having your own thing. Man I’m so glad we found it! (laughter)

Luck: Let’s talk about getting signed to Bloodshot Records, seems like a killer fit for the band.

Vandoliers: I know! I’m really proud to be with them, they are the greatest people I‘ve ever met (180). So smart and artist-friendly, they are just so supportive of us. You get it, at Luck y’all book all kinds of bands, there are all kinds of sounds that you hear. From an artist perspective, anytime somebody gets what I'm doing or believes in what I'm doing… it’s just so crazy to me. It's a really great feeling for the music to hit people and that they are latching on to it. It’s no longer a discussion of what genre our music is. It’s getting to be “Man, that's the Vandoliers”  and that's a good feeling. With Bloodshot I just feel we define everything they do and have done for the last 25 years.

Luck: You mentioned earlier working with Adam Hill. Our readers might recognize his name, as we’ve spoken about him in an interview with The Reputations and Low Cut Connie. What makes him such an in-demand producer right now?

Vandoliers: One, he has a golden ear. Two, he’s the funniest person I’ve ever been around. His personality was the thing that attracted us. His resume with all those records, whether as an Assistant Engineer at Arlyn or a Head Engineer/Producer with Low Cut Connie or Deer Tick. What attracts bands to Adam is that he allows you to be the creative force and he is the filter. He’s so on top of everything, in a non-brooding manner. He doesn’t stifle you, he just ensures you get the best performance out of everything. I loved working and would work with him again, any day of the week. He knows how to make a studio session seamless, fly by and at the end of it, oh my god, I'm a better musician. That's something he's bring to the table that a lot of people aren't. He’s done a ton with Low Cut and each one keeps getting better and better. He does a stripped down 4 track recording and make it sound like gold or a full 24 track studio. He always keeps it minimal, it’s really weird, the studio magic is never produced, it's just already there.

Luck: You recorded the record in Memphis?

Vandoliers: Yeah, we kinda just fell in love with Memphis. We got there and met these two people, Bill and Kate who own Music Mansion, a bed and breakfast for bands. They told me they had a producer we should talk to. At first I was like, Ok whatever, send me his contact and we will figure out. Well they sent me the contact, I started doing my research and was like holy shit this is a real dude! (laughter) So we set up a meeting in memphis, and Adam and the band hit if off immediately. We toured a bunch of studios and eventually we landed on American Recording Studio in Memphis. Really huge records were recorded there. We walk in and my favorite Wilco record AM is hanging on the wall and there’s like... I’m not sure how to describe it, but feels like there are ghosts in that room, there is a really good vibe. We hit it off with Toby Vest & Pete Matthews, the lead engineers and so we had a great team the moment we walked in. We felt we were at home, but away from distractions enough to hunker down for a week and make this record.

Luck: Having that trust and comfort level in your team… it’s got to be invaluable right?  

Vandoliers: Having the choices, shit. When you are starting a band you don’t have any choices.  Whoever you can afford, let’s go. With this, we had the opportunity to find the right fit, find something that's good for us. Now we are a Texas band, and recording in Texas is awesome, I love it, but we wanted to get out of town for a minute. The city of Memphis has really welcomed us and I love everything about that city, it’s a weird city. It was inspiring, so much music, the birthplace of rock and roll. Everything Memphis used to have, it’s still there, it just may not be utilized as much. I fell into the city, met the people, and fell in love with the stories. I think it comes out in some of the sounds too. To me there are 3 different Tennessee cultures. Chattanooga/Knoxville scene, Nashville with the big money and big machine, and then there is little ol’ Memphis, which is raw. (laughter)

Luck: It’s good to shake it up, get out of the comfort zone, gives a different sense of readiness.

Vandoliers: In Dallas & Ft. Worth, we know everybody. We are very involved in the communities with the  studios, the musicians… these are all our friends. We could have made a great record there. But like you said, getting out of the comfort zone was really what we wanted to do.  We were going from a Texas label to a Chicago label. From a small independent booking to a major booking agency to a major agency, there were so many growing pains. It was a whirlwind and it was good to get away to be in a place where no one knew who we were. We ducked in the shadows and traversed the city, no one was the wiser we were there. It was perfect.

I’m really proud of this record. There comes a time for a lot of bands... there is a sense that you have to fall in line, be more marketable or that type of that shit. The cool thing about  Bloodshot, they didn't ask us to do any of that. We get to be unapologetically us. We play to our strengths and we got to spread our wings in terms of sound. There is a piece of me that hopes people like it, but at the end of the day, the band & the label is really proud of it. People will call it whatever they wanna call it, but we are happy. We made a great Vandoliers record.

Verse from Sixteen Years

Yeah it took sixteen years

And a hundred thousand miles

I was a preacher's son who lost his way for a while

I sang a poor man's song

No one could hear

It took a hundred thousand miles and sixteen years

Luck: When you are proud of what you’ve put out there, the rest is just gravy…

Vandoliers: Yeah, you know the central theme of this record... even through trials, we are still going to continue, we are still going to be a band. I can point to a song like “Sixteen Years” namely for that. I’m still a creative person and when you are, you can be susceptible to depression and anxiety. One of my favorite things about this record is that I got to turn to one of my heroes, mentors, and now a friend in Rhett Miller (Old 97’s), about my songs. It helped me voice what I was going through. I was in a pretty dark spot for a period of writing this record, not all, but some of it. Where I didn’t know if I could complete the record, whether I could be in a band anymore. But the affirmation I got from Rhett, the label and my band, it pulled me through that. I got to write a great song called Fallen Again which is my favorite song I’ve written at this point, it means a lot to me. Probably not a single, won’t hear it on the radio cause I say “fuck” in it. (laughter) I thought it was an important song. I feel like a lot of people who struggle with depression and high functioning anxiety don’t really get to talk about or are afraid to talk about it.

It’s important to let folks know they aren’t alone. With that song, I wanted there to be triumph at the end of it. Being at fucking rock bottom with your back against the wall and knowing you can ask for help, that doesn't make you any less of a person.  

Verse from Fallen Again

I'm still breathing

Barely holding

On to the end of my rope

Here I am

Caught on the edge

Is there still reason to hope?

Can you spare some water, brother?

I am dry

Can you give me a hand?

I've fallen again

Vandoliers: I never tried to be an outlaw, a good ol’ boy, not trying to be anything other than myself. I’m thankful I'm from Texas but I'm not a purebred, I played hockey and hung out in punk clubs. As I got older and married, my mindset and lifestyle changed, I was a lot less self-destructive. I turned to music and I simplified my writing to a couple chords and how I was feeling that day. That's helped me as a writer to open up. In my old band I felt like I had to portray something. A political stance, a badass or whatever, but with this type of writing and saying what you went through today. Hell, listen to Robert Earl Keen. He’s putting cheese enchiladas into a verse, and it doesn’t matter because it's honest. Willie, Townes, Guy... none of those guys were trying to be anything other than what they are. That's the most attractive point for me. I did a couple of shows last year with Marty Stuart and watching his TV show was the reason I wanted to pursue this type of writing and music. These were the best musicians I've seen in my life. Country musicians don’t get enough credit, they are some of the best songwriters and musicians out there. When I got to meet Marty and I found out he liked my music…. I could die happy now! (laughter) My life view is to expect nothing and be grateful for everything.  

Luck: What’s the one Punk record you are bringing to the desert island?

Vandoliers: Oh my shit! The Clash by The Clash, it’s one of the first records that I ever bought on vinyl. My uncle was the one who gave me my first guitar when I was 9. He passed away when I was 11. He had a cd of the Cramps that I was really into & they mentioned The Clash in the liner notes. I got that record as I was turning 13. The guitar tones are raw and bad ass. The political climate of 1977 is oozing through that record. I went to a school made up of different races and people, and the anti-racism message throughout that record really spoke to me. I really latched on with the ethos & the mindset of what they defined as punk rock.  God I love The Clash, they are the only band that mattered to me.

Luck: There is a slight Texas narrative to the Clash, recording the video in Austin...

Vandoliers: Yeah & they opened for Joe Ely, who was another artist I got introduced to through The Clash. He would be someone who would influence me forever. That band is so great, they aren’t tied down to genre, not tied to anything. They imploded at the end but man those first 5 records were really good. That album changed my life. As much as our record is a country record, to me it's a punk record. I feel like I have always just written punk songs. It's what I do. It’s a crazy time to be a musician, it's harder than ever but we are gonna look back at this period of music and be all... holy shit!  The quality of music everyone is putting out. That Robert Ellis record (Texas Piano Man), incredible. The new Hayes Carll (What It Is), incredible. You can see it across genre, we are the same label as Laura Jane Grace and the Devouring Mothers. That album (Bought To Rot) is so fucking out of the box, there is no genre for it, it’s just a bitching rock record. I feel like genres are starting to explode and combine with everything. Has there ever been a better indie, rock, country record than Nikki Lane’s Highway Queen? It’s just so cool how everyone is getting down to the root of what music is, which is 12 fucking notes… you can put twang in or you can not, it’s still great music.

You can catch the Vandoliers on tour with Cory Brannan in April and May.

Willie's Reserve and Margo Price Present: "All American Made"

Margo Price has teamed up with farmer Tina Gordon of Moon Made Farms and Willie’s Reserve to produce her own collection of cannabis under the same title as her most recent album: “All American Made”. Listen to Tina’s description of the strain and find “All American Made” at any of the California dispensaries listed below.

WHERE TO FIND “ALL AMERICAN MADE”:

• A Therapeutic Alternative - Sacramento, CA @atherapeuticalternative

• Airfield Supply Co. - Santa Clara, CA @airfieldsupply

• Buds & Roses - Los Angeles, CA  @budsandroses_la

• CCA California Alternative Caregivers - Los Angeles, CA @cca.la

• Circle Of Hope - Northridge, CA @circleofhopealliance

• D & M COMPASSION CENTER - Clearlake, CA @dm_compassion_center

• DCC - Los Angeles, CA

• Green Goddess Collective - Venice, CA

• One Love Beach Club - Long Beach, CA @onelove.beachclub

• Organic Solutions of the Desert - Palm Springs, CA

• Perennial - Studio City, CA @Perennialholistic

• Redwood Herbal Alliance - Santa Rosa, CA  @redwoodherbalalliance

• Revolution Emporium - Ukiah, CA

• SCF - Torrance, CA

• The Westwood Farmacy - Los Angeles, CA

• Sespe Creek Collective - Ojai, CA @originalsespe

• Palm Springs Safe Access - Palm Springs, CA @Palmspringsaccess

• Smart Collective Corporation - Los Angeles, CA

• Torrey Holistics - San Diego, CA @torrey.holistics.sd

• VALLEY PURE  - Woodlake, CA@valleypurehigh

• Vapor Room - San Francisco, CA  @vaporroom_sf
  

One Year Later: 2018 Southwest Airlines Artist on the Rise Winner Thomas Csorba

Our 2018 Southwest Airlines Artist on the Rise winner Thomas Csorba joined us back in Austin for our Lucky Draw Live event this month at the Cactus Cafe. We checked in with Thomas on his journey since playing Luck's main stage last year, get to know what he's been up to below.

Sources: Caleb Caudle & Hanging Rock State Park

As a part of our Sources series with Mountain Valley Spring Water, Caleb Caudle went back to a continuous source of inspiration for his life and music in his home state of North Carolina. Read Caudle’s own words on Hanging Rock State Park below.

Caleb Caudle at Hanging Rock State Park

There are certain roads you go down throughout your life that don't change much. Maybe a stoplight is added, or a restaurant changes hands and it’s just not the same as it once was, or a gas station closes down with their sign left untouched only to remind you of how cheap things used to be.

The road I'm thinking of leads to Hanging Rock State Park in Danbury, NC. Since I was a teen, it has been a place I go to seek inspiration. I’m calmed by its endless beauty. The mountains stand proud and tall, comforting me as the rest of the world seems to go swiftly by. I feel so small amongst them. They remind me not to get caught up in myself, and to look around, to stay grateful. I go live my life, travel the world, meet new people, eat new foods, and then return home with a newfound appreciation of what once seemed like a given. The road hasn’t changed. I have.

Hanging Rock State Park means something different to me now than it did 15 years ago, and if I'm lucky, it will mean something different to me in 15 years from now. The wind blows, the water flows yet the mountains remain. The storms of life shape me, but the mountains stay true. A constant reminder of stability. - Caleb Caudle

For more from Caleb visit his website here, and check out the #LuckList he put together for us below.

Exclusive Premiere: Ian Ferguson's "I Do Not Mind"

Ian Ferguson has emerged in a wave of 60’s and 70’s influenced artists that all seem to have landed in Nashville. Touring with the likes of Ron Gallo, TWEN, and Liza Anne, Ferguson is undoubtedly carving out his own lane in modern psych-rock and his latest single “I Do Not Mind” is no exception. I’d be willing to bet Ferguson has spent ample time pouring over George Harrison’s discography; the layered vocals, conversational verses, and psychedelic details all build into a complete work reminiscent of Harrison and his contemporaries. Listen to the exclusive premiere of “I Do Not Mind” and read Ferguson’s own words on the song below.

“I Do Not Mind” is a song about spending time with someone you’re really excited to spend time with, the first stage of a crush if you will. The line “You make life before seem like a blur” represents the kind of blind bliss that inhabits a freshly sparked romance. The opening lick of the song was something I had in my back pocket for some time. I had been listening to a lot of pre-psychedelic 60’s British Invasion stuff, and there’s a specific kind of attitude behind the delivery of those songs. There would be charming melodies and instrumentation, delivered with an almost sarcastic vocal performance. An out-of-tune upright piano, 12 string acoustic guitar, and a tremolo-heavy electric guitar make up the sound of the track. Given the way the song moves, I was able to have fun with the vocals, stacking harmony after harmony in my basement alone.  Call it freedom or call it isolation but having that time to yourself really gives you an opportunity to lose your mind a little bit, and some great things can come from it. - Ian Ferguson

For more from Ferguson click here.

The Reputations: Electric Power

all photos by Al Giesler unless otherwise marked

As with anything in life, dealing with triumph and tragedy can happen simultaneously. On the eve of their release party at Hotel Vegas, celebrating their second LP and getting ready to embark on their farthest reaching tour to date... sad news came in for the Reputations. Seth Gibbs, former bandmate, business partner and family member had succumbed to a battle with cancer that had just been diagnosed a few months prior.

But as the saying goes, the show does go on, and as such the Reputations invited us to stop by the home of Rockyanne Bullwinkel (vocals) and Jimmy Wildcat (drums) and hang with the rest of the band, Justin Smith (bass/vocals), Rudy Spencer (guitar/vocals), Erich Fraustro (guitar) as well as honorary members Jenny Carson (vocals) and Alex Kegulman (Justin’s wife and hand model for the LP cover) to talk about the new record, Electric Power, their second in two years and first on Nine Mile Records.  We spoke about influences, the segmented music scene that exists in the Live Music Capital of the world, a lively discussion on what the best super powers are and how this band will prevail when other projects the various members have come and gone. Oh, and we had a lot of laughs.

Luck: Congratulations on the new record! Electric Power follows up last year’s debut, Begging For More. You guys have been busy, tell our readers what’s been going on?

Justin Smith: We recorded the album in June 2017, four months after our debut and then we sat on it for a while. It took a couple months after recording for mixing/mastering. We recorded it  Memphis at Ardent Studios. So we were sending it back & forth to Jody (Jody Stephens of Big Star & GM of Ardent Studios) for him to listen to it and tell us what he thought. We tried to find someone to put it out and Nine Mile was interested, those conversations took the course of several months but we came to an agreement and its finally coming out.

Luck: We’ve heard the new record, it’s superb. Although there are elements of what we heard on your first record, this is a different beast, how would you describe the evolution of the sound?

Rudy Spencer: We started listening to different stuff from the 70’s…at one point [Justin] went thru a little Mungo Jerry phase. [laughs]

Luck: Wait a minute, so there is a deeper well than “In The Summertime”?

JS: Yeah its funny, I was in an advertising class and a professor brought up some poll they had done in the 1970’s. It was about how a hook in a song can raise endorphin levels to where someone will want to buy a product if you show it right after the hook. So the example was “In The Summertime”  and I was like...I haven’t heard this in forever and this song was so tight and I wondered what else he did. I went down the rabbit hole and there is so much stuff they did that is so good and I listened to a lot and wrote “Quite Alright” which is on the new record. But there are more influences than the 70’s…Mariah Carey is an influence on the record.

Rockyanne Bullwinkel: I listened to a lot of Mariah, a lot Beyonce - I love pop R&B, I really do  so that did inspire our song “The Exciter” a lot.

Luck: On both records you list songwriting credits to the band. How does that process work itself out, who brings what to the table?

RB: I think it's different for all of us, I tend to write chunks of songs and bring them to the band. They help me connect and finish it. That’s why it's very collaborative for songs I bring to the table. Lately Justin has been bringing full songs and then we all kinda work them out together.

JS: That’s why we want to credit as The Reputations. I may bring a song and it may be exactly how I want it sound and then when the band gets on and it doesn't sound like it was in my head, it's better. It doesn't really feel like I wrote the song, I had the idea but we all wrote the song.

JS: Sometimes we will bounce lyrics off each other, and sometimes I might bring a song where all the music is done, I’ve got one verse and a chorus and I’ll say, “Rocky you are singing this one and I can't think of a lyric for this second verse, come up with something and we will figure it out.” Jimmy has written lyrics on chorus and verses, we all just bounce lyrics off each other.

RB: I keep a journal and sometimes just like to look through it and will find lyrics that I want to come back to.

Luck: We took a look at the liner notes from both of your albums, the thank you section…. [laughs]

JS:  I think I know where this is going.

Luck: Well, it is a spectrum… on the first LP you shout out Discount Tire of Baytown, and on the the second one each member of Abba gets a nod. [more laughter]

RB: Yeah we wanted to thank ABBA, Frida, Benny, Bjorn, and Agnetha because they helped us pay to record that album!  We are also an ABBA cover band…

JS: Not anymore! We did that for awhile

RB: Not anymore! [laughs] and you know people will really dish out to see that… we had to thank ‘em.


Luck: You mentioned that the record is out on Nine Mile Records which is home to a lot of talented Austin artists. Why them?

JS: THEY SAID YES [laughs] It's that vicious circle. No one has ever heard of us so we aren't gonna get signed but then no one will hear us without a deal. But that's not really the case, bands hit the road for years to get a chance at this & were lucky that they took a shot on us. It was Sabrina Ellis (Sweet Spirit / A Giant Dog) who put us in contact with Rick Pierek. After a few conversations, he believed in us. He started catching a few shows.and I think fell in love with our live set and decided it was good fit and wanted to put out the record.

Luck: You recorded the ‘Electric Power’ at the legendary Ardent Studios in Memphis. The record was produced by Ardent GM Jody Stephens who gained notoriety as the drummer for Big Star. Considering his long list of musical accomplishments, producing records isn’t something he’s done, until getting with you.

JS: Slight mini correction. When Jody started to produce, we thought, and he kinda mentioned that he never produced before, but we later found out that back in the 90’s he produced some songs, maybe co-produced an ep or song of the record, As far as I know Electric Power is the first full length, from inception to completion that he’s produced.

Luck: We were talking earlier about the history of the band, there are a number of bands and projects that lead you all to here. What do you think gives this band staying power?

JW:  We definitely we work a lot harder than any band I’ve been in, everyone pulls together and keeps each other motivated to me that's the biggest difference that I see. Being serious and looking at as equally a job as it is entertainment for us.


RB: Also a very familial quality, Jimmy and Seth are brothers, I’m engaged to Jimmy. And then [there’s] our chosen family. Justin is like my brother, Auburn (Noel - Background Vocals and latest member) the other day in practice asked me if I had other siblings or just him… [laughs]

JS: Alex and I live just down the street so this is like a second home.

RB: We are all just really close.

RS: I think what adds to the dynamic, is that everybody in the Reptuations has fronted their own band and so I think that adds to the work ethic, something about fronting a band that you are leading… I think we have a band of collective front people which makes it easier to work together.

Luck: Makes sense, you know the role, the stress that comes with. Anytime you are building in your career, whatever that is... the more hats you can wear, the better you are, makes you more well rounded. Tell us about your ideal writing environments.

RB: The car.

JS: Yeah the car, all of my songs are basically written in my car.

RB: The same… we are similar in that all of our voice memos in our phone are all us singing into the phone in the car -

JS: ...humming, my notes are full of some very shitty fragments of lyrics and half melodies. But mostly it's listening to music and hearing a note in a song and pausing, and going on a tangent.

RB: We also spend a lot of time writing song very late at night together usually here or at the Studio.

JS: On the back porch drunk late at night… Electric Power is chock full of late night studio sessions, drunk… pick up this guitar, fight for 10 minutes on how it should go, work it out, hey it sounds great!

Luck: Tell us about the scene here in Austin. It’s got to have its share of pros and cons. What's the best part of being on the scene?

JS: Tough question.

EF: There are a lot of connections to make, whether or not you like a band.

JS: Most of the people are cool, it’s weird though…  but it’s a really kind of segmented scene, there's bands that play dirty sixth every night but I don't know one band we know that plays that, theres the Continental Club scene, Sam's Town Point...

RB: Obviously the Hotel Vegas.

JS: Sometimes there is crossover but that’s kinda what it is. But the scene we play in, is really a familial scene.

RS:  - It’s just people have been around for a long time, you have the old school, people that move here to play music. But like Erich says, it’s all about making connections and I think it's really easy to do here. There have been sometimes you meet people and it’s just like there are some bands that it’s harder to engage with than others…

JS: We all wanna talk shit right now… [laughs]

RS: It’s a tough question because… I came from El Paso, and it was lot more of melting pot. Metal bands playing with punk bands playing with indie rock bands and everyone got along.  Like Justin said it's a lot more segmented here.

JS: And not like a bad thing, it’s not a turf war…

RS: No it’s actually kind of cool, cause if you are music fan and looking for something specific, you know there is a venue for you. It’s really cool but its very saturated. There are a lot of bands.

Jenny Carson: I think when people get asked that question it's almost like a dark cloud over the question. Because the music industry is so hard. It’s like you are kind of drowning in it and it’s difficult to come up and see the light.

RS: Yeah Austin is this kinda weird middle ground between a small town with a really good music scene and a large city where there is an actual music industry like Nashville, LA or NYC.

JS: Yeah I was about to say, the biggest problem with this town in terms of music is that there is tons of talent in music but hardly [any] industry. You have SXSW but it isn’t an Austin industry, in that they bring band from other towns. Austin City Limits Festival will fill local act for their 11am slots … so there's not a whole lot of support for local austin band even from these major events. Besides that there's hardly any labels here, but they just opened a pressing plant which is really cool because we now have a really easy and cheaper way for bands to press their music and get it out there. And slowly, more stuff like that is gonna come as people notice all the talent, all the bands, it's gonna grow. But until that stuff is here it's more of a private scene compared to a city with industry.

JC: WIth this experience with these guys, Sweetheart Studios (started by Jimmy and Seth Gibbs) existing. These places are fucking wonderful because there are all kinds of artists, and the spectrum of artists…

JS: Who’s the worst band you recorded?? [laughs]

RB: I think you are seeing different kinds of artist but also different mediums. You meet so many visual artist. Jaime Zuverza who did the album design for both records. Jackson Montgomery Schwartz & Jon Chamberlain do a lot of our photos, You meet so many people that are so talented in different ways…

JC: Sara Ostovar (Modesty Hair Studio), who does our hair!  We’re kinda of a hair band! There's industries within industries

JS: I was telling Jackson the other day. Tons of people that like us…  I don't want to say our fans, cause I don’t who the fuck that is [laughs] the people who are into us at least part of that is because someone sees a really badass fucking photo from Jackson, and our hair looks good because of Sara. The flyer looks great because Ben Tipton did it (Ben is also in the band Trouble Boys with Jimmy and Erich) And finally, maybe somebody through all of those layers...  of us looking cool says ok, I guess i'll go listen to them. And then hopefully, we’re good enough for them to stick around

RS: It’s kinda awesome, it's such a self sufficient scene, all of our friends are so talented and they just kind of help us out and were just really lucky. Not a Lot of cities are like that, or you got to pay big money

Luck:  Luck Reunion is perceived as an americana festival but we don’t think of ourselves as such necessarily. It leads to an ongoing conversation in terms of what is Americana, is there gerne beyond good music? That said, is there a genre that best describes you?

JW: Powersoul!

RB: Which is something we invented.

JS: Rock and roll, it sounds lame and cheesy to say but I feel you like limit yourself, [you] create false expectations from others when you try to pigeonhole yourself. We made up powersoul to prevent that. When someone says, “I don’t know what the fuck that is,” we say, “Come on down and see it for yourself”.

Luck: What's next for the band?

We are talking with Adam Hill about working with him again. There is new studio opening in Memphis. We are talking about going in February to record. We’ve written a few, currently demoing and fleshing out other ones.  We want another record out by the end of 2019 to keep it rolling.

The Reputations are rolling through on tour right now; click here for their dates and listen to Electric Power below. For the record, we landed on Swamp Thing for the ideal superpower… who wouldn’t want the ability to grow psychedelic sweet potatoes from their body?

Barstool Stories: The Nude Party Live at Luck Mansion

all photos by Brooke Hamilton

The Nude Party is no stranger to house shows. The gangly group has packed themselves onto the small makeshift stage at the Luck Mansion and motioned everyone closer and closer. The old window units of the historic house nestled into the Lockeland Springs neighborhood of East Nashville can’t compete with all the bodies crammed into each corner. It’s hot. Really, really hot. But somehow, the band is fed as the crowd grows larger and sweatier. They smoothly transition from one song to the next, continuously captivating and charging the audience with pure, relentless energy. No one is afraid to shout out as the intensity heightens; each song is peppered with primal whoops and smatterings of applause. If you close your eyes, it sounds like a bootleg record that you stole from your dad, the coolest one in his collection: effortless and raw.

Before the show, drummer and percussionist Connor Mikita and Austin Brose took a walk down to the corner store with us to grab a cold Lagunitas beer and discuss the inception of their first full length album and transformation from local college band to ones to watch.

“We started in basements,” Brose said as we crossed the street to the 4 Stop Market on the corner of Woodland and 14th, “primarily at house shows…that’s kind of how we cut our teeth.” The Nude Party was a favorite during their time at university in Boone, NC, becoming the soundtrack for many fellow students’ and friends’ college careers. Their self-titled debut record is “an amalgamation of all of [them] putting together the most creative things [they] possibly could for the past three or four years” according to Brose.

Once you know the Nude Party is from North Carolina, you can see the ways in which the mountain culture has crept into each of their beings; I wouldn’t be surprised if the band van was full of Nalgene water bottles with clipped on carabiners or if a few of the guys used to go exclusively barefoot. But somehow, in an area that often leans towards more folk and roots music, the Nude Party captured a modern take on the essence of 60’s underground rock. We could easily be in a basement in Liverpool surrounded by Scouse accents, but the Nude Party is all-American, smack dab in the middle of AmericanaFest. 

Though both Brose and Mikita agree that Patton Magee (guitar/vocals) is usually the main lyricist of the group, their creation process as a band is described as nothing short of collaborative. This record is a direct product of their time cutting their teeth in college and now on the road and Brose agrees that “an overarching theme might just be the lifestyle of getting to do that”. Both also praise their “producer-landlord-best friend-spiritual guide-guru” Oakley Munson and engineer Matthew Cullen for their collaborative impact on the record, recorded outside of Woodstock, NY at Dreamland Studios.

There’s no doubt that the Nude Party is just getting started. Watch their full interview below and make it out to the Nude Party in person by visiting their site HERE.

Exclusive Video Premiere: Thomas Csorba's "Crooked Kind of Free"

We’ve had the privilege of watching Thomas Csorba transform over the last year since he won our Southwest Airlines Artist on the Rise contest and joined us out on the ranch to kick off our 2018 Luck Reunion. There’s no doubt that Csorba has something special and we feel lucky to be a small part of it with the premiere of his latest live video for “Crooked Kind of Free”. Watch the video and read what Csorba has to say about the song’s inception below.

by Thomas Csorba

This hasn’t been an easy few months. The social and political turbulence in this country has rattled me to my core. I’m an American man, twenty one years of age, and I’m trying to find my role in all of this - how to heal, how to grow, how to create meaningful work, and how to care for others. Honestly, I have very little desire to get political these days. Many of these political discourses on policy or party seem counterproductive - we seem to divide as a people, and I detest the idea of providing any fuel to that fire. I don’t know much, but I know this: all agree that humans deserve respect and care regardless of race, color, gender. It’s fundamental, isn’t it?

In that spirit, when I see people being harmed, I feel compelled to speak out. When I found out about the way families are being treated at our southern border, my heart broke in two. Surely this isn’t how we were made to live. Surely there’s another way to treat our neighbors.

I’m not sure what that looks like politically. I’m a songwriter, not a politician. Right now, I believe my role is to help build bridges between people and to paint this broken place in a way that inspires people to build those bridges. I hope this song doesn't come across as a pointing finger - but, instead, as a picture of a man processing through his role in this mess we've made.  I sincerely thank you for following along, listening, and engaging with my work.

Art matters. Our voice matters. Our neighbor matters.

I’m grateful to the Texas Gentlemen for helping me bring this song to life. Beau Bedford, who has been producing my new record, and the rest of the Gents have been the perfect crew to handle these songs. I can’t thank them enough. They’ve taken me under their wing, and I’ve been learning more than imaginable. My gratitude is unexplainable.

Cedric Burnside: Hard to Stay Cool

Cedric Burnside is telling a joke. Seated in the living room stage of the Luck Mansion in Nashville, the Mississippi Hill Country Blues artist seems almost to be in character as he tells the tawdry tale– perhaps drawing on the persona of his late grandfather, the iconic blues artist R.L. Burnside, who told the joke often throughout Cedric's young life.

“My music, my everything...all started with Big Daddy (R.L),” Cedric shares with a grin. “I was definitely born into this.” Indeed, Cedric was around music from the start; picking up his first pair of drumsticks at seven years old. “As a kid, watching [my family] play...it was just so amazing. And so I kind of just really looked and learned for myself – I'd mimic what I'd see them do.”

Before long Cedric, who'd already been hanging around the clubs, found himself on the stage for the first time. “At just six or seven, when Big Daddy took a break at the juke joint to go drink moonshine or smoke a little doobie, I finally got the courage one night to just jump up on the drums.” At age ten, he and his uncle Gary, then 12, became unofficial regulars at the club. “They would have to hide us behind the beer coolers when the police came. We for sure weren't supposed to be in there.”

He went on tour at age 13, backing R.L. on the drums. “I didn't have the slightest idea. I'd say 'Big Daddy, what if they don't like it?'. And he'd say, 'don't worry about it, just do it. Do what you do at the juke joints and we'll be alright.' Sure enough, that's what I did – with all these butterflies – and after the first song people were clapping their hands; they liked what they were hearing. And so those butterflies went away.”

While the butterflies were fleeting, what remains at the core of Cedric's career are tokens of his family's memory; the most apparent being not only innate talent, but also a true sense of humor. “My brother, he passed in 2012, so he was one of my biggest fans. So I always think about him when I write music. And it doesn't necessarily make me sad anymore. These days it more encourages me. It inspires me.

While flattered by similarities drawn, Cedric doesn't want to rest on comparisons – which is evident in his latest album. Benton County Relic, a soulful, slowed down collection of blues-tinged tunes with a contemporary twist, shows that Burnside has come a long way, stretching his legs and showcasing his guitar skills – a new spin for those who know him as a blues drummer. But what remains at the core of his musicality, a nod to his hill country blues roots, is his dedication to staying true to his family's musical heritage.

“Not that I'm trying to fill my family shoes, because I think that's impossible, but I felt that very special music they created. That's all I was around my whole life. That's just who and what I am. I want to make my own mark, of course, but I also want to let people know – and show people – where I got it from. I'm proud to do that, and I'm just really looking forward to the future of writing new music.”

Check out Burnside's live performance of Hard To Stay Cool from the Luck Mansion.

Langhorne Slim at Luck Social

As dusk settled upon our Luck, TX ranch painting all the grasses gold and wild cacti pink, Langhorne Slim sauntered up to one of the corrals to serenade Willie’s horses. Quickly he had a full audience as three gathered round, nipping at his hat and seemingly stomping their hooves to the beat. After, we took to the back stoop of one of Willie’s hideouts to chat about inspiration, writing, and Vol. 2 of Lost at Last before kicking off our first Luck Social with an intimate set in the chapel. Read our full interview below.

Luck: First things first as we are here in Luck, TX - I’d love to talk to you a little bit about your experience here.

Langhorne: Luck is amazing. It’s full of bugs I’ve never seen! [laughs] Luck is what brought me back and re-energized my interest in SXSW honestly. We’d done it for many years when our band started…do the grind, have some really good times and really good shows but I kind of got burnt out on it. Then Matt and the Luck family started to do this and I was invited out one year…to have this be the main focus of what I was doing and to come out on this ranch - I mean as you can tell sitting here - it’s just such a peaceful, naturally beautiful place. Then you know that Willie Nelson is living right there and I’m not too proud to be a dork about that. I’ve gotten to see him play a number of times in much bigger places, but here - that’s really special. They just invite a lot of people that I’m both fans and friends of...homies from Nashville or just from around. In how I love Newport Folk Festival its similar and different, but it’s like a family reunion…u don’t feel the hierarchy or some of the bullshit that you do feel in some festivals or places. It brings out the genuine kindness in people for the day. This is what I want in my life, I don’t know who wouldn’t want that. It’s what you want for these sorts of events that you throw and for me and my music, I want to try and create and environment and an energy that is positive; that is inclusive; that is an elevation of vibration as opposed to the opposite. We have obviously an extraordinary amount of the opposite going on in our world right now. I think any little bit that any of us can do is a job well done.

photo via Langhorne Slim’s Facebook

Luck: I agree. With you and all the other people we invite we know you are making incredible art and want to share it for the root of the reason.

Langhorne: I appreciate that. I’ve certainly always felt in very good company. Like my favorite festivals where I’m excited and honored and grateful that I get to play.

Luck: We’ve talked a lot about Luck and trying to make it a source of comfortability and community and inspiration. Do you have a place personal to you that is a source of inspiration?

Langhorne: I do and I don’t. I’ve got a very special house in Nashville that definitely offers an energy for creativity and yet I feel like because I’ve been on the run and on the road my entire adult life, I feel almost more comfortable in that zone than I do at home. I’ll have fellow traveling musicians stay there and they’ll be like, “I wrote nine songs while I was at your house on the toilet!” and it’s that kind of place. There’s a spot that I go to in upstate New York called Old Soul. One of my dear friend’s brother, Kenny Siegal, runs it. He’s produced and co-produced the last few records of mine and my band’s. It’s just nice to be isolated out there, there’s a certain vibe out there that I like very much but also that I kind of don’t like... but it seems to kick it out of me. He helps if there’s songs that I’m struggling to finish or put pieces together. So that would be a place...but I’m always amazed if I read an interview and someone’s got a straight answer for that. Don’t get me wrong, some songs are very hard work...but a lot of it seems to come from a place that I’m not sure we have words for in our language. I don’t take any real credit for a lot of those songs…[they] almost feel like you are a vessel for this thing. If you’re awake enough or fortunate enough to be there to capture it, then there it is. That could be taking a pee, walking down the street, it doesn’t need to be sunset or anything like that.

Luck: Right, you have to be open to receive it.

Langhorne: Right! Love of course. Heartbreak of course. I wish that wasn’t the case. The middle parts of the relationship, they can be hard.

Luck: - to make poetic

Langhorne: Yeah sometimes I think. The beginnings and the ends, they seem to produce songs.

Luck: So you write when inspiration strikes you?

Langhorne: I do. I admire but I’ve never been one of these guys or girls who sits down at 9 o’clock in the morning and has a schedule like “oh I’m going to write a song a day”. I admire that and I envy that but, no. I’ve never done that. I’ve definitely written on command for my own self. I’m neurotic in general, but if I’m about to make a new record - which I am about to record a new record in about a month - I get into this frenzy or fear that I don’t have enough music. You could have a hundred songs and if you don’t have 10 or 15 real good ones, you don’t have a great record.

Luck: So will this record be Volume 2?

Langhorne: This will be Volume 2. A lot of that is written and I’d like to write more for it and see what happens. Sometimes it’s you sitting there working on it but it usually stems from, for me, a melody or a line that comes from elsewhere. Perhaps overheard on the street or something that I believe is more other-dimensional or spiritual in nature.

Luck: Will Volume 2 continue on the story from Vol. 1?

Langhorne: It’s hard to say. I don’t think Volume 1 was a downer at all...definitely kind of folksy, homespun, for lack of better terms which is exactly what I wanted. Surprisingly even to myself, I’m really craving an upbeat “Wild Thing” “Sugar Sugar” kind of vibe. I don’t have those songs yet.

Luck: We need that right now.

Langhorne: It’s interesting you know, there are songs that are so poetic and they don’t waste a word. And then there’s songs in my opinion [like] “Wild Thing” that says it all and they don’t say that much. I’m interested in maybe trying to get into that zone a little bit.

Luck: Are you going to play any new stuff tonight?

Langhorne: It depends on if you know my new record. I will play new stuff, old stuff, in between stuff, and probably some newer songs that weren’t on Volume 1. This is the very end of this tour. I’m taking a month off just to concentrate on writing for the record.

Luck: Do you guys already have a record date?

Langhorne: We probably do, I know it’s next month.

Luck: Will it be in Nashville?

Langhorne: It’s looking like it’s going to be about two hours outside of New Orleans in Cajun country. I believe it’s in Lafayette.

Luck: That’s a good source of inspiration.

Langhorne: Yeah I could have given you that answer. That music, I don’t know how for a Jewish boy from outside of Philly but Cajun music and a lot of music that comes out of Louisiana, soul music and R&B music has been as much if not more of an influence for me … well you know it’s all the same to me. It’s all punk rock. Old folk music, country music, rhythm and blues music, punk rock, rock and roll, it’s, in its rawest form, it’s the animal within. And that’s what I strive to unleash.

Langhorne Slim is hard at work on Lost at Last Vol. 2. We can’t wait for more tunes, but until then click here to listen to Vol. 1 and find Slim on tour.

Sources: The Americana Narrative

The Luck Journal and the Mountain Valley Spring Water are proud to bring you “Sources”: an informative look into the origins of inspiration, performative platforms, and cultures from the perspective of creatives across the country.

Our collection of editorial content will track the routes in which American music historically traveled and transformed, and the land and unique stories that play an important role in the continuation of our country's artistic heritage. Read our first Sources article on the Americana Narrative below.

The 19th year of AmericanaFest ushered in more than 500 performances, spilling across 62 Nashville venues to showcase artists who have been at the core of the Americana movement. The weeklong event celebrates the spirited mission to lift up the authentic voices in American roots music: the back porch pickers and juke joint players seeking telling a real story through their craft. From John Prine to Jack White, artists of all walks of life have long gathered in the Americana homeland of Nashville to honor influence, inspiration and, most of all, community.

The term “Americana” has lent itself to various interpretations, sparking an ongoing conversation around genre distinction in the music world. A mixture of the soul, rock, blues sounds that have paved the way for the evolution of American roots culture; Americana has become a platform for celebrating the traditions at the heart of our country and, ultimately, a place for musicians to tell their stories without inhibition.

all photos by Brooke Hamilton

The 2018 AmericanaFest played host to Luck Reunion's “Luck Mansion” residency, a physical embodiment of the ethos at the center of the Americana movement. Throughout the week the Mansion welcomed artists to perform intimate pop-up sets and break bread together outside of the bustling festival. The dialogue was saturated with the topic of Americana with the conversation leaning heavily toward the designation of an iconic, if hard to pin down, genre.

From the perspective of Americana Music Association’s Executive Director Jed Hilly, the foundation of Americana was an answer to opening gaps in the music industry. “[Before Americana] the Steve Earles and EmmyLous (Harris)...even Dwight Yoakam...they were rejected by the country music business,” Hilly said. “The music business was defining everything with vertical lines; everything ws pigeonholed. And what i had in my mind was that [Americana] wasn’t a vertical genre, it was a horizontal genre. It was everything the music business-business wasn’t. It couldn’t be put in a box.”

Drew Holcomb

“There were so many musicians and songwriters who, before Americana existed, sort of felt homeless”, said Drew Holcomb. There is, indeed, a catch-all feel of the genre that is allowing both legendary and up-and-coming musicians an organic source of creative freedom allowing them to weave their own narrative.

Rosanne Cash

Rosanne Cash, who had delivered a groundbreaking and empowering speech the night before at the Americana Music Awards, waxed poetic on the power of the Americana platform in the lives and careers of genuine artists. As the progeny of one of the world's most beloved outliers, Johnny Cash, she has embraced the familial source of her creativity while also cherishing the world that the Americana genre opened up to her: “It's an inclusive community. In the beginning I was just glad that a community had been created,” Cash said. “I was so glad that Jed Hilly had a vision to create this place where artists who weren't in the Top 40, but were still legitimate, had a community and a place to be with other people of like minds”.

Paul Cauthen

Paul Cauthen echoed Cash’s sentiments: “I believe Americana was a good resting spots for some of us outcasts who weren't really put into a box or genre. I think we have a home now, a place where we can push our music and it’s heard. It's about the purest form of music you can listen to. It has a mystique of its own. I don't really know exactly what Americana is, but I love all the artists in it...so I guess I really dig Americana.”

The Watson Twins

Amongst the newest of AmericanaFest participants, the Watson Twins spoke poignantly to the bliss of dodging the typical genre affiliation. Having collaborated with iconic indie acts such Jenny Lewis after a Gospel-heavy upbringing, the buzzed about pair shared their own fitting definition of the Americana platform. “It really gives people the opportunity to explore and really find their sound. You don't feel trapped into having to say, 'I do country, I do folk',” they said. The duo also delved into influence and the source of their creativity: “Someone said about our new record [Hustle and Shake], that it's 'country-soul'. Sure, if that's what you feel, that's awesome. We grew up in the church singing Gospel and that really was part of our fabric. But alongside that we were listening to Willie Nelson and Emmylou Harris and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young and all those people and genres helped form how we sing and write today. Is Americana a catch-all? Maybe, and that's kick-ass.”

As the platform continues to develop its mission alongside artists looking to share their own tales through art, there is a common thread that stands out: Americana is an ode to the roots of our American culture, and the continuation of the narrative of our histories...straight from the source.

Mountain Man's "Magic Ship"

all photos by Brooke Hamilton

Mountain Man joined us last week at the Luck Mansion in Nashville, TN for one of their first shows in the past year - leading up to the release of their new record, Magic Ship, available everywhere now. As Amelia Meath, Alex Sauser-Monnig, and Molly Erin Sarle took the makeshift stage in the Mansion’s converted living room for a completely unplugged set, guests piled into the room; leaning against door frames, sitting on the floor, and even spilling into the carpeted performance space. The trio’s other-worldly voices echoed throughout the room as the heat climbed and sweat-drenched audience members took in the intimate and spiritual performance.

Silence washed over the Mansion until Mountain Man sliced through the stillness with the sweet caress of their fine-tuned harmonies. Their humor and honesty kept each soul enchanted, never breaking their focus on the music. When it was all over, it felt as if we had all been cleansed in a truly communal experience of meditation or prayer; all concentrated on honoring songs, stories, laughter, and a simple spot to share them.

Luck: How did you guys get started?

Amelia: We met in college.

Alex: In rural Vermont. Bennington, VT.

Amelia: We began a band, we were actively a band for about 3 years

Alex: Yeah! 2009 to about 2012.

Amelia: And then we took a band nap.

Alex: Yeah we took a looooong nap.

Amelia: Like mini bears. And now, it’s springtime!

Molly: Or, Or! Amelia heard me singing, downstairs in this house, this like hippie lady house in college. Lots of armpit hair and lace.

Amelia: Darn tootin’.

Molly: [The house was] called Dewey at Bennington College campus and [Amelia] came down and started singing the song with me…I taught it to her, and she then taught it to Alex, and we all sang it together and felt the magic.

Amelia: We felt the good vibes.

Luck: After your long hibernation - what was the spark that made you get back together?

Alex: We all moved to the same place. For a while we were living in different zones. I was living in the mountains in NC; Amelia was in Durham; Molly was at a Zen center in California and scootin’ around. We all ended up in NC like two or three years ago. At that time we started to hang out all together again and then gradually [started] singing a little bit together. We played together at Eaux Claires festival last year and that was the sort of feeling out of the band waters. It felt really good, so we decided to give it more attention.

Luck: Can you tell me about your writing process?

Amelia: It’s the most fun writing process of all time. In that we all hang out alone and get tiny songs and then we bring them to each other. Usually it either becomes a Mountain Man song or we’re all like, “Hm, that’s an interesting song,” [laughs] and we don’t sing it together. But usually one of us starts singing and then pretty immediately the others find our parts and it becomes a song.

Molly: I think we all have separate writing processes, but the way Mountain Man writes is usually pretty consistent.

Amelia: Oddly it still works that they all hold hands in smalls ways.

Luck: Are you able to tell if it’s one of you that brought the initial snippet, whose it is after it’s finished? Like, “Oh this is Amelia’s, this is Molly’s, etc”?

Molly: Usually we come with a pretty fully formed skeleton.

Alex: To my ear and to your ears, and probably to our close friends’ ears, it’s obvious who wrote what song

Amelia: Yeah it’s usually lyrics and melody at least…if not guitar parts.

As shown to us at the Luck Mansion, one of Mountain Man’s greatest strengths is the ability to transition from songs that feel so sacred to humorous comments on everyday life. Amelia introduced their song “Underwear” saying that her husband is constantly on the search for the perfect pair of undies. Listen to “Underwear”  live from the Luck Mansion below.

Luck: Do you guys have a recent song that is a favorite to play?

Amelia: You know, I think tonight might be the third time we’ve played in a year?

[all laugh and agree] One show was just to a pond.

Alex: A scum pond.

Luck: What a lucky scum pond.

Amelia: The scum pond was really fun. Many frogs in it.

Molly: And a pair of geese that were nesting, they were lucky too.

Amelia: And a sad dying fountain.

Molly: And possibly a dead deer.

Amelia: There was once a dead deer.

Molly: In the pond.

Amelia: Now it has become the pond…But I really like “Boat”.

Alex: I really like “Boat” too.

Molly: Yeah...just all of them.

Amelia: and “Boat” is on our new record! (listen here)

Mountain Man wasn’t just sleeping during their long band nap, they were busy singing background vocals for Feist and Hiss Golden Messenger, and touring with the likes of the Decemberists and Jónsi as each took on different musical paths. Both Amelia and Molly were in another Bennington-formed band BOBBY; Alex most recently released a 7” called “Fantasy Boyfriend” through her solo project ASM; and Amelia has been hard at work as one half of the duo Sylvan Esso.

Luck: Can you talk about how singing for other bands has influenced you now as a collective artist?

Molly: I think if anything, singing with other bands has just made me notice, or see more clearly, the strength that already exists in this band. It’s always been so easy to make music together. Going into playing with other people or singing backup for other people made me realize that that’s not always the case.

Amelia: Mountain Man has always been a really intimate self-portrait of ourselves and of each other. This new iteration of it just feels like a self-portrait with a lot more self-knowledge.

Luck: With everything that’s on the horizon is there anything we should be looking out for?

Amelia: We have a tour in October…the end of October. We’re so excited, we haven’t toured in a long time. We have a record coming out Sept. 21st. It’s called “Magic Ship”.

It might seem intuitive that “Magic Ship” would be about magic, and though it certainly is full of musical mysticism, the direct title comes from Molly’s beloved cat of the same name.



Molly: She’s incredible.

Amelia: She is. Truly the sexiest cat I’ve ever seen. It’s real.

When asked about the over-arching theme of their first record in almost ten years, Mountain Man responded in a half-whisper, quickly but clearly: “Spells".

Molly: Every song feels transformative to me in a certain way. You feel a certain way when you begin to listen to it and you feel another way once the song is over.

Luck: so I would guess that making this record is very transformative?

Amelia: Yeah it was very chill-ly transformative. It was kind of one of those nice whirlwind record-makings where it wasn’t like where you go into the studio and everything’s so hard...you just feel like trash until you’re done.

Molly: And your tonsils get all pus-y.

Amelia: That’s the worst. This one was pretty chill. It was kind of like a spell, in that we all got together and we were like, “Oh we got it, we made it!”. Yeah. Chillest birth of all time.

Listen to “Magic Ship” below and make sure to catch Mountain Man on tour this fall.