Archives For Jameson

Drew Holcomb and His Neighborly Fellows Bring a Good Light

Jameson —  February 28, 2013 — 1 Comment

Drew Holcomb

One of my favorite things about living in Nashville is hearing so many amazing artists making great music and thinking, “just wait til the rest of the world hears this”. For those of us here in Nashville who are fans of Drew Holcomb & The Neighbors, we’ve been waiting a long time. With Chasing Someday, that breakthrough began to happen. Last Tuesday, that it hit like a whirlwind as the band’s newest effort Good Light, found it’s way into the iTunes Top 10.

Good Light is the record we’ve always wanted from Drew and his neighborly posse. Sonically, they’ve departed from the big production of Chasing Someday to a more sparse sound. Bluesy guitar, pedal steel, and melodic piano parts blend together nicely. Embracing this Americana/alt-country vibe leaves so much more room for Drew and Ellie’s vocal chemistry, which, if you’ve seen them live, you know that’s an amazing thing!

More importantly though, it draws your attention to the songwriting. The Holcombs have always been gifted at writing hopeful songs. In Good Light, it seems that they’ve mastered that, with songs that are so very true to the human experience, but taking that pain and sorrow and creating a place where light can seep through the cracks. “Is it possible to be happy and be human?” Holcomb asks, and then immediately follows with “certainly, but not without the pain”. It’s this unromanticized optimism and dreaming that makes this record so inspiring. Yes, there will be hardship, yes there will be sorrow, but you can still find joy within that. And coming from someone who has worked so hard to be where he is now, these songs carry a weight. They’re more than just words crafted together, and it’s spectacular.

There’s nothing better than watching good people, who make good music, succeed. It’s been fun to see these guys do that!

– Jameson Elder

Here’s a brilliant acoustic version of “Tennessee” off of ‘Good Light’. Can’t wait to see the band perform this at Bonnaroo this year!

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Seryn: CAS Preview

Jameson —  November 14, 2012 — Leave a comment

I met Chris Semmelbeck in Midland, TX at a mutual friend’s wedding. Our conversation quickly turned to music and I found out that he was in a band. Later on in the trip, Chris showed me and a group of friends one of the songs that his band had just finished recording. The band was Seryn. The song (if I remember correctly) was “Our Love”. About 6 months after this encounter, Paste Magazine included Seryn in their Best of What’s Next.

If you’ve never seen Seryn live, you need to. It’s a surreal experience. Each member is a multi-instrumentalist, even shuffling instruments between songs. And my guess is that you’ve never heard this combination of traditional folk/bluegrass blended with anthems that could fill Madison Square Garden. The music is beautifully crafted, with sweeping landscapes of violin, banjo, and guitar over heavy percussion. When you experience Seryn, you realize quickly that you’re experiencing far more than well-crafted lyrics and melodies you can sing with. You’re experiencing an orchestra. It’s not about one voice, or one lyric, or one instrument. It’s music as a whole. It’s a comprehensive sound. With just 6 people. And each person is completely lost in the music that they are creating

It’s truly a beautiful thing.

If you haven’t seen Seryn, then you have your chance on November 17th at 12th and Porter.

You can also check them out at www.serynsound.com/

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Levi Weaver: CAS Preview

Jameson —  November 13, 2012 — Leave a comment

Levi Weaver

Let me start with a very bold statement: Levi might beone of the best lyricists of this generation of musicians. I’ll stand by that as long as I have to.

Levi also has one of the most entertaining Twitter accounts out there.

If those 2 things haven’t caught your attention then I don’t know what will…

The first time I saw Levi perform was at a house show near Little 5 Points in Atlanta. We were acquaintances, and he had asked me to come open up the night. I knew very little of Levi’s music other than what I had heard from friends who knew him. From the moment Levi took the stage, I was completely captivated. He does this whole looping thing that’s pretty incredible, but what struck me most was the songs! Levi has the gift, or curse, of telling the story of the heart of humanity. He’s a philosopher poet, bringing intelligent commentary on existential thought and the human experience.

Levi’s most recent full length record, The Letters of Dr. Kurt Godel, is a hefty 15 tracks deep. Intricately crafted to highlight the lyrics and characters that Levi has created, this album delves into a great search for truth and purpose. Whether it’s wrestling with a struggle for morality in “Good and Evil”, or running away from the past in “I Am Certain I’m A Train”, Levi

His most recent release, I Am Only a Tiny Noise, is more bare, bringing forward the raw honesty that makes Levi so captivating in the first place. The EP kicks off with a beautifully soft-spoken line “I’ve never told a lie I didn’t wish was true” in “Never Want You Back”. It concludes with the Johnny Cash-esque “Dark Clay”,

    I am dark, dark clay 

    I’m all made up of earth and ugly rain

    But even when I twist myself to sad and awful shapes

    You find a way to love me anyway

    You keep finding ways to love me anyway

Just think on that one for a minute… And then come see Levi at 12th and Porter on Saturday, Nov. 17th With Seryn, Caleb, and Julia Sinclair

Levi is currently working on a new record that will drop sometime in 2013! Be on the lookout!

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