The last twelve months of Darling West’s musical career can hardly be described as anything but fantastic. Since the release of their second album, Vinyl and a Heartache, they have played concerts all over the world, been listed on the biggest radio channels in Norway and appeared on the Top 100 Country charts in the US, streamed more than three million times on Spotify, booked to the biggest fe stivals in Norway and Americanafest in Nashville and won a Norwegian Grammy. Recorded Sept. 2017 See ...
May 29, 2020•13 min•Ep. 201
Grayson Capps is a barreling force of Delta rock and soul once he gets goin’, but as you’ll see in the interview, he’s pretty mellow when he’s not on stage. Having drawn comparisons over his last few albums to the likes of Tom Waits, Townes Van Zandt and Drive By Truckers, to name but a few. He doesn’t always paint the prettiest pictures or offer a gleamy white smile, but he does reach down deep to remind us of our own humanity. Recorded Sept. 2018 See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy informa...
May 29, 2020•18 min•Ep. 200
Cavanagh, born to a large Irish American family in Chicago, and living amongst the doers and dreamers of NYC — has an ebullient vocal style influenced by the singers of the forty’s and fifty’s, while maintaining a great pop sensibility. Cavanagh, an independent artist, is a published songwriter, signed to an administration deal with the boutique publishing company Danger Village Music Publishing (distributed through Kobalt Music) in LA. Cavanagh’s last record, Keep it with Mine, produced by Leo ...
May 29, 2020•14 min•Ep. 199
CALICO the band is a California band in the deepest, most natural sense of the term. Specifically, the moniker (all caps, please) is shorthand for California country—as if that weren’t vividly apparent from the first moments of Under Blue Skies, the group’s resonant, accomplished sophomore album, with its musical intricacy, lyrical eloquence and timeless immediacy. The thought-provoking, tightly harmonized songs of founder/leaders Manda Mosher and Kirsten Proffit exist in a continuum with the se...
May 29, 2020•14 min•Ep. 198
Celine Lee talks about the Ameripolitan Awards, started by Dale Watson, her place in the rockabilly world, and growing up around music of the past. Ameripolitan Awards 2018 See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
May 29, 2020•11 min•Ep. 197
World-renowned singer, songwriter and producer, Chris Robinson joins Rev Down in a conversation about life as a touring artist, his love of the band Canned Heat, and the Chris Robinson Brotherhood’s new album, Barefoot in the Head. Recorded April 2017 See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
May 29, 2020•31 min•Ep. 196
Over the past few years, Dustbowl Revival has been making a name for itself with a vibrant mix of vintage Americana sounds. Critics have proclaimed that this eclectic eight-piece “would have sounded utterly at home within the hallowed confines of Preservation Hall in New Orleans' French Quarter” (Los Angeles Times) and their “upbeat, old-school, All-American sonic safaris exemplify everything shows should be: hot, spontaneous, engaging and, best of all, a pleasure to hear” (L.A. Weekly). Rob She...
May 29, 2020•33 min•Ep. 195
Born and raised in Southern Louisana, one listen and Jacob Thomas Jr. would have you figuring he spent his youth performing in cowboy bars and trucker dives. You'd only be half right. While Saturday nights were spent cavorting with sinners, Sunday mornings would find him, albeit hungover at times, entertaining saints. Recorded Dec. 2018 See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
May 29, 2020•20 min•Ep. 194
Mixing his indie-folk roots with pop hooks and sparse, airy production, Nashville-based songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer Paul Johnson shoots for the stars with Constellation, his second LP as Canyon City. The record arrives one year after Canyon City's debut, Midnight Waves, a viral hit whose soft-spoken songwriting racked up an audience of over 750,000 monthly Spotify listeners. Just as he did on that career-launching record, Johnson wrote, performed and produced Constellation him...
May 29, 2020•26 min•Ep. 193
DittyTV host Mark Edgar Stuart goes in depth with longtime Sun Studio session drummer, J.M. Van Eaton, the man that you can thank for rippin’ rhythms on tracks like “Great Balls of Fire” and “Whole Lotta Shakin’,” by Jerry Lee Lewis. He ventured into Sun Studios around 1955, when Rock and Roll was first being invented, or discovered, if that’s the way you want to look at it. He’s a devout and dignified man with enough stories to fill a book. For any book publishers out there, that’s your cue. Un...
May 29, 2020•52 min•Ep. 192
Australian soul-songwriter, Emily Barker shares about her move from Australia to England, as well as her breakthrough on John Peel’s BBC radio program, and her new album Sweet Kind of Blue, which was recorded here in Memphis at Sam Phillips Recording with Matt Ross Spang. Recorded Sept. 2017 See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
May 29, 2020•12 min•Ep. 191
He’s one of Canada’s most celebrated songwriters, with dozens of awards and thousands of tour dates behind him, and hopefully a lot more ahead too. He’ll be here in just a moment to fill you in on his new album he’s working on right here in Memphis, TN. Recorded April 2019 See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
May 29, 2020•22 min•Ep. 190
Dustin delves into his rural Oklahoma upbringing, and how that’s affected his songwriting. He got started in music around 14 years old, playing the Oklahoma bar club scene and hanging with older musicians. He discusses touring life, Horton Records, and his new self-titled album, Dustin Pittsley Band. Recorded Aug, 2017 See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
May 29, 2020•21 min•Ep. 189
Deer Tick rolled through Memphis to take part in the annual Lucero Family Block Party, and Sam caught up with them before their set to talk about their two new albums, Vol. 1 and Vol. 2., as well as the importance that food plays in their band dynamic. Recorded April 2018 See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
May 29, 2020•17 min•Ep. 188
Tatiana Z sat with Carolynn Sills of the Carolyn Sills Combo, winner of the Best Western Swing Group award at this year’s Ameripolitan Awards. She’s as cool and calm as her Santa Cruz California home-base would suggest, and she eats almost exclusively Mexican food, especially tacos, so what’s not to love? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
May 29, 2020•17 min•Ep. 187
When Jeremy Pinnell released OH/KY in the summer of 2015 to stunned acclaim, it felt like an entire career compressed into one knock-out album. Hailed as a “ming-blowingly good” (Greg Vandy, KEXP) “tutorial on classic country music” (Popmatters), Pinnell’s debut immediately differentiated as authentic and unflinching. His 2017 album Ties of Blood and Affection presents a canny lateral move. Instead of doubling down on the stark themes and values of his debut, this sophomore album finds Pinnell f...
May 29, 2020•12 min•Ep. 186
Born in rural central Illinois, Christy Hays never really aspired to be a working songwriter. Hays grew up somewhat surrounded by music, her father, a luthier and guitar player showed her the major chords on her old Gibson. After two years in Nashville the decision was made to move to Austin, TX. Hays has shared the stage with Hayes Carll, Sturgill Simpson, Bruce Robison, Kelly Willis and Jeffery Foucault to name a few. Recorded May 2018 See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn...
May 29, 2020•17 min•Ep. 185
A quick listen to the three records released by Austin, based, Jeff Plankenhorn will give you an idea of the varied styles he loves. Plankenhorn has found a way to blend the soul of the church, Motown, and funk singers that dominated his youth with the bluegrass he studied in Nashville and the lyrically driven songwriters he has performed with into an intoxicating sound that spans them all. Recorded June 2018 See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. ...
May 29, 2020•12 min•Ep. 184
India Ramey is a singer/songwriter from Birmingham, AL. She is the granddaughter of a Sand Mountain bluegrass and gospel musician and career piano tuner.Blasting twin barrels of Americana noire and southern-gothic songwriting, India Ramey fires on all cylinders with her national debut, Snake Handler. Pentecostal churches, broken households, crooked family trees, forgotten pockets of the Deep South, and domestic violence all fill the album’s 10 songs, whose autobiographical lyrics pull from Ramey...
May 29, 2020•27 min•Ep. 183
Julie Lansky is the third-generation owner of Lansky Brothers, a clothing shop located in Memphis, TN. Located on Beale St., Lansky's became known as 'Clothier to the King' for dressing Elvis Presley during his Sun Records days. They have dressed countless musicians over the past 50 years! Recorded Oct. 2018 See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
May 28, 2020•16 min•Ep. 182
Dale Watson is an American country/Texas country singer, guitarist, songwriter, and self-published author based in Austin, Texas. He champions "Ameripolitan" as a new genre of original music and has positioned himself as a tattooed, stubbornly independent outsider who is interested in recording authentic country music. Dale discusses his work with the Ameripolitan Music Awards, his background as an Alabama native that went on to become one of Texas’ most well-loved troubadours, as well as his ti...
May 28, 2020•14 min•Ep. 181
Don’t try to snatch him back and hold him, he’s a man on the move. John Németh had already established himself among the very top ranks of blues musicians and modern soul singers when he decided to break the mold with his new record, FEELIN’ FREAKY. Németh fearlessly crushes all barriers of style and genre with an album of original songs that defies all the usual pigeonholes. Drawing from his strong influences in blues and R&B, as well as contemporary sounds in hip hop and rock & roll, J...
May 28, 2020•24 min•Ep. 180
Chelsea's made a name for herself as a musician in Los Angeles in a less than traditional way. Without the support of a record label, or radio play, Chelsea managed to sell nearly 100,000 copies of her independently released records the old fashioned way, by playing on the street. Chelsea became the darling of Santa Monica's Third Street Promenade and captured the hearts of locals, tourists and fans from around the world, gaining an impressive following. Recorded Nov. 2018 See omnystudio.com/lis...
May 28, 2020•18 min•Ep. 179
Janiva Magness is an artist who has received numerous awards for her music, including a GRAMMY nomination for Best Contemporary Blues Album. In this interview, she talks with DittyTV host, Sam Shansky, about her love-powered career, and about her album, Love Is An Army. Recorded Jan. 2018 See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
May 28, 2020•41 min•Ep. 178
Hailing from Memphis, Tennessee, a hub of historical soul and blues that crafted much of the world’s modern music, Dirty Streets have spent years on the road and in the studio forging their own style. They’ve moved from DIY, independant recordings to ambitiously self-produced studio ventures over the course of five albums. Their fifth, and latest, LP, Distractions, is an explosively charged follow-up to their acclaimed 2015 release White Horse, which contains a unique style of heavy, soulful and...
May 28, 2020•16 min•Ep. 177
Sam Shansky talks with Lucca Soria and Toby Weaver of Cordovas. Rooted in triple-stacked harmonies, southern storytelling, and cosmic country twang, Cordovas create their own version of American roots-rock with That Santa Fe Channel. The album marks the band's ATO Records debut, arriving after more than a half-decade's worth of international touring, communal living, and shared songwriting sessions. It's a timely - and timeless - version of a sound that's existed for 50 years, ever since pioneer...
May 28, 2020•19 min•Ep. 176
Alabama songwriter Jimmy Lumpkin talks about his musical background, growing up in a family of musicians right outside of Savannah, Georgia, and about his new album Home, which was recorded analogue in California with his new label, Skate Mountain Records. Recorded Sept. 2017 See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
May 28, 2020•12 min•Ep. 175
Freddy & Francine is an Americana-Soul duo comprised of Bianca Caruso & Lee Ferris. With voices reminiscent of Aretha Franklin & Van Morrison, their songs blend Soul, R&B, Folk, and Americana with a modern, yet timeless appeal to all ages. Based in Los Angeles, Ferris and Caruso met in the 40th Anniversary of a musical production of HAiR in LA in 2007. As individuals, Caruso developed a comedy television show with ABC and Ferris racked up 500 performances as Carl Perkins in the B...
May 28, 2020•39 min•Ep. 174
David Myles tells us all about his new album ‘Real Love’ as well as his family, some music that he’s been listening to lately, which includes everything from Laura Marling to Leif Vollebekk, plus he goes into detail about his JUNO award-winning collaboration with Canadian rapper, Classified. Recorded Dec. 2017 See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
May 28, 2020•23 min•Ep. 173
Grainne Duffy is a well-received Irish songwriter who’s been gaining a lot of momentum in the roots-rock world for her powerful and distinct vocals, and her undeniable guitar skills. Grainne shares about her upbringing in rural Ireland, her new album, Where I Belong, and about how music is that one thing that gives her real personal fulfillment. Recorded Feb. 2018 See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
May 28, 2020•20 min•Ep. 172
