KEVIN WELCH - A PATCH OF BLUE SKY
A Patch of Blue Sky, Kevin's newest CD is his first solo record since 2001's Millionaire. The album features 10 new songs, all written or co-written by Kevin. It is an ultimately hopeful journey from darkness to dawn.Kevin Welch's poetic songs paint pictures of real people--people you know, people you've seen--so clearly that you realize quickly he's a keen observer of the human experience. His songs have an almost film-like quality in their vision and beauty.
After growing up in Oklahoma, where he played in a popular regional band, Blue Rose Cafe, Kevin moved to Nashville in the late 1970s, upon the suggestion of his friend John Hadley, a professor at the University of Oklahoma. Once in Nashville, he became a songwriter for Tree International. His songs were recorded by such artists as Moe Bandy, Waylon Jennings, Roger Miller, Jimmie Dale Gilmore, The Highwaymen, The Judds, The Kendalls, Patty Loveless, Reba McEntire, Charlie Pride, Ricky Skaggs, Pam Tillis, Randy Travis, Conway Twitty, Don Williams, and Trisha Yearwood.
When Steve Earle broke through with his Guitar Town album, he and others suggested Kevin get a recording contract, and Kevin was soon signed with Warners, where he put out two albums, Kevin Welch and Western Beat, in the early '90s. Warners let Kevin out of the deal, and along with his friends Kieran Kane, Mike Henderson, Tammy Rogers, and Harry Stinson, he formed Dead Reckoning Records. By putting out records on their own label, none of these brilliant, unique artists had to face the compromises that major labels sometimes insisted on.
Kevin's first release for DR, Life Down Here on Earth, was greeted with rave reviews, as was his follow-up, Beneath My Wheels. His more recent DR recordings, Millionaire and Live Down Here on Earth, a live recording of a gig on Kevin's recent tour down under with the Australian band The Flood, continue the artistic tradition.
Kevin's recordings are popular around the world, with solid followings in Europe and particularly Canada and Australia, which each of his tours is greeted with sold-out houses. One of those tours, with Kieran Kane, was captured in the live recording 11/12/13: Live in Melbourne.
In 2003, Kevin got back together in a concert with his 1970s band, Blue Rose Cafe, to pay tribute to the band's late founder, Pat Long. The concert was so successful the band released a CD and a two-DVD set recorded live at the gig, Blue Rose Cafe: A Reunion and Tribute to Pat Long.
In 2004, Kevin began recording as a band with fellow Dead Reckoners Kieran Kane and Fats Kaplin. After taking their first two albums, You Can't Save Everybody (2004) and Lost John Dean (2006) to number one on the Americana charts, their latest release, Kane Welch Kaplin adds drummer Lucas Kane and continues the groove and intimacy found in the earlier releases. Kevin's tales of lost friends, broken dreams and even serial killers are brought into sharp relief against the pared-down beauty of the music.
And now the new album. Thanks again Kevin.
The Band
Rick Richards, drums
Glenn Fukunaga, bass
Bukka Allen, piano, Wurlitzer, B3, harmonium
Brian Standefer, cello
Dustin Welch, banjo, electric resonator guitar, background vocals
Kevin Welch, acoustic and electric guitars, vocals
Fats Kaplin, pedal steel
The Singers
Andaman Sea, Eliza Gilkyson
Midnight and Noon, Sally Allen
The Great Emancipation, Jeremy Nail
Marysville, Dustin Welch
Patch Of Blue Sky, Jackie Johnson, Preston Shannon, The Trishas (Savannah Welch, Kelley Mickwee, Jamie Wilson, Liz Foster)
Come A Rain, Savannah Welch, Kelley Mickwee, The Burns Sisters (Annie, Jeannie, Marie)
JIM LAUDERDALE - PATCHWORK RIVER
Patchwork can refer to a collection of incongruous pieces, parts not necessarily united into a whole. But sometimes, in the hands of great craftsmen and women, those parts merge into a thing of beauty and warmth. Patchwork River weaves together the lyrical mastery of Robert Hunter and the songcraft of Grammy Award-winning artist Jim Lauderdale into something greater than the sum of its considerable parts.Jim Lauderdale is a multi-talented performer and songwriter, with successes in both country and bluegrass music. His roots stem from the Carolinas, yet his career has taken him all over the United States and abroad, making him an international recording artist with an ever-growing fan base. Jim won "Artist of the Year" and "Song of the Year" at the first "Honors and Awards Show" held by the Americana Music Association in 2002. Subsequently, he has hosted this same show for the last seven years.
He is among Nashville's "A" list of songwriters, with songs recorded by artists such as: Patty Loveless, George Jones, The Dixie Chicks, Solomon Burke, Mark Chesnutt, Dave Edmunds, John Mayall, Kathy Mattea, Lee Ann Womack, Gary Allan, Blake Shelton. Vince Gill, and George Strait. He also contributed several songs to the successful soundtrack of the George Strait film, "Pure Country." Not content to just write hits for the stars, he's toured with the likes of Lucinda Williams, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Rhonda Vincent and Elvis Costello, among others.
Jim's musical influences include the legendary Dr. Ralph Stanley and George Jones. These influences and his unique sense of melody and lyric help forge a sound that is truly his own. He is a 2 time Grammy winner, winning his first in 2002 with Dr. Ralph Stanley for "Lost in the Lonesome Pines" (Dualtone). His next one came for his second "solo" bluegrass album, "The Bluegrass Diaries" (Yep Roc 2007) at the 50th Grammy Awards! His first CD with Dr. Stanley, "I Feel Like Singing Today" ( Dualtone/Rebel 1999) received a Grammy nomination as did his first solo bluegrass CD titled "Bluegrass"(Yep Roc) from 2006. His current release, "Patchwork River" May 11th, 2010 (his second collaboration with Grateful Dead lyricist, Robert Hunter) is currently climbing the Americana radio charts!
As a performer his credits include production, writing and collaborating on albums such as, "Wait 'Til Spring" (SkyCrunch/Dualtone 2003) with Donna the Buffalo, and "Headed for the Hills" (Dualtone 2004) his first total project with Robert Hunter. The remainder of Jim's 18 albums include: "Planet of Love" (Reprise 1991), "Pretty Close to the Truth" (Atlantic 1994), "Every Second Counts" (Atlantic 1995), "Persimmons" (Upstart 1998), "Whisper" (BNA 1998), "Onward Through It All" (RCA 1999), "The Other Sessions" (Dualtone 2001), "The Hummingbirds" (Dualtone 2002), "Bluegrass" (Yep Roc 2006), "Country Super Hits, Volume 1" (Yep Roc 2006), "Honey Songs" (Yep Roc 2008), and "Could We Get Any Closer?" (SkyCrunch 2009).
"It's been a particularly great period for me," says Lauderdale. "Thanks to the records - I'm performing more and more, which I love. And I love that I can play the Opry one weekend, a jam-band festival the next and then a bluegrass festival the following week. That's really inspiring to me and I think there's a real thread there. The roots are the same for all of them and that's the music I'm interested in."
