OUT OF THE CHUTE - Dana Cooper

 

Good morning (again!)

Today I have the pleasure of introducing you to Dana Cooper. An artist with a fabulous blend of old school Americana and Folk. I'll drop one of his videos down below to tease you until I get the album review up tomorrow.

In the mean time, let's open the chute!

Thanks for joining me in KellysCountry today, Dana...

You got a really early start in this business. You were playing coffee houses in 1967 – a time when folk music was still going strong. Who were some of your biggest influences leading up to that time? So many people influenced me early on, Hank Williams, Buffy St. Marie, Bob Dylan, Leonard Bernstein, Ray Charles.

 

I first heard your name in connection with Shake Russel. You were a part of several bands in various sub-genres of folk/ rock music including your pairing with Shake before moving to Nashville to work on your solo career. What was in your heart to make the switch from band mate to solo career? I made the decision to leave the band with shake russell when I began listening to artists like Elvis Costello, Laurie Anderson, and the Clash. The songs I started writing just didn’t fit what we were doing with that band. DC3 was my chance to experiment with different kinds of songwriting. After a few years I began moving back toward my beginnings, only this time incorporating lots of the other influences I’d gathered along the way.

 

You have a list of awards/ accolades some musicians can only aspire to. What do you feel was the key ingredient in those career markings? Did each of those awards/ recognitions build on the next one… ie what did you take from Miracle Mile as you moved into Harry Truman Built A Road? Awards are gratifying but they’ve never been a driving force for me. The recognition received is an indicator that one is doing good work and it helps drive me to improve as an artist and writer. Miracle Mile was released at a difficult time for me. I was without a booking agent and the label wasn’t gaining much support for the project. Being nominated for the Nashville Music Awards was a much needed validation. Harry Truman Built a Road was in many ways another new beginning. Again, the accolades it received boosted my morale and did a lot to put me back on the map as a solo singer songwriter.

 

With that still in mind… was there a bridge between those, including Incendiary Kid in 2017 that moved you forward into I Can Face the Truth? I have always worked with incredibly talented people on my recordings. Richard McLaurin and Mack Linebaugh were my co-producers for Harry Truman Built a Road. Richard also co-produced Made of Mud with me. Thomm Jutz came on board to co-produce Building a Human Being, Road Show, and Incendiary Kid. Working with the best people has always been my goal and all these folks helped me create greatest music projects. Meeting Dave Coleman was yet another big turning point for me. The recording studio can be an intimidating environment and I’ve never felt more comfortable and free in the recording process than I was with Dave.

 

I loved the title track. I felt the process of that track as shining example of the possibilities within the industry today. The virtual possibilities of working together really lends to creating something magical – even when we can’t work together in person. A lot of artists would (and did) just put the production side of their music on hold. What was the key to you and Dave Coleman pushing through the shutdown, which most saw as an obstacle? Dave Coleman and I began with the song I had recently written, I Can Face the Truth. We finished it in an afternoon and we knew immediately that we wanted to continue working together. There was this natural musical affiliation we felt. I was still writing songs for a new CD but hadn’t even begun making a plan to record yet. So, we worked gradually as my touring schedule allowed. When the pandemic hit we shut down like everyone else. During that time I concentrated on writing and once some time had passed and we felt somewhat comfortable we worked in the studio masked and in separate rooms. Some of my co-writers shared their vocals long distance and once things opened up Dave and I returned to work with other players and singers, again masked and at a distance.

 

I love good Texas dramas/ sitcoms. Especially, if they pull in some of my favorite Texas artists. I’m really dialed in to Walker, Texas Ranger and think a couple of your tracks would be outstanding for the show music tracks. The title track as well as Laughing and Crying, parallel the storyline perfectly. Have you thought about getting your music in front of those folks? I would love to have my music placed in films and television shows. That’s something my current manager is working toward.

 

You wrote or co-wrote every piece on this album with the exception of one cover. What was your thought behind including I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry? My dad, George, was a big influence on me musically. His record collection was eclectic with an emphasis on Country artists like Hank Williams and Ernest Tubb. Dad took me to bars with him when I was 2 years old. He’d play the jukebox and I would sing along with Hank and Ernest. Dad took me to see Ernest Tubb in concert when I was three. I’m so Lonesome I Could Cry has always reminded me of my father and I included it on the new CD in his honor.

What do you hope your listeners will take away from this (or any of your previous) albums? My goal has always been to lift people up out of their struggles, make them laugh and maybe bring a tear to their eye. That’s what music gives me, a sense that someone else feels the way I do, that I’m not alone in this world.

You will find out more about Dana Cooper by clicking on the following links:

WEBSITE   FACEBOOK   TWITTER   INSTAGRAM   YOUTUBE   PATREON

Country Blessings

~ Kelly

TURNTABLE TUESDAY - The Way The River Goes

 Good afternoon, everyone!  

Welcome to a brand new year in KellysCountry. I do apologize for dragging my feet but I just couldn't seem to get into a groove. As this 'job' doesn't pay me actual cash, I hadn't put posting here at the top of my To Do list. I'll come back tomorrow to give you an update on this channel. In the mean time, let's plop one on the turnable!

One of the reasons I work with Adam Dawson at Broken Jukebox Media is the guy knows what to put in each of his reviewers/ radio stations hands. He knows what each of us likes and from which of us he can count on different perspectives. Today is case in point.

The first time I heard the title track, THE WAY THE RIVER GOES, I heard familiar strains... that calm ballad voice that when I hear it I instantly think of my friend Chuck Hawthorne. Like Chuck, Dan Weber's voice carries that home grown tone filled with life experiences. 

Without making the songs about his personal trials and tribulations, he draws on the nuances of those experiences everyone can relate to. Like a river, the tracks are filled with all the twists, turns and currents he has traveled. Haven't we all traveled that river and come out with stories to tell? 

The Way the River Goes began way back in 2017... a journey all its own from the Pacific Northwest, to New Mexico and finally to Texas, thanks to life hurdles and a pandemic. 

Ever Since Columbine is like a myriad of logs floating past; things that while may not touch us directly, still calls on us to navigate the reason beind debris littering our world. 

The current picks up a bit with Watcha Gonna Do About That as well as You Make Me Wanna Dance.... quick little numbers for a spin around the dancefloor.  

Here's a sample track from THE WAY THE RIVER GOES

Easy floating ballads blended with snappier tunes meld the Folk style Dan is known for with the best in Americana Texas has to offer make THE WAY THE RIVER GOES is an outstanding compliation. Will all of those life hurdles and moves, I think this album, like everything else in life, is right on time. 

You'll find Dan Weber by clicking on the following links:

    WEBSITE   FACEBOOK   TWITTER   INSTAGRAM   YOUTUBE   

TURNTABLE TUESDAY - Compassionate Combat - Susan Gibson

Good morning, everyone!

I know I said yesterday I wanted to put Josie Bello on the turntable today. Slight issue that I don't have an accessible CD player at the moment and didn't have her in my files for dropbox. So I'm switching gears. I think this post is meant to be.

COMPASSIONATE COMBAT is a unique project by Susan Gibson. Susan has always been someone I've known to work from her heart. She writes what she feels and is always looking for a way to let her music give back. 

The info for this project came to me back in March from Adam Dawson at Broken Jukebox Media. 

This isn't an album to review. It's a single song bringing attention to the nurses working beyond what they ever thought they signed up for. Please check out the page COMPASSIONATE COMBAT for information on how you can support the men and women who have been facing death at the risk of their own health since this mess began. Many have moved completely away from their families in an effort to protect their loved ones. 

Susan shares the background on the Compassionate Combat website, but I'm sharing it here for you as well:

Back in mid-April, 2020, my friend Carolyn Phillips reached out to me to write a song for her organization, Songs for the Soul to say thank you to the nurses who are giving so much of themselves to care for us through this pandemic.

I have worked with Carolyn and Songs for the Soul before~~I’m a huge fan of her, her music and her enormous, enthusiastic, empathetic heart. Even before the pandemic, one of the danger zones in the nursing profession is something known as caregiver fatigue. Nurses care for other people at the expense of their own health and well-being. Songs for the Soul is a program of pairing nurses with songwriters with the idea that by telling their stories and then hearing them put into songs, the nurses will experience a degree of healing, of being witnessed.

I have to say, I know that to be true for myself in my own work. As I have worked with other songwriters and groups of people who may not have the language or felt entitled to their own emotions, the combination of truth-telling and then objective crafting to create a song that resonates with the writer or anyone else is a very healing process.

You can share you support and thank them for their service by donating to the American Nurses Foundation HERE.

Here's the video:

Thank you for your support

Country Blessings

~Kelly

 

BACK TO BUSINESS

Hey everyone,

I am back to business this week. We are all slowly coming out of the Covid hibenation. Of course, as I crawl back into a routine, I am having to deal with Social Security today. I'm not going to stress myself out over what needs to be done. I'm just taking care of business.

What happens with SS determines what I accomplish the rest of the week. There may be things I have to follow up on and my security is of utmost importance. I'm sure you can understand that.

I have two CDs from Broken Jukebox Media to review. Hope to get those on over the next couple of weeks. In the mean time, I'm going to leave you with a video from one of the artists. Check out the title track from their new CD: ONE TOWN OVER

OUT OF THE CHUTE - Helene Cronin

Note: I love being introduced to artists that have been under my radar. Thanks to Adam Dawson at Broken Jukebox Media for bringing great talent my way. 

Helene Cronin is one of those artists… one whose music I could put on a loop and just chill or sit at a campfire with and just listen to her.

Thank you for joining me in KellysCountry today.

As I read over your OneSheet, I see some of your peers who describe your musical abilities better than I ever could. Let’s take a look at one:

“… Her ability to crawl within a subject and pull a story or emotion out the other end is what makes her a brilliant songwriter. Those writing chops delivered with those earthly vocals have made her one of the best artists I’ve heard in a long time.” ~ Terri Hendrix, Songwriter

1 – What was your initial emotional reaction when you read those words for the first time?

I was touched, and very grateful to Terri for this statement. She's a prolific, gifted songwriter and
an amazing musician and live performer. To have someone like Terri Hendrix say that I was one of the best artists she'd heard in a long time was very encouraging. Also, she focused on the songwriting, which I loved. Lyrics are what I've paid the most attention to over my career, so when another talented songwriter gets what I do, it means a lot!! Also I like that she said "earthy vocals"!! That made me smile!

2 – Fifteen years is a long time to write and perform for others. You spoke of an ‘awakening’. What clicked for you that moved you on the new path?

I've been traveling between Dallas and Nashville since 2004, writing for the commercial country market, along with everyone else who moves to Nashville! In 2008, I wrote a song called "Lucky Me" about a soldier I talked with at the airport. In 2010, we put a video of the song on YouTube. "Lucky Me" brought me a flurry of attention and mild success. It did a lot to renew my faith in myself as a writer. In 2014 I signed a publishing deal with a Nashville publisher and worked with her for the next 5 years writing with well-established writers  and up-and-coming artists. In 2014 and 2015, I put out 2 EPs in order to have product to sell at shows. So it's important to understand, that 15 years was not wasted time! I was honing my craft. I was doing what I loved!

As my publisher watched me perform my own songs, and as I grew into owning my artist career, it seemed like the right time to step things up! She suggested that I find a producer and do a full-length record.

My goal in releasing what I consider to be my first, serious artist project was to put together a well-thought-out body of work that was not just the audience favorites, or the songs that I thought would sell CDS, but the songs that represent who I am and what I want to say. Ultimately the hope is that this CD would increase my visibility, that it would lead to album cuts and writing appointments. But more than that, I hope to introduce myself to a bigger world and widen my audience. The "awakening" was beginning to believe my circle of writer-friends, who told me they loved my song delivery, my voice, my writing. And perhaps it was finally believing that I was worthy of spending time and money on a project like this, and that I was not crazy to hope for more.

3 – Your musical style cuts a wide swath through a variety of genres. Who were some of your influences as you began to develop the music of Helene Cronin?

That's an interesting question. I'm a mixture, sometimes too folk for country, too country for folk purists, a little rock, and to my surprise a little blues on this album. But here's my best attempt to explain it. My first instrument was piano, playing from 1st grade through college; it's where I learned music theory. Picked up guitar in 8th grade, playing everything on the radio. I did not care for what I thought was "too-twangy" country music. But in the mid-90s, I started listening to country and realized that's where the story-songs went - it was a genre where lyrics were king. I think I've been influenced more by songwriters than artistic styles. I just want to write GREAT lyrics. I want to make people cry and laugh and most of all FEEL. Because Nashville has a songwriter community like nowhere else in the world, when I'm in town, I go to shows and listen to great writers. Like all songwriters, I have my "go-to" grooves and style of playing, so I like finding new tools - chords, capos, tunings - to help me break out of my typical patterns.

4 – Mean Bone was co-written with your daughter, Alex. Have you written together before or plan to pair up again? 

Alex is a fiction writer. She began writing novels in 6th grade and had the most disciplined daily practice of writing I've ever seen. By the time she graduated from high school, she'd completed 6 fantasy novels, in the world-building tradition of Tolkien, Gaiman and Wynne Jones. She now writes for a local magazine here in Plano, TX called "Local Profile". She currently has a manuscript placed with a literary agent in NYC who is shopping it to publishers!

I began writing songs in college, and never stopped even as our family was growing. My husband and kids were usually the first to hear new songs I'd written, so Alex grew up around songwriting! She understands songs. More than that, she understands story-telling and narrative. When she heard me working on Mean Bone, playing the bluesy feel I was experimenting with, she came downstairs and listened, suggesting a small edit. I said, "why don't you write it with me?". We had never written together before, but she contributed some key lines, and an important final point in the bridge of the song. I was a proud songwriter-mama!

5 – I love the perspective of a dead husband on Ghost. I write paranormal romance, so this one especially caught my attention. Where did this one come from?

My first co-write with Davis Corley had produced the song "Riding the Gray Line" (track 5) which I love. We scheduled a 2nd co-write in Oct. 2018. As we sat down and talked, Davis mentioned the idea of writing about a ghost. We had a blast talking about the character and his story, not sure yet where it would take us. Davis stepped outside to smoke and walked back in with the entire first verse. By the time we stopped for the day, we had what looked like 4 verse sections.

It was 2 months before we got back together. I mentioned a line that was bugging me and threw out an alternate idea: "It's best if she believes I'm beneath that dirt and stone". Davis loved that and in his brilliant way, made that a key part of each chorus section, changing it in the final tag to make the story heartbreaking, beautiful and sad all at the same time. It was amazing to get to the last few lines and see how the story had to end. We had not plotted it out in advance, but just let it unfold as we tried to solve problems and move the ghost through time. I love the song ending, but some people (including my husband!) are really bothered by it!

Because this song was completed in December and we had  tracked the band in November, it was not supposed to be included. But when I played it for my producer, Matt King, he said "that HAS to be on your record. Let's do it with just you and guitar." I played the guitar part all the way through in one pass, complete with buzzing strings and the creaking of the stool I sat on!

6 – You won New Folk award at the Kerrville Folk Festival in 2018. What advice would you give to others taking part in the festival for the first time?

The best thing you'll get from the festival is the relationships! Go to Kerrville to network, to make friends, not to win a contest. Of course, sing and play your best and good luck to everyone who enters! But Kerrville is like a family. Join the family. Play at the campfires. Stay in touch with your "class of" if you make it into the finals. It is an amazing, highly revered festival. Winning was wonderful, but good things happen for all who enter, not just those judged the "winners"! So have fun and don't take yourself too seriously!

7 – Speaking of first times… do you remember the first time you performed ‘professionally’ and would you share that experience?

The first time I remember getting up in front of a group to sing a solo I nervously decided to play guitar really loud and sing really soft. I was insecure about my voice. I can look back and smile at that kid. She had no idea she would grow to love speaking to people through songs, through stage fright, through fear, through crushing shyness, and would find strength, courage and empathetic audiences, just as hungry as she was for an authentic voice.

8 – If you wanted folks to know one thing about who Helene Cronin is, what would that be?

That I am a growing, developing, imperfect human being who absolutely LOVES to show up with my whole heart and tell stories in song; who is still shy, who writes from those deep messy places, but who also finds humor in life. Because of the surprising (to me!) way people respond to my writing, I hope to continue having a life where I can share my songs with others who are stumbling through it just like me.

I'll be reviewing Old Ghosts & Lost Causes tomorrow. In the mean time, here's a sample of one of the tracks from the album:

You'll find Helene Cronin by clicking the following links:

WEBSITE   Facebook    Instagram   Youtube

iTunes  Soundcloud   CD Baby