Author Archives: Joseph S

Gary Roadarmel is one of Nashville’s hidden treasures. As the fiery guitarist and co-frontman for country-punk band Porter Hall Tennessee, Roadarmel spent the past decade delivering a ferocious blend of honky-tonk and punk rock music to audiences worldwide. He’s part of a dying breed of guitarists who embrace unhinged fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants rock ‘n’ roll, where every show is different from the last and every show could be, well…your last.

Roadarmel grew up in Hagerstown, MD. His grandfather taught him the rudiments of traditional country and primitive gospel music, and as a child Roadarmel performed countless old gospel songs alongside his grandfather in church. Many of these songs re-emerged on PHT’s third record entitled Satan on the Run (2009). During an on-air interview with Roadarmel, WSM 650′s famous DJ, Bill Cody, mused with pleasure, “the gospel songs came to you honest.” To be sure, Roadarmel’s catalog of primitive gospel songs, alone (the origins of which are largely unknown), makes him a national treasure.

As a teenager, 60s and 70s-era garage punk crept into his soul and, to this day, remains a strong influence in Roadarmel’s performances. The Holy Trinity for Roadarmel is Jesus, Jones, and Johnny Thunders–and each member of this holy trinity inhabits Roadarmel’s creative drive–each figure emerges in one way or another during every performance. This entirely unique blend of traditional honky-tonk, punk, and primitive gospel merges in unpredictable ways. Once in Raleigh, NC during a PHT show in front of an audience of approximately 200 people, Roadarmel introduced “a Jesus song,” as he often does. When an audience member booed, Roadarmel reacted fiercely, “You don’t like Jesus? Well, then fuck you,” immediately launching into the song “Satan on the Run.” Roadarmel’s unpredictable blend of honky-tonk swagger, holy-roller praise, and punk-rock destructiveness onstage continues to compel both fans and critics alike.

NPR’s David Greenberger described PHT’s debut record Welcome to Porter Hall Tennessee (2002) this way: “The songs on Welcome to Porter Hall Tennessee revisit the common themes of fractured relationships and dashed hopes as well as an unshakeable need for home and connection. Occasionally dark but always grippingly real, it is the mark of a strong songwriter to recast the familiar and make it seem honest and new. Porter Hall Tennessee has two such songwriters: Gary Roadarmel and Molly Conley.”

Roadarmel’s punked-up cover of Jim Carroll’s “People Who Died” landed on Bloodshot Records’ double-disc compilation record For A Decade of Sin: 11 Years of Bloodshot Records,
and remains the benchmark version that has compelled so many bands since to cover the song.

Roadarmel is currently gearing up for several solo acoustic tours. He is hitting the road with his grandfather’s Martin and performing wherever he finds an audience. Check out his Reverbnation page to hear a handful of acoustic tracks recorded live, in one sitting, at his home studio. What you hear is what you get, and these recordings prove that what you get is not just a Nashville treasure, but a national treasure.

Name: Gary Roadarmel

Hometown: Nashville, TN

Influences: George Jones, David Allan Coe, Rodger Miller, Hank Williams Sr, Hank Williams III, Johnny Thunders

Cover Song Licensed: Spotlight

Story Behind the Cover: Gary was already planning to do his first solo recording while he was recording fellow songwriter Eddie Holly. Late one night after a recording session they were strumming guitars around a campfire and Eddie began playing an old David Allan Coe song “Spotlight” that he had heard Coe play one time in a little place in the middle of nowhere Wyoming. The song was just perfect with the time period. Nashville had been recording all slicked up production and Gary wanted to do something simple. That sound of a guitar and vocals around the campfire that night was just the sound he was looking for. The lyrics to this unknown David Allan Coe song “Spotlight” was perfect addition to that type of recording. Later that month with one microphone and one guitar Gary recorded a 12 song CD “Yesterday Bitter Forgotten” . Simple straight to the point no fancy production . Just as the song says “Spotlights ain’t nothing but jive”

Check out Gary Roadarmel at http://www.reverbnation.com/#!/garyroadarmel

Without Warning decided not to be your run-of-the-mill tribute band.  Let’s create a “super tribute” band that played what audiences really want to hear.  No boring “B” sides, only the best classic rock songs ever written.  This unique niche would give the audience what they crave…the best classic progressive rock songs from a dozen different groups in one concert experience.

Band Name: Without Warning

Hometown: Torrance, CA

Influences: Deep Purple, Rush, Dream Theater, Styx, Kansas, and Joe Satriani

Cover Song Licensed: “As I Am” – Dream Theater

Story Behind the Cover: To further set us apart as a live performance band, we set our goal to be that we would only play songs that other “cover” bands were simply not capable of playing.  Dream Theater is well known for the technical proficiency of its instrumentalists – and as such we felt that “As I Am” from the Train Of Thought album was a great showcase piece for us to perform live.

Check out Without Warning’s website here!

Piano rock! Thanks to genre icons Jerry Lee Lewis, Elton John, Billy Joel and Ben Folds, it’s a phenomenon that only comes along every so often. Now add William Cleere to that august company. Seeing nobody at the helm of the piano-rock yacht, Cleere dons the captain’s cap and assumes the madman’s mantle on his first single, “Labor Day” (released tomorrow via Mystery Lawn Music). Following in the footsteps of these ivory-tickling legends, Cleere paints an evocative picture of pre-autumnal, end-of-relationship bravado with vocal and ukulele assistance from Karla Kane of the Corner Laughers providing a lilting alto counterpart to Cleere’s larger-than-life, Americana-tinged vocals.

Band Name: William Cleere and the Marvellous Fellas

Hometown: Sunnyvale, CA

Influences: Elton John, Billy Joel, Ben Folds, Jerry Lee Lewis

Cover Song Licensed: High Flying Bird

Story Behind the Cover: Before he was a pop icon and household name, Elton John recorded a live album in 1970 culled from a radio broadcast. Titled 11/17/70, the album showcased Elton’s band — bass, drums and piano — a power trio like none other. Staying true to that feel, San Francisco Bay Area piano-man William Cleere recorded his debut album in one marathon session.
With a piano-bass-drums lineup, Cleere and his band, The Marvellous Fellas, have a similiar energy and a soulful, AM-radio rock vibe. Paying homage to Sir Elton, the band decided to include a cover version of an obscure, early-70s Elton John song: High Flying Bird–a deep cut on John’s 1972 classic “Don’t Shoot Me, I’m Only the Piano Player.”

Two piano-men, four decades apart meet in the mix. High Flying Bird is still soaring.

Check out William Cleere and the Marvellous Fellas on Facebook, Amazon, and Twitter.

Lonny (Lionel) Ziblat, singer / guitar player, composer and member of Modest Midget performs sometimes on his own. His repertory includes music in Hebrew as well as in English.

Band Name: Lonny Ziblat

Hometown: Amsterdam

Influences: The sun, Frank Zappa, Ravel, Gentle Giant, Cuchi Leguizamon, Simon & Garfunkel, Radiohead, Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, Debussy, Faure, Poulenc, Rachmaninov, Varese, Ligeti, Bartok, John Williams, Bernard Hermann, hmm… I’m sorry guys. Realy way too many!!!

Cover Song Licensed: Tomorrow (Paul & Linda McCartney

Story Behind the Cover:I just had to install something on my studio computer and had to make sure that the studio works well. Of course, for trying out a recording studio I didn’t feel like testing it with a fresh new song. It would somehow “ruin” something. So I took a song I always liked that Paul McCartney did in 1971. I always thought it was a great song.
I wanted a good rhythm section first, and thought I’d add a few vocals and maybe a piano.
Before I knew it, it became a real production, with a couple of guitar solo’s, a full backing vocal choir, more percussion, synthesized samples etc. Then it was too good not to include in my album.

So there it is: My first official cover of somebody else’s music, carved into “Songs From The Drawer” – I never thought there would be somebody else’s drawer in it too.

Check out Lonny Ziblat’s site here and on Facebook.

Rhonda’s early influences include Joan Baez, Joni Mitchell, Bob Dylan, Neil Young, The Beatles, and The Rolling Stones. Her later influences include Sheryl Crow & Eva Cassidy. In the last 10 years, Rhonda has played in Auditoriums, Clubs, Wine Bars, Restaurants, and Coffee Shops throughout Arizona. Rhonda is most recognized for her beautiful and versatile vocal style. She has an unprecedented repertoire with hundreds of songs on her list. People take one look at the song list and are in awe at the sheer number of songs they can choose from. Rhonda has been recognized by her peers as a magnetic performer with a style that spans many genres. Her repertoire includes Pop, Modern Rock, Classic Rock, Jazz, Country, Blues, and Folk.

Band Name: Rhonda

Hometown: Marion, Ohio

Influences: Neil Young, Beatles, Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, Sheryl Crow

Cover Song Licensed: After The Gold Rush

Story Behind the Cover: When I was first learning to play the guitar, I bought a Neil Young Song Book. After The Gold Rush was one of the earliest songs I learned to play. So it has a special place in my heart!

Check out Rhonda Lester at http://www.WineBarMusic.com/ and on Facebook.

EDMUND WELLES: THE BASS CLARINET QUARTET has the distinction of being the world’s only original, composing band of four bass clarinetists, they invent and perform heavy chamber music. The bass clarinet has a 5 octave range and a huge span of tonal, melodic, and rhythmic capabilities.

Since 1996, Cornelius Boots has led and composed for Edmund Welles, which received a Chamber Music America Grant in 2004 for the creation of Agrippa’s 3 Books, a multi-movement work inspired by occult philosophy and heavy metal music. This piece is featured on their debut album of the same title [mixed and mastered by Grammy-award winning sound alchemist Oz Fritz] and the piece was premiered in 2005 on both coasts, including a performance at John Zorn’s new NYC venue The Stone, which made All About Jazz NYC’s Top Ten Performances of 2005. The album also made the Top Ten Albums of 2005 list along with artists such as Wayne Shorter and Peter Brotzmann.

Drawing virtuosic precision from the classical realm; innovation and texture from jazz; and power, rhythm and overall perspective from rock and metal, the quartet’s sound is characterized by a thickness of tone, a density of texture, absolute rhythmic precision, and the extreme use of dynamic contrasts: a dense, pulsing sound capable of expressing and reflecting the full range of human emotions. The quartet is like Tony Iommi, Wendy Carlos, Les Claypool and Howlin Wolf playing blackjack against Eric Dolphy. It was originally founded on two principles: the bass clarinet can achieve a virtually unlimited range of sounds, and when this same instrumental voice is multiplied, it can be as powerful as a boogie woogie piano, a gospel quartet or a rock band. Indeed the very first arrangements were of the Swan Silvertones, Montana Taylor and the Pixies. The originals compositions have evolved into a style unique unto themselves while maintaining a stylistic consistency at their core, and the arrangements conquered by the quartet now include Black Sabbath and Sepultura songs.

There is no precedent for a wind-based ensemble such as this attempting to build these massive bridges between avant jazz, new music, black metal and classic rock. Those with truly open ears will be ready for this sound and will understand the sounds. With the help of our Bay Area friends and colleagues such as Sleepytime Gorilla Museum, the Kehoe Nation, and Rube Waddell we are finding and collecting these open-minded listeners.

Winners of the 2nd place in the International Songwriters Competition “Instrumental” Category for the title track of their upcoming album “Tooth & Claw.”

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Life’s not the picture that I read about when I was a kid, but it’s better,” says Morgan Bracy, who was raised in small-town Tennessee, where religion was big and sin was broadly defined. “When I went off to college, I realized there were invisible chains that were holding me back, that I could throw away some of those no’s…and that was incredibly freeing.”

Though she’d been singing in school and church throughout her childhood, and writing songs since age 11, it was not until she enrolled in college at Middle Tennessee State University—two hours and a world away—that her inner artist began to emerge as she wrote and performed with a group called Broken Pottery. Since starting to write with top Nashville songsmiths three years ago, Morgan has further developed her craft, procuring several single-song publishing deals as well as holds from A-list country artists.

But it’s in her more personal, emotionally charged compositions that her secret heart shines through, as in her critically acclaimed debut indie album, Dirty Laundry.
Shortly after its release in 2007, Morgan was introduced to producer John Merchant, who has worked with such legends as Barbra Streisand, Celine Dion, and The BeeGees, as well as recent pop phenomenon Mika. “It never happens this way,” Morgan says, “but he actually went home and listened to my whole album, called me up and said, ‘This is good, but we’re going to take it to the next level. I want to work with you.’” While surveying songs for the project, John and Morgan found an ongoing theme that became central to the forthcoming album: fairytales gone wrong.

Band Name: Morgan Bracy

Hometown: Nashville, TN

Influences: Joni Mitchell, Stevie Nicks, Sarah McClachlan, Jewel, Shawn Colvin, Traci Chapman, Eva Cassidy, James Taylor

Cover Song Licensed: When She Loved Me

Story Behind the Cover: I had been writing to a theme for several months without even intending to. That theme was the fairytale that doesn’t happen or the fairytale-gone-wrong. My producer, John Merchant, and I decided to create a thematic album of these songs. I am a writer, so I wrote each song on the album, except one. One of the most beautiful and heart-wrenching recordings I’ve ever heard is Sarah McClachlan‘s version of Randy Newman’s song “When She Loved Me.” We knew it had to be a part of this project. The feel, the attitude of it fit right in with this journey we were taking from the top of the album to the end of it. The listener will start with a disillusioned young woman who has hit bottom and climb up out of the darkness with a self-empowered princess, of her own rite.

Check out Morgan Bracy at http://www.morganbracy.com/ and on Facebook, and Twitter.

The Stacy Jones Band, winner of the 2010 Best Female Vocalist and 2009 Best New Band awards from the Washington Blues Society, continues to blow fans away with their high-energy, genre bending performances.  Amazing vocals, incredible musicianship, outstanding songwriting and powerful, dynamic arrangements – it’s easy to understand why Stacy and her band are captivating the crowds and gathering new fans at each event they perform.

Band Name: The Stacy Jones Band

Hometown: Seattle, WA

Influences: Susan Tedeschi, Nina Simone, Paul deLay, Janis Joplin, Bonnie Raitt

Cover Song Licensed: 14 dollars In The Bank –Paul deLay

Story Behind the Cover: The award-winning NW group The Stacy Jones Band has been covering the jumpin’ two-beat blues “$14 Dollars In The Bank” from Portland singer /harmonica icon Paul deLay in their live show for years. The 2010 WBS female vocalist of the year, Stacy Jones has long sighted deLay as one of the early influences to her stellar harmonica playing. The band kicks up the energy of the hit single and pays tribute to the blues legend with a searing harp solo from Jones and full on sassy vocals. The proceeds of the sale of this single will go to finance the production of the band’s next full length album and will be offered as a pre-sale bonus to fans and supporters via CD Baby and directly from the band. Thus giving people a chance to put $14 Dollars in “the bands bank.”

Check out The Stacy Jones Band on CD Baby, Facebook, Twitter, and http://www.stacyjonesband.com/

American Singer/songwriter Lobelia has had a busy couple of years – she’s released a live album (with husband Steve Lawson), a new solo covers album, has toured in the UK, the US and had a baby. Whether playing her own songs or other people’s, Lobelia’s unmistakable voice and subtle guitar playing bring the stories-in-song to life, captivating audiences from Minneapolis to the Midlands.

Band Name: Lobelia

Hometown: London, England

Influences: Beatles, Suzanne Vega, Ron Sexsmith, Juliana Hatfield

Cover Song Licensed: Junk by Paul McCartney, Consider Me Gone/Sting, You Spin Me Round by Dead or Alive

Story Behind the Cover: I’ve just completed a 9 song covers disc called Beautifully Undone (Songs I Wish I’d Written) I’ve always wanted to do a covers record and had a long list of lesser known songs that were near and dear to my heart. It was such a faff to get the licensing sorted that I avoided it for so long. Limelight has made it so easy that I can’t wait to do the next one! (after my next originals record of course!) Thanks so much for this great service! There are stories about all the tracks and how they came to be on lobelia.bandcamp.com/releases

Follow Lobelia on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/lobelia

per·pet·u·ate
–verb (used with object),-at·ed, -at·ing.
1. cause to continue or prevail; “perpetuate a myth”
2. continuing or enduring forever; everlasting.

Perpetuate is a heavy metal band hailing from Windsor, Ontario. Guitarists Jamie Hush and Chris Rafinski join forces with drummer Mike Wiznuk and Calvin Love on bass to deliver hard-hitting, high-energy tunes reminiscent metal’s golden age. The band is fronted by keyboardist Kim McInnis, whose voice weaves beauty and aggression into soaring soprano melodies over a roaring symphony of guitars. With classical inspiration and strong influences in modern metal and progressive music, Perpetuate is seeking the perfect balance of technicality and clarity in song-writing.

Perpetuate has been fortunate to share the stage with some of Ontario’s favourite metal and hard rock acts, including Baptized in Blood, Hail the Villain, Today I Caught the Plague, and fellow Windsorites Falling With Glory.

In November 2010, Perpetuate entered the studio to record their debut CD with Glenn Fricker at Spectre Sound. The album features five original tracks and a guest appearance by Betrayer’s Jeff Klingbeil, who lends his voice to an unforgettable cover of “The Trooper” by Iron Maiden. The self-titled CD was released April 1st, 2011.

Eager to bring their music to new fans, Perpetuate is looking forward to traveling across Ontario in promotion of the album. With ambitions of touring nationally and overseas, Perpetuate has a mind to win over audiences everywhere and take their place among the greats of Canadian metal.

Band Name: Perpetuate

Hometown: Windsor, Ontario, Canada

Influences: Iron Maiden, Dream Theater, Trivium, Opeth, Megadeth, Symphony X, Kamelot, Heart, Meshuggah, Bach, Beethoven

Cover Song Licensed: Black Velvet

Story Behind the Cover: We jammed out this power metal version of this iconic Canadian hit in a hurry to enter CBC’s Cover Me Canada contest. Our hard-hitting rendition may have been too heavy for the judges at CBC, but it quickly became a crowd favorite at our live shows. Thanks Alannah Myles for the great tune – up the irons for Canadian music! \m/

Check out Perpetuate at http://www.perpetuate.ca/, Facebook, and Twitter.