“Gold and the Sand” Corey Crowder (Tooth & Nail) Corey Crowder

“Southern Way,” the swampy first single from Georgia-raised singer-songwriter Corey Crowder’s much-anticipated new album Gold and The Sand, immediately transports the listener to a different state of mind – one of careless abandon, with freedom ringing in the driving, infectious roots rock rhythm. Such surprising, textured, and ultimately catchy combinations of lyrics and sounds are the mark of the 25-year-old’s adult ambitions achieved—in the first songs he’s released since his emergence as a young online sensation.

Corey’s previous two self-produced, independent recordings consisted of songs he’d written and collected since his teenage years and their release modeled a contemporary musical success story. Those early songs were played over five million times on his MySpace page alone after being featured on prime-time television shows. The Biggest Loser, One Ocean View and a particularly audience swelling season-ending scene on MTV’s The Real World all featured Corey’s music from these early independent releases. Extensive touring across the continental United States added to his musical reach and acceptance. That same audience eagerly anticipates hearing Corey’s newest self-penned tunes on Gold and the Sand. These songs, enriched with a new-found maturity and a musical excitement born from fresh creation, will help Corey grow his base of support and find an even larger audience.

The songs on “Gold and the Sand“, richly-textured, varied songs of contemporary love, life hopes and realities, are Corey’s most personal and mature in content, focusing on the large life questions and course corrections so typically faced by young adults in their mid-twenties. The point of view is sometimes searching, sometimes skeptical, and often pointed, as in “Innocence,” the song from which the album title is taken—a depiction of how the pursuit of status and money can consume peoples’ lives.

The sonically varied tracks feature Crowder’s engagingly confessional and distinctive lead vocals, but then they take a route precisely opposite from typical “stripped down” solo-guitar-strumming, singing-songwriter outings to deliver these deep personal stories. Rich with horns, strings, and a road-tested four member rock band (with whom Corey’s been working closely for several years) the album’s sounds often hearken back to the thick soul production of ‘60s and ‘70s album tracks by Al Green or Van Morrison, and the straight-ahead roots rock of Creedence.

Corey Crowder is now a contract writer with EMI as well as a recording and touring artist; he and his wife relocated to Nashville from Greenville, SC, in July. In support of the new CD, he will be appearing, along with his band, in a series of dates across the Southeast.

Corey Crowder on the road:

• Dec. 4 - Columbia, SC @ 5 Points Pub
• Dec. 13 - Greenville, SC @ The Channel
• Dec. 20 - Atlanta, GA @ Vinyl

Sample Corey Crowder’s Music

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Gurf Morlix

Austin, Texas – Gurf Morlix, who has worked as producer, guitarist and multi-instrumentalist for some of America’s greatest artists, is getting set to release his own fifth album, Last Exit to Happyland on the Rootball Records label on February 17, 2009.

Tempting as it may be, don’t just judge Morlix by the company he keeps, even if it does provide a fine starting point: Lucinda Williams, Warren Zevon, Patty Griffin, Michael Penn, Buddy Miller, Mary Gauthier, Tom Lauderdale, Ray Wylie Hubbard, Robert Earl Keen, Tom Russell, Jim Lauderdale and Slaid Cleaves, to name but a few. Instead, a listen to Last Exit to Happyland should demonstrate why his blue ribbon associations have led Morlix to a similar level of excellence as singer/songwriter and artist in his own right.

“If anybody is still looking for a candidate to replace Robbie Robertson of The Band, look no further,” writes Henry Cabot Beck on Amazon.com. “Morlix can write, sing, produce and play nearly every instrument and has a bottomless range of American musical idioms from which to draw.”

The new album is something of a tour de force for Morlix’s gift as a musician and producer as well as his finest moment yet as a writer and singer. He plays everything on it but drums, which are ably handled by Rick Richards, who has manned the kit on many of Morlix’s productions in recent years. Icing the cake are Patty Griffin, Barbara K (of Timbuk3) and rising Texas singing sensation Ruthie Foster, who contribute harmony to a number of tracks. As with all that Morlix has produced and played over the years, every note and creative touch ultimately serves the songs. And his trademark grit, soulfulness and authenticity suffuse the album representing the “muddy,” as Gurf Morlix calls the junction where varied strains of American roots music mingle, at its truest and finest.

Last Exit to Happyland is peopled with characters “headed to reckoning day,” as Morlix sings in the propulsive opener, “One More Second.” The swampy bomp of “Walkin’ to New Orleans” finds a Crescent City resident heading home into the deadly wind and rain of Hurricane Katrina, while the haunting country-blues “Crossroads” reveals new wrinkles in Robert Johnson’s fateful meeting with the devil. Whether it’s longtime lovers at the “End of the Line,” a traveler on a “Hard Road” or an outcast who laments “I Got Nothin’,” Morlix captures their emotional essence.

Prior to embarking on his own career, Gurf Morlix was likely best-known for his 11-year creative partnership with Lucinda Williams as her guitarist, band leader and backing vocalist on two of her classic albums, Lucinda Williams and Sweet Old World. His production work with Williams led him to produce multiple recordings for Ray Wylie Hubbard (four albums), Slaid Cleaves (three albums and an EP, with a fourth about to be released), and two apiece by Robert Earl Keen and Mary Gauthier, as well as discs by Tom Russell, Ian McLagan, Butch Hancock, Hot Club of Cowtown, the Setters (Alajandro Escovedo, Michael Hall and Walter Salas-Humara) and others.

And now with Last Exit to Happyland, Morlix feels he has come into his own as an artist, songwriter and performer. ”I’m really enjoying songs making my records and going out and playing,” he notes. His ever-expanding touring circuit has already taken him across North America and to Europe and Japan.

–Conqueroo

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Nashville, Tenn. — Come Election Day, November 4, West Virginia may be the pivotal state as reigning CMA Male Vocalist of the Year, two-time ACM Top Male Vocalist, and West Virginia native Brad Paisley releases his new album, Play. Paisley, who won his first GRAMMY Award earlier this year for Best Country Instrumental Performance is running on a platform of “more music, less talk” with Play, which promises to increase axes across the board, alongside some of the guitar world’s great heroes.

A 15-track collection, with 11 written or co-written by Brad Paisley, Play delivers an all-out guitar celebration with only four vocal tracks which feature Paisley singing and picking with guitar titans B.B. King, Keith Urban, Steve Wariner, and the late Buck Owens.

The legendary King gets joyfully bluesy with Brad, as B.B. and B.P. “Let the Good Times Roll,” while Urban and Paisley dish out the playful “Start a Band.”

“More Than Just This Song,” written by Paisley and Wariner, is a touching tribute to those first guitar heroes who gave them their start on the six-string. Paisley also salutes a friend and hero, the late Buck Owens, joining Buck on “Come on In,” an Owens-penned-and-recorded track that had remained previously unfinished.

Among other selections are the gently jazzy swing of “Les Is More,” a salute to the great Les Paul; the lilting beauty of “Kim” and the toe-tapping energy of “Huckleberry Jam,” named for Paisley’s wife and son, respectively; and the continuation of a Brad Paisley album tradition, with the inclusion of a gospel classic, this time a beautifully rendered acoustic performance of “What a Friend We Have in Jesus.”

“Play” is Releasing Election Day, November 4!  A guitar-based album delivers a mostly instrumental extravaganza, with special guest vocal and musical collaborations with B.B. King, Keith Urban, Steve Wariner, and Buck Owens, Albert Lee, Brent Mason, John Jorgenson, James Burton and more.

Fans will also enjoy the return of friend, collaborator, and elder statesman “Little” Jimmy Dickens, who plays “Grandpa Paisley” in the comic “Pre-Cluster Cluster Pluck Prequel (Prelude),” which sets the stage for the all-star guitar jam, “Cluster Pluck,” featuring guests James Burton, Vince Gill, John Jorgensen, Albert Lee, Brent Mason, Redd Volkaert, and Steve Wariner.

Throughout his career, Brad Paisley has earned well-deserved acclaim not only for his skills as a singer and songwriter, but also as a virtuoso guitarist - featured on past covers of Guitar Player and Vintage Guitar, among others.

Swept into the public eye with the success of his 1999 debut album, Brad Paisley has tallied sales of more than ten million albums, demonstrating his consistent popularity with the electorate. He has steadfastly continued to lead, engage, and entertain the nation with a proven track record of eleven #1 singles, addressing such important issues as domestic life (”I’m Gonna Miss Her” [The Fishin’ Song]), foreign policy (”The World”), and woodland safety (”Ticks”). During his tenure, he has also endorsed or introduced a number of important Bills, including Bill Shatner and Bill Anderson.

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Grateful Dead - Rocking the Cradle: Grateful Dead, Egypt 1978

It took 30 years to produce this ultra-cool 2CD/DVD set from the Grateful Dead’s legendary September 1978 run at the Sound & Light Theater, outside Cairo, nestled in the dunes just a short mummy-walk from the Great Pyramid and the mysterious Sphinx. This historic package, Rocking the Cradle: Grateful Dead, Egypt 1978, includes two exceptional music CDs and a DVD with over 95 minutes of concert footage from the Egypt shows (plus an impressionistic “Vacation Tapes” mini-documentary that shows the band and Dead family at play).

Much has been written about this storied adventure: About the band’s long-standing desire to play in “places of power,” as Phil put it years ago… The incredible logistical gymnastics necessary to get permission for this strangest of American rock bands to bring their peculiar alchemy to the cradle of the ancient world… The huge, scattered caravan of crazies that descended on Cairo from the U.S. and Europe, drawn to the desert by some irresistible force… The sheer magnitude of shipping in tons of sound equipment, setting up in 110-degree heat, maxing out the local power grid, trying to turn the King’s Chamber in the Great Pyramid into an echo chamber (alas, Osiris would have none of that!)… The wondrous interplay at each of the three concerts between Nubian drummers and singers and the Grateful Dead… The miraculous final show, during a total lunar eclipse… The synchronicity of that last show and the signing of a peace treaty between Egypt and Israel… Magical horse and camel rides under the desert moon…Trips up and down the Nile… High adventure at every turn!

The three Egypt concerts—September 14, 15, 16, 1978—were captured on a 24-track tape recorder with an eye towards putting out a live album to help defray the (considerable) cost of the expedition. When the Dead got home, however, they discovered that the tapes of all of the first night and part of the second were not useable because of technical problems. Then the band got wrapped up in finishing their Shakedown Street album (begun before the Egypt venture), and soon the notion of putting out the Egypt album lost its momentum. But just as Howard Carter and all those other explorers in the ’20s and ’30s couldn’t stay away from the tombs in the Valley of the Kings, the Dead weren’t about to let those Egypt multitracks stay buried by the sands of time. Next thing you know there’s a phone call to ace GD mixer Jeffrey Norman and he and vaultkeeper David Lemieux discover that despite the problems with the first night’s tapes, there’s still lots of great material available from nights two and three, including: a dynamite “Shakedown Street” (just the second live version ever), “Truckin’,” an exquisite “Stella Blue,” “Eyes of the World,” fresh takes on then-new songs such as “Stagger Lee” and “I Need A Miracle,” and the hypnotic Egyptian tune called “Ollin Arageed” that features Hamza El Din and other percussionists, who are then joined by the Dead for a jam into “Fire on the Mountain.” Wow!

And the concert video, though rough around the edges in places, is quite a revelation as well. Not only does the DVD include many of the best tunes on the CDs—you’ll dig seeing Jerry do some pretty energetic thrashing here and there—it contains two songs not on disc—“Bertha” and “Good Lovin’.” The concert material has been mixed in both stereo and surround sound, with two listening options: DTS 5.1 and PCM Stereo. The beautifully designed booklet (with cover inspired by the late, great Alton Kelley’s Egypt 1978 tour poster) contains a revealing essay by longtime Ice Nine Publishing chief (and Egypt trip co-organizer) Alan Trist, and many rare photos. All that’s missing is sand, the smell of camels and some “hubbly-bubbly”!
Rocking the Cradle: Grateful Dead, Egypt 1978 Track List

Disc 1

1. “Jack Straw”
2. “Row Jimmy”
3. “New, New Minglewood Blues”
4. “Candyman”
5. “Looks Like Rain”
6. “Stagger Lee”
7. “I Need A Miracle”
8. “It’s All Over Now”
9. “Deal”

Disc 2

1. “Ollin Arageed”
2. “Fire On The Mountain”
3. “Iko Iko”
4. “Shakedown Street”
5. “Drums”
6. “Space”
7. “Truckin’”
8. “Stella Blue”
9. “Around And Around”

DVD

Track Listing

1. “Bertha”
2. “Good Lovin’”
3. “Row Jimmy”
4. “New, Minglewood Blues”
5. “Candyman”
6. “Looks Like Rain”
7. “Deal”
8. “Ollin Arageed”
9. “Fire On The Mountain”
10. “Iko Iko”
11. “I Need A Miracle”
12. “It’s All Over Now”
13. “Truckin’”
14. Featurette: “The Vacation Tapes”

Dead.net Exclusive Bonus CD

1. “Bertha”
2. “Good Lovin’”
3. “El Paso”
4. “Ramble On Rose”
5. “Estimated Prophet”
6. “Eyes Of The World”
7. “Terrapin Station”
8. “Sugar Magnolia”

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Nashville, Tenn. — Joey+Rory, along with Grammy-award winning producer Carl Jackson, have put the finishing touches on their debut album, “The Life Of A Song,” to be released by Vanguard/Sugar Hill Records on October 28th. Having produced such greats as Alison Krauss and Merle Haggard, Jackson proved the perfect choice to help husband and wife team Rory Feek and Joey Martin create a traditional country album, seasoned with acoustic elements and equal doses of humor and sincerity.

“Working with Joey+Rory is a total joy for me,” states Jackson. “They are the real deal, not an act simply called ‘country’ whose music contradicts that label. What makes it even more special is that I believe the only thing they love more than a great country song is each other.”

Joey+Rory are nothing if not authentic; “The Life Of A Song” might be listened to as a soundtrack to their simple country lifestyle. The couple resides in an 1870’s farmhouse in tiny Hardison Mill, TN, where Joey helps run a nearby family restaurant called Marcy Jo’s Mealhouse. Perfectly in their element, Joey+Rory sing of scuffed cowboy boots (”Boots”), dusty rodeo arenas (”Rodeo”), and cherished vinyl records (”Sweet Emmylou”). They beg the listener to sing or dance along (the brash and buoyant “Cheater Cheater”) before hushing the room with the lovely austerity of “Heart of the Wood.” Even the Lynyrd Skynyrd classic “Free Bird” is putty reinvented in the hands of this pair, as adventurous as they are respectful of country music’s roots.

Together, the couple contributed their songwriting talents to seven of the album’s 12 tracks, including the lead single, “Cheater Cheater.” Already an established songwriter and founding partner of Nashville publishing company Giantslayer Music, Rory has three #1 hits to his credit (Blake Shelton’s “Some Beach”, Clay Walker’s “The Chain of Love” and Collin Raye’s “Someone You Used To Know”), and has had cuts by Kenny Chesney, Randy Travis, Terri Clark, Mark Wills, Reba McEntire, Waylon Jennings, Lorrie Morgan, Buck Owens, John Michael Montgomery and Charlie Pride, among others.

Joey, who performs lead vocals for the duo, is also a veteran recording artist (previously signed to Sony Records, her debut album and single were never released). The pair only started performing as a duo for the audition of CMT’s hit series Can You Duet in early 2008. The pairing proved to be a hit with thousands of fans as well as Naomi Judd, one of the show’s judges and Joey+Rory’s most fervent supporter. CMT is now home to Joey+Rory’s debut video for “Cheater Cheater,” currently in medium rotation.

To hear audio samples of Joey+Rory visit them on MySpace.

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