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R. FINN – COLLECTING TRIP

With his new debut, Collecting Trip, R. Finn has created a heartfelt album rooted in timeless Americana and colored by subtly lush, alternately haunting and hopeful arrangements. The Southern California songwriter took the long way around on this journey, some of his songs on the record tracing back nearly a decade.

The LP’s title not only references the “collecting trips” taken by folk musicologists John and Alan Lomax, but also what the album represents to Finn: All the years of accumulating songs, players, styles and gear that have resulted in his affecting, long-evolving sound. And then there’s his deep devotion as a student of songwriting and music history. “I’m just trying to do what I love and what I listen to,” Finn says. “I’m always trying to evoke Ray Charles or Woody Guthrie.”

While the story of Collecting Trip begins and ends in Los Angeles, it’s also anchored by a pivotal journey to rock & roll landmark Woodstock, N.Y., where Bob Dylan and The Band holed up at a house called Big Pink in the late ‘60s, cranking out some of the era’s most iconic songs from a dusty basement studio. Finn found a connection to this bygone era in his early 20s when he crossed paths with The Band’s Levon Helm. He’d heard Helm was living on a farm in Woodstock with a studio out back and no gear, and Finn just so happened to have a bunch of gear and no studio. Finn gathered up the nerve to cold call the legendary drummer/vocalist, the two hit it off immediately, and Helm invited him out to the farm. After Finn spent a night recording Helm, Levon was so impressed he asked him to stick around a while longer. Finn wound up staying for two years.

At the time he met Helm, Finn considered himself a singer/songwriter, but his new mentor emphatically assured him, “You’re a producer!” So Finn suddenly found himself recording the house-concert jam sessions at Helm’s farm that came to be known as the Midnight Rambles. The work came natural and easy for Finn, who honed his studio chops on the job while simultaneously deepening his love for American roots music.

When he returned to Los Angeles, Finn converted an old factory into his own studio and creative space, The Heritage Recording Co., and stocked it with the vast collection of gear and instruments he’d amassed. Although he concentrated on production work, Finn never quit writing songs. In late 2014, he got together with an old friend, famed session drummer Jim Keltner (Bob Dylan, John Lennon, JJ Cale), to record a few songs. “It was so much fun that it just snowballed,” Finn says. “ It ended up being this three-and-a-half year process. Having the studio at our disposal, we could really woodshed and not be on the clock. We were able to take our time and let the songs tell us where to go.”

Finn credits fellow co-producer Keltner for helping bring a deep authenticity to the songs. Their success was due in no small part to Keltner’s unmatched rolodex, the album featuring an impressive list of players including keyboardist Benmont Tench (Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers), Nickel Creek’s Sean and Sara Watkins, actor/musician Reeve Carney and his guitarist brother Zane, as well as singer/songwriters Madison Cunningham and Anna Nalick.

The music this gang of artists crafted together on Collecting Trip combines what Finn describes as his “dueling concepts”—his love for simple, acoustic-guitar- and lyric-anchored folk music and the more grand production aesthetic of composer/musicians like Brian Wilson and Ennio Morricone. Epitomizing Finn’s approach are the two tracks that bookend the album. Opener “Hard Times Again”—a song about addiction, its title a nod to Stephen Foster’s “Hard Times Come Again No More”—starts off as a banjo-led acoustic tune before strings sweep in toward the end. And on the lovely closer “A Bird And The Wild Blue Sky,” strings weave together with a lonesome pedal steel, enhancing the song’s melancholic mood.

Although Collecting Trip’s ten tracks were written over a span of a decade, Finn says that this set explores relationships and how he feels about the world right now. “Hard Times Again and “A Bird…” are stand-out examples dealing with the former, as are the jaunty, Leon Russell-esque “The Show Must Go On” and “Let Me Be The One,” a sweet love song that exudes an acoustic Tom Petty vibe.

The more hard-edged worldview tunes—“I Am Soldier,” “God Is On Vacation” and “Desperation USA”—lend a gravitas to the album. Although “Soldier” was written before the Trump era, Finn admits that it holds a new, deeper meaning now. “Desperation USA” is a tender, heartbreaking ballad that was inspired by a news report on America’s childhood hunger epidemic. While “God’s on Vacation” takes a caustic, unflinching look at a planet in crisis, Finn says it’s more about asking questions than making a statement. “I really don’t give an answer with that song,” he explains. “It’s just about challenging people’s ideas.”

Finn is fired up about finally getting Collecting Trip out into the world. “We make records for ourselves,” he says, “but once it’s done you want to share that experience with other people. Hopefully they can get off on it, too.”

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“Collecting Trip is an ode to Finn’s deep dive into folk and Americana” – Folk Radio UK

“R. Finn has created a heartfelt album rooted in timeless Americana and colored by subtly lush, alternately haunting and hopeful arrangements.” – Glide

“A heartfelt album colored by subtle, lush, haunting, and hopeful arrangements” – No Depression

Publicist: Rachel Hurley

“I’ll put it to you like this, Rachel makes your life easier. I tend to like people who make your life easier. If you should find yourself in the midst of a press campaign and you need one at the buzzer, you get the ball to Rachel.” – Chris Rondella

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Matthew Ryan is experiencing a kind of noisy renaissance. It began in 2014 with the release of Boxers, a fevered and smart rock ‘n’ roll record about the working class, produced by Kevin Salem. May 2017 will see the follow-through with Hustle Up Starlings, a heart-on-the-sleeve collection of silvery anthems that further illustrate Ryan’s reinvigorated love of language, noise, and cinema.

Produced by Brian Fallon from The Gaslight Anthem, Starlings shimmers with an immediate and captivating focus. The 10-song set clocks in at 40 minutes with no prevarication or bluster, just a celebratory noise alight with hearts and history, broken-in voices and poetry.

Matthew Ryan grew up in Chester, Pennsylvania just south of Philly, and spent his teens in Newark, Delaware. In his early 20s, he moved to Nashville, where he was first signed to A&M Records, releasing May Day (1997) and East Autumn Grin (2000) before falling prey to the titanic label mergers of the early aughts.

What followed was more or less an album a year by any and all means possible until 2012’s In The Dusk of Everything. After moving to Western Pennsylvania in 2011, Ryan quietly decided that he’d had enough. Dusk would be his last album. “Music had become too lonely,” he said.

But soon after that declaration, a sudden friendship with the frontman from The Gaslight Anthem, Brian Fallon, reignited something in Ryan. Fallon invited him out on some tour dates, and after performing a version of Ryan’s “I Can’t Steal You” (off of 2003’s Regret Over The Wires) together in New York City, the two decided they’d like to work together one day. Fallon just wanted to play guitar, but Ryan suspected he’d found a producer.

Hustle Up Starlings was recorded last summer in Nashville at Doug Lancio’s place on the East Side. Ryan assembled the cast because they all shared a common ethos and similar roots — The Clash, The Replacements, Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, Leonard Cohen, The Cure, The Jam… Each of them hard working lovers of pop music with a black eye, a brain, and soul.

Things were a little tense at the start. “Artists are like boxers,” Ryan says. “They have to test each other a little before they can trust each other.” And this was a roomful of artists. Brad Pemberton (Steve Earle, Ryan Adams) played drums and percussion; Brian Bequette (long-time blood brother and band member of Ryan’s) played bass; Fallon played electric and acoustic guitars while helming production; Doug Lancio engineered and mixed while adding synth and additional guitars. Ryan sang and played guitar as well. David Henry (former cellist for Cowboy Junkies) added strings where needed.

Fallon had a sense of the orchestration and arrangement already filed in his mind. They’d gather and play a song acoustically, discuss what they were hearing and what needed to happen, then Fallon would take the lead, check in with Ryan and off they’d go. Lancio would hustle around getting the mics and levels sorted then press record. They kept the takes that moved them, that felt alive. Most of the vocals you’ll hear were of the moment, as is the band’s performance.

There was some minimal overdubbing, then Fallon would add backing vocals while the energy of just capturing a new recording was still in the room. Song after song played out like this. 7 days were booked, and they were finished in 5.

Hustle Up Starlings is an album in the truest sense of the word — it’s a cohesive sonic and narrative expression with a beginning, middle, and end. It was in a conversation with the great producer and songwriter Joe Henry that Ryan realized once again the importance of committing to the fullness of experience that an album offers. “It’s an intimate story I’m telling here. These songs are personal, but if I’m lucky and I’ve done my job, they become universal. The story I’m living and writing about is happening in the context of this world we’re all observing and feeling right now, a world that feels like it might catch fire with all its uncertainty and friction, the ugly politics and rising impulses.”

Ryan explains further, “You see, this is what we do though, even when the world feels like it’s about to burn down, we keep leaning for tomorrow in our own lives and stories and families. It’s all hope and perseverance. We get up and we go to work. We believe in tomorrow, even when we’re not sure what tomorrow will be. Joe helped me to realize that I should probably tell the whole story as best I could. Brian and Doug and the band helped me bring it to life so it could be heard and shared. And hopefully felt.”

On Hustle Up Starlings, we find an artist who has shifted into some higher gear and come into full fruition. The entire collection is not only bolstered by a great band and their sonic immediacy, the songs are so generous with incisive couplets and soaring, searing choruses that repeated listens don’t dull its charm. Each song and performance in this collection leans on perseverance like a car leans into a hard curve — the thrill of “(I Just Died) Like An Aviator,” the inspired grit of “Battle Born,” the unguarded intimacies of “Maybe I’ll Disappear,” the jilted humor and meanness of “Bastard.”

There’s romance and doubt, there’s memory informing the phantoms of the future, there’s work and hope-tinged despair. There are moments that arrive and feel like instant classics. The title track, “Hustle Up Starlings,” comes in like an ambient Rolling Stones tune and unfolds in a filmic, breathtakingly honest way. Each detail glows as the story builds upon itself, cool and warm, incisive. The entire album works like this, each song into the next, moment after moment. It doesn’t let up.

Hustle Up Starlings will be released on May 12th, 2017.

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“Continuing to write some of the most poignant and perceptive songs about life and love in America, his songs are at once personal and universal, delving deep into his own existence but extracting timeless truths at the same time.” – The Observer

“Matthew Ryan’s voice is his signature instrument, known for its gruff, “been there, done that” tone.” – Huffington Post

“Always count on Matthew Ryan to come in quietly and leave you knocked out on the floor… Ryan takes the simple and makes it sublime.” – Paste Magazine

“You’ll find Matthew Ryan high on that list of writers and performers who give a damn about songs, and who approach writing them with real concern for both sound and sense.” – Good Reading Copy

“If John Moreland’s latest album paints in bold scarlets and golds, Matthew Ryan’s Hustle Up Starlings paints on the same canvas but with silver and blues. This is an album for a twilight in the summer, that murky ten minutes between sunset and full dark.” – No Depression

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Leslie Tom – Ain’t It Something, Hank Williams

Leslie Tom’s Ain’t It Something, Hank Williams is not your typical tribute record. It’s a 10-track reflection of Leslie’s own journey in life, thoughtfully—and often playfully—intertwined with Hank Williams-inspired tales of addiction, love, heartache and loss. “A part of all of us died, too, the day he passed away,” she croons on “Mr. Williams,” spotlighting the legend’s lasting emotional and musical impact.

Leading with her irresistible vocals and proclivity for grounded storytelling, Leslie has worked extensively with some of country music’s finest players, from honky-tonk piano veteran and Country Music Hall of Famer Hargus “Pig” Robbins (Merle Haggard, Loretta Lynn, Sturgill Simpson) and pedal-steel genius Lloyd Green (George Jones, Johnny Paycheck, Charley Pride) to Asleep at the Wheel frontman Ray Benson. Leslie has also had the honor of sharing stages with Lee Roy Parnell, Gene Watson and Kevin Fowler, and played the 2017 ZiegenBock Music Festival alongside such acts as Aaron Lewis, Josh Abbott Band, Blackberry Smoke, Whiskey Myers and Jamestown Revival.

On Ain’t It Something, Hank Williams—recorded at Nashville’s Cinderella Sound Studios and produced by John Macy (Los Lobos, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band)—Leslie once again enlists Lloyd Green on steel and is joined by a long list of talented musicians, including Andy Hall of The Infamous Stringdusters (dobro on the somber “Angel of Death”), Walter Hartman (drums), Joe Reed (bass), Eugene Moles (guitar), Todd Moore (drums), Lindsey Brown (bass), Ben Waligoske (acoustic guitar) and Matt Weesner (wurlitzer). Alabama singer and songwriter Larry Nix can be heard throughout the record singing in perfect harmony with Leslie.

Like many origin stories, the concept for this album—which began as an EP and contains a healthy mix of Hank covers and Hank-inspired originals—stemmed from a seemingly ordinary conversation. Talking merch at the bar of an album listening party for Casey James Prestwood & The Burning Angels, Leslie nonchalantly expressed the need for “some new swag.” Her husband—an industrial engineer by education and who “has not one creative bone in his body”—looked at her stone-faced and said, “I think you should do a shirt that says, ‘Are you ready for some Hanky Panky?’” The spontaneous double entendre echoing in her ears, she replied, “Where the hell have you been hiding for the last 10 years?” That moment led to Ain’t It Something’s song of the same name, co-written with and featuring Roger Miller’s son, Dean Miller (George Jones, Jamey Johnson). “Are you ready for some Hanky Panky,” they drawl over shuffling beat, cranking up the honky-tonk mojo.

Leslie’s covers of classics “Hey Good Lookin’” and “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry” channel that old-school Williams swagger, but are peppered with her own brand of magic, as she brings a distinct female energy to the table. What she cooks up is a magnificent ode to a bygone era, sharply dressed and expertly delivered. Of the originals, “Audrey’s Song (Still Love You)” has an especially moving backstory. When writing partner Andy Wren had to cancel a songwriting session last spring, along with Tony Gunter, Leslie was uncertain at first whether he’d pulled a fast one… or was legitimately under the weather. Tragically, it turns out he was deadly sick, diagnosed with stage four cancer from overexposure to Agent Orange in Vietnam. Wren continued working for as long as he could, contributing lyrics here and there, before he passed away six weeks later.

Leslie was gutted but, with Sean Gasaway, continued crafting the song into a portrayal of Audrey Williams, Hank’s first wife. “Obviously, I don’t know her,” Leslie says, “but I thought, ‘If I went through being married to one of the most prolific songwriters/artists in country music history and he divorced me and married someone else very quickly, how would I feel?’ We decided to channel that. It’s a very special song to me.” Not to mention one of the finest vocal performances on the record.

An attendee of the Chula Vista Academy of Fine Arts, Leslie Tom has deep roots playing violin, piano, clarinet and guitar. The singer’s parents divorced when she was just two, and she grew up on the outskirts of Corpus Christi, Texas, in the town of  Calallen, a tight-knit community that challenged her, musically, and led her to explore a wide array of sounds. By high school, she’d joined the choir but suffered from acute stage fright. “I could absolutely not sing by myself,” she says. Deciding to push herself outside of a comfort zone, Leslie decided to audition for an American Idol-type contest broadcast on NBC’s early-morning show.  Though the audition never took place the experience led to voice lessons, and Leslie mounted her ambitious first solo performance in front of 10,000 people at the AT&T Center before a San Antonio Spurs game in 2004. That was the beginning of her professional singing career, and she hasn’t looked back.

Leslie toured for some years around the great state of Texas and issued her first record, High Maintenance, in 2006. After a stint in Nashville, she returned to Austin in 2010, releasing an EP in 2012, The Second Act, and then another in 2017, Leslie Tom.

Ain’t It Something, Hank Williams establishes Leslie Tom as a major voice in traditional country music, and she plans to use it to do some good, too. A portion of the proceeds from her PledgeMusic campaign will benefit Eli’s Fund, an organization through the Texas A&M Foundation and the Texas A&M University College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences (her Alma Mater) and provides financial support for active duty service men and women, medically retired veterans’ service dogs, and retired military dogs with veterinary medical bills at the Texas A&M University College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences.  In addition, Leslie’s grandfather, Milton Smallwood Alexander, was a tank driver in the 3rd Armored Division during WWII and Leslie has partnered with 3AD to contribute a portion of the album sales to their organization which exists to keep the history and the memories alive and well of all veterans that served in the division. . “My calling is to serve active duty military and veterans. I don’t take that lightly.”

Ain’t It Something, Hank Williams is out March 23 on Coastal Bend Music.

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“Draws upon the memory and music of Hank Williams in a way that feels refreshing and new.” – Noisey

“Makes classic country sound as fresh as ever.” – Wide Open Country

Publicist: Rachel Hurley

“I can honestly say I love Rachel Hurley.  The word that comes to mind when thinking about her is “scrappy”.  She’s a get-it-done kinda gal.  She works hard for her clients looking for new avenues and ways to have our work featured in places that may be unconditional to the mainstream music listener but make sense for our niche of music.  I look forward to working with Rachel and the entire Baby Robot staff when I release my next record and know my money will be well spent and my exposure maximized.” – Leslie Tom

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Elijah Ocean is a songwriter’s songwriter. Having been dubbed as one of LA Weekly’s “Artists to Watch” in 2017, Ocean is poised for a breakout year in 2018. Channeling the ghosts of Laurel Canyon as well as the Hudson Valley, his sensibilities for folklore and his ear for a hook are on full display with his latest single, “Down This Road.”

“Down This Road” is one of those songs that was lost to time, buried in the pages of a notebook and unlikely to ever see the light of day. Ocean penned the first verse on his couch after moving to Los Angeles in 2014, and it stopped there for a while. After multiple revisions and mental blocks over the next three years, the song was finished in November 2017 in a Las Vegas hotel room, where longtime friend and keyboardist Zach Jones helped bring it to life.

The production and songcraft are unabashedly influenced by Tom Petty–bright electric guitars layered with acoustic and electric twelve-strings, fluttering organ, and anthemic gang vocals in each chorus as Ocean calls out, “Here we go again / It’s like this road won’t ever end / It circles back to you my friend / And here we go again.” It’s equal parts folk and timeless rock ‘n’ roll.

Ocean was born in a small woodland house in the Hudson Valley, raised in rural Maine, and enlightened by time spent in New York City. He’s landed in Los Angeles for now, where the Sunset Strip is a wasteland, Silverlake has peaked, and the spirit of Laurel Canyon echoes through the hills of Highland Park. The end of the world is a damn inspirational place to be.

Every year, Elijah Ocean crosses the country singing his songs and making memories. Picture this: It’s 2018 in the southwestern corner of America. There’s snow in the distant mountains and the slow desert sunset creeps through the windshield of a Mercury blazing down I-40 West. With four albums under his belt and a fifth in the chamber, Ocean is hitting his stride.

The hard work shines through in his craft without a scrap of it being over-thought. It’s American music. It’s conceived on highways between cities past their prime. It’s born from memories and dreams of fresh starts. There’s a rich history to draw from places like Nashville, Memphis, Muscle Shoals, Bakersfield and Austin, but Ocean doesn’t desire a repeat. He celebrates the multi-generational canon of American music while adding his own fresh voice to the conversation.

“Down This Road” is that voice speaking up, ready to be heard. Welcome to California.

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“Petty would be proud.” – Rolling Stone

“Elijah Ocean makes warm, homespun Americana” – Uproxx

“L.A.-based singer songwriter Elijah Ocean knows a thing or two about finding inspiration on the road.” – Wide Open Country

“There’s a nice Laurel Canyon/Tom Petty vibe to the new single from LA singer-songwriter Elijah Ocean” – Americana UK

“Los Angeles-based artist Elijah Ocean is a songwriter’s songwriter.” – The Daily Country