For Folk's Sake

Though he’s spent his entire life in California, Charlie Overbey’s music is unapologetically steeped in deep Southern influence. Growing into the world of roots rock and alt-country at a young age, Overbey was raised in “the school and church of Johnny Cash” whilst living in an LA barrio called La Habra. All of this crafted the artist’s wide-spanning worldview, which absolutely seeps into his newest album, Broken Arrow. For Folk’s Sake recently spoke with Overbey on his upbringing, his goals, and the adventure so far.

Please tell us a bit about yourself. Where are you from and how did you get started in music? Any defining moments along the path to present day?

I was born in Lynwood, CA–which is basically Compton–near where country music in Los Angeles really had its start with the “Compton Town Hall” which most people don’t know about. I grew up in a barrio called La Habra with predominantly Hispanic people which very much had a strong hand in shaping me and my respect for hard work, folk art, low-riders and tacos.

My mum is from Torquay, England & my old man was a hard-working, Johnny-Cash-lovin’, guitar-pickin hot rodder from Lamar, Arkansas. Growing up, I was surrounded by Benny Hill, Hee Haw, Guinness, Scotch and California, all of which which I grew up to have great love for. I started playing bass and drums at about 13 because I knew that’s where the chicks were. It was about the age of 15 while sitting in drug rehab that I knew I was always going to be a road dog musician and songwriter.

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Sir Canyon’s Noah Lamberth is an innovator. Yet, whenever he’s successfully blending genres, influences, and ideas, into his next psychedelic country fête, he makes it look oh-so-easy. The masterful singer-songwriter wasn’t always intent on producing the newfound windswept sound that he has on his latest project, but we here at For Folk’s Sake sure are glad that he did. We sat down with Lamberth for a quick Q&A regarding Sir Canyon and a little more about himself in the process.

Tell us a little bit about yourself and your background in music?

I’m from Riverside, California, which is about an hour (without traffic) from Los Angeles. I had a late start in music; I always loved it but was really into sports in high school and even played soccer in college. While in college, my friend needed a bass player for his band. I wanted to be in the band so I started playing bass every day for hours to get good enough to play with them. After a few years, I left that band and started a country band called Hank Floyd, which had some success on local radio and opening for a number very well know country artists. I switched to playing guitar and singing, and never looked back.

As an artist, how do you define success?

Success doesn’t always mean dollars and cents. It could be as simple as making a great record and knowing you’re playing good music with people you like to hang with. Hopefully, you can gain an audience and connect with them in a way where you can make a living out of it, but that’s rarely the case.

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Nashville indie folk-rock artist, Kellen Wenrich, once found himself a fiddle player in Apache Relay. Now, the multi-instrumentalist begins his solo career with a debut LP, Posthumous Release (out 16 February). Wenrich has performed with Jenny Lewis, Mumford & Sons, The Wild Feathers, G. Love, The Devil Makes Three, JP Harris, rayLand Baxter, Gill Landry, Desert Noises & more. His Sad Bastard EP was recently hailed by NPR as one of World Café’s “Indie Discoveries Of 2017“.

KoT’s Posthumous Release finds Wenrich mellow, focused, and rich with realization. The impassioned new record employs situational irony, with self-reflective and somber lyrics that are often defied by cheery, blissful and breezy indie-folk countermelodies. He pens parables from personal and professional life and backs up his vulnerable confessions with dense arrangements.

As Wenrich gears up for his February release, he was kind enough to take a break and share the origins of Kellen of Troy, and what he hopes to accomplish in the near future.

Can you tell us about your music and how Kellen of Troy got its start?

I make folk-pop-rock from Nashville, Tennessee. I’ve been playing music in various roles since I was a kid, but I started writing and performing as Kellen of Troy after an old band and an old relationship fell apart simultaneously. KoT started as a practice in self-assuredness, but I began liking what I was doing and thought it deserved to be heard, so I started recording and playing shows.

How do you engage with your audience?

I love talking and getting to know fans in person, especially if they don’t realize I’m playing in a group they’re a fan of. One of my favorite things to do is get fans on the guest list to shows I’m playing, if they don’t have a ticket or can’t afford one.

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Jamie McLean Band is no stranger to music. Cutting his teeth as a musician, touring the globe as the guitarist for artists including The Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Aaron Neville, Brett Dennen and more, McLean has honed his art. Now, he’s releasing his new record One and Only, an 11-track collection of gritty alt-country combined with Tom Petty-channeling heartland rock & roll. Produced by Wilco’s Ken Coomer at the Sound Emporium in Nashville and features contributions from Sam Bush (NPR, Billboard, No Depression) and Jeff Coffin (Dave Matthews Band), One and Only is an accumulation of everything McLean’s worked for.

For Folk’s Sake caught up with McLean to talk about how he defines success, the ever-changing music industry and the importance of getting out and enjoying your surroundings, whether you’re at home or on the road. Read on below, and catch McLean on tour now.

Who is Jamie McLean Band?

I always say I’m the last guy to know. The music is so close to me and such a part of me that I’m a bad critic of what I do. Jamie McLean Band plays solid roots, blues, soul, rock and roll. I’d like to think we take a bit of everything from a lot of places like New Orleans, Nashville, Memphis, New York to make a little gumbo of our own. We’ve been lucky enough to tour with some of our heroes like Gregg Allman, Taj Mahal, Dr. John, Tedeschi/Trucks Band, Los Lobos and more. I grew up outside of New York City playing in a band with my brother Carter McLean who plays drums at Lion King on Broadway. I moved to New Orleans to join Dirty Dozen Brass Band, and that band and that city really shaped me. It’s the closest thing I’ve found in the US that feels like a foreign country. To have Mardi Gras Indians running around and drinking in the streets and parades just because it’s Sunday or Monday or Tuesday… they know how to have some fun and the streets are oozing with soul.

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Baby Robot Media is a music publicity and media service agency with employees in Los Angeles, Memphis, Atlanta & New York and represent musicians from all over the world. We specialize in promotional ( PR ) campaigns for albums, singles and videos, tour press, radio, music video production, music marketing, social media campaigns, Spotify campaigns and creating promotional content. Our mission is to help great unknown bands reach a wider audience and to help already successful artists manage their brand identity and continue to thrive. Our music publicists have over 50 years of combined experience in the music industry. We are known as one of the best in the business.