The Daily Country

The Daily Country Interviews With Michael McArthur

Over the past decade, Florida native Michael McArthur has filled a handful of EPs with his own mix of raw soul and lushly layered folk. In 2019, he makes his full-length debut with Ever Green, Ever Rain, an album that shows the range of McArthur’s gorgeous voice and ability to craft emotionally resonant songs.

Recorded with Grammy-winning producer Ryan Freeland and inspired by a period of isolation and self-repair, Ever Green, Ever Rain is earthy, creative, and introspective. Here, the singer-songwriter answers his e8 and speaks about the album’s title, trusting yourself, the romanticism of the road, and more.

The Daily Country premieres The Deep Hollow’s new video for “Real Life”

Grand Prize Winners of the American Songwriter 30th Anniversary Songwriting Contest in 2016 with their single, “Devil,” Illinois trio The Deep Hollow are gearing up for the release of their new full-length, Weary Traveler, on November 9th. With assist from producer Gary Gordon, The Deep Hollow expand further sonically with additions of cello, violin, and a muddier guitar, while remaining deeply rooted in thoughtful storytelling around themes of love, heartache, desolation, and persistence.

“I wasn’t totally sold on having a fuller sound. I was a little nervous going in,” member Micah Walk admits. “I was prepared to do it the way we did the last one. I’m really happy with the way it turned out, but it is a little different than our debut.”

Today, TDC is pleased to premiere the video for “Real Life,” a mid-tempo folk tune led by acoustic guitar and flawless vocal harmonies that details the struggles of growing up in small-town America and waiting impatiently for “real life” to begin…until you realize life has been in front of you the entire time waiting for you to take it by the horns and forge a unique path. The video for the track beautifully complements the song’s message as we find the trio in a field near a vintage pickup truck, with the vastness of the countryside paralleling the breadth of “Real Life’s” possibilities…..READ MORE

by Baby Robot Media

The Daily Country talks with The Deep Hollow about inspirations and their upcoming album

Through their sophomore record, Weary Traveler, The Deep Hollow’s Micah Walk, Liz Eckert and Dave Littrell dig into topics such as getting older, longing for a stable home, and the weight of the open road. Cello, violins, and guitar intensify the stories, which are cut from both their personal lives and those of strangers. For example, “Freedom Street” depicts the reality of homelessness while “Real Life” imparts sage advice gained from the life they have experienced. Ahead of the album’s November 9th release, Walk answers his Essential 8 where he talks songwriting and inspiration, Jason Isbell, what he’s currently listening to, and more.

?With any particular song, was there an “a-ha” moment when you knew the song was completed and perfect?
I honestly have a hard time ever feeling like a song is complete. And I almost never feel like they’re perfect! Probably to a fault, I pretty much always have the feeling that something could be improved upon, whether it’s a lyric or overall production. I don’t think I ever feel totally satisfied, to be completely honest. With that said, Freedom Street is my favorite track from our new record. I feel like our producer really helped create the tonal landscape that I had in mind. And I think the production helps underline the song’s story. So there really may have been a couple of “a-ha” moments for this one. One was when I wrote it. It was just one of those tunes that came out of nowhere and I knew I wanted to give it some attention. But another was when the production started to come together in the studio. It was really rewarding to hear it all come together.

Is there a story behind your album’s title?
“Weary Traveler” is a lyric from the song Now I See. Dave actually wrote the song a long time ago…..READ MORE

by Baby Robot Media

The Daily Country premieres Nick Dittmeier & The Sawdusters’ new single “Two Faded Carnations”

Celebrated by Glide, Americana UK, and more, Southern Indiana’s Nick Dittmeier & the Sawdusters finds a reprieve from loss with their new record All Damn Day due October 26th. Throughout the ten tracks, replete with deeply introspective character sketches of often forgotten people that balance hope and despair, songwriter and frontman Dittmeier put pen to paper as storyteller crafting narratives that are literate, vividly detailed, and astutely told.

Today, TDC is honored to premiere the exceptional “Two Faded Carnations” an affecting ballad carried by layered acoustic guitars, shuffling percussion, and Dittmeier’s worn and weary vocals that find him delicately honoring his late partner in crime (pregnant with their daughter), who ultimately could not outrun their fast-paced lifestyle.

“I bring two faded carnations
A pinch of baby’s breath
Lay them there right by your stone
With a hand carved crucifix”

Dittmeier relays the story behind the song, “It’s about a couple who are involved in committing various crimes together and the female character becomes a causality of their break-neck lifestyle.

I wrote this song in my car driving from Salem to Scottsburg in southern Indiana on a rural two-lane highway with my old dog, named Dogman, in the car. I used to drive 45 minutes away to an old school farm vet because she was getting old and he was always really good with her. Driving home, spring was in full force in Indiana and the rolling hills were in bloom with crops and wildflowers, so I wanted to relay some of that imagery in the lyrics. Southern Indiana has been hit really hard by the opioid epidemic, so you see stories in the news or on social media about people doing really desperate things because of their addictions. I wanted to write a song about desperation and the consequences……READ MORE

by Baby Robot Media

Nick Dittmeier & the Sawdusters share two new singles with The Daily Country

Southern Indiana alt-country/Americana outfit Nick Dittmeier & the Sawdusters have shared singles from their forthcoming LP All Damn Day, due October 26th. Wide Open Country praised Dittmeier’s songcraft on “Love Me Like You Did” as “heartland rock riffage meets classic country storytelling” while Glide compared the group favorable to the likes of John Fogerty and Lynyrd Skynyrd.

Southern Indiana musician Nick Dittmeier finds a needed reprieve from the looming presence of loss in his life with his new record All Damn Day (due October 26th). Fronting Nick Dittmeier & the Sawdusters, the singer-songwriter lingers on the omniscient Grim Reaper in a way that’s hopeful and uplifting as it is forlorn, harkening to the works of such literary giants as John Steinbeck, Ernest Hemingway, Roald Dahl and Mark Twain.

“I look at this record as a continuation of a lot of storytelling by these writers. Their themes touch on a lot of forgotten people, working class people and characters that have impossible situations in front of them,” says Dittmeier, who also draws heavily upon the work of Frank Bill, Dave Eggers, Kurt Vonnegut and Daniel Woodrall. His perceptiveness in his craft is refreshing and has so far earned him stage slots with the likes of Cody Jinks, John Prine, Turnpike Troubadours, Justin Townes Earle, The Mavericks and several others.

Suffice it to say, he needed this cathartic musical release to come to terms with a handful of challenging life events. “I went through a lot of deaths when I was starting to record this album,” he says. “So, a lot of the songs touch on people dying, something I normally wouldn’t have done.” His mother-in-law succumbed to an aggressive form of cancer, and he honors her life and homestead on the exceptional “Two Faded Carnations,” written during a lonesome drive from Salem to Scottsburg, Indiana, nestled deep….READ MORE

by Baby Robot Media

The Daily Country Premieres Elijah Ocean’s ‘Down This Road’

Los Angeles-based artist Elijah Ocean is a songwriter’s songwriter. 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.” 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 breezy, accessible track, which instantly recalls Tom Petty, features the jangly interplay of guitars and organ alongside Ocean’s warm as the California sunshine vocals.

“We’ve been here so many nights
Side by side through the same old fights
Round and round while the record plays
Looking back on better days

And 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”

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.

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