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Dark Americana: Stories and Songs
“Dark Americana: Stories and Songs” was released through Hollywood Trax and Manhattan Production Music in 2020. This collection blends the American Mythos of Andrew Wyeth and Edward Hopper into something dark and foreboding. It’s full of dreamy tremelo guitar, banjo, dulcimer and fiddle. Clanging metal and footstomps frame his ominous baritone in a blend of country-folk, film noir ballads, bluegrass and psychedelia. A rusty, creeping sound; haunted and haunting.
THE SONGS
"Rise and Fall" - sunrise, sunset. Some people (the ruling class would call the 'Salt of the Earth") live, struggle and sleep. They built America with Faith and bled to see it through. Much like worker ants, their purpose was to live long enough to die. With guitar, mandolin, tremelo guitar, bass, drums, and yodeling.
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"I Spoke To The Devil About You" - that moment a victim meets the intent of its predator. Not a good day for the prey. With banjo, piano, electric piano, bass and drums.
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"Then She's Gone" - originally called "Black Tar", we figured that was too obvious. Addiction and Obsession run deep regardless of the target. With tremelo guitar, bass, drums, sax.
"Is It Still The Same" - a meditation on isolation and disorientation post-covid lockdown. Is it post-apocalyptic or just loneliness? Is there a difference? You be the judge. With fiddles, piano, glockenspiel, bass and drums.
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"The Perfect Storm" - speaking of apocalypse, this is a fever dream about the events that lead to someone's disappearance. With fiddles, banjo, mandolin, guitars, bass and drums.
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"The Last Cab Out Of Vegas" - originally from an improv musical called "Life = Choices", It details the moments just before a major life-changing (or life-ending) event. Someone is dumped off in the desert. Someone is not clear-of-mind. With tremelo guitar, piano, bass and drums.
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"I Gave Her Coal" - this is not a nice guy. Maybe the darkest song on the album. Psychedelic and frantic, it's just doesn't want to be your friend. With fuzz guitar, tremelo guitar, bass and drums.
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"Demon Road" - sort of an old-school country/folk song, about a shack I found in the desert, whose road was gone and the dirt path lead to walls that felt... wrong. With acoustic guitar, mandolin, tremelo guitar, banjo, piano, bass and drums.
"Pass The Bottle" - originally called "Pass The Bottle Lazarus", we chickened out at the last minute and removed the name, regretting it ever since. It's supposed to sound drunk, so maybe you should drink when you listen to it. It's about waiting in jail to see if the judge is going to give you a terminal sentence. With banjo, dulcimer, mandolin, guitar, slide guitar, bass and drums.
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"The Rain's Not Traveling Alone" - originally performed by Through the Woods in the late 1990's, this song is what Dark Americana is all about. Picture a ruined, abandoned carousel in the middle of a field. With banjo, nyckelharpa, flutes, guitar, piano, bass and drums.
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"Down In The Hole" - old west-style stomp n' clap song, gallows a-swingin'. With guitars, banjo, fiddles, harmonica, bass and drums.
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