There’s a good case to make that Chip Taylor is a godfather of Americana music. His ’70 albums – particularly “Chip Taylor’s Last Chance” – foreshadowed the genre to come. Chip has had an astonishing career as a Hall of Fame songwriter (“Wild Thing,” “Angel of the Morning”), as a partner with Carrie Rodriguez and as a solo artist of great integrity. In this conversation on Grammys weekend in New York, Chip tells us about his latest album “Fix Your Words.”
Category: Interviews
Podcast 1 Raul Malo of the Mavericks
A conversation on board the Sandy Beaches Cruise with Raul Malo of the Mavericks about the band’s new label and projects.
No bounds or barriers for Liz Brasher
One of our biggest surprises in 2017 came near the end of the year with a performance by a young artist named Liz Brasher.
Jon Latham: “My first word was ‘Bruce'”
Jon Latham delivered a great set for WMOT in Murfreesboro, Tennessee to encourage residents to support downtown businesses after a planned white supremacist rally wiped out business the previous weekend. In this interview with Americana Music News, he talks about the influence of Bruce Springsteen.
New: Billy Burnette’s “Crazy Like Me”
Billy Burnette has a fun new album “Crazy Like Me” that chronicles his career in music, including his years in Fleetwood Mac. We caught up with him at 3rd and Lindsley in Nashville.
Willie Nile on “Positively Bob”
We’re written here about the terrific Dylan tribute “Positively Bob.” Here he tells how the album came about and reveals his granddaughter’s favorite Dylan song:
Band of Heathens tops Americana chart with “Duende”
Ed Jurdi of the Band of Heathens talks about “Duende,” the number one album on this week’s Americana Music chart.
Interview: Shawn Camp, World Famous Headliners
Interview with Shawn Camp about the World Famous Headliners’ new album and his colorful bandmates Al Anderson, Pat McLaughlin, Michael Rhodes and Greg Morrow.
Interview: Hemming on Sail Across the Sun
Hemming may well have been the youngest artist on the Sail Across the Sun cruise (other than the School of Rock students), but won over audiences in her shows in the ship’s atrium.
Sun209 interview: Greg Trooper
We caught up with Greg Trooper on his return to Nashville after leaving the city in 2008. The Basement was packed with fans and friends.
3-minute interview: Will Kimbrough on two new releases
Will Kimbrough is on a roll with his solo album Sideshow Love and band project Willie Sugarcapps both in this week’s Americana Music Association airplay chart.
Interview: Tim O’Brien on his new album with Darrell Scott
Tim O’Brien and Darrell Scott have teamed up again for an impressive new album called “Memories and Moments.”
3-minute interview: Jim Lauderdale on Americana
Jim Lauderdale has hosted the Americana Music Festival awards show for more than a decade and is one of the genre’s biggest boosters. His thoughts on the music and on his friend and collaborator Robert Hunter:
Interview: Chip Taylor on “Block Out the Sirens of This Lonely World”
By Ken Paulson Chip Taylor regularly attends the Americana music Festival and it’s always great to catch up with him. He wrote classic pop songs like “Angel of the Morning,” “I Can’t Let Go” and Wild Thing” and then carved out a country career in the early ’70s that was truly a precursor to what we now call Americana. Here’s…
Interview: Kim Richey on “Thorn in my Heart”
By Ken Paulson Kim Richey has been all over the Americana Music Festival and it’s been great to see her showcase her fine new album Thorn in My Heart. Here’s a quick interview on the new album and her return to Nashville: listen to ‘Kim Richey’ on Audioboo
Interview: Randall Bramblett on “The Bright Spots”
Sun209 – We caught up with Randall Bramblett at the Americana Music Festival. He played a great, but short set to open the evening at the Cannery Ballroom in Nashville. Here’s Bramblett on his career and new album The Bright Spots: listen to ‘Randall Bramblett’ on Audioboo
Interview: Kevin Gordon and “Gloryland”
By Ken Paulson —Kevin Gordon is one of the most respected singer-songwriters in Nashville, which is saying something. Gloryland, his latest album, elicited rave reviews in the New York Times, USA Today and the Tennessean. Here he talks about the album and “Colfax,” a song about both his school marching band and courage in the face of adversity: listen to…
Larry Weiss on “Rhinestone Cowboy” and songwriting
Larry Weiss, the songwriter behind “Rhinestone Cowboy” and “Bend Me, Shape Me” appeared at this year’s Tin Pan South Festival along with Roger Cook and Peter Yarrow. In this interivew, he talks about writing his biggest hits. listen to ‘Larry Weiss interview’ on Audioboo
Kenny Vaughan on “V”
Kenny Vaughan, guitarist for Marty Stuart’s Fabulous Superlatives, had a nice run on the Americana music radio chart with V, his solo debut. He says Stuart encouraged him to record the album so he would have something to sell at shows. In this interview backstage at the very noisy Mercy Lounge in Nashville, Vaughan talks about how he put the…
Suzy Bogguss interview: Revisiting classic songs
Suzy Bogguss is appearing this afternoon at the Country Music Hall of Fame, performing Christmas music, songs she recorded with Chet Atkins and presumably material from her latest album, American Folk Songbook. Songbook is an ambitious collection of traditional songs that have resonated with several generations. Boggus keeps it simple, singing warmly and with obvious affection for songs like “Shenandoah,”…