Ha Ha Tonka, Bloodshot Records and my vacation.

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I love record labels. When you find a good one that shares an aesthetic you enjoy it can be a magical thing. You can just lap up everything they release and know that they're basically never going to let you down. Let's hear it for Fat Possum and Ghetto Funk!

A couple of years ago I discovered Scott H. Biram and the label that puts out his records, Bloodshot Records. These guys just keep putting out great, gritty alt-country that seems to never miss the mark. Lydia Loveless comes to mind. Really, check her out. 

The latest alt-country dudes that they have turned me on to go by the moniker Ha Ha Tonka, and let me tell you, brothers and sisters, these guys are the real deal. Their new album Lessons  is not to be missed. It winds and grinds, jumping down the dusty backroads that only the best can navigate. This is already turning into a giant cliché and I haven't even started to really talk about the record. All I'll say from here is that if you like good, honest songwriting and hard rocking guitars, you should be listening to Ha Ha Tonka. Really, just do it.  (And while dope-ass beards are present, there are some clean faces to balance it out. Love it)

Here's a video of the group playing the title track off Lessons. 

Live at The Backyard Barbeque Festival, May 25th, 2013 HA HA TONKA: "Lessons". Music © Ha Ha Tonka http://www.hahatonkamusic.com/

As for me, I will be MIA for the next five weeks as I satiate my wanderlust and go off adventuring half-way around the world. I will have tales of music, love and wonder when I get back. Sit tight. I won't be long. I love you all. 

I am fascinated with Hawksley Workman again. (Part 1)

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​This was the second time I talked to Hawksley Workman and the second time I got along exceedingly well with Hawksley Workman. Workman is an artist I respect immensely, someone who's work can be at once sprawling and artistic while being wholly accessible, if sometimes frustrating. This interview was done in February of this year and was supposed to be for FEEDBACK magazine here in Victoria, but my editor there seems to have disappeared so it sat on the shelf for a bit, finally finding its way to the Martlet.  This was a really long conversation, in fact this is Part 1, so now, for your reading pleasure...Hawksley Workman.

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