Today’s exclusive interview is with up-and-coming folk/Americana singer/songwriter Putnam Murdock, whose album “Brand New Widow” has some stunningly good material. 

Putnam, I enjoyed “Brand New Widow” especially for its patience and honest delivery. It sounds traditional but fresh. How did your songwriting develop to this point and how long did you work on crafting these particular tracks?

Thank you for the kind words about the new record.  I feel the development of my songwriting will be a lifelong process.  It seems to come and go; sometimes the songs must be worked on tediously and other times, the song shows up like old friend.  Brand New Widow is no exception.  Some of the songs took years of being shelved with intermittent bursts of work.  I believe 3 songs were finished in the studio the day that they were recorded.  This is exciting and scary because there is no time to test them on an audience.  This kind of openness felt appropriate for this record because if its patience.

“When I Die”, in my opinion, is a standout track absolutely. It speaks worlds to the bonds we make with loved ones and the selflessness within us. Can you talk about the inspiration for the song and the philosophy behind it?

The inspiration behind this song comes from my involvement with losing fathers.  This is an autobiographic tale.  This song was ten verses long and seemed to be getting longer until I we decided to cut in almost an improvised form to keep its emotional content.  I was reading Joseph Campbell at the time.  His philosophy of true love struck me as a truth.  I feel fortunate to have seen this love in my family.  I never introduce this song as a song about death, but as a love song.

“Brand New Widow” was recorded live, and it seems this technique works brilliantly. Do you plan to utilize this again in the future?

Absolutely.  I have never felt more like an artist.  We recorded and mixed this record in a week.   The ability to shed the post-production-overdub-syndrome is freeing; what’s done is done.

Another track that has a classic feel I think is “Wages of Hope”. Can you tell us about the lyrical inspirations here?

This co-write was a lyrical response to the political change that happened after the former presidential administration.  Tom J. Carlisle and I penned this one in his Brooklyn apartment feeling quite optimistic after the 2009 inauguration of our current president.  We felt a hopeful, gritty blues would be quite appropriate.

The music industry has changed so much over the past 15 years. Some opportunities have dried up while others have opened up wide for the taking. How has your experience been and how does the future look?

It is still a wonderfully daunting task to try to make it as a musician.  I do feel that the publishing end of the music business has come to the forefront where artists are working to get their songs placed in television and film.  The future looks.  There is so much great music out there.  It is easy to share and access it all.  The best thing to remember is the music corporations cannot make their own product.  They need us.

How is the music scene in Dartmouth?

What music scene?

Please share your most respected musical influences past and present – the ones who provide real, pure inspiration.

Deceased:  Bach, Jeff Buckley, Jerry Garcia, Elliott Smith, Ray Charles

Still making music:  Bob Dylan, Paul Simon, John Prine (my hero), The Wood Brothers, Feist, Dolly Parton, The Black Keys

Theses artists seem to have the ability to cripple and inspire me with their talents each day.

What’s next on the docket? Are you touring for “Brand New Widow” or planning new releases? Any music videos?

I am currently putting all attention into promoting Brand New Widow.  This record needs to be heard.  I am always thinking ahead to the next record, but for now the focus is on this record.

Chicago native and classically trained bassist Douglas Johnson has created some truly inspired textures on his debut solo album “Clevinjourneys”. You can also head Douglas’s work in the progressive instrumental act Gunnelpumpers, who will be releasing a new CD this Summer as well. Douglas’s work will appeal to more than just jazz or world music fans. The dark tension in the music makes both his solo work and the Gunnelpumpers material perfect for fans of everything from prog rock to electronic music, with many possibilities in between. Take a listen, get out your Krishnamurti book and escape time, my friends!

Many bands embrace multiple genres, but few do it as seamlessly as pop/funk/rock/chill band Dashboard Madonna, who I had the chance to exclusively interview recently.

Welcome to Independent Music Promotions! One thing I noticed and enjoyed about your sound is that it’s a genuine fusion. I hear Morcheeba-type chill/trip hop sounds, Sheryl Crow’s rock n’ roll soul, with funk and world music in the mix as well. Direction as a band is important. What led you to seamlessly blend all your influences?

Honey and I are both huge fans of Steely Dan and The Average White Band, so when we set out to record the album we knew that soul, funk and jazz-fusion would be the main ingredients we would apply to the new songs. But as the production of the album progressed we kept adding other influences, such as rock and electronica, as well as 80ties synth-pop, because these are also genes we love.

Groove seems to be very important to Dashboard Madonna. Many bands miss the importance of a strong groove and get lost in the details. Please tell us about your approach to jamming and writing.

For me, the most important thing about a song is it’s groove. Once that’s in place you can push a song in any direction. It really depends on the instruments you add to a groove and how they are played. that’s what determines a songs style.

Most of the songs were written while messing around with an instrument and then recording these ideas capturing them on a computer. We never really jam. A good song idea goes straight into the recording process. But we were also very lucky to have Bernhard, our bassist, on board. One day he handed me his old 4-track demo tapes and said I could do anything I wanted with them. I listened to demos and was completely blown away by his amazing bass lines. I transfered them to my computer and started adding beats in my sequencer. Then I handed these basic grooves to Honey and she recorded keyboard and vocal harmonies. Next was drumset, which I recorded with Stephan and Derek, whom I have both known for ages and are awesome drummers. After that I recorded guitars with my dear friend Ilan, who is amazing. He’s from Buenos Aires and has a unique latin feel to his guitar playing. The final stages of the album were recorded and overdubbed by Honey and I.

Basically that’s how all the songs were written and recorded.

“Neon Life” was an impressive release. How has the general response been?

Well, it’s still early days, but the response so far has been very positive. I was worried people would be a little overwhelmed with the different styles we have to offer on the album, but I guess these days people are used to hearing all sorts of music. Someone who is a fan of Motorhead can just as will be a of Christopher Cross. Fingers crossed the response will stay positive.

Does your life philosophy bleed into your music or is music separate from that?

My life philophosy is live and let live. The lyrics on this album are fictional short stories about peoples lives, so one could say that it’s a concept album. I’m not one to dwell on my own personal life so, I make up stories to the music we write. Saying that, I do believe that there is always a bit of the authors soul in every lyric written.

The music industry has changed so much over the past 15 years. Some opportunities have dried up while others have opened up wide for the taking. How has your experience been with Dashboard Madonna and how does the future look?

It really depends on how you embrace new trends. I believe that the majority of people are still willing to pay for the music they digest. Itunes, Spotify and CD-Baby for example have openend doors for artists that were unthinkable 15 years ago. These days a band can release their songs worldwide without the necessity of a record deal. One has to be prepared to work hard to gain a steady fan base. As long as we enjoy what we do the future looks bright.

How is the music scene in Hamburg?

Very much alive. Hamburg has lots of live venues and also hosts some great pop/rock and jazz festivals every year. It’s an exciting city, especially the red light district where most of the venues are. After all, the Beatles learnt how to play on the Reeperbahn, which is the main strip.

Please share your most respected musical influences past and present – the ones who provide real, pure inspiration.

Steely Dan, Average White Band, Herbie Hancock, Funkadelic, Prince, Morcheeba, Daniel Lanois, Motorhead, Deep Purple and Miles Davis.

I’d really like to hear a new album or EP from you. Are you planning any new music or videos for 2012-2013?

The longplayer version of Neon Life (18 songs!) will be released on the 05.25.12 and we have also just released our latest video, Ride Like The Wind (a Christopher Cross cover version), on Youtube. Last but not least, we will release a free EP with 4 accoustic versions this summer.

Check out the “Ride the Wind” music video below:

Coming to us from Nashville with some unusually hard-hitting and downright stomp-worthy country rock, Hillbilly Vegas have granted me an exclusive interview.

Welcome to Independent Music Promotions, guys. I really enjoyed your new album “Ringo Manor”. Those songs must be an absolute ball to perform live! When you write, do you imagine the live energy and cater to that in particular?

First of all thanks for having us, it’s a real pleasure to talk to you. As a writer I’ve never placed any expectations on what a song should be or if it will be fun to perform live. Honestly, there was never any promise that any of these songs would be heard by anyone or performed anywhere. Our live show and our songwriting is just who we are. We get rowdy sometimes, we tell stories and we make sure we get an emotional investment out of as many in the room as possible. We are having a great time performing these songs and seeing the response so far. We are regular guys who write about real people stuff.

I noticed a lot of hard rock and even heavy metal influence in your sound. It seems like it’s the right time for this too, because I’ve noticed a rock resurgence in general. People want to let loose and free themselves. What is it about you guys that is attracting so much attention lately?

I think it starts with a good product and we are confident we’ve got something worthwhile here. Then you have to find somebody else who believes it is a good product too and can help you get the word out. We found that person in Ben Ewing in Nashville. Ben manages The Kentucky Headhunters, Richie Owens and Skid Row singer Johnny Solinger. Johnny is from Texas and does a country/rock thing like us when he’s not out with the Skids…as a matter of fact we just found out we will be out with Johnny quite a bit on the coming months doing shows together…should be a great time! Anyway, Ben signed us, introduced us to people who could further our cause along and eventually we landed a record deal with Red Dirt Nashville. They in turn, allowed us to be who we were rather then try and create something that would have been a fraud. There is a lot of rock influence in our music, but also a lot of Americana, country and even some R & B in there too. As for a resurgence…rock never dies, it just takes breaks now and then.

Is country music ready for something different?

Country music fans are for sure. That’s really all we care about. Jason Aldean covers Guns N Roses in his set for God sakes, it’s not like this is something new. The lines are blurred and are getting more so by the day. The major labels are still sticking to their white hat/black hat format like the dinosaurs that they are…but even they’ll come around or fold.

Your originals were chosen over some submitted tracks from top industry folks. I’d definitely take that as a good sign! The production on “Ringo Manor” was unbelievable. How was the experience working with Richie Owens?

Well to be perfectly honest…a couple of the songs from the top industry folks were pretty damn good and we would have loved to have had them as part of our album. The problem with those type of songs from those type of people…there are expectations and restrictions on what you can do with them. We are who we are and I guess I’ll leave it at that. Initially we had 12 songs we’d written for the album and the label wanted us to record 15 and pair it down to 10 or 11. So actually the submissions were to kind of stack our deck. In the end though…our personalities are quite strong and doing songs by other writers, as great as they were…sounded like we were trying to put on one of those white hats I mentioned. It wasn’t us. Luckily Red Dirt had the confidence in our originals and gave us the green light.

Richie Owens…it was a truly fantastic experience. A lot is made of Richie producing Dolly Parton and some of the others. He did the Georgia Satellites stuff and that’s what everyone talks about but that’s not what brought us to Richie. He’s an amazing talent. He has a vast knowledge of music and genres and is a true student of them all. He records Jason and Scorchers, then turns around and does a Dolly album…and made both sound brilliant! Richie is our guy. His band Richie Owens and Farm Bureau has a new album out now too. It’s great stuff for rock/Americana/country people too. He is a brother.

Who are your music heroes?

Oh jeez, I’m never good at this. I always remember somebody I should have mentioned after it’s too late. I’ll say this. I love great singers and great songs. I think our music reflects aspects of The Eagles and The Kentucky Headhunters. Other than that I’m a fan of charisma…David Lee Roth is the reason I got in to this in the first place.

Who in music today do you admire and listen to often?

I have favorites in each genre. In rock I love the Foo Fighters…I’d say that’s the best rock band to come out in the last 20 years or more. The new Van Halen album is amazing too! In country music I love The Headhunters new album and Jack White’s thing is very, very cool.

What are your thoughts on the music industry’s recent changes as well as the attempted crackdowns on file sharing?

Ehh…file sharing is no different than a bunch of guys borrowing a cassette of Van Halen’s 1984 and copying it off 28 years ago. One purchase, ten happy listeners…BUT who cares…while you may only sell a single copy of the record…those bootlegs produce 10 or more tickets to a show. File sharing is not something that I’m against to be honest. Albums are just promotional tools to get people to come see you live anyway. You want to sell as many as you can…but more importantly you want to reach as many as you can by whatever means possible.

What have you found works for you as far as promotion goes?

Hands down…social networking. It’s the new fliers! No more cut and paste and late nights at Kinkos. I sorta miss those days sometimes though.

What else can we expect from Hillbilly Vegas in 2012? Videos? Tours?

Our first national single Little Miss Rough and Tumble comes in June. We just finished shooting the video for that single in Nashville with the AMAZING Stacie Heckuba (look her up…amazing woman!) We’re very excited. As for tours…it’s not as easy as it used to be. Fuel prices and economics make touring tough these days. So we’re taking it slowly and trying our best to build a good network and get the word out about who we are…hopefully that will open up the doors for all the stuff kids dream about.

All tracks are taken from his EP “Waiting for Another Spring”, which you can purchase at Sam’s official website.

If other tracks like the stunning “Cover Me With Flowers” are any indication with it’s deep, sorrowful outpouring that is enough to stop you in your tracks, then Deanna’s new release, also called “Open Road”, is not to be missed by fans of quality singer/songwriters. This is some mesmerizing material. Listen to “It’s Another Day” for another taste of Cartea’s unique delivery. I don’t know who to compare to and this is a good thing. It’s something I haven’t heard before and yet familiar.

I see big things in Deanna Cartea’s future. Good songs by good souls tend to get heard above the clutter. She brilliantly expresses joy, sorrow, and a knowingness that pervades the two.

“Draggin’ That Line” is another modern rocker with guitars similar to the White Stripes and the Black Keys. The band is gelling and the whole production is strong. “Blink” is a solid folk outing that shines the light of hope on the proceedings, while “Making Senses” is a fitting, although non-climactic closer. All in all, Andrew Luttrell and his band display good musicianship and a strong sense of groove, if not a whole whack of originality on this outing. Luttrell shows potential as a strong storyteller, most evident in the emotionally charged lead track “Landscape Plains”, which is recommended listening.

You can pick up “Paint by Numbers” at CDBaby.

I am currently working on a follow-up entitled “Your Band Is A Virus – Expanded Edition”. It will contain a wealth of new information, as I’ve learned a lot in my music marketing efforts over the past year. It will also contain some very informative industry interviews. It will include case studies of the successful Sonicbids applicants. In fact,  I intend for this book to be a step-by-step action guide for serious independent artists. Everyone and every company discussed in the book will be ones that I personally vouch for and have had good experiences with. My overarching goal is to put good information out there and help artists become part of a “cleaner game”. This includes less spamming and more proper media submissions, less wasted energy and more hard work, less old routine and more thinking and acting outside of the box.

I don’t intend to replace any of the excellent guides provided by music professionals that discuss specifics on contracts, legalities, touring and the like. I will stay on point and share simply what has worked for me in every day, straight forward language. Thank you all for your support thus far and I’m looking forward to the future!

Have you listed to the Radio lately, really have you? Is it me or is something going horribly wrong with todays music. Do you remember the day when music actually had really instruments in them with real people playing them? How about good songwriting performed by artists that not only wrote the music but poured their heats and souls into singing the songs holding nothing back. Why? Because they meant every word of it – that’s why. Now what do we have? A pretty face, cookie cutter songs, crafted via a microphone, some fancy sampling and a overly loud mix that sounds more like a radio commercial than a piece of music. The magic is all but gone from modern music these days, and people are wondering my. Well I will tell you. Because most modern artists are not being true to themselves with respect to their musical expression – that’s why. More artists need to be themselves. More artists need to be like New York’s own Dwayna Litz.

Perhaps you haven’t heard of Dwayna Litz yet, but soon you will. “Count Your Blessings” is her latest release and it has much to commend it. Admittedly, there is a whole lot of variety to these arrangements and performances: The line up consisting of many impressive Jazz players headed up by Litz herself. Second: Her look and spirit will no doubt mystify many and overall voice and songwriting abilities just make you feel good. Yes all of this makes for deadly combination. Even more impressive the music – commercially viable delivering a very melodic, modern day Jazz-Pop sound that is do I dare day Sing-songy. I can honestly hear this stuff on Satellite Radio – it possesses a very marketable quality to it. Amazing with hooky melodies and a thick low end Jazzy-Cabaret grooves. What I do like most about the CD is there is no attempt at deliver what I call over the top pop with nothing more than a pretty face with a cookie cuter band and songwriting. Lilz has an impressive persona, look, personality and voice. Her first name is even appealing. If she wrote all these songs well she could be bigger than any of us realize at the moment. Favorite Track: “Cross Over the Bridge”.

“Count Your Blessings” by Dwayna Litz is an endearing album that is powerful and entertaining in it’s posture. Litz is very likeable artist and one can’t help but get sucked in by her. This will no doubt transcend to a much larger audience and scale as time goes by. I could hear her music at a party, club or even on the radio. I would imagine in time we will hear more from this artist as 2012 unfolds. Time will tell but I can honestly say this is one artist that has much in the way of potential. Dwayna Litz fills the modern day musical void quite well with music that makes you feel – well happy.

Rating: 5/5

URL – http://www.dwaynalitz.com/

CD can be purchased via I-TUNES – http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/counting-your-blessings/id494217191

John McCall
May, 2012