Tag Archives: nick shoulders

CloudwatcherUno Podcast S7 Ep 4 ~ Dylan Earl

Dylan Earl sits down with CloudwatcherUno to talk all things music and everything in between. We start off by talking about how the AMA UK music week had been cancelled resulting in Dylan and many artists from the United States, Canada and Europe not being able to fly to London and perform live in front of a live audience. It may be 2022 but it still feels a lot like 2020 is still trying for a third roll of the dice when it comes to gigs and events being postponed or cancelled outright.

Some of Dylan’s last great memories were in 2018, as the last couple of years has been a blur. Dylan was supposed to be at Black Deer Fest in 2021 but that was cancelled as well. Dylan was the only American artist who took the risk of flying into the UK when the restrictions meant you had to isolate for 10 days. In the end Dylan was left without the festival and it was only through the help of friends (Stevie Smith) that he was able to do a few gigs with Judy Blank.

Dylan Earl in action.

Dylan was there to perform with Judy Blank Judy Blank | Official website who he had collaborated previously on “Throwing Lines“. Dylan’s philosophy in dealing with disappointment is the same way he deals when Arkansas Razorbacks Football snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. We talk about how gigs and festivals desperately are trying to come back such as Tennessee Fields Festival where the first band that I saw was Morganway HOME | morganway , which was the last band I saw pre Covid.

Dylan loves nothing more than to perform in front of a live audience wherever they may be in the world.

Covid and politics features heavily early on our discussion as we lament the fact that we had and still have the most inept and useless self serving politicians in charge with the resulting outcome of the loss of many lives. Thankfully it’s not all doom and gloom Dylan tells the story of how he met Judy Blank and then formed a partnership which has resulted in some damn fine songs. The pair met at Graham Weber and House Of Songs Graham Weber | The House of Songs Songwriter Summit Camps where songwriters from all over the world come to grow, create and develop as artists, writers and musicians. Tanya Tucker, Glen Campbell, Elles Bailey were all influences upon Dylan at the retreat.

Judy Blank and Dylan Earl

Dylan cannot praise Judy Blank high enough as a true lyrical genius and master of her song writing craft. Seemingly Judy can create melodies out of the atmosphere and together the duo created a solid gold country and western hit “Never Said A Word“.

Never Said A Word” by Judy Blank and Dylan Earl

Many more collaborations have been with the very distant kinship Dylan has with his ‘cousin’ Nick Shoulders and friendship with his ‘uncle’ Willi Carlisle. The trio have a long deep friendship which has only been strengthened when Nick and Willi returned back from their wanderings from New Orleans and being on the road. Being around each other pushes Dylan and his brothers in arms to produce phenomenal storytelling and music with the result that all of their respective careers are going stellar.

If I Could Only Fly” by Nick Shoulders, Dylan Earl and Willi Carlisle

Dylan is working with Western AF in filming and producing an Arkansas documentary and the Delta area which is where Johnny Cash comes from.

There’s been a history of the outcasts, loners and weirdo’s breaking down the fences that gatekeepers have put up around country music and that all are welcome to this beautiful genre of music.

Dylan is working on his next album ” I Saw The Arkansas” and this will also be the first track released from this new album. In the album will be the track “Buddy” and reflects the touring experience and life led by both Dylan and Willi.

Click below to hear the podcast from CloudwatcherUno featuring Dylan Earl. Also streaming on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Podcast Addict or wherever you listen to your podcasts.

CloudwatcherUno Podcast S4 Ep 9 ~ Nick Shoulders

Nick Shoulders is the whistling, yodelling, guitar picking, mouth organ playing and bird calling superstar of the Ozark mountains. It was a privilege and a joy to spend time with my hero and get to talk about all the joys and happiness that is music as broad to not only me but to legions of fans across the world. Nick takes the sounds of yesteryear and melds them with the heavier rhythm of todays music.

‘Snakes and Waterfalls’ by Nick Shoulders

A saving grace for Nick in these Covid times has been connecting through the screen and connecting through the ones and zeros of the digital world. Playing country music has allowed Nick to connect with history in a real tangible way and a tradition of music which is larger than any musician and play ‘Grandpa Music’ and take what’s compelling about the music and make it his own. The lines between what is Folk Music and Country Music get blurred and the artifical barriers created by marketing teams of the music industry quickly dissolve into nothingness when you hear such songs as ‘Snakes and Waterfalls‘, ‘Black Star‘, ‘Rather Low‘, ‘Bound and Determined‘, and ‘Turn On The Dark‘.

‘Rather Low’ by Nick Shoulders for Western AF

Learning to warble from one set of grandparents, having a fiddle passed down to him from his other grandfather and having the wide open spaces to practice his vocal skills and fiddle playing has turned the young Nick Shoulders into a virtuoso instrumentalist. Moving to New Orleans Nick cut his album ‘Lonely Like Me with Mashed Potato Records and got his buddies to play the instrumental parts and the result is magnificent. One of the outstanding tracks on that album is a old Elvis Presley song ‘Black Star‘ a song that was a favourite of David Bowie and soon was a favourite of Nick’s as well.

‘Black Star’ by Nick Shoulders

In New Orleans Nick was a drummer for hire and played with Sabine McCalla and his metamorphosis to singer songwriter was complete with his album ‘Okay, Crowdad.’ The artwork for all the albums is doe by Nick himself as he is a painter and illustrator and these talents are further showcased in his new album ‘Home On The Rage‘. The blonde Mardi Gras haircut has now become synonymous with Nick’s musical persona as has his collaboration with fellow Ozarkian and family member in a distant way Willi Carlisle. Gems on VHS, Western AF and others have catapulted Nick into the public consciousness with their ‘Vidjas’ (Videos) that capture the essence of this musical genius.

‘Bound and Determined’ by Nick Shoulders for Gems On VHS

For our audio pleasure Nick Sings acoustically his warm up song ‘Irene Goodnight‘. Take a moment and just listen to a little slice of heaven.For the future Nick will be travelling and paying shows across the states and even across the Atlantic to England in the autumn.

Nick Shoulders from the podcast. Photo: CloudwatcherUno

Click below to hear the podcast from CloudwatcherUno featuring Nick Shoulders. Also streaming on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Podcast Addict or wherever you listen to your podcasts.