CloudwatcherUno catches up with Sterling Drake in the middle of his “Roll The Dice” tour promoting the EP of the same name. The EP was supposed to come out on vinyl last October but literally every artist under the sun wants to make physical copies of their songs. Melvin Dillon from Soul Step Records collaborated with Sterling to produce a slice of honky tonk, dancehall and western swing heaven. The orange coloured vinyl is a testament to the quality of production and care that goes into each pressing.
“Roll The Dice” by Sterling Drake
Sterling Drake plays timeless country music following in the footsteps of Bob Wills, Merle Haggard and George Strait. Sterling doesn’t put a label on his music, for him it’s just music that has a cultural heritage. Sterling’s peers such Chris Stapleton, Sturgill Simpson and Tyler Childers are breaking from the perceived notion of what country music should sound like and Sterling is also breaking the mould when it comes to this style of country music.
The Man…The Guitar…The Country…“Roll The Dice” EP by Sterling Drake from Soul Step Records
Sterling likes to catalogue the music that he likes on a public forum playlists on Spotify. As for the future Sterling has many many songs that he’s been saving such as old style country songs with a modern twist, bluegrass music and everything in between.
Sterling is looking to tour in the North West in Spring 2022 and the South East later in the winter. Sterling also plays once a month at the Station Inn in Nashville, Tennessee.
Click below to hear more from the podcast with CloudwatcherUno featuring Sterling Drake. Also streaming on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Podcast Addict or wherever you listen to your podcasts
Season 6 of the CloudwatcherUno podcast comes to a close with a fabulous talk with the legend that is Chris Roberts. Chris was born in Austin, Texas, then moved to Aspen, and when we spoke we did so from his new home in Joshua Tree, California where he recorded his most recent EPs ‘Red Feather and ‘Lost and Found’. Chris fell in love with the Californian landscape and the vibe and moved in a blink of an eye.
‘Six Months Too Long‘ by Chris Roberts
Chris can’t wait to travel across the UK and Europe to bring his good time music to audiences who need to listen to this stunning artist and his sensational sound. To Chris it’s just Rock and Roll with a southern voice that gets tagged as Country Music but to Chris labels don’t mean anything. To Chris if you love the music then play another song and another until you are surrounded by the energy and warm embrace of Chris’s lyrics and songs.
‘Hate When You’re Gone‘ by Chris Roberts
Chris’s vision for his music is to showcase his energy, determination to tear the roof off with his rock and roll and bring joy to the fans. For Chris his music and his songs just pours out of him, there is no existential dread, no struggle with a blank page. An example of how awesome Chris’s music is his ‘Red Feather‘ EP which features songs such as ‘Hate When Your Gone‘ and ‘Remember That It’s Me’. An Ep that was made during the pandemic
Chris Roberts ~ A true original voice within the world of music.
Chris is a prolific artist and has also released his ‘Lost And Found‘ EP which features the songs ‘Loving Arms‘ and the classic Sammy Johns track ‘Chevy Van‘. All this from a musician who only recently took up playing piano and guitar. Chris has a gift and it needs to be shared with the world.
‘Jam In The Van‘ with Chris Roberts and his band.
Chris recently moved from Colorado and the most important thing to travel with Chris to Joshua Tree were his books filled with songs. For Chris trying to organise a set list takes time as he wants to give the best performance he can with a combination of killer songs, hooks and melodies. So if you hear that Chris Roberts is playing in venue near you make sure you run, don’t walk to that gig because you will be in the presence of greatness when the lights go up and Chris is on stage.
Click below to hear the podcast from CloudwatcherUno featuring Chris Roberts. Also streaming on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Podcast Addict or wherever you listen to your podcasts.
Sean and Sal talk about how they came up with the name of ‘The Ransom Brothers‘ . They changed the name from Good Springs to a name inspired from the Jimmy Stewart’s character Ransom Stoddard in the movie The Man Who Shot Liberty Vallance. Their new song ‘Talk Of The Town‘ is a very honest roots rock kinda sounding song and needs to be played in your kitchen at the loudest volume you can!
‘Talk of the Town‘ by The Ransom Brothers.
Sean is the main songwriter of the band with input from the rest of the musicians for various verses and riffs. For a change fiddle and peddle steel were added to bring an extra dimension to their sound. Opening up for the ‘The South Austin Moonlighters‘ led to an opportunity to meet producer Chris Beale and then come up with a game plan of choosing 4 songs from 20 tracks and release these to radio stations.
Brothers together in the world of music ~ The Ransom Brothers
Harmoni Kelly did the bass tracks on the records and the band are grateful for what she brought to the mix. Sean and Sal talk about growing up in the North Austin and the country lifestyle of barn dancing, bull riding and the allure of cowboy movies and country music. They explain that ‘Texas Country’ is a stripped down country music rather than the Nashville country pop music. Whiskey Myers, Turnpike Troubadours and Jason Isbell are definite influences on the band.
Sean and Sal have very different approaches to writing song, adding harmonies and making sure they don’t use country music clichés. Their next release will be coming out in November 2021 followed by live recordings of songs recorded at 512 Studios in North Austin. Then booking shows in central Texas with a view to more live performances out of the Lonestar State.
Click below to hear the podcast from CloudwatcherUno featuring The Ransom Brothers. Also streaming on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Podcast Addict or wherever you listen to your podcasts.
Dallas Burrow’s voice will take you away to a country that only exists in his heart and his music. It’s called Texas, the Lone Star State that is so mythical in the world of music it seems to fill the listener with dreams of how they too could live the life of an adventurer without a care in this world.
Dallas Burrow follows in the fine song writing tradition of Townes Van Zandt and Guy Clark.
Born and raised in Texas, his first experiences of the country music world were from his father (a blood brother of Townes Van Zandt and friend of Guy Clark). Dallas Burrow continued the song writing tradition with his first album like 2019’s ‘Southern Wind‘, and now his sophomore self titled album ‘Dallas Burrow‘
‘Country Girl‘ by Dallas Burrow
To record the album, Dallas went old school in the production of the album by recording to two-inch analogue tape by producer Bruce Robison. He met Bruce while going on tour with the living legend that is Charley Crockett. The end result is the nearest you’ll get to hearing Dallas and his band play live. Dallas recorded the album with bassist Sterling Finlay (Todd Snider), guitarist Larry Chaney (Steve Earle), pianist Kullen Fox (Charley Crockett, Paul Cauthen), violinist Bryan Duckworth (Robert Earle Keen), steel guitarist and dobro player Dan Johnson (Hank III), slide guitarist Chad Pope (Dale Watson), pedal steel guitarist Cody Angel (Jason Boland), drummer Josh Blue (Bruce Robison’s band), and guitarist Chris Kues (Burrow’s own touring lineup).
Dallas Burrow, Texan through and through.
“ I’ve realized that being a family man is perhaps life’s greatest adventure so far. I’m still writing about the adventures I’ve had… I’m just embracing a new kind of adventure.“
‘American Dream‘ by Dallas Burrow
Stand out tracks are ‘American Dream‘ and ‘Country Girl‘ with the epic ‘Outlaw Highway‘. It’s an album that brings fire to the soul, showcases how much travelling around the world as influenced this Texan adventurer and presents a man reborn and this is the soundtrack to his new life.
‘Dallas Burrow‘ out on Friday 23rd July 2021
Click below to hear the podcast from CloudwatcherUno featuring Dallas Burrow. Also streaming on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Podcast Addict or wherever you listen to your podcasts.
Dustin Brown is living his life finally playing live music with all the enthusiasm and passion he can to excite his audiences again. Finally after quite a few years doing different jobs and living different lives Dustin is once again a fully fledged paid-up member of the musical fraternity. With the release of ‘Dreamer’s Last Drifter‘ his album from 2020 Dustin has shown what an amazing cosmic energy he brings to the world of music.
‘You‘ by Dustin Brown.
Dustin recorded the album as an acoustic album and then change his mind to make it a full band experience. You was recorded as a breakup song and relationships that disintegrate. Most of Dustin’s music is what he feels in his gut and how you can express that in musical form. Dustin’s grandfather and two of his sisters were and are accomplished musicians and a lot of Dustin’s creativity comes from the need to play guitar and express his voice. Townes van Zandt is a musical hero and influences his song writing style.
Dustin Brown in action.
Modern psychedelic rock stuff mixed with folk music is the only label that Dustin likes to put upon himself and his music. During a pandemic Dustin has been working on his sophomore album and has been putting all his energies into his music music that makes him happy and hopefully his followers happy when they hear it when they seem live or when the album comes out.
‘Dreamers Last Drifter‘ by Dustin Brown
For the future Dustin will be releasing new album in the summer of 2021. This was recorded with his band Dustin Brown and The Now. Dustin and the band have taken the time just to make sure that the listener gets chill experience. New singles should be coming out very soon.
Click below to hear the podcast from CloudwatcherUno featuring Dustin Brown. Also streaming on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Podcast Addict or wherever you listen to your podcasts.
Nick Garza comes from a long line of Texans and it’s this history combined with the music of the great state that influences his lyrics, songs and outlook on life. On this podcast CloudwatcherUno and Nick talk about the stories behind his songs ‘I’ll take another Margarita‘, ‘Muchacha‘ ‘Take me down to San Antonio‘ and ‘Denial‘, We also hear Nick sing acoustic versions of some of the songs and the collaboration process with other artists such as Augie Meyers and Los Texmaniacs.
Muchacha by Nick Garza’s Get Along (feat. Augie Meyers and Los Texmaniacs)
Nick also answers the life-and-death question of which city has the best tacos is it Austin or San Antonio? We talk about how it sometimes takes weeks and months to finish a song and how he uses a voice recorder memo function on his phone to put down ideas for his music. He currently has 2500 voice memos Which all could turn into fully fledged songs.
Denial by by Nick Garza’s Get Along (feat. Kelsey Wilson)
Now that the world is slowly opening up Nick is focusing on releasing singles all the rich would complete his first album and then being able to play those songs in front of a live audience. I for one can’t wait to hear new music from the Tex-Mex legend that is Nick Garza.
The legend that is Nick Garza’s Get Along
Click down below to hear the podcast from CloudwatcherUno featuring Nick Garza’s Get Along. Also streaming on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Podcast Addict and many other platforms.
Nick Garza from the podcast. Photo: CloudwatcherUno
Brandon Padier sits down with host CloudwatcherUno as they talk about the inspiration behind his albums ‘Brothers Of The Flood‘(2020), ‘Rock and Roll Heart of Gold‘ (2019) and ‘To God Be The Glory‘ (2018) such songs as ‘Once Again (I’m Alone)‘ ‘The Hardest Thing‘ and ‘To God Be The Glory‘ his musical history of being in the band ‘Adopted Kids‘, and how being the guitar player led to him becoming a singer. His musical influences such as The Beatles, Jason Isbell, Neil Young, Tom Petty, The Band and The Grateful Dead are evident in the songs that he has released.
Brandon Padier ~ Stunning vocals combined with a spiritual soul makes for an original artist.
‘The Hardest Thing’ by Brandon Padier
For a self confessed introverted personality Brandon comes to life when talking all things music, art and culture. Taking that first step into song writing was only natural after having written the songs themselves. we talk about how music is a universal language and his love of playing instruments such as the piano and trombone and especially those that challenge him especially the fiddle and the sitar.
Looking forward to the new album from Brandon Padier.
‘To God Be The Glory’ by Brandon Padier
Brandon is working on his new album and is being influenced by The Byrds, Wings era McCartney. The songs for this album are akin to tackling life in these pandemic times and universal concepts of isolation. The magic will be turning these simple concepts but turning them into something incredibly profound.
‘Everything Falls Apart’ by Brandon PadierBrandon Padier from the podcast. Photo: CloudwatcherUno
Click below to hear the podcast from CloudwatcherUno featuring Brandon Padier. Also streaming on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Podcast Addict and wherever you listen to your podcasts.
Ottoman Turks are (L-R) Nathan, Will, Josh and Paul
CloudwatcherUno exclusively got to sit down with the whole band to talk about their songs, the new album and music influences. One of the first to hear the full album outside of the label ‘Ottoman Turks II’ is that rare beast where the sequel is even better than the original. Think Empire Strikes Back meets the Godfather 2 as a guide to how awesome this album is. In 2019 the first album was released there were so many unrecorded and unreleased songs that a part 2 was always on the cards. Ottoman Turks new album ‘Ottoman Turks II’ is released in April 2021 from State Fair Records.
‘Wound Up’ from the upcoming album Ottoman Turks II
Many many moons ago Paul and Nathan met each other in the seventh grade and then Nathan met Will at the same high school while Will and Josh have know each other since first grade. Paul, Will and Nathan came together to play music after being in a few bands where they were influenced by americana music and jazz music. Josh wasn’t a part of the band initially but was writing guitar parts for the band but the band didn’t truly start until Josh became part of the band in September 2012.
The goth country band that are Ottoman Turks!
Tracks that stand out on the album are ‘Travelin’ Blues’, ‘Cigarettes and Alcohol’, ‘Zootstack Lightnin’, ’35 to Life’ and the goth country classic ‘Militant Preacher’. Most of the album was recorded in February 2020 before the lockdown. The band tried to be a straight country act but the band and much more fun breaking down musical genres and mixing it up and making it a sweet Ottoman Turks sound. Its good to be different but its also difficult to be different it makes for interesting mix when playing under a country banner even though they not be your middle of the road country band.
Ottoman Turks are always looking to make new headways with their music.
Ottoman Turks videos are something that the band take immense pleasure and joy in. A fantastic example is 35 To Life video is based on JFK coming back to life and taking revenge on Dallas the city where he was killed.
’35 to Life’ from Ottoman Turks
Glass Bottles was one of the first videos that band did where they thought the visual media could fully express their joy. They are a unique band that will continue to put in as much effort into their videos which act as a calling card to their fans in these pandemic times. Within the band there are various musical adventures that all support each other and the band with their live shows. What the band excel at is their live shows and pretty much given the opportunity will blow any other act out of the water.
Having laughs with the band on the podcast. Photo: CloudwatcherUno
Nathan may write pretty much all the lyrics for the band but musically the songs would not sound as they do without the full Ottoman Turks treatment. Joshua might add guitar, Will may change the arrangement while Paul will add drums into the mix. Zootstack Lightnin’ is the first example where Nathan, Josh and Will all get to sing on one song. ‘Militant Preacher’ is a very old song written by Nathan inspired by old spiritual and blues music such as Robert Johnson. It’s a spiritual battle to prepare for whatever the day begins. The music that inspired Ottoman Turks ranges from Tom Waits to Jack White. In this podcast we get to hear ‘Wound Up’, ‘Vaquero’ and ’35 to Life’ which are totally sublime and will make you wish you were back to a time where it was safe to spend time with complete strangers at a mosh pit.
Make way for new music from Ottoman Turks coming at you in April 2021
It’s been a struggle to try and reproduce the same live energy and songs that fans that follow the Turks will be familiar with, in this sophomore album they have succeeded in bringing a complete oral history of the Turks music to life. Getting the test pressing of the vinyl and holding that in their hands has been a lifelong dream for all the band. It’s a culmination of the dreams and aspirations of each of these amazing artists. World watch out Ottoman Turks are coming for you be prepared for a musical experience like no other.
Click below to hear the podcast from CloudwatcherUno featuring Ottoman Turks. Also streaming on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Podcast Addict and wherever you listen to your podcasts.
The Last Heartbeats (L-R) Frank Smiley (guitar) , Ricky Hill (lead singer and bass) and Chris Pate (drummer)
The Last Heartbeats are a trio of musicians from Texas who have been travelling along the road of music for quite a while and have now joined together to showcase their unique brand of alt country music. In this podcast CloudwatcherUno sits down with Frank and Ricky to talk about how the band got their name, their experiences of coming through high school bands and different bands. In 2005 Ricky finally decided to take centre stage as other musicians ego’s and attitudes kept getting in the way of making music. People put on a show personality unfortunately that personality takes over their day to day life.
Ricky Hill from The Last Hearbeats
We get to hear an acoustic version of ‘Afraid’ an unreleased track and ‘TexaCali’ the future release for the band. Both songs showcase the bands knack for delivering a killer tune with melodies that reverberate around the space between your ears. It’s a big rock song originally an acoustic song but when Frank plugged into his guitar into Marshall amplifiers did the song come to life. This band has melodies and hooks to spare.
‘The Deep End’ by The Last HeartbeatsThe Last Heartbeats in action.
Country today you have ‘Pop Country’, ‘Old School Country’ the band have more layers and textures and the art of the song. They fit into the ‘Alt Country’ but the genre is so wide it gives them the freedom to be a pure country band but at the same time they can release their version of Southern Rock sensibilities.
Frank Smiley (L) and Ricky Hall (R) from The Last Heartbeats. Photo: CloudwatcherUno
For the future The Last Heartbeats are looking forward to releasing ‘TexaCali’ in February 2021, laying down some tracks in the studio, making an album and to performing live to an actual audience in a regional basis.
Click down below to hear the podcast from CloudwatcherUno featuring The Last Heartbeats. Also streaming on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Podcast Addict and wherever you listen to your podcasts.
James Steinle ~ A musician to warm the darkest parts of your heart.
James Steinle is a kindred spirit, a spirit that fills your ears with warmth and wonder. In this first episode of the New Year get ready to really listen to a singer whose voice reaches out from the darkness of the ether to transport you to a magical land. A land of music that runs parallel to ours but echoes the long lost songs of yesteryear. His lyrics and songs sound like lost songs from childhood or something that was on the radio when you were growing up but in fact was released in 2020. In this most horrendous of years music has been our saviour and one of those knight errant taking you on adventures is a boy who grew up in Saudi Arabia, lived in Germany and has now gone back home to South Texas.
James Steinle in action.
CloudwatcherUno sits down with James to talk about ‘Cold German Mornings’ his album released in what conventional A&R thinking would be a complete non starter but for James it made perfect sense when else should you release an album that has songs set in snowy Germany than in winter? The album itself is full of gems that sparkle in the night sky, these are not filler songs but ones that have been polished with care and attention, so that a professor of song writing would mark this album with distinction.
‘Cold German Mornings’ by James Steinle from the album Cold German Mornings.
We talk about his thinking behind such songs as ‘ Three Dark Kings’ in which James effortlessly switches between his western cowboy drawl to German. Even though you might not know it is being sung and subtitles would be welcome they aren’t necessary as the feeling and music carries you along with this nativity set song.
Then you have ‘Ein Schnapps, Ein Bier’ a song that wraps its way around your consciousness to make you get up and dance and has so infectious a melody that you’ll be singing it in the shower in no time. Then we switch direction again when we listen to ‘The Lusitania’ about the tragedy that befell this ship and the consequences it had not only for those who lost their lives but for the world as it was the catalyst for ensuring that America joined the western powers in WW1 and bring about the defeat of Germany.
On the album James gets to sing with Juliet McConkey whose voice complements his on so many levels. The couple also join forces on the video for their version of “Christmas on the Line” by Michael Martin Murphey.
James Steinle a knight errant looking for adventure in the world of music.
Other topics of conversation range from he who must not be named who is currently in The White House, to Gun Control, The reality behind The Bluebird Cafe and it’s lack of authenticity and how to reach a global audience for your music in the age of a pandemic. For more of what we discussed you’ll just have to listen into the podcast! So what are you waiting for an invitation? Go listen to James’s music even better go buy his music because we most certainly want more unique melodies and songs from a one of a kind Texas artist.
Having fun with James Steinle on the podcast. Photo: CloudwatcherUno
James has also just released a new song ‘The Ballad of Wan Hu’ to kick off 2021 in style. It tells the trueish story of the Chinese astronaut Wan Hu and his attempt to leave the earths atmosphere on a chair propelled by 47 rockets!
‘The Ballad of Wan Hu’ by James Steinle
Click down below to hear the podcast from CloudwatcherUno featuring James Steinle. Also streaming on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Podcast Addict and wherever you listen to your podcasts.
CloudwatcherUno PLAY.LISTEN.ENJOY. 