Tag Archives: country

Jack Nolan Releases Single ‘She Knew’

March 17, 2023 Marshall Cullen

SHE KNEW is the fourth cut from Jack’s next LP set for release mid ’23.

What started as a little fingerpicker became one punchy alt folk pop number that grabs you from the top. Featuring Jack’s Gretsch fingerpicking hanging off Justin Weavers powerful electric guitar hooks, this song moves along at the pace of a storyteller running away. Like so much of Jack’s music, regret, joy, love, and redemption all play a part in this poetic soundscape.

Jack Nolan has delivered a true rocker for his new single. Electric guitars start the tune, a fast drum beat and classic arrangement make the tune ear catching and accessible straight away. This one would sit alongside classics Tom Petty, Paul Kelly and Springsteen for sure.

“Driving down to my mining town

I was swerving

I turned the wheel

I was drifting lanes

He’d broken down in traffic

I told her I loved her

She Knew”

And when all is said and done you can only do what’s possible; you can only be responsible for yourself.

About Jack Nolan

Based in Sydney, Australia, singer songwriter Jack Nolan has been performing and releasing music since the mid 1990’s. Along with a five-album solo catalogue Jack also fronted The Kelly Gang, with Rick Grossman, bassist for The Divinyls and Hoodoo Gurus, along with Midnight Oil drummer Rob Hirst and guitar player Martin Rotsey. Their 2004 album Looking for the Sun was critically adored along with their energetic live shows.

Once quaintly described as ‘Darlinghurst Country’, his sound unites elements of folk, country, rock ‘n’ roll and ambient atmospheres fusing Nolan’s passion for intensely charged electric guitar and finger-picked acoustic guitar.

The critically acclaimed 2018 album ‘Our Waverley Star’ was followed up by the equally impressive ‘Gabriel’. It was these two American outings that cemented Nolan’s love of Nashville and built from a connection with guitarist/producer Justin Weaver that started with a one-off phone call and developed into an alliance that Nolan describes as ‘Team America’. What’s now become a regular jaunt is an opportunity for Nolan to get away from all the distractions of home, and “arrive in town, in the northern winter, when everyone’s off the road, with my swag of songs to greet all the boys again to collaborate”.

Jack’s new album – JINDABYNE – is set for release thus year. This album has waited in the wings while lockdowns and rules meant the guitar took on a whole new meaning. “I arrived home from Nashville in early March 2020 with ‘Gabriel’ ready for mastering. One week later, the world turned on its axis and – lockdown. This created a sense of urgency in me, so I made a conscious decision not to waste the time and went to work writing JINDABYNE. As soon as the plane could fly I was booked and took off back to the US”.

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Vanleer and Co Releases Single ‘Time Machine’

March 3, 2023 Marshall Cullen

Central Coast artist William Vanleer AKA ‘Vanleer and Co’ release the debut single …..

This song was written as William’s way of honouring the loss of two close friends. As the song unfolded, it took William on a very personal journey, reminding him of things unsaid and always an unfulfilled desire to spend more time with a loved one or someone who has a special place in your life.

‘Time Machine was to be the song I needed to write and always wanted to write. It was to be the song I had been long since searching for from the very depths of my emotions; a song that would connect me with my past, my present and my future. A song that commemorates all those I have ever lost without being able to see them again or getting the chance to say goodbye along with those I am sure to lose in the near future.’ – William Vanleer

A mid-tempo Nashville sounding americana cut from William Vanleer. Electric guitar layers, bass, drums and a lyrical story everyone can relate to. This debut release sets the tone for many more to come from Vanleer & Co. Memories of the days of Kris Kristofferson and more recently Sturgill Simpson.

About William Vanleer

William is a singer/songwriter based on the beautiful Central Coast of NSW. Originally from rural NSW, he was born the son of a coal miner who also played in a country band. His passion for music began early with his father teaching him to play guitar.

He would spend much of his younger years harbouring a burning desire for his father to teach him to play, but wouldn’t pick up his first guitar until the age of 14 after being placed into foster care. While in care, William met his foster brother, Terry, who taught him to play Little Red Riding Hood by Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs. Written for a Walt Disney Mickey Mouse cartoon.

In the mid 80’s William began composing, but it was not until he found a collaborator/friend and poet, Frank, that he was able to complete compositions that he was happy with. In 1989/1990 they entered two compositions into the steel city songwriter’s competition that ran Australia & New Zealand wide, both pieces making it into the final.

Since then he has performed for a variety of charity events held by the NSW RFS and Land Care organisations, as well as countless open mics along with band support roles in and around the Central Coast.

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Jack Nolan Releases New Single ‘Oh My Darling’

January 12, 2023 Marshall Cullen

Oh My Darling is the third cut from Jack’s fifth solo album release ’23. A love so deep but a resignation, where you must stand by & watch the one you love work through a process where nothing you say can help, where all you can do is stand by & be there when it gets too much. Here’s yet another step, a story adding to Jack’s commitment of producing one album per annum because ultimately the best promotion is the hard work, the output, the live shows & the letting go of outcomes, the life.

Oh my darling

There’s nothing I can do

I will row the boat my darling

That I promise you

Oh my darling

There’s nothing I can say

I’ve played around with versus

Only words get in the way

Based in Sydney, Australia, singer songwriter Jack Nolan has been performing and releasing music since the mid 1990’s. Along with a five-album solo catalogue Jack also fronted The Kelly Gang, with Rick Grossman, bassist for The Divinyls and Hoodoo Gurus along with Midnight Oil drummer Rob Hirst and guitar player Martin Rotsey. Their 2004 album Looking for the Sun was critically adored along with their energetic live shows.

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The Mezcaltones Release New Single ‘If I Could Make You See’

January 6, 2023 Marshall Cullen

In the lead up to the band’s no less than 10 live performances at this years Tamworth Country Music Festival here’s the first cut from the forthcoming album.

Key dates
Jan 13 ‘If I could make you see’ digital single release(all platforms)
Jan 14 – 21 CD Album Agave Soiree Pre release available exclusively at Tamworth Live shows
March 1 CD Official release available via MGM
March 17 Digital Release Album Agave Soiree

Lyrically, ‘If I Could Make You See’ is an old story told with a twenty first century bias. Instead of the typical “Man goes off working while woman pines away waiting for his return“, it’s the man left behind to pine and wonder if his love will ever come back. This track bounces comfortably along on the back of some tasty Mezcaltones style bluegrass riffory. While the rhythm section lays down some Buck Owens/Buckaroos vibes, the modal guitar solo gives a respectful nod to the late 60’s Byrds/Flying Burrito Brothers’ style.

Classic country Mezcaltones style on this first cut from the new album for 2023 specially released for the Tamworth Music Festival. A tight snappy rhythm track with plenty of hooky country twang guitar. Col’s signature vocals and some catchy backing vocals in the chorus – what more do you need!

WHAT IS IT WITH THE MEZCALTONES?
Four guys dressed as cowboys and two women dressed like Spanish Mexican Señoritas that you might find in a Quentin Tarantino movie – two guitarists, a bassist, a drummer, a crazy front man and a beautiful dancer/percussionist.
Whilst their original songs have an alt country rockin’ blues flavour, the guitar tones also reach into the realms of 60’s surf instrumentals. With the band’s slick look and sharp costumes, THE MEZCALTONES are there to entertain.

THE MEZCALTONES comprise 6 experienced musicians who came together through their love of cool country rockin’ blues, and get down and get dirty Tex Mex sounds.

Don Juan – Texan Time Keeper with a Smooth Tequila Feel
Col Padre – Raspy Lead Vocals dripping with Desert Soul
El Shango – Lead Guitar possessed with tangy, psychedelic blues, magic finger licks
Lucre – Mezcaltonic Groovin’ Bass Sounds
Mimi – Spicy Seductress who shakes it like a Rattle Snake
Neralita – Queen of Southern Rhythm Strummin’

The Mezcaltones have previously played six Tamworth Country Festivals; Groundwater CMF; Sydney Blues & Roots Festival; Dashville Skyline Festival. Their latest album Mexican Hillbilly Surf Music debuted Top 10 in the Australian Blues & Roots charts.

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Jack Nolan Releases New Single ‘Reading Minds’

December 9, 2022 Marshall Cullen

READING MINDS is the second cut from Jack’s next LP set for release March ’23. This is a farewell, a song that sees the flag at half-mast.

There’s a backstory, and in this one instance, I’ve decided to repeat it. We were two little boys with our families buying ice creams. I was more friendly with his younger brother in my schoolyear, but on this day, I recall a tap on the shoulder, to turn around & watch my soon to be friend reach into a cabinet to take a handful of cigarette lighters. It was right then, that very act of delinquency, where I thought “he’s going to be my friend”
We became best friends, and we were lucky to survive as long as we did.

Cut to 1994, we’d reached a nadir & I ended the ride, I wanted him to join me, and for a while he did, but jail cells and more catastrophe awaited him.
It’s been a while now, but yea, he’s been on my mind. Where is he? Maybe he’s in the Bardo. Is it addiction, is it mental illness, is it both? Who knows.
I know for the last five years or so he’d spent a lot of time in and out of a psychosis of some sort, things were said, we lost touch, but we both know what the truth is.

Nobody likes talking about suicide, but I’ve come to thinking that maybe he couldn’t help it, and that horrific act serves as the ultimate statement of the failures we’ve all created, where the only way out for some of us, is to end it.
There’s simply no way to try and make sense of it all but maybe a song will help. Reading Minds is a deep pulse, delivered by the brilliant Jimmy Paxon @jimmypaxon & Chris ‘Cowboy’ Auty @autbra11 that floats my eerie Gretsch finger picker around a masterful Justin Weaver @notnotweaver soundscape & production.

“Farewell friend
Sleep softly now
Sleep softly I will be
Lost in a dream myself
Yeah maybe it was me
That made my mind up like a fool
Call me that don’t call me cruel
It could be worse it could be me
You are reading minds”

Music was our first and lasting bond, I know he would have loved this track.

Basic Credits
By Jack Nolan
Produced by Justin Weaver
Recorded @ Welcome to 1979 Nashville, February, 2022
Engineered by Chris Mara
Mixed by Mitch Furr @ Early Bird Studio Nashville
Mastered by Bobbi Giel @ Welcome to 1979

Personnel Credits
Jack Nolan – Vocals & guitars
Justin Weaver – Electric & acoustic guitars
Jimmy Paxson – Drums & percussion
Chris Autry – Bass guitar

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Slide Milligan Releases Debut Album ‘Blood Red River’

May 6, 2022 Marshall Cullen

Slide Milligan’s musical journey has been half a life in the making but sounds as exciting as the latest Australian Rock & Roll export being paraded around the world. After years and years of playing in bands through the late 80’s/90s, Dave “Slide” Milligan gave up his musical dreams to pursue a trade in rural fencing and woodworking. To unwind after working all day in the paddocks of rural Australia and his sawmill, Dave built himself a lap steel guitar.

Over the years he started to write a collection of exceptional songs that weren’t your usual “roots” music fare, mixing his hard rock background and his ability to tap into that authentic Australian sound. Despair and dread mixed with sunshine and water, and he caught the ear of local producers and with some help with production from Indie impresario Andy Clockwise (he was working on a fence on Clockwise’s farm when he was back from LA and the two lit a bonfire in the paddock), “Slide” has produced a psychedelic slide guitar masterpiece called “Blood Red River”. A pastiche of outlaw country, psychedelic post-punk & a different approach to the slide guitar. This music sounds familiar yet fresh in the current musical landscape. At the ripe old age of 52, this new artist is sure to make a splash in the country-indie-rock crossover here and abroad.

Song Descriptions
Feelin’ Fine
The track is an undeniable summer anthem in the vein of the Sunny Boys, Australian Crawl & The Church, and features vocals by Slide’s daughter Lani. The up-tempo “Australiana Classic” song rolls along with infectious melody and nostalgic production. Sure to resonate with fans of Classic Australian Pub Rock, Pink Floyd & Waylon Jennings.

Gasoline
Up-tempo drums begin this blues rock/indie tune. Produced by Andy Clockwise, who also did a brilliant job on the kit, this song is peppered with modern sounds but maintains a retro feel. Think Black Keys, Jack White and adding it to your list you can’t go wrong.

Slide Milligan – Blood Red River is out NOW (May 6th)
Foghorn/MGM

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Videos

Slide Milligan – Feelin Fine (Official)

Video April 8, 2022 Marshall Cullen

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Slide Milligan Releases Debut single – Feelin’ Fine

March 1, 2022 Marshall Cullen

For fans of Classic Australian Pub Rock, Pink Floyd & Waylon Jennings, ‘Feelin Fine’ is the first single from Slide Milligan. The track is an undeniable summer anthem in the vein of the Sunny Boys, Australian Crawl & The Church and features vocals by Slide’s daughter Lani.

Over the years he started to write a collection of exceptional songs that weren’t your usual “roots” music fare, mixing his hard rock background and his ability to tap into that authentic Australian sound. Despair and dread mixed with sunshine and water he caught the ear of local producers and with some help with production from Indie impresario Andy Clockwise (He was working on a fence on Clockwise’ farm when he was back from LA and the two lit a bonfire in the paddock) “Slide” has produced a psychedelic slide guitar masterpiece called “Blood Red River”. A pastiche of outlaw country, psychedelic post-punk & a different approach to the slide guitar. This music sounds familiar yet fresh in the current musical landscape. At the ripe old age of 52, this new artist is sure to make a splash in the country-indie-rock crossover here and abroad. Blood Red River will be released later this year.

Feelin’ Fine is OUT NOW on Foghorn/MGM

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Jack Nolan releases single Faster Than The Speed Of Change

February 4, 2022 Marshall Cullen

Sometimes a title or line drifts around for years, waiting for a song. Faster than the Speed of Change was just that, slowly waiting in the wings.

Into the dark
I drifted
Left behind
was gifted
To me but I couldn’t see
I heard you calling to me

The slow speed of change, or recognition, which rumbles along to a pulse via Jimmy Paxson’s mallets. A slow mover with a sparseness that invites a searing harmony and a crunching guitar to take the track home. A tribute song to a rich relationship that, at first, someone was too lost, too distracted to recognise.

I turned to look
I heard your voice
Love came
Faster than the speed of change

Jack Nolan is a singer songwriter based in Sydney, Australia, who’s s been performing and releasing music and albums since the mid 90’s. Along with a five-album solo catalogue Jack also fronted The Kelly Gang, with Rick Grossman, bassist for The Divinyls and Hoodoo Gurus along with Midnight Oil drummer Rob Hirst and guitar player Martin Rotsey. Their 2004 album Looking for the Sun was critically adored along with their energetic live shows of the time.

Within Nolan’s music, mysterious and shimmering chords unite his sound with that of the Americana genre, once quaintly described as ‘Darlinghurst Country’ uniting elements of folk, country, rock ‘n’ roll and ambient atmospheres fusing Nolan’s passion for intensely charged electric guitar and finger-picked acoustic guitar.

Having caught the Tennessee bug while finishing his 2018 album ‘Our Waverley Star’, Jack returned to Nashville in February 2020 for two weeks of recording and mixing with his friend and multi-instrumentalist Justin Weaver, known best as the Dixie Chicks’ guitarist. After the most intense and enjoyable fortnight possible, Jack headed home in March 2020, a day before a hurricane wiped out Nashville, and less than a week before the world changed forever, if the word Wuhan rings a bell.

And so it is, Jacks latest album, Gabriel, released October 2021, keeps the wheels moving on the meaningful passion of this writer and performer.

Faster Than The Speed Of Change single Out Now February 4
Quay Records/MGM.

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