A Red House web-series featuring Red House artists performing live in our cozy storage room.
Robin & Linda Williams
Robin & Linda Williams and Their Fine Group swung by the Storage Room a while ago to play some tunes from their Billboard charting album These Old Dark Hills. The record is pure Americana from start to finish and features all the harmonies and catchy choruses that the Williams' have become known for. When they performed "Arizona" for us, it was the first time we had heard the song and every one of us was blown away. One of the other songs they debuted for was the song "Tessie Mae" a fun, rollicking ode to their dog, Tessie Mae. In fact, as we were taping this session, Tessie Mae sat quietly on the couch behind Robin and Linda.
Robin & Linda have been making great music for nearly 40 years and watching them perform is like experiencing an American treasure first hand. We had a blast making these videos, so we hope you have fun watching them!
Jon Rodine (2012 Barnfest Performer)
This has never happended before. We're featuring a Red House employee in the Storage Room! Our office captain and shipping guru, Jon Rodine will be our featured MN Songwriter Spotlight performer at Barnfest this year and we think you guys are really going to enjoy his music. A mix of roots and soul, Jon has one of the more distinctive voices in the Twin Cities and his songwriting is nothing short of great. Dean Magraw (who will also be performing at Barnfest) sat in with Jon on his session to add some tasty flourishes and what we got was lightning in a bottle. Jon recently released a fantastic album, Last Star which will be for sale at Barnfest. Here are "Hey You," "Congratulate Your Love," and "Last Star" from the record!
Jon kicks off Barnfest at 1 pm on August 4th, so be sure to get there early so you don't miss any of the set!
Michigan based songwriter Drew Nelson was in town recently to celebrate the release of his Red House debut Tilt-A-Whirl and he was kind enough to tape another installment of Live from the Red House Storage Room. The new record is a fantastic Americana and folk album that is start to finish a record of incredible story songs. As a man who loves listening to other's stories, Drew is able to turn the stories of folks he meets on the road into musical gems that resonate with a universiality and hum-along melodies that render the stop button on your CD player obsolete.
Not only is Drew a critically acclaimed songwriter he's also an amazing guitar player who, as you'll see and hear, fills a room with his voice and guitar. We hope you enjoy this introduction to one of our newest artists and don't forget that you can catch him again in the Twin Cities area on August 4th as he'll be one of the performers at this year's Barnfest!
Paul Geremia
Don't tell Jack White, but there is a hipper cat out there who's been keeping the flame of traditional/acoustic blues burning for the last 40 years. That would be Paul Geremia, an icon of acoustic blues and master of 6 and 12 string guitar fingerpicking. The man conjures the soul of "Blind" Lemon Jefferson while oozing his influences of those he's performed with including Son House and Howlin' Wolf. Paul's sound is as authentic as it gets mixing pre-war jazz styles with country blues drawing from an array of material including blues traditionals as well as mixing in a few of his own finely penned originals. A roadwarrior with a rugged voice, his more than 40 year career has made him a towering figure of acoustic blues whom Rolling Stone hailed as "one of the finest blues artists."
Love My Stuff, his first album in 7 years is a collection of classic Paul performances captured from the board tapes from venues across the country. Between stories and jokes, Paul put on a soulful performance in the Storage Room hitting four cuts from Love My Stuff including "Dr. Jazz," "Kickin' in the Country," "See See Rider," and "Shuckin' Sugar Blues." This record is an acoustic blues treasure from one of the world's foremost purveyors of blues!
Danny Schmidt & Carrie Elkin
Austin singer-songwriters Danny Schmidt and Carrie Elkin were in town for the Red House Live from the Landmark Center music series and what better way to celebrate an exciting, sunny Friday afternoon than a Storage Room session! Both artists put out stellar albums in early 2011, each showcasing their uncanny ability to weave layered lyrics with their signature melodies. Consummate roadworries, Carrie and Danny have been touring together and seperately across the nation and back again to an ever-growing legion of fans and even managing to skip across the ocean to bring their brand of folk to the UK.
Here we caught these two performing tunes from their latest Red House albums (Call it My Garden, Man of Many Moons), adding lush harmonies to each others songs to bring a fresh texture to these already magnificant tunes.
Ray Bonneville
The bad man himself, Ray Bonneville was in town to kick off our Red House Live from the Landmark concert series, so we seized the oppurtunity to film him in our storage room. Nobody does it like Ray. A one man band with a reverb soaked guitar, sexy grooves and his newest offering, Bad Man's Blood is an album that takes his award-winning songwriting to a new pinnacle. The record is an Americana gem with a dark, gritty vibe that takes you through the back alleys of city streets at night, introducing us to shady characters as well as exploring the follies of love. A true master of his craft.
With the lights dimmed low and our first electrified Storage Room session, Ray pulled off some of the album's hard hitters with the opening title track to Bad Man's Blood, his refurbished Anglo-French "Blonde of Mine" and the summery album closer "Funny 'bout Love" which Ray admits that up until this point he had rarely performed live. Ray Bonneville is a magnetic performer who exemplifies the power of a less is more philosophy. So sit back and get a sip of Bad Man's Blood.
Andra Suchy (Barnfest 2011 performer)
Andra Suchy is a true country/folk musician with an authentic sound that waivers in the dust of a gravel road as much as it soars over open prairie fields. Andra is a charasmatic performer with a kickin' pair of boots whose regular appearances on A Prairie Home Companion have put her along side of some of the most respected artists in music from Emmylou Harris to Brad Paisley and many more.
As the newest member of Red House and a featured performer this year at Barnfest, Andra Suchy was able to swing by the Storage Room (fresh off the Prairie Home Cruise) with Andrew Pierzina (guitar) and Shane Akers (dobro) for a quick session and preview some tunes from her Red House debut, Little Heart. Enjoy!
Jorma Kaukonen & Barry Mitterhoff
When a rock 'n' roll legend stops by your office with a guitar in hand, you'd be a fool to not ask for a performance. Well, we're no fool's here at Red House, so that's exactly what we did when Jorma Kaukonen stopped by the office during his Midwest solo tour.
Along with mandolin wizard Barry Mitterhoff the guys flawlessly played tunes from the new Hot Tuna record, Steady As She Goes as well as the blues tune "Come Back Baby." As you can see and hear by this knockout performance, Jorma and Barry made our Storage Room feel like the Fillmore. Next time we'll try and can get the whole band in, but until that day, sit back and take in one of the legends of rock, folk and roots music!
Archie Fisher
At the beginning of his North American tour, Scottish folk legend Archie Fisher was gracious enough to swing by the office for a wonderful Storage Room Session. Bearing a gift of fine Scotch whiskey, an arsenal of jokes and his new guitar, Archie performed three amazing tunes, "Mary Ann," "Lord of the May," and "Song for a Friend." With an uncanny ability to leave you hanging on every word through his fluid guitar work and masterful balladry, Archie's captivating performance was worthy of a great music hall, but we were lucky enough to host it in our own comfy back room complete with a sing-along.
Archie's musical talent and inspiration is second-to-none and as A Member of the British Empire and long-time host of the award-winning BBC Radio show "Travelling Folk" his mark on folk music is unmeasurable. His 2008 album Windward Away was more than 15 years in the making, but well-worth the wait and with a new album on the horizon you can look forward to more amazing music from this folk music icon!
Robin & Linda Williams and Their Fine Group swung by the Storage Room a while ago to play some tunes from their Billboard charting album These Old Dark Hills. The record is pure Americana from start to finish and features all the harmonies and catchy choruses that the Williams' have become known for. When they performed "Arizona" for us, it was the first time we had heard the song and every one of us was blown away. One of the other songs they debuted for was the song "Tessie Mae" a fun, rollicking ode to their dog, Tessie Mae. In fact, as we were taping this session, Tessie Mae sat quietly on the couch behind Robin and Linda.
Michigan based songwriter Drew Nelson was in town recently to celebrate the release of his Red House debut Tilt-A-Whirl and he was kind enough to tape another installment of Live from the Red House Storage Room. The new record is a fantastic Americana and folk album that is start to finish a record of incredible story songs. As a man who loves listening to other's stories, Drew is able to turn the stories of folks he meets on the road into musical gems that resonate with a universiality and hum-along melodies that render the stop button on your CD player obsolete.
Don't tell Jack White, but there is a hipper cat out there who's been keeping the flame of traditional/acoustic blues burning for the last 40 years. That would be Paul Geremia, an icon of acoustic blues and master of 6 and 12 string guitar fingerpicking. The man conjures the soul of "Blind" Lemon Jefferson while oozing his influences of those he's performed with including Son House and Howlin' Wolf. Paul's sound is as authentic as it gets mixing pre-war jazz styles with country blues drawing from an array of material including blues traditionals as well as mixing in a few of his own finely penned originals. A roadwarrior with a rugged voice, his more than 40 year career has made him a towering figure of acoustic blues whom Rolling Stone hailed as "one of the finest blues artists."
Austin singer-songwriters Danny Schmidt and Carrie Elkin were in town for the Red House Live from the Landmark Center music series and what better way to celebrate an exciting, sunny Friday afternoon than a Storage Room session! Both artists put out stellar albums in early 2011, each showcasing their uncanny ability to weave layered lyrics with their signature melodies. Consummate roadworries, Carrie and Danny have been touring together and seperately across the nation and back again to an ever-growing legion of fans and even managing to skip across the ocean to bring their brand of folk to the UK.
The bad man himself, Ray Bonneville was in town to kick off our Red House Live from the Landmark concert series, so we seized the oppurtunity to film him in our storage room. Nobody does it like Ray. A one man band with a reverb soaked guitar, sexy grooves and his newest offering, Bad Man's Blood is an album that takes his award-winning songwriting to a new pinnacle. The record is an Americana gem with a dark, gritty vibe that takes you through the back alleys of city streets at night, introducing us to shady characters as well as exploring the follies of love. A true master of his craft.
Andra Suchy is a true country/folk musician with an authentic sound that waivers in the dust of a gravel road as much as it soars over open prairie fields. Andra is a charasmatic performer with a kickin' pair of boots whose regular appearances on A Prairie Home Companion have put her along side of some of the most respected artists in music from Emmylou Harris to Brad Paisley and many more.
When a rock 'n' roll legend stops by your office with a guitar in hand, you'd be a fool to not ask for a performance. Well, we're no fool's here at Red House, so that's exactly what we did when Jorma Kaukonen stopped by the office during his Midwest solo tour.
At the beginning of his North American tour, Scottish folk legend Archie Fisher was gracious enough to swing by the office for a wonderful Storage Room Session. Bearing a gift of fine Scotch whiskey, an arsenal of jokes and his new guitar, Archie performed three amazing tunes, "Mary Ann," "Lord of the May," and "Song for a Friend." With an uncanny ability to leave you hanging on every word through his fluid guitar work and masterful balladry, Archie's captivating performance was worthy of a great music hall, but we were lucky enough to host it in our own comfy back room complete with a sing-along.
