From the ACL Taping Program on July 8, 2008:
After chart topping success with his band The Wallflowers, Jakob Dylan has gone solo with a new CD that shows off his songwriting abilities. Inspiration arrived when he went on tour opening for T-Bone Burnett, who produced the Wallflowers’ 1996 Grammy Award winning release Bringing Down the Horse. Dylan had only had only his Wallflowers material from which to draw, but playing those compositions alone on an acoustic guitar led to a revelation.
“That’s the way I wrote all those songs, and the way they sounded before exploring them with the Wallflowers,” Dylan said. “I knew that I wanted to write more songs I could play in that sort of setting. I wanted to write songs that sounded like they’ve been here forever, that feel like they were carved right from the mountain, not just made in some studio somewhere.” Those songs were completed earlier
this year when Dylan released his first solo CD.
Seeing Things contains “moments of timeless grace” (Spin) where “Dylan’s laid-back rasp, often laced with smoky harmonies, gains weight and texture” (Billboard). Entertainment Weekly wrote “The unplugged treatment brings Dylan’s strengths as a lyricist into sharp relief on his solo debut.”
But Seeing Things isn’t an end to Dylan’s work with the Wallflowers. The band is just on hiatus. “The Wallflowers are designed for a certain sound, and I needed something different. I have a great group, and I want to make more records with them. But I’ve never had a chance to hear my voice sound this way coming out of the speakers.”
From the ACL Taping Program on July 8, 2008:
Carrie Rodriguez stepped into the national spotlight with her unique collaboration with veteran songwriter Chip Taylor, which yielded three critically acclaimed albums of duets. But Rodriguez’s solo work has proven she is a master of intimate, honest songs that put an urbane, seductive spin on country and bluegrass.
Rodriguez grew up in Austin and spent time performing with her dad, singer-songwriter David Rodriguez. She took to classical music at a very age and seemed to be on the fast track to a classical career. She had second thoughts about her future, however, after Lyle Lovett, a family friend, invited Rodriguez to sit in with his Large Band. She soon began focusing on contemporary music.
During SXSW in 2001, Chip Taylor heard Rodriguez performing and asked her to join his touring band. This quickly resulted in onstage duets. “It was so foreign, using my voice after so many years of playing the violin,” she said. “It had been easy for me to hide behind my instrument.” The duo released several CDs together and then Taylor co-wrote and co-produced her solo debut, 2006’s Seven Angels on a Bicycle.
PureMusic wrote “Seven Angels on a Bicycle finds Rodriguez plumbing the depths of traditional country as well as experimenting stylistically. The end result is a tenacious collection of love-themed songs tied together by Rodriguez’s brassy contralto.” MOJO said “There’s a real earthiness in both Carrie’s singing and fiddle. She’s hot and steamy one minute and pure Nashville the next.”
Rodriguez’s follow-up release, She Ain’t Me, is also receiving early critical acclaim. The CD is due out later this year.
