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Fort Worth, Texas — “The place where
American roots music rules,” as one international broadcasting agency
boasts, is not necessarily America. Texas-based songwriter Earl Musick is
finding persuasive evidence of receptive audiences for his new CD,
Privateer (Reload Records), in
such distant locales as the Netherlands, Belgium, Ireland and Australia.
For Musick, a
prolific tunesmith whose catalogue of original works numbers in the
hundreds, this broadening awareness represents a plateau to compare with
such breakthroughs as singer Dan Roberts’ use of Musick’s collaborative
ballad “Angelina Dance” on the CD Viva
la Cowboy; and the selection of two of Musick’s tunes for the
soundtrack of the acclaimed independent film
EvenHand (2002).
Barely two months into its release from Reload
Record Co., and with a strategic advertising campaign in such publications
as the alt-country journal No Depression,
Privateer has begun
generating new levels of popular recognition for Musick. The
singer-songwriter and bandleader has recently completed high-profile
showcase engagements at North Texas’ Wildflower and Cottonwood festivals and
is in rehearsals for an appearance in August at Rainbow, Texas’ Raz on the
Braz Music Fest.
Meanwhile on all those other sides of the
planet, such selections from Privateer
as “Texas Moon,” a heavy-weather song; the romantic laments “San Antone” and
“Santa Cruz”; and the jazz-laced “Bright and Shiny Blues” have gone into
steady rotation since late May via Radio Parkstad, Radio LOK, Radio Bogdike
and Music Café ’t Veendammertje in the Netherlands; Jolly Roger Radio in
Ireland; and the globe-spanning U.S./U.K. frequencies of Twang Town U.S.A.
and Real Roots Café.
Privateer
can be obtained domestically at such Web sources as www.amazon.com,
www.lonestarmusic.com
and
www.cdbaby.com.
The label’s Web address is
Coupled with an extensive run of favorable
published reviews of Privateer
and Musick’s formation of a new backup band for his selectively booked,
in-person performances, the worldwide exposure has lent additional momentum
to Musick’s songwriting interests. He has occupied himself between
solo-album projects, as well, as a producer of acclaimed CDs by the
balladeers John Gomez (Head First)
and Amos Staggs (Scattered)
and the Brazos Bros. Band (Harmony Road).
Producing chores and performing notwithstanding,
Musick insists: “It’s all about songwriting, first of all. And then it’s
about songwriting, songwriting — and songwriting.”
The escalating foreign interest poses no mystery
to Musick.
“Americans have the attention span of a
chicken-fried rat,” he says. “Europeans are more laid-back and don’t put
much stock in glitz.
“I’m not sure of how large an audience it is,”
Musick adds. “I do know they appreciate the simplicity of roots music. Also,
the roots-music audience in Europe, unlike America, seems to understand the
soul of good storytelling.”
Musick has tracked the progress of
Privateer on a daily basis since
the CD’s release. His awareness of an international scene comes with the
territory, largely as a result of Musick’s belief in his work and his direct
participation in tracking its progress in the marketplace.
“I have a work ethic,” he explains. “I go to
work every day, and I check on things. If I don't hear from someone, I have
my record label contact them — simple, really!”
The exposure alone amounts to favorable
feedback, Musick adds.
“The fact that my album is getting attention is
the feedback,” he says. “These people receive up to 500 albums a week. If my
album is getting reviewed and is receiving airplay, then that’s a pretty
good indication that I’m doing something right. It doesn’t have to be
verbal.”
None of this attention, however, will influence
Musick’s approach to songwriting, he says, explaining that the international
response indicates he already is in touch with international tastes.
“I’m a songwriter — it’s that simple,” Musick
says. “I don’t gear my songs toward anyone or anything. I write what I
write, and if folks like it, that’s great. If not, it means I haven’t done a
very good job of songwriting.”
His passion for storytelling in songs — from the
lonesome character studies of “Angelina Dance” and “Santa Cruz,” to the
upbeat, personalized ironies of “San Antone” and “Hook, Line and Singer”
(also on Privateer) — has
sustained Musick over the long haul as a member of Texas’ competitive
community of roots-music artists. With
Privateer and the earlier CD
Done Deal (Reload Records), Musick has emerged decisively as a
solo artist after a lengthy span of near-anonymity as an ensemble player.
“I’d always thought that using the name
Musick might seem a little
pretentious, even though it’s my authentic family name,” Musick says. “Kind
of like calling yourself ‘Rock Starr’ or something like that. And so I kind
of low-profiled myself for a long time as a bandleader operating under the
name of the band.”
But no longer. Toward the end of the 1990s,
Musick set aside the familiar band-name — the Unsung Heroes — that had long
served as his performing identity and stepped out front as Earl Musick.
Done Deal
went into a second pressing shortly before the release of
Privateer. While working as a
composer and featured artist on Reload Records’ collaborative production of
a Texas ballads CD called Mortal Coils,
Musick also has begun planning his next solo disk.
“It’s all over the place, in terms of styles,”
Musick says of his taste in songwriting, “but it all boils down to a
selection of original songs that must work as purely acoustic pieces — just
guitar and voice — before we’ll start adding a rhythm section and other
layers of instrumentation. This hand-made Texas music that we specialize in
covers a lot of ground: Some of it has a country flavor, some might be
called folk, or rock, or blues — even jazz — but it all comes down to songs
that tell a story in direct, simple terms.”
In addition to being a prolific songwriter and a
versatile entertainer, Musick is also an accomplished left-handed guitar
player, utilizing an array of custom-designed, “backward” guitars — right
hand on the fretboard, left hand on the string-plucking end — instead of the
upside-down configuration that many other left-handed guitarists employ.
Following is a
selection of excerpts from reviews of
Privateer:
Chad Wheat, of
Roots Music Report:
“With a good combination of deep rooted vocals, a little Texas swing and a
touch of Southern rock, Privateer
has something for just about anyone. It will appeal to anybody looking for
that singer-songwriter sound mixed with a little Texas flair.”
Country Recinsie
of the Netherlands: “…
succeeds in making an album of different styles and does not leave the
country path too far… has the quality to get far in the alternative country
scene.”
CtrlAltCountry
of the Netherlands: “Done
Deal was a success, prompting more pressings… We would not be
surprised at all when Privateer has more success. Musick offers us a very
varied Texan musical meal. All the styles are present.”
Americana U.K.:
“… classy and
effortless music… the songs of a true hardcore troubadour, where you can
hear the years — in the playing, effortless and groove-y without being
slick, and in the vocals, gruff and worldly without being jaundiced.”
The new surge of activity from Musick is part of
a 20th-anniversary venture involving an aggressive new business plan for
Fort Worth-based Reload Record Co.
“Sooner or
later, you have to take matters into your own hands.” as Earl Musick tells
it. “You can’t assume that a record deal is just going to materialize —
especially when you’re a long way from Nashville or New York or Los
Angeles.” |
