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John Bunzow
"I feel lucky to
have always made a living as a musician. I love to play." Portland, Oregon native John Bunzow
has been called one of the finest roots writer/musician on the current music
scene. Producer Pete Anderson (Dwight Yoakam, Meat Puppets, Steve Forbert)
said he is "…without doubt the best artist I've heard in recent
times." Chicago Tribune columnist Jack Hurst cites Bunzow with mixing
"the rootsy with the revolutionary" Bunzow's new CD, Darkness
and Light on Sideburn Records, was recorded live in a friend's
basement studio. "I was itching to get back to my roots music,"
Bunzow says, "That's the vibe I wanted - all one-take vocal and guitar
parts - just as they came down live. Just like we do out in the clubs."
The result is an eleven song guitar-driven alternative roots revival.
(Co-produced by John Bunzow and Brian Willis, mixed by Ray Kennedy)
His second Nashville sojourn resulted
in a songwriting deal with EMI and a recording contract with Liberty Records.
His critically acclaimed 1996 Pete Anderson-produced debut CD, Stories
of the Years, was released to press and radio, along with a single
and video. Unfortunately, just at the time the single was climbing the
charts, the label folded, ultimately becoming Capitol Nashville. And while
the CD was never released to the public, music journalists had heard enough
to proclaim him one the brightest new talents on music's horizon. Bunzow is
stoic about the unforeseen development. "That's showbiz" he laughs.
"It was disappointing at the time, but it caused me to re-focus. Music
by its very nature is progressive. It takes you where you need to go and I
found myself heading in a new direction." Following the Liberty Records label
break down, Bunzow divided his time between playing guitar for Decca
alternative artist Chris Knight, MCA's Allison Moorer, writing for Famous
Music (cuts by the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, artist Jack Ingram, produced by
Steve Earle/Ray Kennedy, and a song included in a major motion picture) and touring
in Europe and the Northwest club circuit. Darkness and Light is
the result of his odyssey. "I feel lucky to have always made a living as
a musician. I love to play." Tim Carroll
It stands to prove that a good song comes
down to the writing. Tim Carroll writes good songs. His songs are easy
rolling narratives, which make way for hook-laden six-stringing. That's why
the unjustly left-at-the-altar Carroll (jilted by Sire in the late '90s)
still remains poised on the brink of big things. A childhood in rural Indiana didn't
keep Carroll from succumbing to the fate of most college students, however,
when he wound up at Indiana University. He joined a punk band the Gizmos.
That band carried Tim to New York, released a 12" called Hoosier
Hysteria, and then went the way of most bands. Tim stuck around
though, and after a stint in an office on Wall Street, formed the Blue
Chieftains, a legendary New York bar-band that mixed country and rockabilly
and gave Tim "an excuse to play guitar." The Chieftains knocked out about 200
shows a year for 5 years, everything from a two-and-a-half year standing gig
at The Continental Divide to a show at Macys. But soon enough Tim felt the
lure of Nashville, the songwriter's Mecca in Tennessee. A vanishing
publishing deal in that town didn't stop folks like John Prine and Robbie
Fulks from using Tim's material, known for its witty realism as well as its
country-rockin' heft. Next up, a critically acclaimed album
for Sire Records generously outlined the ultimate music industry lesson; that
is, major labels don't know what to do with a good thing. The album lived in
limbo, never making it to retail, while the label floundered and failed.
Finally fed up, Tim seized the reins and released the album himself under the
none-too-subtle title Not For Sale. Another indie recording Free
Again, released in 1999, once again showoff his prolific writing and
endless gigging. Tim keeps busy as one of the most
sought after guitar player on the Nashville roots-rock scene. Recent
highlights include playing with 5 different acts at SXSW 2001, over 30
appearances at the Grand Ole Opry and guitar player for Nashville bad boy,
Lonesome Bob and Warner Nashville artist Elizabeth Cook. All these endeavors
have kept Tim's chops razor sharp and placed him firmly in the center of the
roots-rock / alt-country scene. With all his popularity, one would be
hard-pressed to open an issue of No Depression and not find Tim's name
somewhere within. And now… Tim graces Sideburn Records
with his new release Always Tomorrow. 14 stampeding tunes that
somehow marry the heart-broke soul of Roger Miller and Hank Williams with the
rock and roll attitude of Chuck Berry and The Ramones. The penultimate title
track, "Always Tomorrow", relaxed tone and all, brings things full
circle. An expertly written hopeful lament, it epitomizes the lessons learned
in Tim's life in the music business. For a musician with the indomitable
attitude and skills of Tim Carroll, the point is taken, if the industry knocks
you down, you get right back up and keep swinging, after all, there's always
tomorrow. For
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