This live record was recorded over 3 nights at intimate living room shows in Seattle WA in December of 2016. The shows were hosted at the home of Levi Seitz where he runs Black Belt Mastering Studio. Available March 21st with pre-orders starting today Live at Black Belt is a beautifully captured collection of Rocky’s songs spanning his decade plus solo career.
True Devotion [Digipak] by Rocky Votolato (CD, Feb-2010, Barsuk). Based on a True Story RAR! TRUE Discography TRUE albums / top albums. A folk-inflected roots rock band formed by singer and songwriter Stephen Kellogg in 2003 in Northampton, MA (most of the members were students at the nearby University of Massachusetts at Amherst), Stephen.
Including fan favorites: Portland is Leaving, White Daisy Passing, and Suicide Medicine. Also included is the brand-new previously unreleased song Little Charger — a tribute to the Standing Rock movement.
WAXWING were an odd sound. Not that it is elusive or weird, but the creation by these four gentlemen from about 1999-2002 is in a league all it's own. The sound is expertly crafted, doused in originality and accessible as all hell., who is widely known for his solo material and brother Cody from, Neon Blonde and Jaguar Love, among a plethora of other associated bands got back together at the beginning/middle of 2013, but I guess that never came to fruition as the band released nothing.
Regardless, their material demands a listen. ' One For the Ride' is amazing. The first two tracks solidify this as one of the greatest emo/rock/alternative albums ever. Starting with ' the band is able to perfectly harness the soft, dreamy, emotional arrangements with some cracking alternative rock. ' is a sing along masterpiece. Imagine 's 'Suicide Medicine' with a backing band and you're already there. There's a reason why it's the title track - because it's fucking amazing.
'Where Did the Time Go?' Is a slow, brooding, almost dancey affair which boasts some great guitars during the intro that will no doubt get your head boppin'. 'There Will Be a Reckoning' is the country tune but at 2:38 it flips back to 90s rock for a brief moment before delving further into almost Helmet-esque territory with some heavy riffing. This heavier, punkier second half comes with an accompanying wailing. 'Blue Days and Green Nights' is the penultimate slow, beautiful and haunting track on here. It's not unlike 'Where Did the Time Go?' In it's restrained power shrouded in sweet, soft lullabies.
Saving the best for last, ' is my WAXWING jam, no question. The build in this song is fucking epic and it's the best example of the band's myriad influences and polished songwriting style. Honestly, if you listen to any track make it this beauty.
The band's final venture ' Nobody Can Take What Everybody Owns' is a little more aggressive but also hints much more obviously at Rocky's country and folk roots. It's a great album but may not reach the pedestal that I've had ' One For the Ride' on for the last 15 years. It opens with ' which is definitely one of the stronger efforts WAXWING crafted. Warbly as his voice may be, the lyrics and powerful placement by Rocky along with very driving instrumentals that rise and fall, although probably fall directly into the harder category. ' is a poppier track that reminds me a lot more of ' One For the Ride', hot damn just listen to the high pitched/bubble gum vocal injection at 30 seconds in and the extremely infectious chorus.
'Place Called Houston' has a heavier country feel to the intro but at 0:42 the song slows down and darkens to the point where it's classic WAXWING. ' is a really cool song that suffers from attention deficit disorder as it jumps all over the place. Soft parts, fast parts, hand clapping, bouncy parts and sing-alongs. The 'Untitled Track' aids in showing off 's range of emotion-packed singing over a piano before the guitar licks slide in just after 1:10. This is probably a cover of something, but holy moly it packs a punch.