Song Swap Soiree #2: Soulful Folk with a dash of madness

Charley Crockett, a true descendant of Davy Crockett, was born in a poor town in deep South Texas. His early years were spent between Texas and Louisiana, raised by a blues singing single mother in Dallas, and an uncle who introduced him to the big brass sound of the French Quarter in New Orleans where he would later learn how to play guitar as a street performer. In 2009, Crockett showed up in New York City, where he made a living captivating subway car audiences for several years before being discovered and offered a record deal as part of the street group "Trainrobbers." Deciding to take his chances in a rapidly changing music industry, Charley declined the offer and headed west to California instead. Of mixed Jewish/White/Creole dissent, he has a unique sound blending a rich and diverse heritage of both new and traditional music. Crockett has been compared to many artists from Bill Withers and Jerry Lee Lewis to Dr. John and Citizen Cope. Elusive, rebellious and self taught, Crockett is a true street made original from earlier times.


Optimism is not a word usually associated with a Nicholas Altobelli album. However, if you look hard enough, there are faint streaks of light all through his collection of new songs entitled Searching Through That Minor Key (out on July 7th via Dalton Records).

Shortly before the release of the 2013 acclaimed album, Without a Home, which was praised by No Depression as “pop perfection,” Altobelli quietly entered the studio to work on new music. “I went in with no plans to make another album. I just wanted to hoard as many songs as I could for my song vault and release them many years later if at all,” Altobelli recalls. However, it was quite clear early on that there was something special going on.

Once again, Salim Nourallah (Old 97’s, Rhett Miller) was at the reigns guiding an all-star lineup of Texas musicians that included John Dufilho (Deathray Davies), Joe Reyes (Grammy winner), Paul Slavens, Chris Holt (Sorta), Laura Scarborough, Rahim Quazi and many others.
By the time Halloween of 2013 arrived, the album was 85% finished and was on pace for a second quarter 2014 release.

However, Altobelli was confronted with growing troubles at home. “My marriage was crumbling and there was nothing I could do. The only thing I could do was put the album on hold indefinitely,” he says. “And being the dedicated, or overly obsessed, songwriter I am, I began to write new music and that’s where the Mesocyclone EP materialized.”

Mesocyclone was recorded during the hiatus from Searching Through That Minor Key during the winter of 2013/2014. The EP was released in August of 2014 to acclaim. Exclaim! Magazine in Canada called it “Americana roots perfection” and the EP also garnered local praise in North Texas.

After Mesocyclone, Altobelli almost decided to scrap the unfinished album. “There was a point where I didn’t know if I connected with these songs,” he says. “I’m used to writing about my inner turmoil with nothing but darkness. However, these songs had faint glows of optimism and it felt foreign to me.”

The light he references can be found subtly throughout the album. The lead single, “Sarah,” reminisces about a high school crush, “Dogwood” embraces a life path and decision, and “In The Morning” begins with the hopeful lyric, “Death may come a little too close/But I will feel alive in the morning.”

While there is a hopeful light to a majority of the songs, this would not be a Nicholas Altobelli album without some darkness. “Painted Aeroplanes” tackles the death of his grandfather, “Alabaster” narrates the story of a recently passed individual pleading with his survived lover to find new love, and “Pile of Leaves” is a journey through an autumn afterlife in search for an eternal home.

One of the most peculiar songs of Altobelli’s catalog can be found on this album. “Metal Tree” (the only song on the album in a minor key) tells the story of two astronauts whose love for each other is eroding while they struggle to live on the moon’s desolate surface. “This song has been in my back pocket for a long time, waiting to be released,” Altobelli explains. “I have no idea where this song came from. It is one of those that falls in your lap like a feather. If you don’t grab it quickly, it will blow away and be lost forever, or end up on someone else’s lap. I was lucky and snatched it up before anyone noticed.”

Certainly it is the most varied collection of songs Nicholas Altobelli has recorded, with both light and shade well represented. The search through that minor key will probably never be over but for this trip, Altobelli has made some important discoveries.


Cameron Matthew Ray writes songs of honesty. Sharing the stage with many artist including David Cook, Andrew Belle, Gungor, and many more Cameron always wears his heart on his sleeve. With a unique folk sound accompanied by classical musicians, Cameron's music is a very distinctive sound.


"Cameron had a more subtle way of plucking his guitar, something that was complimented well by the his accompanying clarinet player, while his voice shown as the main focal point" - The Music Enthusiast


Matthew Gray began his young career as a solo performer playing locally while fine tuning his craft for songwriting. Before long it became apparent that his musical vision included more orchestration and hands; enter The Arrogant Sea. Watching them play together is a magical experience filled with dreamy omnichord pop and hints of folk psychedelia.


“You can smell the heartache on my breath,” declares singer-songwriter Vincent Neil Emerson on “Lady Luck,” the opening tune of his new self-titled EP. More dramatically, you can hear the heartache loud and clear in this cherub-faced musician’s extraordinary voice. Fitting somewhere between the nasal mournfulness of James Taylor and the cheeky self-awareness of Sufjan Stevens, Emerson has a beautiful, lilting delivery that, like his delicate and silky acoustic guitarwork, takes its time making a point but doesn’t bore with that unhurried ease.

The EP offers a tasty plate of lo-fi coffeehouse folk-blues, just Emerson and his ax (barely) keeping each other company in a hushed studio. “Two Hearts” is even sadder than “Lady Luck,” if that’s possible, as Emerson ponders split personalities and wrecked romances. Believe it or not, tempo and mood start to pick up with the next tune, “Easy to Die” –– Emerson plays a series of quick repeating chords like chimes while he sighs, “I’ve been dreaming lately of the life I used to know / Where the world was an easy place to be.”

The EP’s slightly more upbeat closer, “Southern Belle,” begins with the priceless couplet: “I fell in love with a nice young girl / Who came from hell.” The aristocratic young Dixie woman in question spends a lot of time pondering whether Emerson is too much of a loser to bother with, but listeners know better. This young musician is a keeper, an artist with that rare ability to keep you hanging on every minor chord change and bluesy inflection. –– Jimmy Fowler (The Fort Worth Weekly}


"Less than a minute is all it takes for Fort Worth singer/songwriter Vincent Neil Emerson to make a powerful impression, singing of “smelling heartache on [his] breath” in Lady Luck, the first of four tracks found on his new eponymous EP.

Emerson’s voice is backed by nothing more than acoustic guitar, but throughout this 13-minute showcase, the 22-year-old repeatedly demonstrates a flair for evoking life’s extremes — love, death — in economical, emotional language. ( "Easy to Die" even packs a heartrending twist into its three and a half minutes: “Life can be so hard/But don’t you close them eyes,” Emerson pleads.) It’s a striking collection, and one which suggests a star being born. " - Star Telegram