In the interests of full disclosure, I have to state that I have no idea when Willie Vlautin was born. And since he is the brains behind the best country rock outfit of the new century, and the known birthdays for 9.3. being small in number, I thought it consequential to trot him for your perusal. “Twyla” from his band Richmond Fontaine is an example of their remarkable instrumentals. Give it a couple listens. It grows on you in the traditions of “Nashville West” by the Byrds and “Northumberland West” by the Sadies. In fact they have devoted two lps entirely to instrumental music.
From their 2004 lp Post to Wire
From We Used to Think the Freeway Sounded Like a River, 2009
I guess much of the subject matter of their songs can be quite depressing. But isn’t music and art a frontier to exorcise our demons? The issues that roil inside people need something substantive to obviate em. Willie Vlautin’s songs operate in the ordinary soap operas of the current American West. He revels in the commonplace, the down to earth, the frankness of trouble. So for personal dramas that belong to each of us, Richmond Fontaine made 12 records exploring all the fuss. Except for playing out in their hometown Portland, Oregon they decided to travel America infrequently, appearing mostly in Europe.
I can only squirt a small portion of the work out here but highly recommend diving into their repertoire. In the transitory landscape of musical creativity, they left deep work mined from the ongoing foraging of rock, folk and country.
9.3.18 Memphis Slim
The Memphis pianist’s stunning 1950 classic combining stark religious and ecological truths. Oft covered through musical history.