The definitive, authorized, and first-ever biography of Terry Allen, the internationally acclaimed visual artist and iconoclastic songwriter who occupies an utterly unique position straddling the disparate, and usually distant, worlds of conceptual art and country music.    “People tell me it’s country music,” Terry Allen has joked, “and I ask, ‘Which country?’” For nearly sixty years, Allen’s inimitable art has explored the borderlands of memory, crossing boundaries between disciplines and audiences by conjuring indelible stories out of the howling West Texas wind.
 
In Truckload of Art, author Brendan Greaves exhaustively traces the influences that shaped Allen’s extraordinary life, from his childhood in Lubbock, Texas, spent ringside and sidestage at the wrestling matches and concerts his father promoted, to his formative art-school years in incendiary 1960s Los Angeles, and through subsequent decades doggedly pursuing his uncompromising artistic vision. With humor and critical acumen, Greaves deftly recounts how Allen built a career and cult following with pioneering independent records like Lubbock (on everything) (1979)—widely considered an archetype of alternative country—and multiyear, multimedia bodies of richly narrative, interconnected art and theatrical works, including JUAREZ (ongoing since 1968), hailed as among the most significant statements in the history of American vernacular music and conceptual art.
 
Drawing on hundreds of revealing interviews with Allen himself, his family members, and his many notable friends, colleagues, and collaborators—from musicians like David Byrne and Kurt Vile to artists such as Bruce Nauman and Kiki Smith—and informed by unprecedented access to the artist’s home, studio, journals, and archives, Greaves offers a poetic, deeply personal portrait of arguably the most singularly multivalent storyteller of the American West.

Truckload of Art By Brendan Greaves Read by Jason Culp, Brendan Greaves

This album will be released on September 18, 2015. 
Order from label: paradiseofbachelors.com/shop/pob-021/
Order from Bandcamp: jameselkingtonandnathansalsburg.bandcamp.com/album/ambsace
Other options: lnk.to/PoB21
Artist page: paradiseofbachelors.com/james-and-nathan

***

The second album of astonishing duets by guitarists James Elkington (who has toured and/or recorded with Jeff Tweedy, Richard Thompson, and Steve Gunn, among others) and Nathan Salsburg (an accomplished soloist deemed by NPR “one of those names we'll all associate with American folk guitar”) is a sublime suite of nimble, filigreed compositions by two singular stylists. Belying its title—ambsace is the lowest throw of dice; snake eyes—the record thrives on a gentle empathy and generosity of spirit, sitting sneakily protean original compositions alongside gorgeous arrangements of songs by Duke Ellington and The Smiths at the same big hand-hewn table.

"Their playing and guitar tones are so complementary, so perfectly wed, that I wouldn’t hesitate to put the duo up there with some of the very best acoustic guitar partnerships: Stefan Grossman and John Renbourn come immediately to mind, as does the work of Richard Crandell and Bill Bartels." - Work & Worry

Ambsace

Buy LP/CD/digital

James Elkington & Nathan Salsburg - Ambsace: "Up of Stairs" (2015, PoB-21)

Buy from label: http://www.paradiseofbachelors.com/shop/pob-029
Bandcamp: https://michaelchapman.bandcamp.com/album/50
Other options: https://lnk.to/PoB29

Michael Chapman 
50
LP/CD/Digital
PoB-29
Worldwide Release Date: 1/16/17

http://www.paradiseofbachelors.com/michael-chapman

After five decades of recording and touring, veteran British songwriter and guitar sage Michael Chapman has finally made what he calls his “American record,” and the aptly titled 50 now stands as his late career masterwork, a moving legacy statement by a legend. Backed by a collaborative group of friends and acolytes—Steve Gunn (who also produced), Nathan Bowles (Pelt), James Elkington (Jeff Tweedy), Jason Meagher (No-Neck Blues Band), Jimi SeiTang (Rhyton), and fellow UK songwriting luminary Bridget St John—Chapman tears into both bold renderings of new songs and radical reinterpretations of material from his revered catalog, the crack band adeptly scaling the same rarefied sonic heights of classic Harvest albums like Fully Qualified Survivor, guided by a true survivor’s instinct, wit, and wisdom. The result is a sublime chiaroscuro self-portrait, more shadow than light, as an invigorated Chapman wrestles with weighty themes of travel, memory, mortality, and redemption, his world-weary whispers assuming the incandescent power of prophecy. Deluxe package includes tip-on jacket, printed inner sleeve, lyrics, and download card with two bonus tracks.  

A master guitarist and songwriter ... The godfather of experimental rock guitar … Calls to mind the fabled intricacy of Pentangle heavy-hitters John Renbourn and Bert Jansch, the muscular authority of Jimmy Page, and the maverick edge of Roy Harper, without once compromising its own indisputably Chapman-esque character. Anyone who thinks Jim O’Rourke was the first to combine rock structures, world-weary vocals, American Primitive-tinged guitar instrumentals, and avant-garde noise interludes is in for a shock. – MOJO 

A world-class songwriter. Terrifically unpredictable … beyond any genre tag. – Pitchfork

He shreds on acoustic guitar the way Kandinsky wails with a paintbrush. – Thurston Moore  

Acute emotional reporting in a gruff seaman-poet's voice, supported by the quiet ingenious strength of his acoustic-guitar motifs. – Rolling Stone

A master … a distinctive talent who stands comparisons to John Fahey. – Uncut

The sound of a real songwriter who's lived a real life and all that entails. – Q

Michael Chapman: 50 – "Sometimes You Just Drive" (2017, PoB-29)

ORDER LP/CD - http://wharfcatrecords.com/store/pre-order-joey-agresta-lets-not-talk-about-music
ORDER LP/CD ON BANDCAMP - https://wharfcatrecords.bandcamp.com/album/pre-order-lets-not-talk-about-music
ORDER ON APPLE MUSIC - https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/lets-not-talk-about-music/id1217572163

Joey Agresta is a former north New Jerseyan who now lives with his wife and cat above a Burlington Vermont junk shop (where he also works). Let's Not Talk About Music was created over the course of three years with Agresta arranging, performing, recording, and mixing it in the cozy confines of his bedroom studio. Though many devices were used in the recording of this album computers were completely avoided and the majority was done on the Akia MG-614 (1/8" cassette 4 track) and MG- 1214 (1/2" cassette 12 track).
Appreciators of the New England underground might know Joey from his days of recording bizarre songs on erase headless, multi layering, portable tape recorders under various, food themed, pseudonyms (Joey Pizza Slice, Son of Salami, Salami Junior, ect..) and his releases on the venerable Night People and Feeding Tube labels (as well as countless self released and custom, one-off cassettes). Agresta's songs have also been admired by some very above-ground acts over the years, among them Future Islands and The Parquet Courts -- the later split a 7" with Agresta in 2015.
Contained here are songs of a hopeful sadness that mirror the darkness of these times and the decaying heart of the songsmith. This is Agresta's most personal and sincere work thus far, sounding much more sonically refined than his grittier past exploits. But in a world filled with so much talk perhaps its best we say no more, as the title suggests, and let the music speak for itself.
JOEY AGRESTA PRESS
Stereogum Streams "I Feel Like Shit And I Want To Die" It's Friday, I can relate.
Ad Hoc Premieres "I Feel Like Shit And I Want To Die" It's one of the most accessible and relatable things Agresta has ever made; and one of the saddest too.

JOEY AGRESTA PAST PRESS
Tiny Mix Tapes Review of Bacon City ...the songwriting is as impeccable as you're likely to find anywhere else...
Pitchfork Announcement of Split 7" with Parquet Courts
Vice Creators Piece Brilliant and kind of scary at the same time.
Stereogum Announcement of Split 7" with Parquet Courts

BUY LP/CD

Joey Agresta - I Feel Like Shit And I Want To Die (from the Let's Not Talk About Music LP)

Robert Lax - Sea & Sky / Black & White

Readers : Robert Lax & Robert Wolf
Recorded in New York City (1974)

Released on Compact Cassette only (1981, exit & exempla, IT)

With permission of the Robert Lax Literary Trust.

Robert Lax - Sea & Sky / Black & White

I had Brendan Greaves, who runs the inimitable Paradise Of Bachelors label out of Chapel Hill, over for a chat about music, records, art, Philadelphia, Craig Kilborn and a host of other topics. 

Visit them at http://www.paradiseofbachelors.com/

Featured Song: "Have You Ever Seen Peaches Growing On A Sweet Potato Vine" by Jake Xerxes Fussell

Follow us here www.facebook.com/thepeopleonmyfloor/
Or subscribe on iTunes here apple.co/2tpZrng

Brendan Greaves of Paradise Of Bachelors - Ep. 5

Will Oldham is an enigmatic singer/songwriter who commonly performs under the name Bonnie "Prince" Billy. For decades, his music and lyrics have explored the human experience with great intensity and respect. With an ear finely tuned to history, Oldham speaks candidly about the role music plays in the past, present and future of our culture in this new interview.

(Season 2, Episode 07 - Revolutionary Writers)

2.07. The Songwriter: Bonnie "Prince" Billy

Exclusive all-vinyl mix from SONIDERO MIXTECO ahead of our homecoming Brooklyn show at Elsewhere (Hall) w/ Crumb & Caleb Giles on May 25.

Tickets: https://ticketf.ly/2HygY3g

Sonidero Mixteco: ELSEWHERE MIX

Jake Xerxes Fussell
Out of Sight
LP/CD/Digital
PoB-042
June 7, 2019

On his third and most finely wrought album yet, guitarist, singer, and master interpreter Fussell is joined for the first time by a full band featuring Nathan Bowles (drums), Casey Toll (bass), Nathan Golub (pedal steel), Libby Rodenbough (violin, vocals), and James Anthony Wallace (piano, organ). An utterly transporting selection of traditional narrative folksongs addressing the troubles and delights of love, work, and wine (i.e., the things that matter), collected from a myriad of obscure sources and deftly metamorphosed, Out of Sight contains, among other moving curiosities, a fishmonger’s cry that sounds like an astral lament (“The River St. Johns”); a cotton mill tune that humorously explores the unknown terrain of death and memory (“Winnsboro Cotton Mill Blues”); and a fishermen’s shanty/gospel song equally concerned with terrestrial boozing and heavenly transcendence (“Drinking of the Wine”).

“In our house we’ve listened to more Jake Fussell than any other individual artist over the past year. Jake lives in music as a true time-artist, using the qualities of time itself as irreplaceable elements of content. As long as Jake Fussell is making records and playing shows, there is ample cause for optimism in this world.” – Bonnie “Prince” Billy

"Jake Xerxes Fussell is a national treasure.” – Aquarium Drunkard

“His burly, winking voice is made for storytelling.” – NPR

“Achingly beautiful. He has an uncanny ability to illuminate the present by propping up a window against the past.” – Uncut

“Jake understands that old songs weren’t always old. On his third album, he’s subtly shading his music with more instruments. It’s still uncluttered. Still melancholy. Still threaded through with that elegant, deceptively simple guitar—its tone like no other. This is a journey you need to share.” – Colin Escott, author of Hank Williams: The Biography

http://www.paradiseofbachelors.com/jake-xerxes-fussell/

Out of Sight

Buy LP/CD/DL/stream

Jake Xerxes Fussell: Out of Sight - "Jubilee" (2019, PoB-042)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1XzY2ij_vL4

Ransom

Terry Allen and the Panhandle Mystery Band
Just Like Moby Dick
PoB-055
2xLP/CD/digital
January 24, 2020

www.paradiseofbachelors.com/shop/pob-055
www.paradiseofbachelors.com/terry-allen
http://lnk.to/PoB55

Iconic and iconoclastic Texan songwriter and visual artist Terry Allen’s heartbreaking, hilarious new album, his first set of new songs since 2013’s Bottom of the World, features the full Panhandle Mystery Band, including co-producer Charlie Sexton (Dylan, Bowie, Blaze), Shannon McNally, and Jo Harvey Allen; mainstays Bukka Allen, Richard Bowden, and Lloyd Maines; and co-writes with Joe Ely and Dave Alvin. The connections to Melville’s masterpiece are metaphorical and allusive, as elusive as the White Whale. The masterly spiritual successor to Lubbock (on everything), Just Like Moby Dick casts its net wide for wild stories, depicting, among other monstrous things, Houdini in existential crisis, the death of the last stripper in town, bloodthirsty pirates (in a pseudo-sequel to Brecht and Weill’s “Pirate Jenny”), the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan (in the “American Childhood” suite), a vampire-infested circus, mudslides and burning mobile homes, and all manner of tragicomic disasters, abandonments, betrayals, bad memories, failures, and fare-thee-wells. 

The deluxe tip-on gatefold 2×LP package features lyrics, color labels, high-res Bandcamp download code, three sides of music, and a fourth side vinyl etching artwork by Allen.

Allen’s songs extract strangeness from the known world & use it as a means of acquiring greater knowledge ... which is as good definition of wisdom as any. – The New Yorker

He’s pretty close to a master lyricist. – The New York Times

Riveting. – NPR

Stunning. – Pitchfork

Aural brilliance. – The Wire

Uniformly eccentric & uncompromising, savage & beautiful, literate & guttural. – Rolling Stone 

Allen carries the dust of West Texas in his throat, with a voice like a coyote’s yip & a twang like wind-thrummed barbed wire. – Bandcamp Daily

There may be no greater maverick in all of country music. – AllMusic

A true legend & a hero. I love Terry’s music so much. – Kurt Vile

Just Like Moby Dick

2xLP/CD/DL/stream

Terry Allen & The Panhandle Mystery Band - "Harmony Two"

Paradise of Bachelors is a Record Label, Soundsystem, and Archive located in the North Carolina Piedmont and in the subluminal aether. We are dedicated to documenting, curating, and releasing under-recognized musics of the American vernacular, with an emphasis on the South, broadly defined. 

Paradise of Bachelors is available for licensing, disc-jockeying engagements, music supervision, folklife consultation, research and writing. We cheerily accept recordings, visual media, curatorial proposals, tips, comments, invitations to DJ, artist inquiries, research queries, recipes, and miscellaneous correspondence. 

info@paradiseofbachelors.com

PO Box 1402
Carrboro, NC 27510

James Elkington & Nathan Salsburg - Ambsace: "Up of Stairs" (2015, PoB-21)

Paradise of Bachelors

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