Sarah Pray has a gentle, almost child-like voice. Though innocent in tone and melody, her lyrics stand as the testimonials of a young songwriter well traveled and mature beyond her years. Born from two years on the road, A May Morning is an album about the hazards of the heart, the pain of loss, and the search for contentment in this sometimes lonely world.

A native of Madison, Wisconsin, the 22-year old Sarah Pray moved to Minneapolis in the summer of 2007—just after graduating college and just ahead of the economic collapse. She was welcomed in at the 400 Bar where she first built a following at her weekly Linda Rondstadt tribute show, progressively working her own songs into the set. She shared the historic stage on other nights with the likes of Michelle Malone, Felice Brothers, and Sick of Sarah.

Sarah spent six months on the road in 2009, touring coffee shops and bars on the east coast and then in Europe all by her lonesome. She would tour Europe again in 2010 after the release of her debut album Empty Words, but this time with fellow Wisconsin folk songwriter Thomas Kivi. The two began performing as a folk-duo that summer and returned from Europe with harmonies that hearken back to Emmylou Harris and Graham Parsons.

With songs inspired by the lonely road, the death of a friend, and a new found love, Sarah Pray began recording for A May Morning in the summer of 2011 at Red Pill studios in St. Louis, Missouri. Producer/Engineer Jacob Detering (Bonnie Raitt, Amy Petty, Ben Taylor, R. Scott Bryan) helped craft a vocally centered, alt-rock album that blends Mazzy Star’s sound of the mid-90s with those of Sarah Pray’s influences like Linda Rondstadt, Portishead, and Jessica Lea Mayfield.

Detering recruited guitar player Dan McMahon, who scored original music for the 2012 Oscar-winning documentary Undefeated. Grammy nominated Tony Esterly laid down pedal-steel on “When I Come Home,” “Promise Me,” and “Maybe in the Morning,” giving the album a country tinge. Darren Garvey and Jacob Detering laid down the minimal low-end and percussion, while Thomas Kivi lends his voice to make this richly vocal album.

Sarah Pray | End Of The World

Located roughly halfway between St. Louis and Kansas City, Salisbury, Missouri isn't much different from thousands of nondescript tiny Midwestern towns, but Eric Lysaght still carries with him the memories of his time there. Those days inspired the songs on Salisbury's second album, Life Is a Heartbreak, which is due out on Red Pill Music on November, 19 2013.

Lysaght, who lives in St. Louis, spent a lot of time in Salisbury as a kid while visiting his grandparents, and fashioned Life Is a Heartbreak out of his perceptions of their world. "Your memories as a kid are so much bigger and grander than when you get old and living in the real world," Lysaght says. "To me, Salisbury was a magical place when I was a kid. Now I go back there and it's just a little dying town. It's something way
different from what I remember, and I'm trying to get at that."

Opening with barnyard sounds, an old Victrola recording, and a calliope, Life Is a Heartbreak is an interconnected collection of stories that reflect rural Midwestern lifein the 1930s and 1940s. From its mandolins and fiddles to Lysaght's detailed, sepiatoned lyrics, the album is infused with the haunted beauty of a lost era, of front porches, homemade whiskey, and star-filled summer nights scored by the sounds of nature. The characters are composites of the people he encountered – with a few of his own imagination – although one of them is based on a specific person.

"The main character of the record is Mary Alice, and that was my grandmother's nextdoor neighbor," Lysaght continues. "She was an old, sick lady that was living in this really nice, old Victorian house. My grandmother was very poor, so she had this tiny place that was next to this gorgeous mansion, and I just tried to tie all these things together and create some stories to go along with it. The main story is of Mary Alice getting out of the town and leaving the field hand, who's in love with her, waiting at the county fair, and everybody else is floating through."

Lysaght created Salisbury in 2006 after the death of his father, who is buried in the cemetery at St. Joseph's Parish, the main church in Salisbury. At the time, his band, Neptune Crush, had been attracting major-label interest, but the songs he was writing in response to his death was better suited to a different musical approach, and he found it more creatively rewarding. Salisbury's self-titled debut came out in 2007.

Recorded in Red Pill’s St. Louis studio, Life Is a Heartbreak features Lysaght on lead vocals, guitar and mandolin, Tony Esterly (pedal steel) Dave Aholt (piano), Dan Eubanks (upright bass), Mark Hochberg (violin) and Joe Meyer (drums), with Bryan Hoskins on vocal arrangements. The album was produced by Red Pill co-owner Jacob Detering.

“Even the first demos of what would become Life Is a Heartbreak were still just so visual and compelling, although a bit rough” Detering said. “Eric is such a gifted songwriter and storyteller. As we embarked in tracking the record, I really took on a ‘do no harm’ approach - trying to keep the team honest to the original demos."
credits
releases 10 December 2013
Eric Lysaght: lead vocals, acoustic guitar, mandolin, piano, harmonica
Bryan Hoskins: vocals
Tony Esterly: pedal steel
David Aholt: piano, B3
Dan Eubanks: upright bass
Kelly Wild: vocals

Produced by Jacob Detering and Eric Lysaght
Executive Producer: Lauren Markow
Engineered and Mixed by Jacob Detering at Red Pill Studios, St. Louis, Mo.

Mastered By Brad Sarno at Blue Jade Audio Mastering

Salisbury | Down At The Fair

Located roughly halfway between St. Louis and Kansas City, Salisbury, Missouri isn't much different from thousands of nondescript tiny Midwestern towns, but Eric Lysaght still carries with him the memories of his time there. Those days inspired the songs on Salisbury's second album, Life Is a Heartbreak, which is due out on Red Pill Music on December, 20 2013.

Lysaght, who lives in St. Louis, spent a lot of time in Salisbury as a kid while visiting his grandparents, and fashioned Life Is a Heartbreak out of his perceptions of their world. "Your memories as a kid are so much bigger and grander than when you get old and living in the real world," Lysaght says. "To me, Salisbury was a magical place when I was a kid. Now I go back there and it's just a little dying town. It's something way
different from what I remember, and I'm trying to get at that."

Opening with barnyard sounds, an old Victrola recording, and a calliope, Life Is a Heartbreak is an interconnected collection of stories that reflect rural Midwestern lifein the 1930s and 1940s. From its mandolins and fiddles to Lysaght's detailed, sepiatoned lyrics, the album is infused with the haunted beauty of a lost era, of front porches, homemade whiskey, and star-filled summer nights scored by the sounds of nature. The characters are composites of the people he encountered – with a few of his own imagination – although one of them is based on a specific person.

"The main character of the record is Mary Alice, and that was my grandmother's nextdoor neighbor," Lysaght continues. "She was an old, sick lady that was living in this really nice, old Victorian house. My grandmother was very poor, so she had this tiny place that was next to this gorgeous mansion, and I just tried to tie all these things together and create some stories to go along with it. The main story is of Mary Alice getting out of the town and leaving the field hand, who's in love with her, waiting at the county fair, and everybody else is floating through."

Lysaght created Salisbury in 2006 after the death of his father, who is buried in the cemetery at St. Joseph's Parish, the main church in Salisbury. At the time, his band, Neptune Crush, had been attracting major-label interest, but the songs he was writing in response to his death was better suited to a different musical approach, and he found it more creatively rewarding. Salisbury's self-titled debut came out in 2007.

Recorded in Red Pill’s St. Louis studio, Life Is a Heartbreak features Lysaght on lead vocals, guitar and mandolin, Tony Esterly (pedal steel) Dave Aholt (piano), Dan Eubanks (upright bass), Mark Hochberg (violin) and Joe Meyer (drums), with Bryan Hoskins on vocal arrangements. The album was produced by Red Pill co-owner Jacob Detering.

“Even the first demos of what would become Life Is a Heartbreak were still just so visual and compelling, although a bit rough” Detering said. “Eric is such a gifted songwriter and storyteller. As we embarked in tracking the record, I really took on a ‘do no harm’ approach - trying to keep the team honest to the original demos."

Releases 10 December 2013

Credits:

Eric Lysaght: lead vocals, acoustic guitar, mandolin, piano, harmonica
Bryan Hoskins: vocals
Tony Esterly: pedal steel
David Aholt: piano, B3
Dan Eubanks: upright bass
Kelly Wild: vocals

Produced by Jacob Detering and Eric Lysaght
Executive Producer: Lauren Markow
Engineered and Mixed by Jacob Detering at Red Pill Studios, St. Louis, Mo.

Mastered By Brad Sarno at Blue Jade Audio Mastering


Salisbury | Life Is A Heartbreak

Written by Javier Mendoza
Javier Mendoza: vocals & guitar
Eric Grossman: bass
David Aholt: keyboards
R. Scott Bryan: percussion
Joe Meyer: drumset
Dennis Stringfield: drumset

Javier Mendoza | Stand Up

Taylor Mesple' |  Answer Your Own Question

Shane Butler | Headlong

Sarah Pray | Empty Words

God Save Owen Wilson

Written By Amy Petty
Produced, engineered and mixed by Jacob Detering
Vocals & guitars: Amy Petty
Guitar: Daniel McMahon
Bass: Eric Grossman
Drumset: Joe Meyer
Piano & keyboards: David Aholt
Mastered by: Brad Sarno

Amy Petty | Skeleton Key

City Squirrel is based in Portland, Oregon. Much like the entity World Party/Karl Wallinger, City Squirrel is based around the creative efforts of Stephan Bayley. For the latest album, the band also included legendary players Mitch Easter on bass and Dave Mattacks on drums, both of whom came out to Portland from the East Coast to record their parts at Stephan's house. Stephanie Wallace did all the female vocals on the album as well as viola parts on a couple songs. And finally North Carolina session player Bob Barone played the pedal steel part on the song 'breathless.' 

As it turns out, Stephan is the only person who played on the record who doesn't live on the East Coast. Sadness! So he is on the lookout for potential bandmates in Portland to play these songs out live with, though in the meantime will be playing solo guitar and piano performances here and there. But mostly there. 

Stephan/City Squirrel also produces and records other artists now and then in his home studio. He thinks this is fun. Ha! Just wait until the coffee runs out...

City Squirrel | Watertown

Record label? Not really.

Red Pill Entertainment is an artist facilitation firm. We are committed to artist development and sustainability. With a passion for collaboration and connection, Red Pill is cultivating creative, ethically driven partnerships with musicians to help them thrive and not merely survive.

How? Roots…and wings.

Red Pill believes that artists produce great music when they have access to and support from a great community. With a superb recording facility and established relationships with some of the most talented studio musicians anywhere, Red Pill offers artists the opportunity for creative collaboration to nurture and produce their finest work.

In the ever and rapidly changing landscape of the new music business, Red Pill is poised to adapt to new modes and methods for helping great music and great fans find each other. Through the cultivation of relationships with music industry leaders and constantly scanning the boundaries of the new music business, Red Pill sources and secures the connections vital to create opportunities for our artists.

We believe that a respect for the past and an awareness of the present creates a rewarding musical future…for artists and for fans.

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