Exclusive #8

Ted Russell Kamp

The eighth instalment in our series of exclusive mixes comes from LA's Ted Russell Kamp. If you ever find yourself in the City of Angels in need of a bassman, head straight for Ted. When he isn't busy laying down some solid ground for the Shooter Jennings band, you'll probably find him in the studio working sessions with an up-and-coming local artist, or an international superstar. Ted has put together this Exclusive mix for Whiskey Preachin to celebrate the release of his latest album, Solitare, released in May 2021. And what a great mix he's turned in, with nearly three hours of glorious music to get lost in. There are a handful of his own tracks scattered tastefully along the way, a plethora of productions he has worked on (including Tanya Tucker, Dallas Moore, AJ Hobbs, Mickey and the Motorcars and Billy Ray Cyrus), plenty of friends from the LA scene (including Shooter, Sam Morrow and Emily Zuzik), and an immaculate selection of classic tracks from the likes of Otis Redding, Dusty Springfield, Little Feat, The Byrds, Tony Joe White, Waylon Jennings, Guy Clark, Kris Kristofferson, Billie Joe Shaver, Willie Nelson and Leon Russell, to name a few.

 The name of Ted’s latest album is Solitaire, and the clue is in the title. This intimate album sees Ted flying almost solo on a collection of songs recorded over a nine mnoth period during Lockdown. “Almost everything I did was in my studio with all of the guest overdubs recorded by them in their own home studios. This was a true quarantine record in that sense. Most played or sang harmony on just the songs I wrote with them, with just a few socially distant recording sessions, with John Shreffler (harmony vocals, pedal steel), Jim Doyle (drums) and Brian Whelan (harmony vocals) to be a part of several tracks of the album. It was an incredible breath of fresh air to actually see friends again and to reconnect and play with them.”

 The first track on the album, My Girl Now, was written a few years ago with Mickey Braun of Mickey and the Motorcars, and you can hear the Mickey and the Motorcars version of the song closing out this Exclusive mix. Another song from the album, You Can Go to Hell, I’m Going to Texas, was co-written with Granville Automatic, whose song Never On Sunday shows up a couple of tracks before the end. Exception to the Rule was written with Ed Jurdi of Band of Heathens, and their song Caroline Williams is the penultimate track on this mix, sandwiched between Granville Automatic and Mickey and the Motorcars.

Elsewhere on the album, Ted collaborates with a number of other artists, including Josh Morningstar, Braid Raisin, Mark Mackay, Tony Scalzo, Pete Murcott and Don Gallardo, but on the title track, Solitaire, Ted is the only writer and performer, with just an acoustic guitar and his voice, no guests, no overdubbing. “This is one of my favorite songs on the record and from a songwriting perspective, the one I’m most proud of. I was actually playing a lot of the card game solitaire the first few months of quarantine and thought that it would be a great album title for being at home in a kind of solitary confinement. Then I got the idea to write this song: ‘I got something on my mind been trying to find the words--one leads to the next then they scatter like the birds--fighting with a feeling like I’m alone inside a maze--don’t know what’s in the cards but I been circling round for days’. Knowing I was recording an acoustic, moody record like this also helped me choose the songs that I knew would work well arranged this way, I think it’s very different and speaks to what a lot of us have been going through this year. I wanted each song to feel different so I added mandolin, dobro and banjo to some, and Wurlitzer, accordion and Hammond to others. It’s also the first time I played my old dulcimer on a record. When I start touring again, most of these songs will be great additions to my solo show and some will also be great for my full band electric sets. It was really satisfying using the quarantine to write on my own, but also to co-write and reconnect with friends as we were all going through a hard year.”

You’re in for a treat, give Ted’s Exclusive mix a listen, then head over to his Bandcamp page and yourself a copy of Solitaire.

Find out more about Ted Russell Kamp on his website.

TRACK LISTING

Home Sweet Hollywood - Ted Russell Kamp

Best of All Possible Worlds - Kris Kristofferson

Instant Coffee Blues - Guy Clark

Old Chunk of Coal - Billy Joe Shaver

I'd Have to be Crazy - Willie Nelson

Why You Been Gone So Long - Jesse Colter

Last Chance Texaco - Rickie Lee Jones

Blue Moon of Kentucky - Rayna Day

The Nearest Thing to Hip - Mike Scott & The Waterboys

Thank God for the Road - The Flatlanders

Backwoods Preacher Man - Tony Joe White

Hold On - Ted Russell Kamp

Honky Tonkin' (I Guess I Done Some) - Delbert McClinton

Paid By the Mile - Sam Morrow

Shit Just Got Real - AJ Hobbs

Shoulda Been My Lover - Funkyjenn

Diana the Hunter - P.I. Jacobs

Roll Em Easy - Little Feat

Manhattan Island Serenade - Leon Russell

Ophelia - The Band

Son of a Preacher Man - Dusty Springfield

These Arms of Mine - Otis Redding

We're Gonna Make It - Little Milton

Tell Mama - Etta James

Hard Luck - Tanya Tucker

Home Away From Home - Ted Russell Kamp

Killing the Blues - Billy Ray Cyrus

Steady at the Wheel - Shooter Jennings

Sister Cry - The Jayhawks

I am a Pilgrim - The Byrds

Orphan Girl - Gillian Welch

All That Love - Emily Zuzik

California Stars - Wilco & Billy Brag

16 Days - Whiskeytown

Unemployment Line - Robin Wiley

Ain't No Place in the Sun - Dallas Moore

Lonesome, On'ry and Mean - Waylon Jennings

I Did It (and I'd Do It Again) - Cliff Beach

Swamp Water Whiskey - Shy Blakeman

Stick With Me - Ted Russell Kamp

Deep End of Love - Tawny Ellis

Lost House in the Holler - Travis Napier

Moon at the Horizon - Nate Smith

Never on a Sunday - Granville Automatoc

Caroline Williams - Band of Heathens

My Girl Now - Mickey and the Motorcars

Exclusive #7

Lasers Lasers Birmingham

For our seventh Exclusive mix, we welcome Alex Owen, aka Lasers Lasers Birmingham, as our guest selector. based in LA, we've been big fans of LLB since we reviewed his album Warning a couple of years ago. here, Alex opens his guest mix with a couple of his own new works, before heading off into the hills to round up some of his friends and one or two musical heros. LA's Elijah Ocean has been working with Alex on his new material, so it should be no surprise to hear Ocean feature here, as does Sie Sie Benhoff, another LLB collaborator. David Quinn gets a spin as well, as does Jaime Wyatt, Daniel Romano, Croy and the Boys, Jesse Daniel and Tony Martinez. Classic tracks from Waylon, Buck Owens, Jerry Jeff Walker, The Flying Burrito Brothers and Gil Scott-Heron all help us pin-point just where the Lasers Lasers Birmingham sound is coming from. All you need to do now is press the button and enjoy the ride...

Track Listing

Lasers Lasers Birmingham - Can You Believe My Luck

Lasers Lasers Birmingham - Makin’ a Scene

Buck Owens - Loves Gonna Live Here

Waylon Jennings - Don’t You Think This Outlaw Bit’s Done Got Out of Hand

Gil Scott-Heron - The Revolution Will Not Be Televised

Elijah Ocean - Cleaned Up in Vegas

The Flying Burrito Brothers - Wheels

Lasers Lasers Birmingham - Royal Blue

Jerry Jeff Walker - Hairy Assed Hillbillies (Live)

Tony Martinez - Help Me Up (So I Can Get Down)

Khruangbin & leon Bridges - Texas Sun

Colter Wall - Western Swing & Waltzes

Croy and the Boys - Don’t Let Me Die in Waco

David Quinn - Three Quarter Time

Jaime Wyatt - Neon Cross

Blue Rose Rounders - Dallas

Sie Sie Benhoff - Night Train

Jesse Daniel - Soft Spot (For the Hard Stuff)

Lyle Lovett - LA

Timbo - Gentle Breeze of Tennessee

Daniel Romano - Strange Faces

Exclusive #6

Honky Tonk Jukebox

Valentine special

For our sixth Exclusive mix we are very pleased to welcome back Bryan C of Honky Tonk Jukebox with his Valentine Special. Bryan's been spinnin' tales of love and loss down Dallas way for some time now, and he's put together this one-of-a-kind selection packed full of passion and heartbreak especially for us at Whiskey Preachin. All you need to do is whisper sweet nothings and twang the heartstrings of that special someone...

Track Listing

Buck Owens - I Want No One But You

George Jones - Love Bug

Goldie Hill - Ain't Gonna Wash My Face

Sonny Crawford - From The Bottom Of My Heart

Faron Young - A World So Full Of Love

Bobby Buttram - Loving You Is Killing Me

Glenn Barber - Stronger Than Dirt

Bob Luman - Living In A House Full Of Love

Waylon Jennings - That's What You Get For Loving Me

Ann Bruce - I'm Gonna Love The Devil Out Of You

Bonnie Henderson - Waiting For You

Bob Wills - I'll Follow You Wherever You Go

Ernest Tubb - Think Of Me Thinking Of You

Shirley Wood - This One Belongs To Me

Leona Williams - Babe Just For You

Gene Martin & June Stearns - We've Got Things In Common

Merle Haggard - It's Not Love But It's Not Bad

Johnny Russell - She's In Love With A Rodeo Man

Thurston Smith - I've Got The Craziest Heart

Hylo Brown - Thunder Clouds Of Love

David Wilkins - Just Blow In His Ear

Chuck Penny - Love Me Or Leave Me

Tammy Wynette - Stand By Your Man

Rose Lee Maphis - I've Come To Take You Home

Wanda Jackson - Right Or Wrong

Gene Watson - Love In The Hot Afternoon

Red Steagall - I've Never Been This Loved Before

Allen Wyrick - Dreams Of You

Webb Pierce - You Know I'm Still In Love With You

Conway Twitty - I Can't Stop Loving You

Buck Owens - Together Again

Exclusive #5

Shamblin Sexton

For the fifth in the series of Whiskey Preachin Exclusives we keep the home fires burning with this special DJ mix from Shamblin Sexton. One half of the Whiskey Preachin DJ team, Shamblin Sexton turns in a fine selection of dancefloor friendly country, country funk, country rock and even a touch of country disco to get those boots scootin'. This is the kind of vibe you can expect at the regular Whiskey Preachin nights (when they are allowed to take place again) or at any WP DJ set. All tracks were recorded from vinyl and given a little tweak to get the party started with a twang. Dig in, baby...

Track Listing

Stoney Edwards - (I Want) The Real Thing

Ed Bruce - love Somebody To Death

Commander Cody - Country Casanova

Jerry Reed - Roster Jones

Mel Street - I Can’t Dance

Randy Howard - I’ve Been to Georgia on a Fast Train

Billy Joe Shaver - Billy B Damned

Gary Stewart - I Ain’t Living Long Like This

Tanya Tucker - Not Fade Away

The Maines Brothers - Amarillo Highway

Gene Watson - That Evil child

Gordon Payne - Down On Love

George Jones - I Ain’t Got No Business Doing Business Today

Steve Young - Lonesome Onry and Mean

Tony Joe White - Suzzie Q

Terry Allen & The Panhandle Mystery Band - There Ought to be a Law Against Sunny Southern California

Charlie Daniels - 39 Miles From Mobile

Clarence Gatemouth Brown - Amos Moses

Exclusive #4

Chicago Honky Tonk

The fourth Whiskey Preachin Exclusive comes from our friends in the Windy City, Chicago Honky Tonk. Caitlin Rafferty and J.B. Duckett are event promoters, dance instructors and DJs based in Chicago, IL.. Along with a couple of friends, they manage the country music promotion company, Chicago Honky Tonk. Back when we were able to meet each other for music and dancing, you could catch J.B. and Caitlin dancing and hosting events all over Chi-Town, including Chicago Honky Tonk's Sunday Matinee at Empty Bottle and The Saturday Special at FitzGerald's Nightclub.

 Here they present a mix that showcases the music they've been digging recently, everything from major-label hits of the 60s and 70s to lesser-known gems on regional labels, and current artists. Their greatest wish is to get out and get everyone dancing again. We’re with them all the way, and we’re sure you are, too. Press the button and have a little spin round the kitchen to this lovely mix.

Track Listing

Conway Twitty - Dim Lights, Thick Smoke

George Jones - The Race Is On

Buck Ryan - Beaumont Rag

Linda Martell - Color Him Father

Ed Bruce - Puzzles

Michelle Billingsley - When Will You Learn

Wilma Lee and Stoney Cooper - Heartbreak Street

Robbie Fulks & Linda Gail Lewis - Who Cares

Hank Thompson - Six Pack To Go

Buck Owens - Before You Go

Johnny Darrel - Johnny Lose It All

Roger Miller - Poor Little John

Swanee Caldwell - Radar Blues (Part 1)

Ramona Reed - Cowboy’s Sweetheart

Dick Curless & Kay Adams - A Devil Like Me

Wild Earp & Babe-alon 5 - You Call Everybody Darlin’

Johnny Cash - Honky Tonk Girl

Charley Crockett - That’s How I Got To Memphis

Lloyd Green - Little Darlin’

David Allan Coe - Sweet Vibrations (Some Folks Call It Love)

Larry Ballard - Young Blood And Sweet Country Music

Josh Logan - Lovin’ on Backstreets

Tanya Tucker - If Your Heart Ain’t Busy Tonight

Johnny Western - Ruby (Don’t Take Your Love to Town)

Billy Joe Shaver - Ragged Old Truck

Lynn Anderson - What’s Made Milwaukee Famous

Dolly Parton - Just Because I’m A Woman

Red Steagall - Lone Star Beer and Bob Wills Music

Bonnie Raitt - Don’t It Make Ya Wanna Dance

Hank Williams Jr. - Stoned At The Jukebox

George Strait - She’s Playing Hell Trying To Get Me To Heaven 

Hank Williams - Moanin’ The Blues

Mel McDaniel - Louisiana Saturday Night

Steel Guitar Instrumental (no info)

Exclusive #3

DJ Bryan c - honky tonk jukebox mix

For our first Whiskey Preachin Exclusive of 2021, we have something very special for you. We asked the host of the always excellent Honky Tonk Jukebox show, DJ Bryan C, to pull together a mix of Texas honky tonk from his extensive 7" collection. We asked Bryan to lean towards the sounds of the Seventies for this mix, and we are over the moon with the result. Bryan turns in a 90 minute mix which is a delight to listen to, with a smattering of songs we like to play at our Whiskey Preachin nights and a wagon load of cuts that are new to our ears.

The Honkytonk Jukebox is based in Dallas, Texas and created by DJ Bryan C, a long-time nightclub DJ and record collector. Along with his online show Honkytonk Jukebox, Bryan has opened for many country acts over the years, such as Pat Green, Eleven Hundred Springs, Joe Ely, Shooter Jennings, Corb Lund, Vandoliers, Wayne Hancock, Merle Haggard and many more. All records on the show are played from 45 rpm records, focusing on artists and labels from Texas and small town USA.

Track List

Darrell Mccall - A Texas Honky Tonk

Johnny Bush - Jim, Jack & Rose

Joe Paul Nichols - 14k Fool

Jerry Upchurch - Hell Yes I Cheated

Jerry Naill - The Only Honky Tonk Within 30 Miles Of Town

Stonewall Jackson - Listening To Johnny Paycheck

George Kent - It Takes A Drinking Man To Sing A Drinking Song

Yvonne Devaney - Pick Me Up On Your Way Down

Rollin Country - Close Up The Honky Tonks

Rita Remington & James O Gwynn - Rings On The Bar

Dave Rogers - Whiskeyville

Ricky Wilkins - Hang Loose

Gary Van - I'll Keep On Drinking Till Myrtle Comes Home

Les Martin - Pop A Top

Stoney Edwards - Hank And Lefty Raised My Country Soul

Roy Head - Deep Elem Blues

Hubert Rector - Love Account

David Wills - There's A Song On The JukeBox

Chuck Wood - The Bottle In The Hand

Gary Stewart - Drinkin Thing

Stan Farlow - Hot Wheels

Alvin Crow & The Neon Angels - Dynamite Diana

Gene McCoy - What I Am Is Good Enough For Me

Roy Robbins & The Available - Honky Tonk I Can't Stand You

Jimmy Copeland - I Wouldn't Lift A Finger

Larry Lee Adkins - The One Who's Always Cheating Got Cheated On Tonight

Mel Street - My Friend The JukeBox

Joe Stampley - Hall Of Famous Losers

Tony Booth - Happy Hour

Sleepy LaBeef - Got You On My Mind

Carmol Taylor - Play The Saddest Song On The JukeBox

Red Steagall - Beer Drinkin Music

Rodger Wilhoit - Mighty Band Of Gold

Cecil Moore & The Diamond Backs - Silver Wings

Exclusive #2

David Quinn - A Mix of influences

2020 has been a difficult year for many reasons. For one thing, there have been so many great albums released, it’s been hard to find the time to do them all justice. If you haven’t yet had the chance to check out David Quinn’s second album, Letting Go, now’s time to make amends. It’s an album full of the sort of tunes we like to play real loud down at our Whiskey Preachin DJ night (when the government lets us!).

Packed full of up-tempo shack shakers, balanced out with a smattering of introspection and two-stepping weepers, listening to Letting Go made us want to reach for the Sazerac and flick through David’s record collection.

So we asked David to do us all a favour and pull together some of his favourite songs, a mix of music that shows his musical roots and influences. The result is a joy to listen to, and, we are pleased to say, full of some of our favourite songs and artists. No surprise there, they are probably some of you favourites as well. So, pour yourself a few fingers of your best liquor, press the button and enjoy this musical journey into the record collection of David Quinn.

Track List

Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson - I Can Get Off On You

Guy Clark - Rita Ballou

Randy Travis - On the Other Hand

Willis Allen Ramsey - East Texas Women

Lynyrd Skynyrd - Cheatin' Woman

Jerry Jeff Walker - Jaded Lover

John Anderson - She Just Started Liking Cheatin' Songs

Mama's Pride - Who Do You think You Are Fooling?

Jimmy Martin - Free Born Man

Merle Haggard & The Strangers - I Take a Lot of Pride in What I Am

Jimmy Buffet - He Went to Paris

John Anderson  - Swingin'

Ramblin Jack Elliott - Low and Lonely

David Allen Coe - Rollin With the Punches

John Prine - Spanish Pipedream

The Charlie Daniels Band - Sweet Louisiana

Townes Van Zandt - Be Here to Love Me

Waylon Jennings - High time (You Quit Your Lowdown Ways)

Terry Allen - The Juarez Device

George Jones - If Drinking Doesn't Kill Me (Her Memory Will)

Keith Whitley - I Never Go Around Mirrors

James Talley - No Bread, No Milk, No Money

Gillian Welch - Six White Horses

Billy Joe Shaver - Fit to Kill and Going Out in Style

Exclusive #1

Cordovas - A Mix of Influences

It should come as no surprise that Cordovas are one of our favourite bands here at Whiskey Preachin. When news of the release of the first single, High Feeling, from new album, Destiny Hotel, reached us earlier in the summer, we had been waiting expectantly for a while. Surely it’s about time, we hoped. Our expectations were soon met, and then some. High Feeling rapidly became one of our songs of the summer, as Destiny Hotel would some become one of our albums of the year.

Listening to a Cordovas album is a bit like experiencing the melting pot of twentieth century American music in microcosm. The band’s influences are broad and deep. Listing the influences we recognise in Cordovas’s work feels a bit like a musical Generation Game, where one tries to recall the conveyor-belt of treasures you’ve just had displayed before you. Far better to go direct to source and avoid the speculation. We approached the Cordovas’s Joe Firstman and Lucca Soria and asked them to pull together some of their favourite tunes to share with us.

As expected, the selection of tunes Cordovas present for us covers the history of twentieth century American music. Taking in a musical panorama that spans the old time music of moonshiner, bar brawler and fiddle scraper Charlie Poole and the country rock of The Flying Burrito Brothers, the gospel harmonies of The Golden Gate Quartet and the laidback doo-wop funk of George Clinton’s Funkadelic, the down home blues of Blind Willie McTell  and the electric urban blues of Howiln Wolf, Muddy Waters and Elmore James, the classic bluegrass sound of Jimmy Martin and the Stanley Brothers, the counter-culture bluegrass of John Hartford, the live experience of Frank Zappa and the classic honky tonk sound of Webb Pierce. Oh, and there’s some Fairport Convention and some Aretha, too. Here is a set of tunes that presents a fascinating insight into the record collections at the root of the Cordovas sound. Someone should ask them to do a compilation album. Oh, yeah, we just have.

All you need to do now is roll up the rug, pour yourself four fingers of the good stuff and press the button, baby.

 Track List

Muddy Waters – Champagne & Reefer

Webb pierce – In the Jailhouse Now

Jimmy Martin – Tennessee

The Stanley Brothers – How Mountain Girls Can Love

Doc & Merle Watson – Going Down the Road Feeling Bad

The Flying Burrito Brothers – If You gotta Go

Howlin’ Wolf _- Killin’ Floor

Frank Zappa & The Mothers – Pygmy Twlyte (Live at the Roxy, Hollywood 1973)

Lead Belly – Mr Tom Hughes’ Town (236-B-3)

Tony Rice – Girl from the North Country

Howlin’ Wolf – Forty Four

Aretha Franklin – I Never Loved a Man 9the way I Love You) – Demo

Fairport Convention – Come All Ye

John Hartford – With a vamp In The Middle

Bruce Molsky – Piney Mountains

Elmore James – Goodbye Baby

Funkadelic – Biological Speculation

Blind Willie Mctell – You Can’t Get Stuff No More

Charlie Poole & The North Carolina Ramblers – Milwaukee Blues

The Golden Gate Quartet – God’s Gonna Cut ‘Em Down