The Pine Hearts’ bio says, “Playing particularly upbeat original tunes, the Pine Hearts sing with sincerity and pick with deliberate dedication,” and it’s a great way to describe the band’s debut album, Distant Lights. The alt-bluegrass trio from Olympia, WA, has released a fun, high-energy collection of songs that showcases great writing and stellar musicianship. From the upbeat and catchy opener “Don’t Let the Stars Bring You Down” and the fast and frenetic “Somewhere Between” to the more lamenting “Virginia” and “Alright Fine,” this album makes you want to dance and sing as you contemplate the ups and downs of life and love.  

The Pine Hearts are Joe Capoccia (guitar/vocals), Lob Strilla (banjo/vocals) and Derek McSwain (mandolin/vocals). It’s hard to believe they’ve only been together since the summer of 2012. They sound like they belong in a band together. All three are extremely talented pickers, and their voices sound great together. Lucky for us, it didn’t take them long to make an album together – they released Distant Lights in mid-March – and I hear they’re already recording a second one. I can’t wait to hear it!

The band was kind enough to answer a few questions for Foxbeard. You can find their great video for “Last Man Standing” below.

FB: When you first got together as a trio, what made you think “this is it – we need to do this”?

TPH: There is a certain sensation that sound creates in the brain … It’s the difference between why you like a song or don’t like a song. When the Pine Hearts first got together, that sensation was stimulated in our brains, and it sounded like what we wanted to hear. (Joe)

FB: Can you please tell us about your diverse musical backgrounds and what you feel each of you brings from these different backgrounds to create The Pine Hearts’ sound?

TPH: Derek McSwain brings traditional, practised, well versed bluegrass mandolin chops. In addition to writing three-part harmonies for the band, he holds it all together with solid rhythm, experience and attitude. Lob Strilla brings Baltimore rock roots under the guise of banjo. He sings a broad tenor lead and high harmonies, keeping the band even-keeled, dug-in, and well-balanced. Joe Capoccia brings punk, painstakingly-scrutinized songwriting, a lack of caring for the longevity of his guitar and a life of playing music on the road.

FB: When you decided to record your first album together, what kind of album did you go into the studio hoping to make?

TPH: We specifically wanted to record an album that was true to our sound. All of us can play many different instruments, so we were tempted to put bass, drums, keyboard, and violin on it. But we decided to have the album be exactly how we sound live. We did not even do any overdubs, except for harmony vocals. Every instrument was played live at the same time with lead vocals.

FB: Do you have a favorite song on the album? Can you please tell us the story behind the song and why it’s your favorite?

TPH: My favorite song is “Don’t Let the Stars Bring You Down.” On the surface, it’s about letting go of a relationship, reminding myself that not everything is meant to be. But if you dig deeper, the meaning becomes more of a broad statement towards life in general …We all get so caught up in trying to figure out the reasons for everything that happens in life, when we should take more time to just enjoy it while it lasts without fully understanding. The song reminds me to do that. (Joe)

FB: Where does the name The Pine Hearts come from?

TPH: The name comes from our love of the Pacific Northwest, carpentry and our humble approach towards music.

FB: Can you tell us something about The Pine Hearts that might surprise people?

TPH: The Pine Hearts’ favorite song is “The Twist” by Chubby Checker, the version where he sings it with The Fat Boys.

You can follow The Pine Hearts on I Facebook

You can listen to and buy Distant Lights on I Bandcamp

It seems perfectly fitting that Karla Adolphe would release her second music video on Mother’s Day.

The Alberta-based folk singer is a mother herself, with a three-year-old son and a baby on the way. And this new video, released May 12, is for “Mamma Wing,” a song that celebrates the unbreakable bond between a mother and a child – in life and in death – off Adolphe’s latest solo album, Honeycomb Tombs.

The video for “Mamma Wing,” which was filmed, directed and edited by Wade Yamaguchi, features video footage of mothers and their children, which were submitted by Adolphe’s fans, interspersed with images of Adolphe singing. It’s a celebration of motherhood and of love and hope. Adolphe wrote “Mamma Wing” for her friend Leith McHugh, who lost her 12-year-old daughter Hadley. Adolphe was with the family at the hospital when they said goodbye to Hadley, and this song is for them and for every other parent who has lost a child.

Karla Adolphe – Mamma Wing (Official Music Video) from Wade Yamaguchi on Vimeo.

Honeycomb Tombs is a collection of songs written for people going through the journey of grief that was inspired by witnessing Hadley’s death and by stories of grief that Adolphe’s fans sent her, and when it came time to make a video for “Mamma Wing,” Adolphe says she felt that reaching out to her fans once again would be the perfect fit.

“After being inspired by so many individual’s stories in writing the album, I couldn’t think of a better way to celebrate moms and include them in a stirring visual representation of the story of the song,” she says in a press release.  “After a little nudging, I received beautiful videos of moms being their beautiful selves in everyday situations. I loved seeing their love on film and am so pleased with how Wade put it all together.”

Adolphe can’t wait to share the “Mamma Wing” video with others.

“The finished product is more than I hoped for,” she says. “This is one of the main reasons why I chose to work with Wade Yamaguchi – he has an eye for capturing the human experience and really nailed it on this song. I loved how he shot me in a very domestic, neutral space and how most of the footage reflects the everyday ‘ness’ of being a mother. This approach allowed us to appeal to the everyday mom, I hope. The song is about the inexplicable, intimate bond between mother and child, and I hope to have contributed some reflection and beauty to this eternal subject.”

“Mamma Wing” became the second video from Honeycomb Tombs after Adolphe’s fans chose this song in an online voting contest. It was very close, and only four votes separated “Mamma Wing” from the second choice.

“I think the subject matter hits so very close to home for all of us, so it seemed like a great fit,” says Adolphe. “As an artist, I’m always hoping to touch the universal nerves – that is the best art. I am pretty pleased with this piece of work!”

Find Karla Adolphe l Online

“Hello. It’s been a long while. In the studio finishing up the debut album (see photographic evidence). More news and new music very soon…” From the Matthew And The Atlas Facebook page. Really, really looking forward to this album. Here are a few of his previous songs..

Matthew And The Atlas – To The North

Matthew And The Atlas – Animal Bones

Just found this great cover of the Blue Ridge Mountain Blues by the Avett Brothers. How have I not seen this before..

The Hems are an acoustic duo made up of Austin based musicians, Dusty McClellan and Jamie Zanelotti. After spending time at open mic the two found a common love for the Stanley Brothers, Gillian Welch, and The Carter Family. The love for earnest music brought the two together and inspired them to create the sound they are today. With only two guitars and their voices, Dusty and Jamie’s album ‘Those Early Years’ is packed full of beautiful harmonies and melodies.

Follow the band on | Facebook | Bandcamp

Photo Credit Kenny Braun

FB:How did we meet?
TH:We met via Craigslist. There was an ad for a roots rock band that Dusty’s step-dad posted. He was looking for a female lead singer and songwriting collaborator. I (Jamie ) became that lady and Dusty was one of the lead guitar players. When the band wasn’t rehearsing or playing gigs, we’d go to open mics. We were both new to Austin, so the open mic scene was a great way to meet people with similar interests. The band was great, but we soon realized we loved playing as an acoustic duo.
FB:What inspires you to make music?
TH:What inspires us to make music would have to be the artists that influence us like Gillian Welch, Lucinda Williams, and Townes Van Zandt. There’s nothing better than listening to songs that resonate with you. The kind of songs that make you reflect on your life. Welch, Williams, and Townes, in our opinion, write songs on that level. We strive to be there with every song we create.

FB:Where did you get the name “The Hems”?
TH:Well, my day job is as a seamstress and Dusty’s is a tailor…not really. We just think it’s a beautiful word – phonically and visually – with no heavy connotations. We think its neutral quality allows people to associate any meanings they’d like.

FB:What’s your favorite place or venue to play?
TH:We love playing in listening room environments. We feel our music goes over well it that type of space. We sometimes wish we were a cool rock and roll band that could kill it in bars and clubs, but that’s just not what we do.

FB:Anything weird happen when you were playing live?
TH:Not while we were playing, but driving home from a Houston gig at about 2:00 AM we rammed into a deer…or should we say it rammed into us. It was terrifying. We were on a dark highway and by the time I saw him it was too late. Luckily we were fine, but I can’t say the same for the front of Dusty’s car…or the deer. Let’s just say the incident gives a literal meaning to the phrase “deer in the headlights.”

The Hems – Those Early Years

The Dustbowl Revival is a Venice, CA-based roots orchestra. Bluegrass, ethnic swing, swamp blues, jug-bop and let me tell you, when it comes to leg shaken goodness, they got ya’ covered.

Their new album ‘Carry Me Home’ is a full-speed ahead kind of an album. They start off with a beautiful cover of “Swing Low” (Yup, Swing Low, Sweet Chariot) and than all hell breaks loose soon after that. What I love most about this album is the energy that comes from a blend of old-school traditional songs with some really wonderful originals.

“Imagine Old Crow Medicine Show meeting Louis Armstrong’s Hot Seven Band in New Orleans or Bob Dylan and Fats Waller jamming with Mumford & Sons on a front porch in 1938.” DBR

I love this quote “This ain’t no fake-mustached hipster revivalism here; The Dustbowl Revival is the real deal, shouting and hollering the nearly derailed, buzz-saw crazed music of the American South that first inspired them. – Hearth Music

The Dustbowl Revival’s newest album will hit April 18, 2013 so keep your eyes peeled!

Pre-order Carry Me Home Now On Amazon

Follow the band on | Facebook | Twitter |

The Dustbowl Revival – New River Train