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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

“Take this song with you/take it with you when you go/sing it with your friends/and when the party ends, take it with you when you go.”

So sings Maya Lerman on the title track of Take This Song With You, the debut album from Maya and the Ruins. And if you love traditional country, blues and folk music, you’re sure to find a song you’ll want to take with you on this beautiful album. 

Take This Song With You is a collection of country, blues, old time, and original songs inspired by those traditions. Virginia-based old-timey singer and songwriter Maya Lerman leads the group. To record her album, she drew together members of Louisiana’s famed Red Stick Ramblers, as well as musicians who are considered some of the best young traditional musicians in the U.S.

By day, Maya works for a branch of the Library of Congress in Virginia, unearthing and preserving musical treasures, and according to her bio, her job played a big role in the making of this album. “These dusty archives certainly inform her music: she’s sourced a good number of the songs on the album from historical recordings of American musicians. But her music also reflects an understanding of the new roots music being made today, not by the superstars who are touring arenas, but by the people who are playing and creating folk music simply out of love for the traditions.”

According to press materials, the recording of Take This Song With You coincided happily with a musician friend’s wedding in Southwest Louisiana. Maya gathered together talented local musicians, as well as friends who were visiting for the wedding. And throughout the album, there’s definitely a feeling of community and friendship, of gathering together to celebrate. This album really does feel like a celebration – a celebration of being able to make music and a celebration of tradition. Maya has chosen to interpret a great mix of songs from sources like Tom Petty, Jimmie Rodgers, the Mississippi Sheiks and Elizabeth Cotten and has also included some great originals that fit right in with the traditional songs. Maya’s clear voice fits these beautiful songs really nicely, and the musicianship is absolutely top-notch. There’s some really beautiful playing throughout Take This Song With You, particularly the mandolin. This album is a real treat for anyone who loves folk music and loves tradition!

Listen to and buy Take This Song With You on I Bandcamp

If you love bluegrass and mountain music as much as I do, you probably won’t be able to stop yourself from playing Flight, the second album from Colorado’s Trout Steak Revival, on repeat. I know I can’t. 

Sparked by jam sessions with close friends during backpacking trips and backyard parties, Trout Steak Revival formed in 2009. Amongst the cool clear streams and lakes in the Midwest Great Lakes region, where trout prosper, the band began to spawn and take flight. Colorado’s flourishing rootsy based mountain music scene beckoned and became home to Trout Steak Revival. Band members Steve Foltz (mandolin and guitar), Will Koster (dobro, guitar), Casey Houlihan (upright bass), Travis McNamara (banjo) and Bevin Foley (fiddle) follow in the bluegrass tradition, with each musician composing original tunes and adding harmonies.

With a blend of original songs and re-worked traditionals, Flight was released in the late fall of 2012. Band members share singing duties on the album, and it’s a great touch – they all have great voices, and it adds a lot of variety and gives them a unique sound. Beautiful harmonies combine with the lovely sounds of the fiddle, banjo, guitar, dobro, mandolin and standup bass throughout the album. There’s a great mix of fun, higher-energy songs like the strong opener Black Jack Supper Club and softer songs like Spinning Wheel, which might be my favourite song on the album. I love the whole album, which has this feel of being in the same room with the band as they play. It’s fun and makes me wish I could see them live. I don’t think this one will leave my CD player for a while.

The band was kind enough to answer a few questions from the road.

FB: How is Flight different from your first album?

Steve Foltz (SF): We have a different lineup on this album. On our first album, Kirk Ranney, who is no longer in the band, wrote most of the songs. Flight has Bevin Foley (fiddle/vocals) on it, and everyone contributes at least one song. It was also recorded in a different space than our first album, which gives it a different feel.

FB: How did you all come together as a band?

Casey Houlihan (CH): I met Steve in college at the University of Minnesota, and we both moved out to Colorado (CO) after we graduated … we knew we wanted to play music together, and it just took some time before we knew what that would look like. I met Will and Travis in Michigan at a summer camp we all worked at. Will moved out to CO after he was done with school at Indiana University. Travis had a couple more years of school at University of Puget Sound and then made it out here. We met Bevin when we were invited to play the first Green Beer and Bluegrass in Denver.  She sat in with us that night, and we really enjoyed playing with her. It wasn’t until we asked her a few times that she decided to join TSR.

FB: What is it about bluegrass/mountain music that drew you all to playing this type of music and makes you want to keep playing it?

Travis McNamara (TM): I was drawn to the idea of constant improvement on my instrument … the endless search.

SF: For me, it’s the technical proficiency required.

CH: I love the instrumentation … even when we play songs that aren’t “bluegrass.”

Will Koster (WK): Beer.

FB:  You haven’t been together as a band for all that long – how do you think you’ve grown in that time? And what you attribute that to?

Bevin Foley (BF): We challenge each other to improve at our instruments. We all attended the Rockygrass Academy this past summer and received constructive criticism from the Punch Brothers and the Infamous Stringdusters, which was really helpful. We’ve been gigging a lot … working on harmonies, collaborating on songwriting.

TM: We’re operating on the notion that the rising tide raises all boats.

SF: Travis, Casey and myself also took a songwriting class at Swallow Hill with Kyle James Hauser that was really fun and informative … We’ve also asserted ourselves in the community of bluegrass. Whether it’s going to bluegrass picks or going to shows … we’re trying to always be around.

FB: Do you have a favourite song on Flight? And why?

CH: Rude Awakening … ‘cause I wrote it! (laughter)

FB: Can you please explain where your name comes from?

WK: We we’re originally only gigging at the Bucksnort Saloon in Sphinx Park near Pine, CO. We were calling ourselves the South Platte River Ramblers because Casey and I were living down on the river at that time. We didn’t have a consistent lineup at that time and we weren’t sold on the name. The summer of 2008, we went backpacking in Eagle County. We brought fishing poles, a little bit of food, some brandy and a mandolin. It pretty much rained the whole time we were there, with the exception of a few hours. During the hours it rained, we passed the mandolin from tent to tent, playing/making up songs. We were also passing the brandy around … (laughter) … Then there was a break in the clouds and we got after it fishing …. we slayed it and had a feast … somewhere in the middle of that, we decided that Trout Steak Revival was a great name for our band … (laughter) … yup … it stuck.

FB: What do you hope people think when they think “Trout Steak Revival”?

TM: High energy, great songs, tons of fun.

FB: What is next for you – do you have any gigs/festivals coming up that you are especially looking forward to?

BF: We just got back from Big Sky Big Grass, which was a blast. Our summer is starting to fill up, which is exciting … [this] month, we have the third annual Green Beer and Bluegrass at the Walnut Room in Denver! Brewgrass (Denver, CO) in June is going to be sweet, and we’re heading to the Sioux River Folk Festival (Canton, SD) in August, where we have a bunch of friends.

Listen to Flight on | Bandcamp
Visit Trout Streak Revival | Online
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“Who can hold me? Who can hold me? Who can wrap their arms around me and keep me from falling in?”

Karla Adolphe asks this in her song Who Can Hold Me, which is found on her new solo album, Honeycomb Tombs, and each time I listen to this gorgeous album, it feels to me like Karla is the one who can hold us. These 10 beautiful songs, which were written for people whose lives are touched by grief, are the arms that wrap around us and bring us comfort and strength.

The music is soothing, and Karla’s clear voice is soft and soulful, wrapping around you like a warm blanket as she creates beautiful images that are sometimes heartbreaking, sometimes hopeful and sometimes full of questioning, but always meaningful.

Karla, a folk singer from High River, Alb., released Honeycomb Tombs last November. The songs on the album were inspired by stories of loss and grief shared by her audience members and online followers, and Karla has been giving away free digital downloads of the album in the hope that it will provide comfort to those who are losing a loved one or have lost someone dear to them.

Karla was nice enough to answer some questions about the making of Honeycomb Tombs for us. You can download a digital copy of the album for free on Karla’s website and find her first video below!

FB: Why did you decide to write a collection of songs for people who are grieving?

KA: I witnessed the death of a dear friend’s daughter after a long battle with severe disabilities.  I watched how the random playlist of music really guided us through the day, releasing different emotions, memories and sometimes silence. It was very powerful, and I felt inspired to write an album for these moments in life.

FB: What made you decide to ask people to share their stories and how  did  you collect them?

KA: I realized, as I set out to write songs, that my limited personal experience with death and loss might cause me to get teachy or cheesy; thoughts about grief are far less important than true moments and stories about it.  I invited audience members and online followers to send me anything, and I received over 40 tragic and heartbreaking stories.  I feel very honoured to be able to preserve them in song.

FB: Was it hard for you to be surrounded by grief while working on this album?

KA: During the recording of the album, I felt a strong sense of purpose and support.  I chose some of the best and most talented people in the world to guide me through the making of the album.  What surprised me is the reaction to the album once it was completed; it was here that I felt more challenged by the material in the album.  Folk come up to me after a concert and continue to share their grief stories and how the album has affected them in that journey, and I have found this more of a challenge.

FB: Has there been anything surprising or especially touching about the response to your album and the fact that you are offering the digital album for free?

KA: We offered it for free so it could be a resource to folks in a very difficult time of life, and I am so proud of that!  I have had people send it all over the world to loved ones who are grieving, and I recently watched a contemporary dance company perform choreographed dances to two songs as a commission for a full show about the thin line between life and death.

FB: I’m sure everyone will take away something different from listening to Honeycomb Tombs depending on their experiences with grief, but what do you ultimately hope you can give people with this album?

KA: A moment to rest, a moment for themselves.  Often when we are grieving, we are busy taking care of what remains, and I wanted folks to be able to have a short guide to help take care of their hearts.  I also hope the album is shared – that is the heart behind it.

FB: Is there a song on the album that means the most to you? (and why?)

KA: Well, there are two. Flying Low is the anthem of the album, the real central idea that hope can come out of suffering, and it was a really creative departure for me. I have never really written a song like that!  Mamma Wing is special because it is written for the McHugh family who lost their daughter and all the other parents who have lost a child.  In fact, I received quite a few stories about parents losing children, so that is very special for me.

FB: Why did you call the album Honeycomb Tombs?

KA: It is a lyric from Flying Low that I just love!  I loved the idea that a tomb (a honeycomb) can be a source of sweetness and nourishment.  I like to ponder the mystery of death giving life.

Karla Adolphe – Flying Low from Mike Severloh on Vimeo.

You can find out more about Karla on her I website

You can find Karla on | Facebook

You can follow Karla on | Twitter