His music borders on folk, bluegrass and country…boiled down, I would call it in some ways the “Watchhouse effect”. Songs focused on introspection, with melody and smart instrumentation choices at the core of the music.

A few years back he released a collection of tunes called ‘Cant You See I’m Happy’ and just followed that release up with a single called ‘Too Many Times a Day.’

Its been a while since I had spoken with Andrew as he recently graduated from Dartmouth (about 30 minutes from me), moved back to Montana (not at all 30 minutes from me) for the summer and now finds himself in Indianapolis. We get into writing process, influence and finding our community…something he is finding his footing with right now in his new home base.

I hope you all enjoy…and this marks a semi regular return to some episodes and conversations with musicians…

I’m With Her is on tour this summer, both at festivals and with Iron & Wine, and they are all over the country in September and October too. Hope you enjoy this conversation, and be sure to listen to the end for Sarah’s contribution to our BEST SONG EVER playlist! 

On this new solo effort, Heather beautifully bridges the gap between old and new. They told us of the process of setting out on this new project, “Embarking on my own solo songwriting path has been over a decade in the making. It has been something that has been slowly and surely simmering alongside my more public-facing pursuits. Hawthorn will continue to thrive (we have a full-length album very much in the works!) as both projects enter new chapters.”

Where plucked strings and simple, but rich harmonies may have classified much of Hawthorn’s work, Scott’s two new tracks have gently undulating synths, guitars with light crunchy overdrive and steady, in the pocket drums. A small deviation from a banjo, a guitar and two voices, but its still Heather’s voice that shimmers above it all. A yearning, an ache are present. Heart and soul still peering through and served a more full sonic plate than listeners may be previously used to. Their voice dancing in a back and forth conversations with the instrumental pieces of the arrangements. There is still that ever present rawness.

Where “Honey Coated” has a more pop driven feel and buoyant vibe, “Big Moon” comes in with a slightly heavier, blue tinged atmospheric feeling. Like a dense blanket covering you on a cool Fall morning. Something comforting, but also melancholy in a way. Different, but cut of the same cloth. Heather’s voice, commanding and potent at times and gentle and curious at others. Undulating in a delicate balance of vulnerability and strength.

Heather continues, “Honey Coated and Big Moon are two songs that absolutely poured out of me. In the past year something happened — my intuition opened up and these songs, among several others that haven’t yet been recorded, are a result of that. They are two sides of the same coin. Both emotional and powerful but in different ways — a flaming sun and a lustrous moon, an extrovert and an introvert, momentum and reverence.”

Check out the new tracks today and keep an eye out for Heather as they continue to explore this new adventure in art.

This record has kept me good company this spring, and it’s exciting that as of June 3, it’s out in the world for everyone to hear. 

We had a wonderful chat a couple of months back as Sarah and Austin braved the New Jersey Turnpike on a spring tour. Take a listen and check out the new record!

As readers of this site know, Brian and I care deeply about the musical communities that we call home. This record, exploring the environmental devastation of the land she used to live on, near Asheville, NC, is a powerful representation of what it means to take care of, or to abuse, our communities. In this case, a company called Chemtronics, put so much toxic waste into the ground that, as Valorie says, “[it] will be toxic for our lifetime and for lifetimes to come.”  Valorie says that writing songs “is always how I’ve addressed things in my life,” and we are lucky that is true–just like so many great artists, Valorie manages to put into words what most of us could not. Check out the video below and Valorie’s responses to our questions about this song!

VM: Yes, the video is an emulsion if you will… I wrote my college thesis on dreams and one of the phenomena I wrote a lot about is known as condensation — when something in a dream is two or more disparate things at once. Like, in a dream, if I see a house and I know it’s not only a house but also my mother, and in the dream it makes a kind of sense for something to be more than one thing. It’s a tactic our psyche deploys, according to me, to facilitate the containment of large amounts of meaning. So, that’s kinda how the video is. 

I struggled with how to tell a story and ultimately decided to make it more impressionistic. using multiple scenarios and settings not to tell a story that “makes sense” but to impart an overall feeling. 

But if I had to describe the message, I’d say it’s about the tension between an individual and corporations, between nature and machines of all types, and the killing and destroying of human health that is subtly woven into the American experience. The video is like a rock I’m throwing at a tank. Also it’s a love song to the many medicinal benefits of marijuana, AKA “the killer.” 

RLR: I feel like the task of writing songs that hit on the hard truths of our social order (or dis-order) is a really different challenge than writing about the hard truths of personal challenges. How do you think about that? 

VM: In the process of discovering the Chemtronics superfund site and struggling with some health issues, my personal challenges merged with larger social problems in a non-consensual way. I definitely don’t see it the same as you. 

The two “tasks” you mention, to me, are inextricably interwoven. It’s all fractals. My issues are a microcosm of corporate issues, which are a microcosm of global issues, etc etc., but to tell the truth I don’t think about any of it when I’m writing. When I wrote “Only The Killer” I had no thought in my head of any issues, I just trusted my art brain to say what it had to say. 

RLR: The slide guitar, from Kayla Zuskin, on this song adds a truly haunting background. Is this the way you heard it in your head when you first started writing it? Can you share the sonic development of this song? 

VM: I love Kayla’s slide guitar on the song. She engineered and produced the record, as well as playing a lot of guitar parts. We didn’t talk about what happened sonically. I didn’t want to talk about things too much; I just wanted to stay in art mode and see if something came together, which it did in my opinion. I don’t know if she gave the guitar part such a dark quality intentionally or if she just sat down and played what was in her. 

To me, though, the song has a happy feeling overall. Maybe that’s weird, but it sounds uplifting to me, and I think that’s because it comes from the part of me that corporations can’t kill. 

RLR: Lyrically, this song is both spare and really vivid. Usually, that means it either fell out of the sky and was written in 15 minutes, or it was one that took a lot of whittling down to its essence. As a writer, what does your routine look like so you can both catch those songs that come on the wind and do the different work of paring down lyrics?

VM: The song did happen really fast. I guess if I have a routine at all I’d describe it as macro. Like, no morning pages for me. I just approach every day with a baseline awareness that some of the stuff I encounter will end up in songs. So I’m primed to recognize a phrase or a circumstance that seems dreamy and song-worthy. 

Maybe a metaphor could be a mushroom hunter. Two people can be walking through the same woods, but a mushroom hunter uses eyesight differently. The mushroom hunter’s eyes are trained to pick up on the colors and shapes of mushrooms, even while enjoying a nice hike just like everybody else. 

Regarding paring down lyrically — YES! I started noticing a bunch of years ago how verbally cluttered some of my older songs sounded, and I just set myself to the task of removing ALL unnecessary words, and/or finding a more distilled way to express something. You know, like how in culinary arts one premise is, don’t use inedible garnishes. Back in the day there might be something on a plate of food that the diner was clearly not meant to eat; it was a visual. Then somewhere along the line the paradigm shifted to ‘NO! Do not put anything on the plate that should not be ingested.’ Well, maybe it’s the same with words. All the little connecting words… and, the, etc… I try to strip them all away because they seem like inedible garnishes. I actually call this process the ‘Miller Brazilian’… as in waxing…. haha! True story. 

The “Miller Brazilian” is destined to become a famous phrase in songwriter circles. 

Only The Killer Would Know is available everywhere this Friday, May 6 from Blackbird Record Label. 

I have seen other white people do this in spaces for racial equity–trying to prove that they’re the best white ally through their mastery of language. But, as we discuss in this episode of the podcast, real work for justice is about your proximity to the people most impacted. 

Joe Troop does not claim to be an activist himself–his work is to support the folks doing the day-in-day-out work that requires you to be in one place for a long time (kinda hard to do as a musician). On his amazing new record, Borrowed Time, Joe spins stories of our country and world that critique injustice and point to new visions of community. At the heart of it all, there is immense joy. We hope you enjoy this conversation on the Red Line Roots podcast!

Photo Credit: Huy Nguyen

The entire record plays host to a “who’s who” of the current bluegrass and roots landscape. From heavy hitting heroes to the new crop of pickers wowing folks on festival stages and post-show campfire jams. Bridging a gap between generations and the historical groundwork of bluegrass, old time and roots with the contemporary aural topography we are living in.

The latest track “The Coyote Trail” features Chris Jones, Mike Witcher, Sharon Gilchrist, Sullivan Tuttle and Trent Freeman. Entering with an immediate calming nature that grounds you for the expedition ahead, Reischman’s mandolin fully centered, rises like a gentle tide in a safe harbor. The substance and power of each yearnful note is helped by a slow and steady, yet sturdy, latticework of delicately played instrumentation beneath. The mandolin then politely bowing out to chop and add rhythm to give the fiddle, guitar and dobro their due at the melody. A conversation in the truest sense with each instrumentalist adding their own style, feel and guidance to the melody. There is structure, but its anything but stringent and stale. Allowing the space to find the little crevices that make John’s arrangements so special and unique. The most beautiful moment occurring when the rest of the band drops out and the mandolin sits on its own to complete the journey we are taken on through ‘The Coyote Trail’, each note with a grace and airiness that is juxtaposed by the weight each one carries as it stands on its own just as strong as it does with the support of a full band behind it. Magical.

John’s tunes have the feel of age old instrumentals that we have all learned to better hone our craft, many of his songs becoming staples in fiddle tune jam circles. Familiar, but exciting. This tune is no exception. He is a master in the truest sense of the word.

Be sure to give a listen below and pre-order the record today on John’s Bandcamp page.