if i had to create a tree of musical influence, gary louris would be at the upper echelons of said tree. its easy to forget the web of influence that he and the jayhawk’s have woven over countless of bands since the late 80’s. i say it’s easy only because a lot of folks continually point to tupelo as the primary point of influence on the “alt country” crowd. regardless of who points to who, there is no denying louris’ place in history.

his first solo record, vagabonds, is without a doubt one of his finest hours. not to take anything away from his later works, but this is definitely his best outpouring both lyrically and musically in at least 10 years. the crowes’ chris robinson produced the affair and brings a little bit of his bands’ southern flair and soul to the mix. the album also features backup vocals from the laurel canyon family choir, which is made up of susanna hoffs, jenny lewis and the chapin sisters amongst others. the addition of the backup singers, sprinkled throughout the record, add a new dimension to louris songs, mostly that southern flair i mentioned earlier. definitely going to be one of my favorites of the year.

omaha nights

dodge and his gang have a great interview up for your reading pleasure, here.

here is an exclusive, i think, to captains dead, ”vagabonds” recorded live at the souther theater in minneapolis. 

gary louris myspace