Charlie Daniels

Press release, photo by Mary Jane Farmer

Nashville — Country Music Hall of Famer Charlie Daniels is back with his musician pals (James Stroud, Billy Crain and Charlie Hayward) as the Beau Weevils’ premiere the official music video for “Mexico Again” exclusively on CMT Music and CMT.com.

“Mexico Again” is the first music video to be released from the band’s debut album, Beau Weevils — Songs in the Key of E, that dropped in October of last year.

Click here to view “Mexico Again” video

“Well, there’s actually more than a little autobiographical stuff in “Mexico Again,'” admits Daniels. “I really did get put in jail in Juarez back in my wild, young, crazy days, and the U.S. border was the most beautiful sight I had ever seen. So, you could say my motivation for writing the song was fact and fantasy.”

The new 10-track album that Daniels describes as “Downhome, swampy, rock-meets-funk with a little taste of ‘Delta’ type of style,” features the country legend on lead vocals, guitar and fiddle, Stroud on drums and percussion, Crain on guitar, and Hayward on bass.

Daniels wrote or co-wrote all ten tunes on the new compilation. Stroud and Casey Wood produced the project with Daniels‘ manager David Corlew serving as executive producer.

James Stroud’s history as a musician, producer, music publisher and industry executive spans over 40 years. As a drummer/percussionist, he has played behind the likes of The Pointer Sisters, Paul Simon, Gladys Knight, Bob Seger and dozens more. He produced his first hit in 1976 with the triple platinum-selling “Misty Blue” by Dorothy Moore. Stroud achieved major country music success producing albums for Tim McGraw and Clint Black in the 1990s. After making his foray into the record label side of the industry, Stroud helmed Giant Records, DreamWorks Records Nashville, and served as Co-Chairman of Universal Music Group in Nashville. He would go on to found his own independent label, Stroudavarious Records, and later, R&J Records.

Stroud has produced albums that have collectively sold millions of copies, and had over 100 #1 records, including three chart-toppers with country star Chris Young. Stroud also produced several albums for The Charlie Daniels Band including Homesick Heroes (’88), Simple Man (’89), and Renegade (’91).

A staple of the southern rock scene since the early 1970s, guitarist Billy Crain has performed with The Allman Brothers Band, The Rolling Stones, ZZ Top, The Outlaws, and others. He’s the brother of the late Charlie Daniels Band guitarist, Tommy Crain.

Longtime Charlie Daniels Band Charlie Hayward is best known for playing bass on Gregg Allman’s album, Laid Back. His additional credits include performing with Dr. John and Alex Taylor.

The album is available for purchase now at streaming sites Apple Music, iTunes, Amazon, Google Play and. And hard copies are available through CharlieDaniels.com and Amazon.com.

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Flatland Cavalry , “Homeland Insecurity,” Independent Label

Flatland Cavalry, with the release of Homeland Insecurity, has established their niche in the upper echelon of Texas and country music. The 11 songs in this new album get better every time one listens to them. There’s some new phrase that might have been missed with the first or fourth listen, but which leap out the seven time. From the lyrics and the arrangements, Flatland Cavalry has created a masterpiece they can be proud of for years to come.

Lead singer and lyricist Cleto Cordero wrote and co-wrote all of the songs on this, their sophomore album. His co-writers include bandmate Reid Dillon and Texas singer/songwriter on her own, Kaitlin Butts. Cleto said that the arrangements often come when they are putting the song together. “It’s kind of like fixing cars,” Cordero said. “Somehow, if the car still doesn’t work, you figure out what you need.”

It was natural, a no-brainer, he said when asked how they chose “Honeywine” as the first release to radio. “It was the first song that I wrote for this album,” he said. This song stems from a night of drinking with Butts, who he said is his girlfriend. “When the beer runs out and the whiskey’s gone, Honeywine, you’re all I need.”

“Old School” brings back memories of happy times. “I sat out on the front porch, the crickets and coyotes sang harmony… we make old school sound brand new.”

Cordero said that Butts is also helping him with his enunciation when singing.  “She kinda gets me in a corner and works with me on vocals,” he said. And it’s working — the lyrics in these songs are all clear and distinct. And about those arrangements — there’s fiddle sounds soaring high above, like a guardian angel keeping watch. “We went up to Kaitlin’s mom’s farm in Oklahoma and worked on some of this,” Cordero said. “On one song, Reid’s (Dillon) guitar riff nailed it, it was done in 20 minutes. I love that chicken-pickin’ thing. It’s so old school.”

Cordero said he wrote for a few years, and played at his high school and for his mom’s and grandma’s friends. But it was when he got to college that he started searching for meaning to his lyrics. That was 10 years ago, he added. In his writing, too, he has maintained that “Old School” feelin  in every song here. And they are all love songs, although some of the love is of old school times and identifiable lost love, and glory-days of hope.

This CD is available from their Website, FlatlandCavalry.com, at their concerts, and on the streaming sites.

Mary Jane Farmer, Scene In Town

First appeared in Buddy Magazine, February 2019 issue

One of several packages available for purchase with the An Aaron Watson Family Christmas CD.

First printed in Paris Life Magazine, December 2018 issue.

Aaron Watson

“An Aaron Watson Family Christmas,” Big Label Records

Anyone listening to Aaron Watson and his wife, Kimberly, belting out “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” might get a mental memory of Esther Williams and Ricardo Montalban when they first introduced that song 69 years ago. Or maybe see Frank Sinatra’s toes tapping to it. Not sure if Frank Sinatra ever danced to it, but it’s a great vision. It’s that smooth and enticing a version of this song. Although it’s not the newest song on the new recording project, it’s also not by far the oldest one either.

Watson recorded An Aaron Watson Family Christmas 10-song CD at Milo Deering’s studio, and it’s filled with help from Kimberly, and also from their three children, Jake, Jack, and Jolee Kate. And there’s some instrumentals laid down by the amazing Milo Deering.

Maybe the oldest song in this collection is the classic “Silent Night,” which Aaron sings alone on, and which allows Kristine Kruta’s bass work to shimmer with sweetness.  The whole song, written in 1818, is charmingly recorded with simplicity and sentiment.

And, of course, so many from the 1940s, such as “Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, on which young Jake takes the duo lead with his dad. Listen closely to that and you’ll hear ‘snaps,’ laid on this track and several others by executive producer Nate Coon. Fun. Also, the eternally popular, “Jingle Bells” and “Santa Claus is Coming to Town.”

Aaron wrote one of the two new songs here — “Lonesome Lonestar Christmas,” a song that some without loved ones with them might understand. “The only present underneath my tree is a sack of socks that I wrapped up for me.” Slow, easy listening, and a good reminder to everyone that there may be someone out there not celebrating the season with family or friends. And yet in spite of that, it’s a song about the strength that Texans muster up when they must. Not completely sad.

And remembering Frank Sinatra, Aaron tackled with sophistication Frank’s “A Christmas Waltz,” and it stands out for two reasons: the first is that hardly ever, nowadays, do artists give their fans waltzes, and because Aaron’s  version is every bit as beautiful as Frank’s. One hundred percent as wonderful.

There’s more — so much more, and anyone’s heart can’t help but to listen up when Jolee Kate shares vocals with her dad, and Jake reads of the angels talking to the shepherds from the Book of Luke.

Photo by Mary Jane Farmer

This CD was released hot on the trail of Watson’s 14^th, Live at The World’s Largest Rodeo, which is filled with his classic style and upscale arrangements of his national hits. An Aaron Watson Family Christmas is a tender look at Christmases past and present. He said in October, at the time he released the CD, ““We’ve talked about making this record for a few years now and I’m so glad we finally did. I had so much fun with Kim and the kids working on this project and including them, and am so proud of how it turned out. It’s very much a Frank Sinatra on the farm kind of feel. We hope it is something families can enjoy during the holidays for years to come.”

Hard copies of the CD are available on the Website  AaronWatson.com, and there’s a few special packages available along with the CD, and on Amazon.com. And downloading can happen on Apple Music, iTunes, Spotify and other streaming sites.

This is just a suggestion, but when you get your copy of An Aaron Watson Family Christmas, maybe set some logs ablaze in the fireplace and grab some hot chocolate and a gingerbread cookie, sit back, and enjoy.

Aaron Watson will be playing on December 2 at the KPLX 10-Man Jam, Billy Bob’s Texas in Fort Worth; December 30 at Cowtown Coliseum in Fort Worth, and again May 4 as part of the Off the Rails Fest in Frisco. Go Online to AaronWatson.com for a complete list of his upcoming shows.

Press Release, revised

The Christmas season is starting early for pioneering independent singer/songwriter Aaron Watson who is releasing his first ever Christmas album, An Aaron Watson Family Christmas, today, October 5. This is hot on the trails of his most recent release, Live at the World’s Largest Rodeo
The ten-song collection includes seasonal standards and two originals. The project was truly a labor of love for Watson and a family affair, with his wife of 16 years, Kimberly, and their children; Jake (12), Jack (10) & Jolee Kate (8) all featured on the album. Among the originals is a self-penned neo-classic tip of the hat to his home state with “Lonestar Lonely Christmas” and the beautiful “She Stared At Him All Night,” which Drew Womack wrote and which depicts Mary in the manger with Jesus.
“We’ve talked about making this record for a few years now and I’m so glad we finally did,” Watson said. “I had so much fun with Kim and the kids working on this project and including them, and am so proud of how it turned out. It’s very much a Frank Sinatra on-the-farm kind of feel. We hope it is something families can enjoy during the holidays for years to come.”
An Aaron Watson Family Christmas
1. “Lonely Lonestar Christmas” (Aaron Watson)
2. “Santa Claus is Coming to Town” – featuring Kimberly, Jake, Jack & Jolee Kate
3. “She Stared At Him All Night” (Drew Womack)
4. “Christmas Time is Here” – featuring Jolee Kate w/ Jack reading Luke
5. “Baby It’s Cold Outside” – featuring Kimberly
6. “The Christmas Waltz”
7. “Jingle Bells” – featuring Kimberly
8. “Silent Night”
9. “Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer” – featuring Jake
10. “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas” – Watson Family Greeting
“One of country music’s biggest DIY success stories,” proclaims Forbes, Aaron Watson is riding high on the success of his latest album, Vaquero, which spurred his first Top 10 on the national radio charts with his self-penned “Outta Style.” At 50 weeks, the hit single shattered a Billboard record, marking the longest trek to the coveted spot in the history of their Country Airplay Chart. The Texas troubadour earned one of the 10 biggest album debuts of 2017 in country music and a number of “Best Album” nods, including Whiskey Riff and the No. 1 spot on Taste of Country’s year end list, proclaiming the project “a rich collection of cowboy poetry.”

Watson and his band are headlining the State Fair of Texas, 3921 Martin Luther King Jr Blvd. in Dallas Saturday night, October 6.

Beginning today (Friday), ordering the CD and even more can happen by going online to AaronWatson.com. There are even several packages to select from that include T-shirts or ‘ugly’ sweaters and Christmas ornaments along with the holiday CD.

From press release, photos by Mary Jane Farmer

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