AOTW - 11/18/13 - Turnpike Troubadours
Posted: Mon Nov 18, 2013 4:00 pm
Evan Felker is a man with a purpose.
As the rest of his bandmates pound Grain Belts (an alcohol revelation that seems to please them greatly) and heartily revel with the group of fans that had just introduced themselves at the Locust Tap in Des Moines, Felker slowly sips his beer and begins to clearly take stock of the room. You can just watch him assessing every detail of his surroundings, and taking mental notes. He chimes in on the conversation from time to time, whether to comment on the merits of the various regional cheap beers that permeate the Plains states (he still thinks he might prefer Lonestar to Grain Belt), or the culture of Scandinavia (where they had recently toured), but it's clear that his focus is elsewhere. Perhaps on the show next door at Wooly's later that evening; perhaps on their next show; perhaps on just surveying the surroundings. Regardless, it is clear that his observation of the world around him is a constant driver, and it shows in his songs.
In a short while, they will leave for the venue to prepare for the show, and we will continue to do the same by pounding Big Friendlies (16 oz cans of Grain Belt) and overtaking the Locust Tap's jukebox with their music. They will proceed to put on one of the best shows I've ever seen, in front of a crowd whose knowledge of their catalog and enthusiasm for it they had clearly underestimated. It was a great night, and it put my enthusiasm for the band over the top. If you like sprawling, dusty rock/country hybrids speckled with Cajun influences, ripping guitar solos, and shit-hot fiddle playing dressing up the framework of great songwriting that explores the time-honored themes of women, alcohol, and relentless wanderlust in new and exciting ways, keep reading. If you don't, go no further.
The band was assembled by Evan Felker, lead singer and chief songwriter in Broken Bow, Oklahoma in the mid 00's. The band is currently based in Norman, Oklahoma. Much like Alabama in the songwriting of Patterson Hood and Mike Cooley, Oklahoma is a constant fixture in Felker's songwriting. It's current line up includes RC Edwards (upright/electric bass), Kyle Nix (fiddle), Ryan Engleman (lead guitar), and Gabe Pearson (drums). They have released three albums, 2007's "Bossier City", 2010's "Diamonds & Gasoline", and 2012's "Goodbye Normal Street". They built up a following touring relentlessly in the Texoma region, and were thus lumped in with the "Red Dirt" scene alongside artists like Cross Canadian Ragweed, Jason Boland & the Stragglers, Randy Rogers Band, etc. However, I've always felt this label did the band a disservice. To me, "Red Dirt" tends to imply a country-rock hybrid that's built around pop songwriting and doesn't take too many chances, yet is often fairly listenable (much more so than radio Nashville country). Their first album, 2007's "Bossier City" probably deserved this label. As their sound has expanded, so has their audience. While still largely Midwestern in scope, the band is currently filling rooms up between the Mississippi and Rocky Mountains, from Illinois to Colorado, and Iowa to Texas.
1. Come November
2. Bossier City
3. Solid Ground
4. Easton & Main
5. The Shape
6. Austin to Ashes
7. Angola
8. Rollin On
9. Three Rivers Song
Released in 2007, "Bossier City" put the Troubadours into a position of relative popularity on the Red Dirt circuit. To my ears, it is their least developed album and features their most formulaic songwriting, but definitely shows flashes of the potential that they have continued to cash in on and grow. "Come November" is a solid country-rock pop song that finds a down and out fuck-up singer spending his last quarter to tell his gal he's hitting the road for awhile. The title rack is a romping, rollicking classic honky tonk song about going down to Louisiana, pissing your money away at the casino and getting drunk. Other highlights include the country waltz love-letter to the legendary Cain's Ballroom in Tulsa, "Easton & Main", and the wonderfully lo-fi Okie folk of "Three Rivers Song" which laments the death of rural Oklahoma farms at the hands of wealthy Texas investors. Oklahoma itself is a central theme on this album, and the sound is more inline with the safe roots-rock/country hybrid so commonly associated with the Red Dirt scene. Engleman's guitar and Nix's fiddle are less prominent on this album, which also features the most underdeveloped production of any Troubadour album.
1. Every Girl
2. 7 & 7
3. 1968
4. Down on Washington
5. Kansas City Southern
6. Whole Damn Town
7. Leaving & Lonely
8. The Funeral
9. Diamonds & Gasoline
10. Shreveport
11. Evangeline
12. Long Hot Summer Day
2010's "Diamonds & Gasoline" marked a huge step forward for Turnpike Troubadours. A heavier rock and roll influence rears its head, as well as a clear shift away from safe country-rock-pop and a much stronger presence of Nix's excellent, vibrant fiddle playing, and Engleman's ripping guitar leads. Edwards also brings in more upright bass, and Red Dirt legend Mike McClure took over on the production nobs. The result is a compelling fusion of classic country/Americana, and rock and roll with some flashes of Cajun influence. This album expanded their audience beyond the Red Dirt circuit, gaining them audiences throughout the northern Midwestern and into the Southeast. The album opens with "Every Girl", which is the type of perfect country/rock hybrid that would have burned up the radio with its fantastic fiddle playing, and ridiculously catchy chorus (if there was any justice in this world). It's a bittersweet love song to a real spitfire of a gal who "don't talk about religion; she talks about The Stones". It's followed up by "7&7", a story of running into an old flame in the grocery store and reflecting on how different her life, now a mother and wife is compared to our protagonist (clearly Felker) who still does "my share of sleeping on the floor". "I had no clue, I'd be the boy who, your mama warned you about" croons Felker on the chorus, as he comes to the realization that he's become nothing more than a regrettable foot note in this person's life. "Down on Washington" is a swirling ode to bar hopping in Stillwater, and striking out. "Kansas City Southern" is a shit-kicking fiddle driven tale of a womanizing drifter, and "Shreveport" is another ode to partying in Louisiana, but unlike "Bossier City", features a rollicking Zydeco-esque accordion. "The Funeral" is a fresh twist on the prodigal son, and the album closes with an absolute romper of legendary fiddler John Hartford's "Long Hot Summer Day" (a frequent closer in their live shows).
1. Gin, Smoke, Lies
2. Before the Devil Knows We're Dead
3. Southeastern Son
4. Blue Star
5. Call a Spade a Spade
6. Morgan Street
7. Gone Gone Gone
8. Good Lord Lorrie
9. Empty as a Drum
10. Wrecked
11. Quit While I'm Ahead
2012's "Goodbye Normal Street" picks up right where "Diamonds & Gasoline" left off and takes it to the next level. It features the band's strongest songwriting to date, and shows a depth to their arrangements and subject matter beyond the previous releases. It opens with the ominous "Gin, Smoke, Lies" which is a classic cheating song that features searing fiddle and is built around Felker's observation that the family rooster is far more successful with the ladies than he. "Before the Devil Knows We're Dead" is a rocking ode to mortality featuring some devil hiss fiddle riffs from Nix. "Southeastern Son" and "Blue Star" are both war songs inspired by Felker's family, the former being told from the standpoint of his cousin who signed up for the National Guard just to pay the bills (as opposed to wanting to play hero) and "Blue Star" about his uncle coming from another tour of duty. "Call a Spade a Spade" is another cheating song set to a traditional country waltz featuring a duet between Felker and Jamie Wilson of The Trishas. "Morgan Street" is a fun, rocking tune about bar hopping with the local scene makers that is once again accordion heavy. "Gone Gone Gone" is a high lonesome masterpiece. But it's "Good Lord Lorrie" that seems to be the center piece of this one, and to me, defines what makes these guys great. A story of a charming fuck up who gets drunk, makes an ass out of himself, and fucks things up with the girl who is probably out of his league, it's a prime example of Felker's ability to write a specific story that sounds like it could have happened for so many of us. "Guess your folks were right", he laments as Lorrie kicks him to the curb at the song's end. The album closes with "Wrecked", an up-tempo waltz about a bitch from hell and "Quit While I'm Ahead", a clever reflection on the ride so far.
Over the past half a decade, the Turnpike Troubadours have been crafting a sound that encapsulates the ethos of that big, oft forgotten swatch of America that lays between the Mississippi River and the Rocky Mountains, frequently referencing their home state of Oklahoma, and much of the surrounding states, but their songs find their true genius in hitting on themes that are universal to the human experience. They blend rock and roll and classic country song structures with instrumentation that evokes everything from classic Americana, to Louisiana Zydeco to even punk rock. Turnpike Troubadours aren't doing things that nobody else has done, but they create a musical burrito that is worth digging into for any fan of down to earth, honest American music.