Americana with an an edge for fans of Emmylou Harris, Stevie Nicks and John Hiatt.

12 MP3 Songs
ROCK: Americana, ROCK: Acoustic



Details:
Sandy Madaris and Luke Powers met in the summer of 2000 and began working together soon after. They went through Luke's songs, deciding which ones were best for her. Sandy also demonstrated her songwriting ability, helping Luke finish songs like "Only One Way."

The next step was making a record. Through Brian Ahern, they hooked up with Nashville producer Tommy Spurlock. Having produced albums by David Olney and Chip Taylor--and having recorded with the likes of Rodney Crowell, Roseanne Cash and the Band--Tommy brought a distinctly "left-of-center" approach to the project.

After recording basic tracks with drummer John Gardner (of the Bluebloods and Grand Ole Opry) and keyboardist Jim Brown, Tommy augmented their work with wide range of instruments: acoustic and electric guitars, pedal steel, lap steel, dobro, mandolin and banjo. He played with backward tape loops and even sampled the radio preacher "the Prophet Omega" to give the project an "anti-Nashville" feel.

In Tommy's words: "I wanted to make this record so wrong nobody will ever know that it was recorded in Nashville."

For mastering, Luke and Sandy turned to Brian Ahern, who offered the use of his equipment and enlisted the skills of legendary engineer Donivan Cowart and computer wizard Doug Beal. The album was released by Phoebe Claire Publishing in March 2002. Pat Kelley, husband of Relentless Records artist Irene Kelley, has come on board as independent promoter and marketer.