The second album that caught my attention yesterday was the debut album by an Austin Texas based band Stonehoney. The album is titled The Cedar Creek Sessions and in my opinion it’s a strong debut! From their website
Stonehoney is comprised of four smart, seasoned singer/songwriter/instrumentalists who possess distinctive yet complementary songwriting approaches, and who trade vocals with instinctive ease. The group (accompanied on stage by a variety of drummers and keyboardists) is already a local favorite in its adopted hometown of Austin, and has built a large and enthusiastic fan base thanks to their soulful, high-energy live shows. Equally at home in honky-tonks and rock clubs, in raucous dancehalls and intimate house concerts, Stonehoney has also won acclaim with successful appearances at such prestigious festivals as the International Folk Alliance Conference, the Kerrville Folk Festival and the Falcon Ridge Festival
Stonehoney is composed of California native Shawn Davis (Vocals/Electric Guitar) who started in hard rock bands and then changed to country. After returning to California, he met up with Boston native Nick Randolph, (Vocals/Acoustic Guitar), Phil Hurley from upsate New York ( Vocals/Electric Lead Guitar) and from the D.C. area David Phenicie (Vocals/Bass Guitar). They started playing in the living room of a house that Randolph rented in California and soon moved to Austin and put their budding solo careers on hold for the good of the band. Soon they were playing around Austin and building up a good reputation as a great high energy live band which has led to the release of their debut album. The Cedar Creek Sessions a collection of 14 original songs recorded in April of 2009 at Cedar Creek. Along with a few friends they recorded 40 songs live over the course of 4 days with no overdubs or studio tricks and the album they produced is exactly what you would have heard standing in the control room while they were playing. From the website here’s what they say about their music:
The Cedar Creek Sessions, which ranges from the jangly twang of “Two Years Down” to the upbeat infectiousness of “Lucky One” to the bittersweet pop of “I Don’t Wanna Go Home” to the exhilarating road-warrior rock of “White Knuckle Wind” to the introspective balladry of “Headlight On A Midnight Train.
I enjoyed all the tracks and the vocals and harmonies are great. The four members trade lead vocals back and forth and all have good voices. They also play some pretty good guitar when the song calls for it!
So if you enjoy alt-country bands like Reckless Kelly, Rich O’toole or Casey Donahew check out Stonehoney!
Here’s one of my favorites on the album “White Knuckle Wind”
