THIS SITE IS RUN BY ZOE RECORDS...COWBOY JUNKIES AMERICAN LABEL
Despite its title, the new Cowboy Junkies album, At the End of Paths Taken, is as much about new beginnings as it is about endings. It is also about human connections, the struggle to sustain those connections over time, and the complexities that can arise even when those connections are maintained. It is, in other words, a classic Cowboy Junkies album - a suite of smart, richly textured songs that value subtlety over broad, generic strokes, songs that prize insight and casual revelations over easily digestible clichés.
Family lies at the heart of the album's eleven songs, and, of course, that is appropriate, too. Three of the band's members - singer Margo Timmins; songwriter, producer and guitarist Michael Timmins; and drummer Peter Timmins - are siblings, and bassist Alan Anton has been a member since the group formed in Toronto in 1985. Few bands have lasted nearly as long with their original line-up intact, and fewer still have created as consistently satisfying a body of work. Albums like The Trinity Session (1988), Black Eyed Man (1992), Miles From Our Home (1988) and Early 21st Century Blues (2005), to isolate just a few high points, chronicle a creative journey that is impervious to trends. Each of those albums sounds as fresh and current today as when it was made. You don't stay together and produce work of that quality and depth without learning something about family and permanence - what lasts, what doesn't, perhaps even what shouldn't.
But if their history is an important part of what led the band to At the End of Paths Taken, other factors entered in as well. "My idea was to write an album about families, about how generations affect generations, how there's a continuum," Michael says. "I'm the father of three young kids, and I've got aging parents, so that's obviously a big part of my life. But I found that what was going on in the outside world was affecting my writing. These times are extremely trying. What sort of world is being set up for my kids? All of that began to brew together."
The result is an album that takes family as a starting point, but goes on to look at the vast range of people's responsibilities to and for each other. "Songs like 'Still Lost' and 'Blue Eyed Saviour' are ultimately about any parent and their kids, about sending them out into the world and having no clue where that journey will take them," Michael says. On "Mountain," Margo's vocal interweaves with a recording of their father, a successful aviation salesman, reading a passage about their family from a book he recently completed about his life.
Howdy, Thanks for your friendship and the great music on your page. Just uploaded my new song "My Future Showed Up Late". It's a toe tapper about southern style karma and us good ole boys. It's got my good buddy Ray MaGee on pedal steel cookin' up a storm. Enjoy and let me know how you like it. Thanks, Dexter
Shit Howdy, just thought I'd stop by and tell y'all again what a great sound you have! We're in the studio again and after a rocky start we're firin' on all eight. I'll upload a new hillbilly rocker when I get the mix right. (Took me 6 months last time) Just kiddin'. Stay tuned and stop by every spell or two. Grace and inspiration to you, Dexter
Hi, have a great day. If you have time, I have a strange gig story from way back, that has loosely inspired the title of my upcoming album "Bright Lights Big City".
I have an extra ticket for the CJ show on Tuesday, June 23 at the Iron Horse in Northampton, MA. If anyone is interested, please send me a message ASAP. Thanks.
You are one of those pioneers to create the genre in which I now reside. Whatever "indie/folk" really means...doesn't matter, because now I have a home. Thanks to you.
Howdy, Thanks for your kind comments. I am pleased to know great players like yourself. It inspires me to become a better musician myself and work on adding depth and craftsmanship to my music. We're currently recording a string of new original songs for my next CD. I am adding some rootsy songs as well as some departures from my current style. Lots of fun and challenging. Please have a listen to "My Buffalo Girl" on my page. It's a love song about the domestic bliss of a real cowboy. Enjoy. Best wishes to you, Dexter
Public Radio's Saturday Fade... the place to hear Cowboy Junkies.
June 6: Floorboard Blues
Catch the free live stream for our next show, June 20 from 9pm to midnight EDT. No commercials, no static...just great music that other radio stations won't play.
Howdy Folks, Hope everything is going well with you. I love your great sound and I'm always amazed by the superior quality, skill and craftsmanship you put into your music. Meanwhile, I'm back in the studio, working on some more original songs that reflect the old roots of country while adding some present day vibe. Keeps me on my toes analyzing and shaping the result. Luckily, I get to work with a super bunch of musicians again, that add a great amount to the final product. Be well and stay inspired. Look for new test uploads on my page in the near future and please take a moment to listen to my latest "Water". It's a tale of desperation and conflicted morals set in a Spaghetti Western. Dexter
"The Araya Family and Friends Benefit Concert For Anamaria Araya" is this Friday, May 29th in Long Beach, Ca.
Anamaria has ovarian cancer. We've organized this concert as a way of helping her to pay for her medical care, show her support and at the same time we'll get to play and hear good music played by many of the Araya family musicians and good friends.
Hope you can come out. If you're not able to make it we'd appreciate any donation you can spare. Thanks so much.
