Including but not limited to: Nathan McEuen (guitars/vocals), Chuck Hailes (upright bass/vocals), Scott Gates (mandolin/vocal), Elaine Gregston (Accordion), Paul Cartwright (fiddle/vocals), Dan Richman (Cajon), Canaan McDuffey (Drums).
Influences
"Nathan McEuen hits on all levels with ’Grand Design.’ Rarely does an album come out these days that is not only well written and performed, but it is very entertaining." -John Sandige, Santa Cruz, KPIG 107.5 FM
Sounds Like
"Nathan McEuen is not only a great singer/songwriter, Nathan also handles guitars, piano and percussion on this album. We’re talking modern folk rock here where my thoughts go to Neil Young, Paul Simon and even a touch of Gino Vanelli - one thing for sure is that not many out there sound like Nathan McEuen. There’s a lotta soul in this record!" -Kaj Roth, Melodic.net.
Written By: Stewart Oksenhorn
Aspen Times Weekly
Aspen, CO Colorado
January, 2010
-- For a short bio visit: NathanMceuen.net --
For years, one of McEuen's projects has been recording soundtracks, with his brother Aaron, for the star shows presented at planetariums. Part of the motivation to occupy this unique niche was a knack for technology. Though McEuen claims to be a computer dunce, among his early jobs was building recording studios. By the time he was 20, McEuen and Aaron had built two spacious, professional recording facilities. “I liked building things — worked in construction, ripped apart pinball machines to see how they worked, recorded things,” he said.
The planetarium music had the side benefit of putting artistic space between Nathan and his father, John, the longtime instrumental wizard of the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. Where the elder McEuen played the most earthy music imaginable — the Dirt Band's signature achievement was “Will the Circle Be Unbroken?” the 1972 collaboration with Nashville's old guard that explored traditional country sounds and songs — Nathan attempted to create a soundtrack for the observation of the galaxy. For Nathan, who was always timid about following his father into the music universe, getting started on his own path was probably a good thing.
“I did it quietly, in the background,” he said of his development as a musician. “For the longest time, I felt insecure expressing that I wanted to play. I had a lot to look up to, a lot to be compared to. It took me a long time to be comfortable saying, Yeah, this is what I want to do.”
McEuen had not only his father's legacy to contend with, but his brother, Jonathan. Jonathan was not only four years older, but also had never been hesitant about pursuing a career in music.
Nathan was on a slower track. With instruments readily at hand in the household — first in Salt Lake City, then in Evergreen, Colo. — it was inevitable that he would have some contact, and at 5, McEuen started messing around on the piano. At 8 he wrote his first song. But he didn't pick up the guitar till he was 13, and he says, jokingly, that he learned a chord a year for the next few years.
“It was hard to find inspiration,” he said. “If you're going to be great, you know it's going to take, like, 100 years.”
But at 16, he hit the accelerator, and signed up for every music class and club he could, from a cappella choir to jazz band. When he moved to California, about a decade ago, McEuen began developing a community of musicians to work with, including Crosby Loggins, the son of Kenny Loggins, who became a songwriting partner. He also gave lessons and taught at band camps. And in 2005, with backing from an investor, he launched his own label, Lint Records, and released his debut album, “Grand Design.”
Despite the lingering desire to launch the planetarium tour, McEuen's music has inched closer to what his father plays. On Nathan's 2007 album “Festival,” the sound is singer-songwriter folk-rock, with touches of country and Celtic sounds. Nathan plays acoustic guitar, banjo, piano and percussion on the album; he also sings plenty, which his father does only sparingly.
When McEuen performs at Aspen's Wheeler Opera House on Friday, Jan. 15, he will be joined by Chuck Hailes on upright bass, and Scott Gates, a mandolinist who is all of 17. “Those who see the show will see why I bring him with me on the road,” McEuen said of Gates.
In his early teens, McEuen began discovering music that had nothing to do with the country-folk his father played, both in the Dirt Band and under his own name. “When I found music and said, ‘Wow, that's so cool,' it was Nirvana, the Offspring, Green Day. I was heavily into that. I went to see Beck, Bush,” he recalled, adding that the phase may have been part of the ordinary teenage rebellion against music with the parental stamp of approval. “Possibly it could have been, not lashing out, but, ‘This is completely different!' But eventually that got old.
“I played them for my dad, played him a Nirvana song. He said, ‘Why are they so depressed? Why do they sound like they have everything?' That was when I realized me and my dad had different opinions on music.”
But perhaps it was inevitable that their differences would be relatively small. Even though McEuen was reluctant to follow his father into music, he was raised in the thick of it. John McEuen brought his six kids on tour with him as often as he could, and Nathan remembers being 5, getting on an airplane, and flying from Colorado to Taylorsville, Utah for his dad's gig. At that show, the younger McEuen was invited onstage to sing “Picture,” a song from the 1920s. Some years later, Nathan became his father's roadie, handling merchandise and instruments, while Jonathan got to sit in regularly onstage.
Along the way, John warned Nathan away from the music business. John would say how lucky he had been to get in a band that became popular and remained viable for decades. “There were times I was growing up when he worked 20-hour days, couldn't stop. So I saw that side of the music business,” McEuen said.
But he also saw another side — close-up and personal. “On tour, he'd show me, ‘OK, there's Del McCoury, one of the best rhythm players. Watch what he's doing,'” McEuen said. “Then he'd introduce me to the guy backstage, which was cool. Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash, Dolly Parton, Michael Martin Murphey, Steve Martin, Phish, Bill Monroe, The Band — I got to know a side of these people before I was interested in music, before I was awed by the icons that they were. I'd always ask them questions and learned from a side of these people that wasn't typically seen every day.”
Come Celebrate our 1yr Anniversary at Dharma Studios Tattoo Sunday Feb.21st 12-5pm 960 E. Ojai Ave. Ojai, Ca 93023 (805)901-2569 (805)640-6454 Raffle Tickets, prize: 1st prize tattoo by Cody Rutland valued at $200. 2nd prize tattoo by Cody Rutland valued at $100. 3rd prize Dharma Studios T-shirt. Pin Up Contest, Free Face Painting for the kids.
Just wanted to stop by to say hello and let you know that we are giving away a free MP3 of "The Wish". If you would like to have it just send me an email to joshcanovamusic@gmail.com and I will get it to you. Oh, and if you are twitter you can follow me at www.twitter.com/jbcanova
What the best way to break into the European music market is.
Here are some things you can do:
Advertise in the following print magazines in Germany: Living Line Dance, reporting about line dance and country music, and Folk Magazin, reporting about folk and country music. The magazines have a high reputation in Germany and thousands of readers. If you would like to contact the publishers of the magazines to request more information about advertising, please send me an e-mail at Ch.Lamitschka@t-online.de
If you have more questions about the European music market or about any of the information I send to you today, please contact me at Ch.Lamitschka@t-online.de too.
Last but not least, join my buddy list on the following profiles and add me to your Top Friends:
Editor & Journalist for Country Music Christian Lamitschka An der Pfingstweide 28 61118 Bad Vilbel Germany Phone: ++49 6101 544613 Mobil: ++49 171 6903352 E-Mail: Ch.Lamitschka@t-onine.de E-Mail: Info@CountryMusic-Magazin.de www.MySpace.com/ChristianLamitschka
Howdy, friends! I played "Ill Have Somebody Else"(-bonus track)on the newly GRAMMY nominated cd, Willie and the Wheel (Willie Nelson and AATW)!!!!!BRAND NEW SONGS UP TODAY! and the band just got on reverbnation..check it out..www.reverbnation.com/therubyjaneshow
Hey come on in to Smooth Barber Shop in Ventura and give me a try.. You will NEVER go anyplace else Haircuts and Hot Towel Shaves !! 805 616 4113 Richie the Barber
I'm so bummed that I'll be missing your Downtown Disney show. I was in Cali all week for Thanksgiving and just got home. When are you coming out to Utah again?
I’ve been a music journalist for more than 10 years. Over the years, many artists and managers have asked me what the best way to break into the European music market is.
Here are some things you can do:
Publish artist press releases, news, and tour dates to the CountryHome Forum on MySpace, http://groups.myspace.com/CountryHomeMagazine , CountryHome Forum is part of CountryHome, http://www.CountryHome.de , Germany's Premier Country Music Online Magazine. Everything you publish to the CountryHome Forum will be published in my weekly Newsletter which has over 80,000 readers.
Publish artist interviews in English to http://groups.myspace.com/CountryHomeMagazineInterviewsEnglish , interviews in French to http://groups.myspace.com/InterviewsAvecCountryMusicStars and interviews in German to http://groups.myspace.com/CountryMusikInterviews . All these groups on MySpace are part of CountryHome, http://www.CountryHome.de , Germany's Premier Country Music Online Magazine.
Send me CDs and DVDs for review and set up an artist interview with me. All reviews and interviews will be submitted to the magazines I'm writing for. More information for which magazines I'm writing can be found at http://www.MySpace.com/ChristianLamitschka
Upload artist videos to http://www.MyVideo.de and http://www.ClipFish.de . Both websites are like http://www.YouTube.com and uploading videos is free. The websites are completely in German. If you don’t speak German and need assistance, I will help you open an account and upload a video for 25 Euro. Each additional video upload for the same artist name and at the same video website is 10 Euro.
If you have more questions about the European music market or about any of the information I send to you today, please contact me at Ch.Lamitschka@t-online.de too.
Editor & Journalist for Country Music Christian Lamitschka An der Pfingstweide 28 61118 Bad Vilbel Germany
I just released a new funky album "Outcries from a Sea of Red" which is now available! It is the funk! You listen to it for free at www.teddypresberg.com
November 8th- San Diego – Lestat’s November 12th- Las Vegas – House of Blues November 13th- Reno – Black Tangerine November 14th- San Jose – House Party November 14th- San Francisco – Brainwash Café Hope you can make it to one of the shows on the tour!!! -j
Everyone can vote in any catagory! Please consider voting for EMM Radio - Internet Radio Station of the Year! http://www.newmusicweekly.com/nmwawards.php?d=y - Thank you! - listen in at www.emmradio.com! It's A Country Thang!"
Today I would like to let you know about two print magazines in Germany I'm writing for.
"Living Line Dance", reporting about line dance and country music, and "Folk Magazine", reporting about folk and country music. The magazines are high respected in Europe. They offer you a good chance to publicize yourself in Europe and Germany.
For more information, please contact me at MySpace or send email to Ch.Lamitschka@t-online.de with the headline "Advertise at Living Line Dance and Folk Magazine".
Warm regards
Christian
Editor & Journalist for Country Music Christian Lamitschka An der Pfingstweide 28 61118 Bad Vilbel Germany Ch.Lamitschka@t-online.de Phone +49 6101 544613 Mobil +49 171 6903352 www.myspace.com/ChristianLamitschka www.myspace.com/LamitschkaVideoInterviews www.myspace.com/CountryMusicInterviews www.myspace.com/HelpCharity
Thank you Nathan for being one of my friends & in the real world. I hope the best for you in every thing that you do. Remember.. there is always "Good Energy" and you can make it more...
Bless, peace, joy, health, love & prosperity to you,
Howdy and thanks for your enduring friendship and support. Just to let you know, your CD was an epiphany and once again shows what a great artist you are. On the homefront, I just added my latest song, "The Cowboy Way". I'm sure you'll feel what I did when I wrote the song. There is a side to me (and everyone, I expect) that's hard to understand and that I can't expect anyone else to understand, either. Have fun listening and let me know how you like the song. Dexter
How's it going? There is a free track available for you at the moment on our myspace page. Just click the FREE DOWNLOAD box at the top of the page and enter a valid email to download the tune. How cool is that!
Have a great week and thank you very much for being electronically connected to us as friends and fans.
Online Now!
