This is Jax Hollow, and you are listening to
My Weekly Mixtape with Brian Colburn, and enjoy
the show. Welcome to My Weekly Mixtape, a podcast
that takes the classic mixtape approach to building
a modern playlist. I'm your host, Brian Colburn.
Joining me tonight as guest curator is the amazing
blues rock and Americana artist Jax Hollow. Jax,
thank you so much for joining me on my weekly
mixtape. For sure, man. Glad to be here. Glad
to have you. And I'd like to start by asking
you the same question I ask all of my first time
guests. What does the word mixtape mean to you?
Mixtape is when you burn a bunch of songs onto
a CD for your significant other to never listen
to. I will say I have made many of those CDs
for people, including my wife now. And we have
had conversations where a song will come on and
I'll be like, do you remember when I put that
on that mix CD for you? And she said, I've never
heard this song before. And you spend so much
time being like, oh, yes, this perfectly explains
how I feel. This person will definitely understand.
Tonight, we're going to be co -curating a mixtape
that hopefully people will listen to, and it's
going to be filled with modern blues rock tunes.
And I'd like to start by asking you, how would
you describe the state of blues rock music in
2024? It's more than Joe Bonamassa. I just want
to say that. It's kind of cool. There's actually
a cool scene happening in Nashville on its own
for Blues Rock as well. And I feel like we get
more and more bands coming in that are more affiliated
with the old school ways of the guitar and rock.
And there's some cool bands that have made it
semi -big that are pretty interesting. But yeah,
it's a cool state. It's definitely not big in...
in the media and in your face and flashy, some
of it, but it's there and it's definitely got
a presence and people show up to shows. That's
what it's all about. Well, let's get down to
business. Tonight, as I mentioned, Jax and I
will be curating the ultimate modern blues rock
mixtape and we'll use the old cassette deck approach.
Jax, as my special guest, will begin side A with
her first song choice and then I'll add a song
that I feel best follows up that choice. We'll
then flip -flop choosing songs until we've mapped
out 10 songs for side A. We'll then give our
mixtape a proverbial flip and we'll map out side
B. Only this time, I'll kick things off with
Jack's choosing second. Our overall goal for
this episode is to craft the best modern blues
rock mixtape possible through only 20 songs.
And at the end of the show, you can take our
conversation to the next level by visiting the
episode page at myweeklymixtape .com to give
our final mixtape a listen. via the embedded
playlist. And if you like what you're hearing
on the show, you can help me out by either telling
a friend, leaving the show a five -star review
wherever you're tuning in, or becoming a Patreon
mixtaper at patreon .com forward slash myweeklymixtape.
And a few of the Patreon mixtapers chimed in
with songs that they would use to kick off our
modern blues rock mixtape. And I want to give
a quick shout out to them. Starting off with
brand new Patreon mixtaper, Chad LaMassa, who
chimed in with Emily Wolf's Walk In My Shoes.
Chad, welcome to the mixtaper family. Stoked
to have you on board and looking forward to talking
music with you in the forum. Jason Donchus chimed
in with both the Steepwater Band's Please A Believer
and Band of Heathens Medicine Man. And Seeker
chimed in with the Sheepdogs' Who. So Jax, with
that musical food for thought out in the atmosphere,
I'm officially pressing the record button on
our mixtape and the floor is yours. Why don't
you dive into the song you chose to kick off
Side A? Hell yeah. Man, that's cool. Your listeners
are digging deep and that's awesome. Glad to
hear. I would do Electric Man by Rival Sons.
That song kicks ass. It's hot. That's one of
those songs you want to make out to. Hell yeah.
It's a good one. Rival Sons, I saw them with
STP back in 2019. And I'll tell you what, seeing
them live for the first time, like I've heard
the albums, I know the songs, but seeing them
bring that energy to the stage is so infectious.
And that riff is so... like the words electric
man as soon as that riff starts you almost feel
it in the tone of the guitar there's a certain
tinge that he leads in the opening guitar of
that song where when you hear electric man it
almost sounds like a static on top of the distortion
it's a really cool technique that they did with
that one you know tell you what rebel sons i
saw them at the rhyming and the thing is is that
they've got great songs they actually have a
new record out dark fighter but They are just
one of those bands that they're amazing live.
That dude can sing his ass off. He is a monster
vocalist. One of my favorite ones I've ever seen
live. He will chop you down and not even look
at you. They are one to see live more than to
listen to as well. One of those bands. Yeah.
Well, I'm going to lean onto that. guitar tone
that we talked about for rival sons. And I think
what I'm going to follow that up with is a riff
that I can only describe by taking two parts
of Jimi Hendrix and his impact on the blues,
adding in one cup of rage against the machines,
intensity, throwing it into a blender and getting
the dirty riff from when my train pulls in by
Gary Clark, Jr. This is the kind of riff that
would have made Jimi Hendrix smile because the
groove that these guys lock into is very reminiscent
of what I loved so much about the experience.
There's just a vibe going on and the guitar solo
in it is just obnoxious, absolute fire. This
song is seven plus minutes long and the music
video is seven. plus minutes long, which speaks
volumes because there's really no part of this
song that you could cut to make a radio edit
without taking away from the core of the song.
And the entire Black and Blue album from 2012
is a monster with songs like Numb, Bright Lights,
and that mashup of, once again, Jimi Hendrix's
Third Stone from the Sun and Little Johnny Taylor's
If You Love Me Like You Say. The album is just
incredible. And I think following up Rival Sons,
this kind of keeps that intensity going. So Gary
Clark Jr.'s When My Train Pulls In. Yeah, dude,
he's a monster. Good shit, man. I would say some
kind of local monster. Some of my friends are
in this band called Goodbye June. Yes. And shout
out to my buddy Tyler. I would do Goodbye June
three chords. Nice. Which has that bite. After
your song has got that bite, but it's also really
focused on lyrics and it's about chasing the
dream and not being afraid to do so. Love Goodbye
June. That's awesome because they're a group
that in my mind is on the up and up right now.
They're a group that you want more people to
know about. And obviously. Rival Sons and Gary
Clark Jr. are almost, I don't want to say at
the top of the mountain, but they're getting
there. People know who they are. And there's
bands like Goodbye June that more people need
to know about because there's so much freaking
talent there. It's just ridiculous. Again, live
is going to, because I saw them at this Gibson
Garage event. And I mean, I hadn't actually seen
them live. And when I saw them at that, I was
like, come on. Again, they're one you got to
see live. You know, they got great songs, but.
People don't understand. Yeah. Got to see my
boys live. They kill it. They got new stuff coming
out, too. I got to listen in on some of their
new stuff. It's good. Yeah. Well, following that
up, I think I'm going to dive into the lyrical
aspect of what you were talking about and kind
of piggyback off of that. And I'm going to go
back to 2012. 2012 was an amazing year for blues
rock, in my opinion. People might remember this
next artist from her late 90s hit, L .A. Song,
Out of This Town, which was an adult contemporary
hit. However, since 1999, Beth Hart has pivoted
into a more blues rock bass, working with Joe
Bonamassa on the 2011 Don't Explain album, which
was the first of several that they did together,
but then going off on her own and creating the
amazing Bang Bang Boom Boom. which came out in
2012 and reached number three on the Billboard
Blues album charts, which is one of her biggest
to date. And the song I'm going to go with is
the 7 Plus Minute Again. I don't know what it
is. I'm picking long songs tonight so far, but
Caught in the Rain. This song just ping -pongs
from sexy to this monster scream that Beth has.
It's just so sultry and powerful. And to go from
this soft and emotive delivery to this heft that
just demands your attention, its song is just
oozing with dynamics. And to put that into perspective
for people who don't know who Beth Hart is, her
latest album is 2022's A Tribute to Led Zeppelin
that features, well, you guessed it, nothing
but Zeppelin covers. And she friggin' kills it.
Beth Hart, Caught Out in the Rain. Hell yeah,
dude. Her vocals are, yeah. Like you said, dynamics.
Dynamics are really important to me. I don't
know. I hope that they are for other people.
But dynamics is where all the feel is. So especially
when you're paying for a ticket to see an artist
live, that's where a lot of the magic happens
is the control of dynamics. And when you want
to talk about control with vocal control. You
got a lot of power when you bring it down like
that. And then you just like dig in the way she
does. We're going to go off on Rock Chicks. I
definitely got to give a shout out to my girl,
Jackie Benson. I don't know if you know her.
She is a Taylor guitarist and a great singer.
She's an artist as well. I'm going to choose
Rolling On by Jackie Benson. She's also got this
really cool personality on stage. Facial expressions.
I'm a fan of it. She does them well. So shout
out to Jackie. She's awesome. Yeah. This is that
old school. When you mentioned the facial expressions,
watching videos of her, I'm reminded of BB King
as if the guitar is kind of an extension of who
she is as a person, the way BB played that guitar.
You felt like Lucille was one with him. If that
doesn't sound too high and religious there, but
I think you get what I'm saying. Hell yeah. Awesome
track. And I think following it up, I'm going
to go with somebody who's been on the scene for
a very, very, very long time. Because in the
70s and 80s, he performed in both Canned Heat
and John Mayall and the Blues Breakers before
launching an amazingly successful blues rock
career that is pretty much worldwide. And I'm
going to go with Walter Trout's Wanna Dance from
2020's Ordinary Madness. This song has this kind
of Neil Young and Crazy Horse vibe woven into
a groove that kind of brings that rock side more
to the blues rock table, so to speak. I discovered
Walter Trout 20 -something years back on a website
called mp3 .com. And they used to have charts
and looking for the promised land was high up
on the blues charts. And I checked it out. And
as soon as I heard his riff, I was immediately
hooked. He's actually releasing a new album in
March called broken. So be on the lookout for
that one. Cause the pre -release singles I've
heard thus far, it's probably going to be another
monster album. So I pretty much own his entire
discography and there's not a single album. He's
put out that I personally can't listen to start.
to finish but wanna dance has a really unique
vibe that i think brings a different dynamic
to the songs we've been talking about tonight
so i thought that'd be kind of cool for the next
spot cool cool so he played with canned heat
in the 80s it looks like i'm just kind of reading
all right cool cool dude i fucking playing uh
that rock cruise and can he is on the bill really
cool damn i'm excited about that yeah i gotta
check him out i can't say i i checked out that
i might have to look that up yeah for sure let's
see i do oh man i mean i'm gonna say since i
don't know him i'm just gonna i'm gonna pull
one out here we'll do um Eight None Watered Down
by Tyler Bryant and the Shakedown. Oh, yeah.
Yes. Badass. Awesome song. And believe it or
not, I mentioned that Rival Sons Stone Temple
Pilots tour that I saw back in 2019. Tyler Brandt
and the Shakedown opened that show. So that was
a ridiculous triple bill right there. Bam. I
think to follow that up, I'm going to go with
an album that was one of my absolute favorites
in 2022. And this song has a vibe similar to
When My Train Comes In by Gary Clark Jr. Because
it's just another dirty riff. And it's by Rebecca
and Megan Lavelle, otherwise known as Larkin
Poe, the sister duo that's been making. insane
music since 2010 each album just keeps getting
better and better along with Marcus King's Youngblood
Blood Harmony was easily a top 2022 album for
me and in a similar nod to a lot of the groups
and artists we've been talking about so far tonight
they're taking blues rock in a different direction
And I love the slide work that they're bringing
into it because the slide guitar over the nasty
riff really creates a unique dynamic. Normally,
it's just shredding over a nasty riff. And this
kind of has this smooth and sliding guitar, but
you never lose an ounce of heft to the song.
So let's go with Larkin Poe, Bad Spell. What's
funny is I didn't know their names. So I was
like, who is that? And I'm like, what's it about?
They're making awesome waves, especially over
in Europe. I was playing some shows in Europe,
and almost at every one of my shows was a guy
wearing Larkin Poe t -shirt. Wow. Awesome. And
they always want to tell me about how they saw
them. So they are having lasting effects, especially
overseas. Yeah, those girls are awesome. My turn
then. Well, shoot. Then let's go like way back
in time to the mother of blues rock or mother
of kind of blues. But she's got that grit to
her. I'm going to go back to this woman named
Sister Rosetta Tharp, who I've seen a couple
of videos on YouTube. She is awesome. I'd say
that one where she's saying, didn't it rain?
That's probably the name of the song. Didn't
it rain? Yeah. Yeah. No, blue is pretty simple.
If there's not simple enough, then you're not
doing it right. Yeah. But just the tenacity and
the performance and the confidence and the facial
expressions. She's got it all. And she was way
before her time. She killed it. Yeah. She cool.
She is unbelievable. Obviously, in the Rock and
Roll Hall of Fame for a reason, because she was
a game changer. Well, that's awesome. When did
she get inducted in the Hall of Fame? In 2018,
because Brittany Howard from Alabama Shakes inducted
her. That's right. That makes me so happy that
she's the one who did that. Man, that's awesome.
Yeah. Well, speaking about Alabama shakes to
close outside a, I think I'm going to go down
that road and go with their track. Always. All
right. From the silver linings playbook soundtrack,
but also added to the deluxe edition of their
boys and girls album. It has been one of my favorites
since I first heard, I mean, hold on was the
song that introduced me to the Alabama shakes.
But when I heard Always Alright, it made me just
fall in love with the band. And I think that
song just has a perfect ending to this pretty
eclectic side that we've put together. There's
a groove to it. There's a down and dirty nastiness
to it. And I mean, Brittany Howard's just on
another level. So I think it's a perfect way
to close out the side. Definitely. I love that
song. Well, there you have it, folks. Side A
of our modern blues rock mixtape, which consists
of Rival Sons' Electric Man, Gary Clark Jr.'s
When My Train Pulls In, Goodbye June's Three
Chords, Beth Hart's Caught Out in the Rain, Jackie
Venson's Rollin' On, Walter Trout's Wanna Dance,
Tyler Brant and the Shakedown's Ain't None Watered
Down, Larkin Poe's Bad Spell, Sister Rosetta
Tharpe's Didn't It Rain, and Alabama Shake's
always all right. Head over to myweeklymixtape
.com to hear all the songs we've discussed in
this mix through the playlist embedded on the
episode page. Now, Jax, in 2023, you released
your debut full -length album, Only the Wild
Ones, which I was introduced to, thankfully,
by Patreon mixtaper Jason Donchus. And I was
immediately hypnotized by the opening guitar
riff to Wolf and Sheepskin. And when you talked
about dynamics when we were talking about beth
hart the first time i hear you belt out but i'm
better sleeping alone i was just hooked Only
the Wild Ones is very much a blues rock album,
but also very much an Americana album and very
much a rock album. Obviously, you could have
leaned into any one of those directions for the
entirety of the album, but you found the way
to strike a perfect balance between the three.
Was that your intention when you were writing
the songs for this record? Well, thanks for listening
to it. Yeah, Wolf and Sheepskin is definitely
still one of my favorites to play, too. Of course,
I've... Extended the intro like any guitarist
would. But yeah, man, I just, it's kind of one
of the downfalls is I don't have a vision until
it sort of starts building on top of itself.
And then it kind of reveals itself to me in a
very... I don't know, Rick Rubin way. I don't
really touch it until it needs to be touched.
And I don't know how else to describe it, but
just songs that I really enjoyed writing and
they all have their own vibe to them. I mean,
Ventriloquist is like jazz. And Ethereal Emerald
is this crazy thing that changes feel a million
times with a ripping guitar solo and Wolf in
Sheepskin is got a Hendrix -y intro and, you
know. Wallflower Girl is like a super Americana
song. There's even a banjo in it, actually. I
just all over the place. I just be making music.
We'll just see what happens. We throw paint at
the wall. We just throw paint at the wall here.
That's me. But thank you. Well, you brought up
ethereal emerald. This song has this kind of
like breezy energy to it musically. But then
you talked about that guitar solo and it's frigging
stunning. I have to kind of put my New Jersey
hat on here for a second and say to me, this
feels like a song that I would put the top down
on a convertible and drive. down the shore, and
that is to the beach for anybody who's not from
New Jersey. I kind of want to talk about this
solo for a minute because listening to the album,
it feels like you're using a wah pedal over this
fast solo, but you're using the wah slowly as
the solo is unfolding. Good God, that solo rips.
Can you talk about how that whole slow burn wah
effect came into play here? You know, I know
something insane is I was in the other room,
the control room, tracking the solo. I had no
pedals by my feet. I had these two amazing guys
that were doing guitar tech for me on the record.
They were in Studio B in there. Operating the
wah, which was hilarious, man. My buddy Michael
Vance and Eddie Hadid, shout out to them. Those
guys are killer, killer guitarists. And they
were pressing buttons and doing all the things
that I just did not have the experience or knowledge
doing. And they were in that other room. Who
even knows what they were pressing? But it sounds
amazing. I was just in the control room just
like playing it. Yeah. The dynamics on it are
ridiculous. And the next track I'd like to touch
on is another one of my favorites from the album,
Running Like a Gypsy. This song is such a killer
blend of... I almost want to say bluegrass, Americana,
blues rock, and yeah, I'll say it, metal. Because
the banjo that Tim Halloway adds to the track
takes this song that is really fast and in your
face and high energy, but it adds this dynamic
to it where you're kind of listening to the instruments
separation and it adds layers and depth to this
song. And hearing a song like this makes me wonder,
when you perform this live, you tour with your
band as well as playing solo shows. When you're
writing, do you write with that in mind? Meaning
like, hmm, how's this going to translate to when
I'm up there by myself versus when I've got the
band with me? I'm pretty much just a mess kiss.
I make everything really hard for myself no matter
where I am. No, Running Like a Gypsy is definitely
a song I... would not perform solo. It's funny.
People will request Ethereal Emerald, and I can
get away with it solo, which is wild. But Running
Like a Gypsy, it doesn't translate without that
driving force, which is a full band. For the
new record I've been working on, they come out
the way they come out, man. It's just so funny
about it. I really don't have much control. Sometimes
things demand a full band. Sometimes things...
don't but at the end of the day a song is just
melody harmonic structure and rhythm and if you
can't recreate that with you and a chordal instrument
you know then you don't really have a cohesive
song or a song that probably people won't listen
to for that matter I don't know I mean that's
debatable but like you know I always am a firm
believer in you'd be able to strip it down and
be able to perform it which I basically broke
my own rule because I can't run like a gypsy
solo unless I really wanted to. But nobody really
wanted to hear that. Well, it is kind of one
of my favorites from the album, so I'd be lying
if I said that I didn't want to hear it. I'd
get away with it, but I don't want it. Well,
along with Only the Wild Ones, in 2021 you released
an EP called Underdog Anthems, which features
the killer opener High Class Bitch. I love the
swagger you bring to this track and the rest
of the EP is incredible as well. But sadly, at
this point, the album is only available digitally.
And I guess I missed the chance of getting a
physical copy. Is there any chance there'll be
a repress of it? Yeah, we're sold out of those.
I think there's probably one hanging around in
my storage locker, but that's it. I'm never going
to actually do any more physical things of that.
And there's like a special thing where the first
50 people, the people who've been from the beginning
with me when I worked with Michael Wagner, they've
got the 51st signed copies with me and his signature
on them and I think those are kind of special
because they're just out there and I'm never
going to make any more. And they actually have
two additional tracks that I took off online.
I know. I know. What an artist. No, you're killing
the CD collector in me because now I got to try
to track down that one copy. It's now a mission.
I don't think that they've grown in value. So
you can probably get your hands on. Yeah. But
yeah, I mean, Underdog Anthems was so fun. Working
with Michael Wagner was such an honor and a treat.
And I'm so happy to have had that experience
and kind of make a small mark. you know, in the
rock community for sure, especially since he
just retired. So it's like, finally got my little
foot in the door about an end, you know? So I
feel blessed for that opportunity. That was a
fun record for sure. Well, before we move on
to side B of our Modern Blues Rock playlist,
this past July, you had a very unique invite.
to play at an extremely iconic venue that we
talked about before. And I heard you talk about
it on fellow Pantheon podcast network mates,
All Things Blues and Southern Rock Show. And
I doubt I'm going on some huge limb here because
I think it's pretty safe to say this venue would
be on every singer -songwriter's list on the
planet. And I, as well as the My Weekly Mixtape
listeners, I am sure would love to hear about
this opportunity and how it all came to fruition.
Wild, man. It still feels like it didn't happen.
Best day of my life, for sure. It's possible,
ladies and gentlemen, it is possible to be an
independent artist and have no experience and
flop around and figure out and have something,
have a gatekeeper give you a chance, which is
basically what that was. That was... me on twitter
i didn't i don't even want twitter x whatever
the hell you know and i got the social media
thing i only got it because i was sort of like
forced into getting it as a social media platform
and i had like i don't know 100 followers and
um melissa etheridge messaged me like dm me on
twitter and i'm like what it's a joke Who is
this? You can never be too sure it's some fake
account that has a Q in the word Etheridge. Like,
who is this really? She was just like, hey, I
really like what you're doing. And just I want
to say, like, keep it up. And if you're ever
in California, let me know. And I was like, I
can be there tomorrow. And then I probably texted
her back a little too much. I think I got annoying.
And then she kind of let me be for a while, which.
understandable. And then we got an official offer
from her team and they were like, would Jax Hollow
be interested in opening for Melissa Etheridge
at the Ryman? And this is way, way back. I had
to hold on to this secret for like three months
while I was playing dad rock on a cruise ship
in the middle of the ocean. And yeah, it changed
my life. I still can't believe it. So insane
and so amazing. And my family was there. They
flew in from Massachusetts to see me. I had all
my friends. I had anything you could need. And
I practiced the shit out of anything I could
think of so that when it came down to that day,
my little 30 minutes on stage of the rhyme and
like solo, I could take it all in as it was happening.
And boy, did I get soaked up every second I could
on that stage. Man, for all the dreamers out
there who want to be able to have their music
resonate those wooden pews, there is nothing
like it. The sound that you get. I mean, my pedal
board, I have this Strymon pedal, Cloudburst,
and I didn't even know about the low frequencies
that it could even produce because I've never
been in a situation where I'm in a room like
that. And the low frequencies of the cloudburst
pedal just engulfed the entire... During soundcheck.
I mean, there's pictures that actually my photographer
took of me soundchecking and just my face is
just like half crying, half like, I couldn't
believe it. It was something else. And Melissa
Etheridge was watching my soundcheck. It's the
craziest moment. It's just like in a movie. She
was watching me on the side and... Someone tapped
me on the shoulder and I'm kind of like, go away.
Like, this is my moment. Like, I am soundchecking
at the Ryman. It's Melissa Etheridge. Like, that's
when I first met her in person. She tapped me
on the shoulder because she was watching my soundcheck
at the Ryman. Like, it was just me, production
manager, my mom sitting in like the pews watching
me soundcheck and then Melissa Etheridge on the
Ryman stage. Just like insane. It just is insane.
It is. Yeah. So lucky. That's absolutely amazing.
As a musician myself, having played venues that
I feel I didn't deserve to personally play at,
walking out on that stage, it's this rush that
I cannot explain to another human being. It was
adrenaline mixed with gratefulness, mixed with
horror, mixed with fear, mixed with everything
you could think of. And it was an emotion that
has no name. And I'm guessing what you went through
was that times a thousand. Yeah. I feel like
I got at some point I like, well, okay. So I
received a standing ovation and the pews started
to rumble. And I was like, what is like, it's
just an unknown sound to my ears. And when I
finally realized what was happening and they
were still clapping and there were. knocking
on the pews and and with their feet and and i
like fell to my knees and just like uh i don't
know what happened i think i kind of blacked
out honestly and uh well no no like i was still
conscious i was just like on my knees and just
taking it in and and then eventually uh my friend
Chris Rambo eventually ushered me off the stage.
He's like, you've got to go. You're over time.
We're not going to go over time opening for Melissa
Etheridge. We're not going to go over time. You've
got to go. He's trying to get me off stage. And
I was like, you know, you can ask my little brother,
you can ask my friends, anyone. As soon as I
got backstage, I just went on the ground. And
I was like, everyone's like, blah, blah, blah,
blah, blah, blah, blah. And I'm just like, you're
talking. Nothing's coming through the ear. It
was. So cool and so hard to describe. And I wish
that opportunity on so many of my friend musicians
who are working just as hard as me and deserve
a shot like that. So thank you, Melissa Etheridge.
Well, look, I think judging by the songs on your
EP and this album, I think there's going to be
a day where you're going to be giving that opportunity
to an up and coming artist as well. I would love
to do that. There's some magic behind these albums.
And to kick off Side B, I'm actually, because
if you remember, I played a clip from Wolf and
Sheepskin before, but I didn't talk about the
song. And that was on purpose because this is
the song I want to use to kick off Side B. I
am a huge fan of album opening tracks. And like
I talked about, the beginning guitar on this,
it just kind of lures you in and kind of invites
you into the song. And by the time you get to
that hook and you kick in, I'm all in on it.
And I think it's the perfect way to start off
Side B. But instead of me talking about why I
like the song, I'd rather spend this time hearing
your story behind the song. Good thing, man.
Wolf and Sheepskin is about... being pretty reckless
and pursuing the dream regardless of the consequences,
right? A lot of us who are out here and trying
to be independent artists, singer -songwriters,
musicians, just doing this thing that's totally
crazy to do, you know, kind of outside of the
normal norm of life, you know, where we're sort
of like a lot of us are very introspective and
the observing type as well as crazy rock stars.
And yeah, Wolf in Sheepskin is about... I wanted
the intro to sound like waking up the day after
a huge performance and maybe the character is
waking up alone or sleeping in their car. And
the verses are in this odd time. signature in
there kind of like uh they pull you and push
you and make you a little uncomfortable you know
the character is grippling with you know their
hangover or something and then it switches over
to like a steady 4 -4 time and the chorus comes
in and yeah i don't know i just wanted to create
that release and the strange numbness of Totally
not being okay, but also beautifully content
with not saying the character's suicidal, but
there is the line about like, Sunrise waking
up with my 45. State lines double crossed like
a valentine. You know, it's like there's something
going on. There's something going on there. And
I think a lot of people can relate, especially
nowadays, because it's hectic out there. It's
crazy. It's just insane. And yeah, that's it.
Well, it's an amazing track. And now you get
to follow. What would be a song that you would
follow up your own wolf and sheepskin with? That's
a good question, man. OK, so this is my favorite
new song off the Dirty Honey record. It's really
good. It's got this biting vocal delivery. It's
really good. It's called Coming Home. You can
hear the desperation in his voice, and I think
it's got a different vibe than Wolf and Sheepskin,
but it's still a very personal and biting kind
of numbness, but in a different way. And it's
a new song, so I think it's cool. Dirty Honey
is one of those bands that the first time I heard
it, I always say to myself, How wrong was Gene
Simmons when he said rock and roll was dead?
Because these guys, Rival Sons, Dirty Honey,
there is a new crop of rock music that is just,
it's got elements of the 70s, but it feels so
fresh and modern. And it shows that there's such
a bright future for rock. He couldn't have been
more wrong as far as I'm concerned. And I've
got a huge crush on a lead singer, so there's
that too. Well, following that up, I'm going
to lean into The Rock a little bit, but I'm going
to bring it to a blues guitarist that I've been
following for the better part of 30 years. And
this past year on episode 45, I was lucky enough
to have him on the show to talk about a lot of
his classics, including this one. And that would
be Kenny Wayne Shepard from 2017's Lay It On
Down. I want to go with Baby Got Gone. This song,
I felt like. Kenny had sang songs before on other
albums, but this one was the first one where
as soon as I heard his voice, I said to myself,
there was no other person that should be singing
this because they always go back and forth between
Kenny and Noah over what songs are sung. And
Baby Got Gone has KWS written all over it. But
instead of me talking about it, when you're done
with this episode, go back and check out episode
45 because he talks about the song a lot better
than I ever could. So Kenny Wayne Shepard, Baby
Got Gone. Oh, yeah. Well, I'm going to follow
that up with the one and only Marcus King. Oh,
yes. I'm not sure which one I want, man. I don't
know. Which one would you do? Well, considering
I had blues worse than I ever had in my bank
from his 2022 album Youngblood, I'll go with
that one. Man. I can't decide. I can't decide.
Damn, man. Shoot. I love our time. How about
The Well? The Well off El Dorado? Hell yeah.
Let's go with that one. Yeah. I mean, you can't
go wrong with Marcus King. Marcus King, man.
Damn. He is just on another level. For those
of you that don't know who he is. Please fix
that. If you're a fan of the Allman brothers
and that blues based style of Southern rock,
Marcus King is right up your alley. He's toured
with Tedeschi trucks. And if you're a country
fan, his name will probably sound familiar because
on Zach Brown bands, 2021 album, the comeback,
he guessed it on the amazing Southern pride.
This guy's just, I mean, he's to me, he's the
future of Southern rock and blues. You know what?
Cause a lot of people. I gotta tell you, a lot
of bands fall short, especially artists who are
really focused on blues rock. Half of them have
either incredible vocals or like pretty okay
vocals. Marcus King, how does he have incredible
guitar skills and those vocals? It's like unfair.
The soul in him, man. Oh my God, the high notes
that he hits, they're just, the falsetto is,
dare I use the word gorgeous? Yeah. He's onto
something. He knows something that no one else
knows right now. I don't know what it is, but
he knows. Nothing. Well, following up Marcus
King. I'm going to lean into that soul we're
talking about here then. I think I know exactly
what I'm going to follow this up with. And this
is a group I saw open for ACDC. I know who it
is. Is it Ghost Towns? Well, Ghost Town is in
my bank of songs, but it's not the one I'm talking
about right here. While Ghost Town did open for
ACDC. So did vintage trouble in 2016. Oh, and
from 2015 is one hopeful road, which was released
on blue note records, which should speak volumes
right there because I don't know how many uniconic
blue note albums there are. I'm going to go with
a song called run like the river. Ty Taylor is
a insane vocalist. That commands the stage in
almost a Mick Jagger fashion. And then you've
got Nally Colt's slide guitar. Over this gospel
stomp of a tune. And it's incredible. I don't
know. It was interesting seeing them open for
ACDC. Because there was so much soul in their
music. To me it would have been more like. And
to be on stage opening for the Rolling Stones.
But obviously ACDC saw something in them. They're
incredible. Ty Taylor is just got vocals. And
when I heard Marcus King, I'm like, you know,
coming out of that, I feel like these two go
back to back really well together. So vintage
troubles run like the river. Is that him with
the hops? Yes. Holy. He doesn't mess around like
he's got this David Lee Roth, Mick Jagger. And
this was on a stadium stage. We were at MetLife
Stadium. And he is literally 100 yards away from
me on this little screen. I see this tiny little
band off in the distance. But he is doing so
much that people's jaws were on the ground in
the upper level. And if you can command a stadium
opening for one of the biggest hard rock bands
maybe of all time with a completely different
style of music, it speaks volumes to me. And
I'll never forget. hearing them do Run Like the
River that night. It blew my mind. Hey, I'm going
to check them out. I can't believe it. I've never
heard of them. And they open phrases that I haven't
heard of. That's crazy. Well, I mean, like with
that, again, just like getting that gritty, that
Southern grittiness kind of in there. Southern
grittiness and soul. Next one I'm going to do
is Ghost Towns. It's going to be Last Train to
Nowhere. That's their new song. I got to see
these guys at the Gibson. garage event. They're
signed Gibson artists. And the lead singer, I'm
blanking on his name right now, but he has total
demanding attention from the audience. He is
a fantastic singer and performer. And yeah, seeing
them live is great too. But it's really about
him. He's commanding with the way that he sings
and performs. I think they just got placed in
a movie or something. That song got placed somewhere.
Can't remember where, but they're Gibson artists.
They're cool. I had that song and Between Me
and the Devil on my list with a little note underneath
it that said, depending on where the playlist
is going, choose between the two. Yeah. So that
made my life easier and harder because I got
to check off one that I wasn't expecting. But
following that up. You mentioned him at the beginning,
and I feel like you can't have a modern blues
rock playlist and not talk about Joe Bonamassa
in some facet. And back in 2003, when he dropped
the album Blues Deluxe, I convinced my now wife
and a couple of my buddies to come with me to
the Mexicali Blues Cafe in Teaneck, New Jersey.
And we saw him in a room with maybe less than
100 people. And he hung out with us after the
show, signing CDs, just talking music. A year
later, I saw him open for Kenny Wayne Shepard
and B .B. King in Atlantic City. And I said to
him that night, because he was just hanging out
at his booth again. He was doing the grind at
this point. I said, you realize you're going
to be playing arenas one day. And he said, well,
that's the dream. And here we are 20 years later,
and he is doing all that. I can't. wrap my mind
around the output that he is always putting out
albums, live albums. The touring seems nonstop.
He is just a workaholic and he's an incredible
songwriter. But the song I'm going to go with
is actually a cover because when Joe Bonamassa
does covers, some of them are covers that you
would say, I see that being a blues song. And
then every now and then he pulls a cover out
of left field. Like in 2007, he took Slow Gin
by Tim Curry. And yes, I'm talking about that
Tim Curry, the actor, and turned it into a blues
rock song. But the one that I'm going to go with
is off of his 2011 album Dust Bowl. And kid you
not, it's a Barbra Streisand cover that closes
out the album. Prisoner, the love theme from
the eyes of Laura Mars. And one might think to
themselves, how do you take Barbra Streisand
and translate that to blues rock? Joe did it.
And this song has such a gorgeous tone to it.
It's very emotive. It's delicate and soaring.
And Joe doesn't overplay this song. He plays
to the strength of the song. There is some pyrotechnics
in it, but it's done so tastefully that it makes
the song more powerful. And what I love about
covers is when you take a song. That people know.
And you put a spin on it. To the point where
you can listen to the original. And your version
back to back. And feel like you're getting two
different experiences. And that's what I get
from Prisoner. Oh. Hell yeah. I remember listening
to that Dust Bowl record a couple times. There
were a couple songs that stood out. I just can't
remember the titles to them. But maybe it was
one of those. But I love it when people have
got the chops. To just go anywhere with a song.
choose to really branch out like barbara streisand
that's that's cool i have to listen to that for
sure that one is definitely one that might raise
eyebrows to the joe bonamassa fans listening
but hearing it coming out of last train to nowhere
i feel like it's a really nice transition so
i'm thinking of this also strategically because
i want people to listen to our mixtape and be
like dude you guys just nailed this now tell
you what is that like more of a slow song or
is that like a Definitely slower, emotive, very
emotional tune. Okay, then I'm going to go with
my girl Susan Tedeschi. Let's see the Tedeschi
tracks. What would I choose? Man, I've seen her
a couple times, but last time I saw her, she
was doing the John Prine tribute thing at the
Ryman, and she did Angel from Montgomery, and
I sobbed. Her version of that song is just, it's
unreal. It's on another level. And she's so funny.
She gets out on stage and she's like, oh, hold
on. My guitar is a little out of tune. I'm just
pretending that she's not just about to destroy
us. She's so cute. She is so funny. She's so
cute. She's like, oh, hold on. Oh, yeah. She's
a huge hero of mine. Let's see. Let's do Midnight
in Harlem. It's my favorite. Whatever. Sue me.
Great tune. I mean, come on, let's be honest.
You could pick a Susan Tedeschi solo album. You
can pick a Tedeschi Trucks album. You can't go
wrong with any of them at all. Period. Hard stop.
Nope. So mean. They're all great. So I love that
one, which was on Tedeschi Trucks band's Revelator.
And then you were talking about that version
of Angel in Montgomery that she does. And man,
that is just. damn that's the only word i could
use imagine seeing that live at a john pine tribute
thing spine tingling is the like is that the
right word to use it's yeah i was crying i was
i was there with a date and i didn't care i was
just crying hey look there are moments in concerts
i'll be the first one to admit grown man i have
no problem admitting this to anybody i met My
father and I went to the LaVon Helm tribute concert
that took place at the now gone Izod Center in
New Jersey. It is out on Blu -ray. Grace Potter
came out with Don Was on bass and a drummer and
did the most beautiful version of I Shall Be
Released I Ever Heard, where the end of it, she
hits the high note and then her voice chokes
because she's actually crying as she sings the
last line. The hair on my arm is standing up
as I'm just telling you this story. My father
looked at me and said, look, I seen Jimi Hendrix
play. I've never seen anything like that in my
entire life. People were still talking about
her performance four songs later. And those moments,
I will fully admit every time I listen to that
version, if it comes on in the car, I'm like.
okay, I got to switch the song because I got
to be able to see through the welling in my ear
because it's just so powerful. When you get engulfed
in those concert moments, they're on another
level. It's the best because you get to escape
reality for a little bit. Everyone wants to escape
reality for a little bit. That's what we're doing.
That's why live music's never going to die, man.
I don't care how perfect you are. I don't care
if you're one of those guys who wants to play
the tracks. You're never going to get rid of
live musicians playing together in real time.
In the same room, you're never going to get that
experience anywhere else, you know? 100%. And
coming out of Midnight in Harlem for my last
pick, I think I am going to go with a little
bit of a slower one here. But it's a song that
to me is, again, it's just beautiful. And coming
out of Susan Tedeschi, I want to continue with
the female vibe we got going here. And I'm going
to go with Anna Popovic with Robin Ford and Slow
Dance, which to me, it's a song that as soon
as you hear the opening riff, within a second
and a half, you're hooked and you're brought
in. And it's just stunningly beautiful. It's
poetic. It's powerful. It's got this old school
R &B and blues flavor. And then if you want to
compare it to something modern, I would say in
vibe only. It has a touch of John Mayer's gravity.
So it's one of those mellow nighttime driving
tunes where you're headed home. It's late. You
just had an amazing experience and you're kind
of unwinding. This is that mellow vibe. So Anna
Popovic slow dance. Yeah. I dig. I don't dig
it. All right. Huh? Let's see. The last song
of the night. You got to take us home from the
whole night. Man, that's one shoot. You know
what? I wonder if this will work. I think I'm
going to do this because these guys are my friends
and they are killer. Because I started this podcast
talking about how there's a scene going on in
Blues Rock in Nashville. So I'm going to do a
shout out to my friends. And Ace Monroe, we're
going to do. Bad News. And actually, it looks
like they got put on the Modern Blues Rock playlist
as well. I know I've got my song Renegade Season
up on that Spotify playlist, but it's really
cool to see their name up there too. So why not
end the playlist with the new blues rock energy
that's happening around Nashville and the new
artists taking over on a scene? I think that
might be cool. Check it out and see if it works
with the vibe. If not, you can talk to me. Oh,
hell yeah, it works with the vibe. Are you kidding
me? Make an executive decision. Yeah, make an
executive decision. But I'm going to give my
buddies a shout out there because really cool
stuff happening in Nashville with some rock bands
are really killing it. They're awesome. Yeah.
And look, it's a perfect bookend to somebody
else who's been killing it yourself because Side
B of our Ultimate Modern Blues Rock Playlist
kicked off with Jax's Wolf and Sheepskin. Then
was followed up with Dirty Honey's Coming Home,
Ballad of a Shire, Kenny Wayne Shepard's Baby
Got Gone, Marcus King's The Well, Vintage Trouble's
Run Like the River, Ghost Town's Last Train to
Nowhere, Joe Bonamassa's Prisoner, Susan Tedeschi's
Midnight in Harlem, Anna Popovic with Robin Ford's
Slow Dance, and Ace Monroe's Bad News. Head over
to MyWeeklyMixtape .com to hear all the songs
we've discussed in this mix. through the playlist
embedded on the episode page. Now, Jax, next
month, you'll be taking your music out to sea.
Why don't you tell listeners a little bit about
the Rock Legends Cruise that you're participating
in? I know we mentioned it briefly before, but...
Good thing, man. Talk about crazy opportunities.
Again, this one just sort of fell in our laps,
and there was a call -out for the Rock Legends
Cruise. And we're so lucky to be on that bill
where the Jack's Hollow is like right at the
bottom, right at the bottom. But it's on the
lineup with Sammy Hagar and Billy Gibbons and
Rick Springfield and like Can't Heat, like I
was talking about before, Jefferson Airplane,
Starship. And yeah, I mean, that's crazy. That's
happening in February. As soon as I found out,
I called up my mom and she was like, oh my God,
I'm going to get on the cruise ship. She's like,
it's sold out. I think those kinds of things
sell out in advance because I think they are
a yearly thing. Yeah, just overwhelmed and totally
honored to be on that bill. That's the reality
of it. I don't know. I've got my trio. michael
lupo on drums and taylor toque on bass and these
are my guys and they're based out of nashville
around and they're killer musicians and i'm really
lucky that i have them on my team and we're gonna
give it all we fucking got to give we're don't
worry we're not holding back but yeah we are
very humbled and excited but also we're we're
gonna go in there guns a -blazing like come on
That is awesome. So I got to ask, you mentioned
all the groups, Sammy Hagar, Brett Michaels of
Poison. You had Jeff Tate of Queensryche. Yeah.
Is there anyone you're kind of looking forward
to seeing throughout the week too? Dude, if I
don't hang out with Billy Gibbons on that ship,
I will never forgive myself. Yeah. I'm going
to be like, oh, I'm going to just stand next
to him and be like, hey, how's it going? You
going to Aledo? You going to, you know? We'll
get some food. You want some company? Yeah, you
got to get him on the next album. I just want
to hang out with that motherfucker. He's bad
ass. Absolutely. I actually had I gots to get
paid from La Futura in my bank of songs for tonight.
Maybe we'll have to use it on volume two. But
Jax, looking into the proverbial crystal ball.
after the cruise after you back on land and you
get your sea legs and you're all taken care of
there what does the rest of 2024 have in store
for you in terms of touring and maybe a follow
-up to only the wild ones dude i have been writing
my ass off i've got so much i'm sitting on a
lot of good stuff man if i do say so myself i
am just looking for the right producer i haven't
put my you know i haven't sent any like ships
out to sail to try to like find the right guy
yet but i am definitely i've got my ears and
eyes open and we've got a spring european tour
that's already like almost all booked up so we
we've got some great stuff in the works and i've
got a fantastic team and i'm just really thankful
and just kind of honestly really really excited
for the new year and i just want to get on a
studio man i want to get back to the studio and
record some stuff it's never that easy man it's
never that easy you gotta like you know, it's
still an independent artist. I still have to
figure out how to do that and eat and breathe,
you know, mostly eat. Jax, this has been an absolute
pleasure. Thank you so much for joining me on
my weekly mixtape. Hey man, thank you so much
for having me. And remember, you can find My
Weekly Mixtape on almost all the social media
haunts at My Weekly Mixtape. You can also head
to MyWeeklyMixtape .com to check out the full
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That's all for this week. Thanks again for listening.
And until next time. Enjoy the tunes!