Artist Spotlight: Paul Sprawl

Paul Sprawl is an artist I learned about through another musical connection about a year-and-a-half ago, and his sound caught my attention right away.

Growing up listening to my father's Michael Hedges records, I've long felt a kinship to fingerstyle guitar.  The harmonic tapping of two hands on the neck of the guitar, drumming against the wood body of a hollow acoustic - there's a strange power I've always felt calming and beautiful.

Years later, I became a big fan of Minnesota guitarist Billy McLaughlin and his fingerstyle approach. I've been fortunate to see him play in intimate settings on several occasions and have been continually inspired by the magnetic quality of his live performances.

So, when I learned of Sprawl - another Minnesota-based musician with an incredible talent for fusing fingerstyle, experimental acoustic and bottleneck blues - I jumped at the opportunity to see him perform live.

Paul Sprawl is a California native, who's lived all over the U.S. and most recently settled in the Twin Cities.  He's been performing and writing music since the late '60s, but finally quit his temp job to pursue music full-time in the late '90s.  Choosing the life of a troubadour, Sprawl tours cross-country and internationally, with a staggering work ethic and commitment to his art.

The name "Sprawl" is somewhat perfect for a guitar style which blends technical accuracy with loose jams and unexpected twists.  Occasionally, his songs can start to spin outward and grow abstract, but then he'll suddenly bring them back inward.  His baritone vocals and bluesy harmonica reach through pockets and bring a distinctly American sound to the listener, like a campfire song held in an art gallery.

Sprawl has released nine independent albums, including 2011's stellar Dream Zoo - an album that finds his sprawling guitar technique tightened into more concise pop songwriting structures.  There's a sense of darkness sweeping down echoed halls, like the lyric, "Dreams are kept in cages, People buy tickets, They come to look and listen" from the title track, "Dream Zoo".  It's an album that's set perfectly for an introspective late-night drive down a forgotten highway.

I've met Sprawl on two occasions now and his conversations are well in tune with his songwriting sensibilities.  Both times, I've felt drawn in to his performances in the same meditative way as he seems to be playing - as if the music is light pouring out from some dark place within.

For more information on this artist, please visit: PaulSprawl.com

Artist Spotlight: James Vincent McMorrow

Dublin singer/songwriter James Vincent McMorrow plays a brand of indie folk with harmonies akin to artists likes Bon Iver, Iron & Wine and Fleet Foxes.

McMorrow's slightly raspy falsetto whispers with soulful introspection and longing. His tone and delivery are quietly haunting and seductive.

Songs like "Follow You Down to the Red Oak Tree", "Down the Burning Ropes", and first single, "If I Had a Boat" weave a slow-burning, mysterious tension and intrigue.

McMorrow's self-recorded debut, Early in the Morning, was released in the UK a year ago, but just received stateside treatment in January 2011.

To set out with a batch of songs with such composure on a first record shows tremendous promise for the future of James Vincent McMorrow.

Listen to McMorrow's "If I Had a Boat" and "Down the Burning Ropes" below, and visit his official website to learn more about this great new artist's music.

	James Vincent McMorrow - If I Had a Boat .mp3
	Found at bee mp3 search engine

	James Vincent McMorrow - Down The Burning Ropes .mp3
	Found at bee mp3 search engine

Artist Spotlight: Freedy Johnston

So, I've been on a Freedy Johnston kick for a while now. In particular, his 1994 album, This Perfect World, has found its way back into my regular rotation.

If you're unfamiliar with Freedy, he's the songwriter behind such bittersweet '90s gems as "Bad Reputation", "The Lucky One" and "This Perfect World."

Some might argue that Johnston is one of the most under-appreciated songwriters of his generation. Johnston's songs are often dark, evocative stories nestled neatly into short packages of lovely folk-pop.

And while his 1992 and 1994 albums may stand as his most-recognized works, Freedy is still recording. His last outing was 2010's acclaimed Rain on the City.

Revisiting Freedy Johnston has led me to discover some great songs I never heard from him the first time around.

One in particular is the lead-off track from Johnston's 1997 album, Never Home. "On the Way Out" breaks out a somewhat surprising alt-rock edge in a repertoire best known for mid-tempo acoustic narrations. You can watch the video below:




To learn more about this artist, visit the official FreedyJohnston.com.