Wes Tirey's deeply personal 2019 release No Winners in the Blues was just re-issued on vinyl via Full Spectrum Records. We catch up with Wes to gain some insight into its dark, lonesome sound, discuss his collaboration with electric guitarist Shane Parish and producer Andrew Weathers, and his songwriting process then versus now. Grab the album here…

In this interview, I ask Greg Loiacono all about the Mother Hips' new album, Glowing Lantern, made in the midst of the pandemic and embracing the collaborative spirit of the Hips' youth. I also ask Greg for lots of musical advice, and later we're joined by Tim Bluhm. The two share memories from their 30+ year career as professional musicians, inclu…

If you're not new to Petal Motel dot com, you're aware of our revere for Neal Casal, as a musician, a songwriter, a guitarist, a music lover, and a person. Last year we did a complete retrospective on his solo albums, and well, there's a dedication to him imprinted on the bottom of the site, he's my #1 musical hero, the reason I have good taste (fr…

Spencer Cullum cut his teeth in Detroit playing with a rock and roll band before moving to Nashville and becoming an in-demand session player, playing with Miranda Lambert, Kesha, and Deer Tick. Eventually he began writing his own songs and invited Nashville luminaries like Caitlin Rose, Andrew Combs, Erin Rae, and Skyway Man to play on his record.…

Lou Turner is a native Texan and current Nashville resident. She plays with the band Styrofoam Winos and she released a solo album entitled Songs for John Venn last year on Spinster Sounds. She also published a book, Shape Note Singing, on Vegetarian Alcoholic Press. Songs for John Venn is truly a glowing masterwork, reflecting on themes of transfo…

Johanna Samuels isn't a person who loafs around when touring slows down. She had a busy ass year while staying at home, organizing, community building, and writing copious amounts of songs. As we began to see the light, she released her gorgeous album Excelsior!, a deeply personal album dealing with topics ranging from love, sexual assault, the sta…

I remember the *day* the first Rose City Band record quietly dropped, and when I say quietly, I mean, well, quiet in that distinct way the project's mastermind and (usually) sole member Ripley Johnson makes richly textured, vibrant psychedelic music without relying on noise or feedback alone. It took no time at all for the music internet to put tog…

Joe Bourdet has been a staple on the LA scene since the days of Josh Schwartz's Painted Hills and bluesy-rock outfit Whispering Pines, and more recently he's played GospelbeacH's Let It Burn and the upcoming Ben Reddell Band EP. At long last, he's releasing his solo debut, Meadow Rock, inspired by the rolling hills of California, the sounds of the …

Prolific songwriter, musician and poet Wes Tirey released his latest album, The Midwest Book of the Dead, on Dear Life at the end of April. Our wonderful contributor Lou Turner conducted a thoughtful written interview with Wes you can read here, but I was lucky to talk to him a bit more. Wes is an incredible lyricist and naturally his poems aren't …

Rachel Dean and Tim Paul Gray, both accomplished performers, songwriters, and recording artists in their own rite, released their debut record together as Starlight Cleaning Co. just last week on Sofaburn Records. Produced by Bart Davenport and engineered by Joel Jerome, the duo recorded the album at their home studio, the very same Vetiver recorde…

David John Morris found himself taking Red River Road to Gambo Abbey in Nova Scotia, Canada and smiled to himself. It was one fortuitous signal among many along the way that led him to this place. Inside the Abbey, the Cornish songwriter became a temporarily ordained Buddhist monk and spent several months inside sans musical means of expression. Af…

I first became a fan of Sarah Louise's floral fingerstyle acoustic guitar playing on her albums Deeper Woods and Field Guides, and remained intrigued by her more maximalist turn on 2019's Nighttime Birds and Morning Stars, but nothing prepared me for Earth Bow. Sarah's latest album is a sparkling, expansive exploration of meaning and melody, and al…

Tulsa Oklahoma's Jesse Aycock is a talented and in-demand multi-instrumentalist who has shared a stage with the Secret Sisters, Elizabeth Cook, and of course, he was a member of Hard Working Americans along with Todd Snider, Dave Schools, Neal Casal, Chad Staehly, and Duane Trucks. Jesse is also a singer and songwriter who just released his third s…

Jeffrey Silverstein is an east-coaster turned PNW-er who teaches, writes, runs, meditates, and obviously, makes some extremely cool music. He has a beautiful new EP called Torii Gates that is out tomorrow on Arrowhawk Records. Last year, Jeffrey's full-length You Become the Mountain made our AOTY list - an album of "effortless meditation" - even th…

Buck Curran, the prolific singer, songwriter, luthier living in Bergamo, Italy, has a lot going on. Buck's Obsolete Recording label seems to be endlessly pumping out the jams, in the form of interstellar ambience, ruminative ragas, and melancholy melodies. I thought the best way to cover all the things going on with his label, Obsolete Recordings, …

We interviewed Josh Kimbrough, the fingerstyle guitarist and composer from Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Josh put out his fantastic solo debut record, Slither, Soar, and Disappear last year on Tompkins Square, as well as a Christmas EP entitled Yule Chime. I wanted to know a bit more about Josh’s history of being immersed in the Chapel Hill-area mus…

Tan Cologne is Lauren Green and Marissa Macias, two interdisciplinary artists living in Taos, New Mexico. Last year they released their debut album, Cave Vaults on the Moon in New Mexico on Labrador Records, followed by a single “Heretic Porcelain” last October. With their sweeping, kaleidoscopic soundscapes that emulate the New Mexico horizon, Tan…

The Nashville Ambient Ensemble, one of the most exciting new projects of Nashville's continuously burgeoning experimental scene, is releasing their debut tomorrow on Centripetal Force Records. The seven-piece ensemble, spearheaded by composer Michael Hix and featuring many of the stars of the scene in their own rite, like Kim Rueger (Belly Full of …

Friends, roadfellows and instrumental guitarists Cameron and Eli are putting an album out tomorrow on American Dreams Records. Recording a record together may seem like a natural and intuitive decision - but it was not. Cameron found the idea insurmountable but Eli convinced him that it could work - and it does, beautifully. Cameron's bluegrass-inf…

I'm late to the game when it comes to the music of Jerry David DeCicca, but he's a true veteran of the modern music world, having lived on the road for many years with his band Black Swans before opting for a "Quiet Life" (get it? that's a song title) when he moved to Texas with his partner a few years back. In addition to making music, he's also p…

The Nashville-based singer-songwriter and classically-trained Lydia Luce joins us to discuss her album Dark River, out 2/26. The album faces the dissolution of a toxic relationship, codependency issues, and anxiety. But there's a happy ending here. Have a listen to our conversation and absolutely don't miss out on her dreamy new record.…

Dave Bixby is a living folk legend, and quite literally developed a cult following. his definitive loner acid folk album, 'Ode to Quetzalcoatl’ was recorded following a long period of time Dave spent in what he calls ‘the void’, a dark, depressive episode after a prolonged period of taking LSD almost daily. The haunting 1970 album was reissued by S…

Kicking off the first audio recording of a Petal Motel Interview with San Antonio's mayor-eventually-elect Garrett T. Capps. Capps personifies all the lore of his hometown and has the chops to back up the legends of Texas music and mythology, with his own particular spin.By lara