Greetings – just a quick note to remind visitors to this site that I am retiring from the Ontonagon Area Schools as of June 30, 2018 – it is hard to believe that I have had the honor of working here for 43 years!\u00a0 The laws of our fair state demand that I have a 30 day bonafide break in service (or as I call it, my exile) so I will not be allowed to enter the building, discuss working for the school in any capacity, or even volunteer my services for anything until August!\u00a0 Please do not ask me to explain how this works because I don’t understand it myself.\u00a0 In the mean time, should you want to contact me, my personal e-mail during July will be keraisanen@gmail.com .<\/p>\n
It is looking like the Porcupine Mountain Music Festival will be doing away with the Singing Hills Stage that I have been lucky to act as emcee for in the past 10 or 12 years . . . the move they are making to use the ski chalet building more and maintain one outdoor stage will make the festival better.\u00a0 I will still be there as I have been asked to work as one of the stage managers for the outdoor stage, so stop by and visit – I will be there with bells on!<\/p>\n
Lastly, our friend Gary Tanin at Milwaukee’s Daystorm Records sent me an advanced screening of Sam Llanas’s newest record which he did the mastering work on (plus assorted other tasks).\u00a0 It is called\u00a0The Return of the Goya – Part 1<\/em> but I do not have a release date yet, so I can’t play it.\u00a0 I can, however, share the quickie review I drafted for Gary’s Facebook page.<\/p>\n Have a great summer – keep in touch – maybe we will bump heads again in August!\u00a0 Best Regards!!\u00a0 K. Raisanen, Manager<\/p>\n A SPECIAL FROM THE VAULTS:\u00a0 \u00a0RETURN OF THE GOYA – PART 1<\/p>\n Is Sam Llanas going through a country phase or has he always had a bit of country heart in him? \u00a0The first track of his new album <\/span>Return of the Goya – Part 1, <\/span><\/i>(<\/span>Follow Your Heart<\/span><\/i>) replete with steel guitar and chugga chugga drumming certainly fits the country label. \u00a0Come to think of it, his voice has always carried a bit of the \u2018country cry\u2019, but it wasn\u2019t as up front as it is here. <\/span>Recipe<\/span><\/i> follows in a similar vein adding a bit of harmonica to round out the Nashville feel. \u00a0The chorus is more than a little catchy. Supplant Llana\u2019s voice with Gram Parson\u2019s and these two tracks would fit in the <\/span>Sweetheart of the Rodeo<\/span><\/i>\/Nudie suit era very nicely.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>All Day<\/span><\/i> leans in a more or less pop direction with an interesting horn like quality to the background instrumentation. \u00a0Again, the chugging drums propel the verses which are punctuated with double guitar strums. <\/span>Heroes<\/span><\/i> acoustic strum and lyric slow things down a bit. \u00a0The drums here are supplanted by finger snaps and more lap steel guitar and trombone that sounds more like a viola than guitar and horn. \u00a0By track five (<\/span>Little Song<\/span><\/i>), the blend of country strum, \u00a0interesting full bass and drum patterns move things along nicely in a very John Mellencamp like arrangement (if Mellencamp had recorded in Music City). \u00a0<\/span>Little Song II<\/span><\/i> turns the country feel up to turbo. \u00a0Another catchy chorus with versus that Johnny Cash could have done in his sleep if for no other reason than is smacks more than a little of the <\/span>Folsom Prison Blues. \u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>All Alone Again <\/span><\/i>opens with lap steel twang and a shuffling drum beat. \u00a0The swooping steel guitar supports the vocal and the tribal tom drumming on the middle eight adds a full rich texture.<\/span><\/p>\n I take back my earlier question about Sam Llanas going through a country phase: \u00a0this isn\u2019t just a phase, this is an album that speaks from the heart and country soul of someone who isn\u2019t just trying to make a country album. \u00a0Having said this, I finally broke down and read the press kit bio (something I try to not do before making the initial run through of a new album). \u00a0Llanas credits this album to his long time love of the country music he heard in his early years. He was also inspired by laying hands on a rebuilt model of his beloved Goya guitar that was stolen many years ago. \u00a0The prominent use of steel guitar is easily explained by the albums producer,<\/span> \u00a0lap steel &<\/span> electric<\/span> guitarist Sean Williamson. \u00a0\u00a0Others credited in the bio include many<\/span> prominent<\/span> Milwaukee musicians<\/span> Llanas<\/span> has worked with over<\/span> recent<\/span> years along with new faces. \u00a0The listing mentions bassist Matt Turner, drummer Kevin<\/span> Dunphy, drummer Ryan<\/span> Schiedermayer, \u00a0trombonist John Simons and mastering of the album by Gary Tanin form Daystorm Records.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The four X four shuffle of <\/span>Rio<\/span><\/i> splits the tempo dead between the faster and slower tunes without diluting the country feel of the track. After <\/span>Rio<\/span><\/i>\u2019s mid-tempo shuffle, Llanas drops it into third gear for <\/span>Long Way Home<\/span><\/i>. \u00a0Not exactly a homage to the CB\/Trucker period of C and W, but it evokes the feel. \u00a0The steel guitar throughout the album is great but it really stands out on <\/span>Long Way Home.<\/span><\/i> \u00a0The bass and drums work well together across all of the tracks and this solid bed is one of the reasons the steel parts work so well, \u00a0The album closes with <\/span>Down The Line<\/span><\/i>. \u00a0Somewhat introspective and confessional, it starts with a deep guitar strum and more great lap steel weaving in and around the vocal. \u00a0The bonus track has a mellow, back porch feel, whistling and all. <\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0I was not sure what compelled Sam Llanas to make this particular album on the first run through (probably why I decided to crack open the press kit). \u00a0His previous body of work has always been somewhat eclectic in that he has never just made the same record over and over again. Many artists who write and sing the way he has over the years would hesitate to make an album like this. \u00a0My hat is off to Llanas for adding several dozen more colors to his musical palette. <\/span>Return of the Goya – Part 1 <\/span><\/i>is an album of well constructed songs and a full, rich mix of instruments. \u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Top Piece Video:\u00a0 HIT IT ALICE!