Whiskey in the Pines CD Release Show at Fifth and Thomas

Whiskey in the Pines:
www.whiskeyinthepines.com
www.facebook.com/whiskeyinthepines
While Whiskey in the Pines’ hails from Florida, synonymous with endless sunshine and miles of beaches, the ocean is still a long way from the band’s home town Tallahassee. “It’s about a two-hour drive,” says David Lareau, Whiskey in the Pines’ plainspoken singer and principal songwriter. The band’s unmistakably Southern moniker—a perfect fit for its brand of heartfelt, no-frills Americana—was inspired by their frequent excursions down US-319 south to the languid shores of the Gulf. “You’re traveling miles of road surrounded by nothing but pine trees,” he says. “And a good friend of mine always called me ‘Whiskey.’ I drove out to the beach so often that when it came time to name the band, it was a pretty straightforward choice.”

For Lareau, Whiskey In The Pines has been at once a new beginning and a much-needed salve to heal the wounds of a tumultuous year. As the band prepares to release its new EP, Sunshine From The Blue Cactus (named for drummer Erik Wutz’s admired waitress, Sunshine, who worked the lunch shift at the band’s favorite haunt), Lareau has been reflecting back on the pothole-filled road that led him to this point.

“When I was writing the songs for Sunshine, My mom had recently passed away, and I’d also just had my first kid,” Lareau says. “There were all sorts of conflicting emotions pouring out through the songs. It’s been a journey, for sure.”

Lareau’s Florida roots provide the EP’s alt-country songs with a gentle warmth and sense of connectedness. This is heartland rock & roll, shot through with ambling, country-tinged flourishes. There are songs that would perfectly score a backyard day-drinking session, and others that work as peaceful codas to soundtrack the after-party cleanup. Which makes perfect sense after everything Lareau has experienced in recent years. On the autobiographical “Sixteen” and shifty love paean “Do You Believe in Hell,” Lareau ruefully examines his life’s circumstances, pondering how past decisions have influenced his present state. Elsewhere on the EP, “Roses” chugs forward with a driving melody reminiscent of Jason Isbell or Ryan Adams’ earlier work in Whiskeytown. “It’s times like these when you’re driving through this town / And you’re playing Tom Petty with the windows down,” Lareau sings on the chorus, delivering his lines with the authenticity of someone, who—like the rock legend he name-checks—knows small-town Southern life firsthand.

Inspiration comes to Lareau in many forms. An avid distance runner, he often works up melodic ideas as he pounds the pavement, reveling in the solitary miles. And, of course, life in Tallahassee is inseparable from college football and the Florida State Seminoles—it was at a tailgate where Lareau came up with the framework for what would become the somber “Drunk with My Friends.” Sometimes, though, the tunes come together until the pressure is on to record, which was the case with “Roses.” “My first stab at writing that song came out really dark, which wasn’t a great fit for the upbeat melody,” Lareau says. “I was stuck on it for a while but ended up pulling out some new lyrics the night before we cut it. Everyone loved the spontaneity, so we went with it.”

Lareau writes quickly and trusts his instincts. He may edit things later upon further reflection or after hearing input from his bandmates, but he knows he’s at his best when he strikes while the iron is hot. “For ‘Sixteen,’ I literally picked up the guitar with the melody in my head, laid down with my wife and son beside me, and wrote the lyrics on my phone in ten minutes,” he says. “I luckily found the right words that rhyme at 3:30 in the morning.”

Though Lareau anchors the band as frontman and songwriter, Whiskey In the Pines is a collaborative affair and his bandmates have the chops to make these tunes really hum. Bassist Aaron Halford and guitarist Kelly Chavers are longtime pals. Noel Hartough produced the band’s new EP while Erik Wutz handled drums on the recordings, and ace session musician Barrett Williams soars on pedal steel. The band dynamic and this new set of songs has energized Lareau as he prepares to hit the road in support of Sunshine From The Blue Cactus.

“We’re really proud of this one,” he says. “We want people to remember these songs, to sing them in the shower, or when they’re taking their kids to school—to have them become a part of their life.”

“Sunshine From The Blue Cactus” available 2/2/18
Itunes | Amazon | Spotify
Pre-order now: http://itunes.apple.com/album/id1316220396?ls=1&app=itunes
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The Underhill Family Orchestra
http://www.weareunderhill.com/home/

The Underhill Family Orchestra, native to the Alabama delta, has been described as “outright anthemic” taking their compositions to “idyllic places” that make you want to “paint your face, forget your age, and kiss a stranger.” With “the bare knuckled nature” of their sound and their command of the “intricate, melancholy and densely literate” themes in the songs they create, they invoke a “sense of riot” with their arm-swingin, foot-stomping, Appalachia-inspired sound that makes effort to “infuse sheer pop catchiness into the rootsier, grittier elements” made up of sultry and soulful 4-part vocal arrangements and a unique take on the southern sound for which Alabama is known. They have recently been in the studio after their October signing to Skate Mountain Records, and will be hitting the road this spring to promote their debut major record release set to drop in early 2018.