Roughly a decade ago John Casey left Minnesota and crossed the Atlantic to France. The plan was to earn his foreign language requirement and complete his degree in English. Then he figured out that he could play gigs in the town of Nice for 300 francs a night (roughly $60) and all the Guinness he [...]

Those who know Linda McRae from her eight-year tenure with Canada’s Spirit Of The West may be in for a bit of a surprise from her solo debut, Flying Jenny. Where Spirit took her from Celtic music to rock to orchestral pop (racking up two platinum albums and one gold in Canada), McRae’s debut is [...]

American Paint is one of those rare bands that arrive, seemingly out of nowhere, with a sound so comfortable you’d think you’d been born listening to it, yet enough twists to knock you off guard each time you think “I’ve heard this before.” Live, they play into every conceivable alt-country cliché — jangly dual guitars, [...]

Not everyone has the luxury of recording their first album at Prince’s state-of-the-art Paisley Park studio, as Frank Randall, Dave Downey and the ever-evolving lineup known as the Sycamores did on their self-titled debut. Spending two years in a friend’s basement recording your follow-up on a vintage eight-track is an even more unusual choice. Recording [...]