American Songwriter has this to say about The Two Tracks: “They avoid many of the cliches and gimmicks that have grown common in the Americana world while still championing a natural, Earth-grown sound. To hear an acoustic quartet reach a level of dynamic and thematic intensity like The Two Tracks do is an immeasurably rewarding experience. It’s pure musicianship, it’s pure excellence, it’s pure Americana.”
Husband and wife Julie and Dave Huebner write songs that traverse the male and female perspective with emotional and natural images of rural American life. The band cares about lyrics, story, and the power of the song, and every arrangement is designed to fully highlight that direct connection between the song and the listener. Hailing from the eastern side of the Bighorn Mountains in Wyoming, the band has traversed the country bringing their joyful, unique sound to stages big and small, including Americanafest (TN), Deadwood Jam (SD), Kate Wolf Memorial Music Festival (CA), MeadowGrass (CO), Albino Skunk Music Festival (SC), Red Ants Pants Music Festival (MT), Millpond Music Festival (CA), Levitt Sioux Falls (SD), LevittAMP Green Bay (WI), Schellraiser Music Festival (NV), Ashley for the Arts (WI), Beartrap Summer Festival (WY), Sioux River Folk Festival (SD), Music on the Mothership (NM), Oystergrass (WY), and The LAWN (CO), to name a few, and opened for artists such as Orville Peck, Eilen Jewell, Kitchen Dwellers, Black Lillies, Horseshoes & Hand Grenades and more. They recently completed their first international trip, traveling to Dubai for performances at the World Expo in the spring of 2022.
Julie’s driving rhythm guitar, on-stage enthusiasm and vocal prowess dance perfectly with Dave’s rich voice and unique cello playing, adding a layer of surprise to the band’s sound. This is complemented wonderfully by the four part harmonies, and rock solid groove filled out by Taylor Phillips on bass and Fernando Serna on drums. All seasoned musicians and good friends, they have knit their passions into a tight band family, and it comes across in their albums and on stage. Their new album “It’s a Complicated Life,” which is their fourth studio album, is alive with vivid poetry. From deeply personal stories such as Julie’s “The Push and The Pull” recounting a divorce and Dave lamenting his mother’s passing in “Momma’s Gone”, to political tales of angst such as “Workingman’s Blues”, to simple reminders that we’re all in this together with “In the Morning’s” lyric “check on your friends please”, the record speaks both to the moment and to the universal human condition.
“It’s a Complicated Life” was recorded over the course of five days at The Tractor Shed in Goodlettsville, TN just outside Nashville. It was produced by Will Kimbrough (Todd Snider, Rodney Crowell), mixed by Trina Shoemaker (Indigo Girls, The Wood Brothers) and engineered by Sean Sullivan (Sturgill Simpson, Molly Tuttle). In addition to the band, the record features Kimbrough on acoustic and electric guitars and the slide variations of both, along with mandolin and Hammond organ. Dave’s brother Eric, an accomplished pianist that performs with the New York Philharmonic, makes a cameo appearance on “Momma’s Gone”.
While “It’s a Complicated Life” paints a rich picture of the rural west, at its heart it is an ode to the human experience; joyful, weary, and bittersweet, buoyed by an unshakable hope for what tomorrow brings. “This is an album about where we’ve been, where we are, and where we’re going, these are universal stories,” says Dave. “We really hope people find themselves wrapped up in this music much the way we’re wrapped up in our complicated mid-forties, family raising lives.” Sit back, grab yourself a cup of tea – or something a little stronger – and take this record for a spin. You’ll find you’re already a part of the family, bonded by melody and intrigued about what comes next.
Willy Tea Taylor
There is no question that Willy Tea Taylor’s life as a singer/songwriter was predetermined – his role realized the moment he wrote his first song. His inspirations drawn from two separate wells; Living the life of a cattleman’s kid and experiencing true visionaries music like Greg Brown, John Hartford, and Guy Clark. The image of Guy Clark and friends sitting around the kitchen table loaded with ashtrays full of butts, half-smoked cigarettes, food, and booze on one Christmas Eve in 1975 burned into Taylor’s soul. Those guys, swapping songs without pretense, lit Willy Tea’s fire. And ever since, its led purpose with passion – finding a hang by curating relationships through musical friendships that get him closer to his own Clark style kitchen table.
From his early days co-fronting The Good Luck Thrift Store Outfit, to singing solo in countless cowboy bars, to pitching countless wiffle ball games, Willy Tea has never lost the vision. Now Willy Tea Taylor has taken his vision of the “hero hang” on the road. and his talented traveling band The Fellership is made up of his fantastically talented buds who play Willy’s songs with a brand of reckless abandon and utter humility that spits in the face of pretense. The way The Fellership plays Will’s songs is the way they demand to be played and, in their short time together, they have been awe-ing every audience lucky enough to see them.
THE GREAT WESTERN HANGOVER
The ten-song LP features a sample-size blend of Willy’s musical influences like Tom Petty-esque rock anthems, riders of the storm rattling westerns, and bait’n tackle choir chants, while delivering the masterful songwriting that Taylor’s cult of underground folk followers devour. The Great Western Hangover features other talents like Anna Tivel, Jeffrey Martin, The Rainbow Girls, and members of Fruition, and TK & the Holy Know-Nothings.
Recorded live in a two-and-a-half day session at Our Lady of Perpetual Heat Recording Studio & Spa just outside of Portland, The Great Western Hangover showcases many sides of Willy Tea Taylor’s musical mind and songwriting prowess. Willy Tea Taylor has dedicated his life to constantly crafting the ultimate “hero hang” as an eternal seeker of Guy Clark’s kitchen table. Gathering folks betrothed to music, who ride the wave of the unknown, and strive to experience full-hearted gratitude amidst the chaotic modern world is what built the foundation The Fellership stands upon.
Some might think of it as an expanded supergroup, but in the form of Taylor’s band, The Fellership amplifies good times, supports wandering souls, and acts as defenders of a well-crafted song. Though a constantly shifting outfit, this Fellership iteration pressed in wax features Taylor Kingman (TK & The Holy Know-Nothings), Tyler Thompson (Fruition, TK & The Holy Know-Nothings), Kris Stuart (Wanderlodge, Root Jack), Dylan Nicholson (The Turkey Buzzards), and Eric Patterson (The Turkey Buzzards).