ROUTES & BRANCHES   

June 8, 2013

Scott Foley

Been awhile since we were treated to a Departures piece - our recurring series where we ask an R&B artist five questions about their musical passions and inspirations. This Episode, we hear from Murfreesboro, TN's Kent Goolsby, former frontman for the Only Sons.

Glossary's Joey Kneiser shares a bit of his groove with Goolsby as producer of his debut LP, Trophies of Youth.  Soul flows through the barrelhouse piano of "Jesus Is My Landlord", and beats alongside the juking guitars of "Rags to Rags".  Goolsby hasn't abandoned his way with an alt.country song. Only Sons' four releases were uniformly satisfying, but owed more to 70s country rock than to country soul. There's plenty of that strain here as well, from the pining steel of "Boomerang Kid" to Goolsby's Ryan Bingham-rough vocals. "This ol' world's meant to be walked / Two by two," certainly conveys its share of folksy wisdom.

Looking forward to digging further into Goolsby's Trophies of Youth in the weeks to come. In the meantime, thanks to Kent for taking the time to provide a couple great stories for Routes & Branches Departures.

Favorite Music As a Youngster:

I grew up playing punk rock. For me it was the easiest kind of music to play and the fastest path to playing in a band, which was all I wanted to do since I was 13 or 14. The DIY (do-it-yourself) community was very accepting as well, so you could be playing house shows and art spaces in no time. My father’s influence was always in the background. He is a travis-picking style guitar player, so I grew listening to him play John Prine songs and wear out records by artists like Bob Dylan, Jackson Browne and Neil Young. Mom loved Fleetwood Mac and Linda Ronstadt. Needless to say I have all their old LPs in my vinyl collection now. I didn’t start writing what you would call “singer/songwriter” songs until I was 17 or 18.

Your Five Favorite Albums:

As of June 10th at 9 AM (ha):
The Band’s self-titled
John Prine - Sweet Revenge
Paul Simon - Still Crazy After All These Years
Warren Zevon’s self-titled
The Replacements - Tim

Lyric You Wish You'd Written:

“How can a man feel anything, when all he ever got was sympathy?”
- John McCauley (Deer Tick)

Best Concert You've Seen:

One of the best concert experiences I’ve ever had was seeing Leon Russell and Bob Dylan at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville last year with my old man. When his father got back from World War II, the first thing he did was go to a show at the Grand Ole Opry, which was at that time the same building that the Ryman is now. I’ve been to plenty of shows at the Ryman before, but it was incredible to share that experience with my father in the same room where my grandfather had been.

What's On Your Player Recently:

Robert Ellis - Photographs

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*  Wagoneers, "Mama Please"  Good Fortune  (A&M, 89)
*  Aoife O'Donovan, "Fire Engine"  Fossils  (Yep Roc, 13)
*  Shonna Tucker & Eye Candy, "Linda Please"  A Tell All  (Self, 13)
*  Mud Blood & Beer, "Matches & Gasoline"  Sweet Life  (Self, 13)
*  Alejandro Escovedo, "It's a Sin" You Don't Know Me: Rediscovering Eddy Arnold  (Plowboy, 13)
*  Strangebyrds, "Fall Mountains"  Migration  (Self, 13)   C, D
*  Neko Case, "Bowling Green"  Virginian  (Bloodshot, 97)
*  Charlie Robison, "Sunset Blvd (live)"  Live at Billy Bob's Texas  (Smith, 13)  D
*  Lori McKenna, "Salt"  Massachusetts  (Hoodie, 13)
*  Hezekiah Goode, "Go Easy On the Ethanol"  Two Billion Acres of Salt  (Self, 13)  C,D
^  Kent Goolsby, "Jesus Is My Landlord"  Trophies of Youth  (This is Amer Music, 13)   D
*  Valerie June, "Workin' Woman Blues"  Pushin' Against a Stone  (Concord, 13)   D
*  Eric Brace & Peter Cooper, "Mad"  Comeback Album  (Red Beet, 13)
*  Doug Sahm, "Texas Tornado"  Texas Tornado  (Rhino, 73)
*  Lizzie Huffman, "Momma"  single  (Self, 13)
*  Alex Culbreth & Dead Country Stars, "Bang Bang"  Heart In a Mason Jar  (Self, 13)
*  Delbert & Glen, "Whoever Said It Was Easy"  Blind Crippled & Crazy  (New West, 13)  D
*  Old Crow Medicine Show, "Union Maid (live)"  Woody at 100  (Columbia, 13)  D
*  Robby Peoples, "Mama Please"  Love Don't Love Me No More  (Self, 13)  C,D
*  Greta Gaines, "Good Side"  Lighthouse & the Impossible Love  (Self, 13)
*  Pokey LaFarge, "City Summer Blues"  Pokey Lafarge  (Third Man, 13)
*  Hillstomp, "NE Portland 3am"  Woman That Ended the World  (Blankity Blank, 05)
*  Mount Moriah, "Younger Days"  Miracle Temple  (Merge, 13)
*  Statesboro Revue, "Hands On the Sun"  Ramble On Privilege Creek  (30 Tigers, 13)
*  Southwire, "Brother"  Southwire  (Chaperone, 13)  D
*  Truth & Salvage Co, "Appalachian Hilltop"  Pick Me Up  (Megaforce, 13)  D
*  Mando Saenz, "Pocket Change"  Studebaker  (Carnival, 13)   D
*  Fifth on the Floor, "Burnin' Nashville Down"  Ashes & Angels  (Self, 13)