CD
Cover from "Going to California"
Loose Music UK release fall 2004
As i write this I have only just heard that somewhere in the Sierra Nevada mountains, Big Steve and Stephanie Arlene have just had their 2nd child...a lovely girl named Violet who will get to play with her barely newer sister Honey. I can imagine that this 2 cuties will get as good of reviews as this CD titled "Going to California" is getting. Uk press loves these tracks, which we recorded in Ausin, with Texas players and Al. Roy Clark, Chris Isaac, Graham and Emmy Lou, even a bit of Melloncamp.......Beautiful harmony, rocking guitars, Analogue ribbon and tube mics.....this was dream to record.... and congrats to the new family addition.. Sweet!
the charming 1st release.
LINKS
Lonely Won't Leave Me Alone.mp3
I met Big Steve (hey, everybody in London has a nick name you know) He was heloing out the Rockinbirds and playing in several bands of varying styles. It was very obvious though, that he was a country music kind of guy. He formed the Arlenes sometime in the same period when he met Stephanie and her harmonies with Steve painted a velvet picture that many people where drawn to. He wrote and performed the music for a BBC TV show called Border Cafe (where the music was better than the acting). The Arlenes first real release did not come until 2002 when Loose Music put them out. Tom Bridgewater from Loose Music is a journalist/fan turned record label guy, whose main goal is to put out and promote good music. (Loose releases some Americana Bands in the UK who would probably not get releases if not for Tom).
I somehow seem to have always known Big Steve as a friend, and when he and Stephanie married, I was really happy. They are what they look like, a sort of country music couple who now have a lovely baby girl named Honey, sitting with mom and dad in the dressing room at shows. Steve politely fighting off the cigarette smoke from the baby's breathing space while Stephanie is feeding her. (little picture here of London becoming old time Nashville)
Musically the Arlenes are closer to Bakersfield CA than Nashville, though! Steve works hard to write good songs these days and is still associated with the old Camden crew that was around the Rockingbirds. I owe Steve a lot for all the times he has helped me with a place to sleep in London and for supporting me as a producer. When he asked me to help them mix some songs and ultimately to help them with their radio singles, I was truly honored. In these radio single sessions he brought in James the Kid as a guitar player and now finally between Andy Hackett and James I have 2 guitar player London I can call for session work and they will always play cool stuff for me. Reminds me of Austin.
