The Chattanooga Market

“Upon first listen to the New Binkley Brothers, my immediate thought was ‘There is indeed still hope for country music’. Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m not talking about that canned crap coming out of Nashville nowadays (pop stars in cowboy hats). I’m talking about honest to goodness southern music which incorporates the gritty, shuffling fiddle of the famed North Georgia string bands of the 1920’s, the driving clawhammer banjo and the mountain harmonies that make your hair stand on end. These boys get it right. Hailing from Chattanooga, TN, this old-timey trio know just when to whoop it up, stomp and swerve out a fiddle tune, as well as break it down with old religious standards. In true southern fashion, these gents perfectly toe that line between saints and sinners; get down and get right and are as refreshing as cool corn liquor on a hot summers night.” –Leo Chancy TN Dept of Transformation

Hailing from the small mining community of Beauty, Kentucky, Angaleena possesses a voice rich with Appalachian heritage, and the songs she  crafts push creative boundaries even as they draw inspiration from Loretta Lynn, Dolly Parton, Johnny Cash, and other trailblazers of American music.   Grammy winning songwriter Mark D. Sanders once said that, “if John Prine and Loretta Lynn had a baby, it would be Angaleena.”  With her unique guitar style, lyrical prowess, natural charisma, and unapologetic honesty, Angaleena warrants such a compliment in a way that few others can.

Songwriter-singer/guitarist Nathan Bell has toured the US and Canada, playing at clubs, concert halls, and (as a member of the duo, Bell and Shore during the 80s) most of the premier North American acoustic music festivals,  including the Walnut Valley Festival, the Winnipeg Folk Festival, and the Mariposa Folk Festival. His work on acoustic, National steel-bodied, and electric guitars is as strong as his songwriting, which is an amalgamation of ideas inspired by writers ranging from Jack London, William Faulkner, and the poet Marvin Bell to Townes Van Zandt and southern short-story master Larry Brown.

Bell has shared the stage with Emmylou Harris, Eddie and Martha Adcock, Stompin’ Tom Connors, Townes Van Zandt, Kathy Mattea, Mary-Chapin Carpenter, Ricky Skaggs, and a whole cast of scofflaws and gypsies from the folk and bluegrass archipelago. He was a staff writer for Ten Ten Music in Nashville and has been regularly featured at Nashville’s Bluebird Cafe, often as part of the “Writers in the Round” series with many notable songwriters, including Grammy-Award winner Don Henry, Craig Bickhardt, and CMA award nominee Angela Kaset.

In 1991, he recorded an album of songs with producer/guitarist Richard Bennett (Steve Earle, Emmylou Harris, Marty Stuart).

With the arrival of his first child in 1995, Nathan took a hiatus to concentrate on raising a growing family. In 2007, Nathan began writing and recording new material.

Nathan has just released his most recent CD, Traitorland.

“Still I Believe” says a lot about up-and-coming folk-rock musician Michael Sechrist. Not only is it the title track of his latest C.D., but it paints a telling picture of the man behind the music, who asserts that there are things still worth believing in, even when they seem distant or hopelessly out of reach.

Sechrist isn’t afraid to wear his heart on his sleeve, singing with refreshing candor about things like hope in the midst of fear, love lost and found, death and healing, and standing up for he holds to be true. He sings about the world he lives in and the life he’s led, and invites listeners to find facets of themselves in these stories he sings.
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Lou Wamp, Resophonic Guitar, Fiddle, Mandolin

After knowing just a few things about Lou Wamp, there might be an irresistible tendency to begin tossing out labels: “Driven”, “Renaissance Man”, “Multi-talented”, “Perplexing”, or, perhaps if he himself were doing the labeling, just “Perplexed”. Easy enough to understand, given he’s at once a 25-year veteran of the music business, a registered architect with a successful practice (see www.louiswamp.com), impressively talented artist and painter, amateur archaeologist, and father and stepfather to six kids.

Besides being a sought after sideman and studio musician, he certainly has the skill to be a solo artist in his own right. Born in Ft. Benning, GA in 1956, Lou had plenty of music (Elvis to Travis; Bach to Beatles) around home while growing up. After piano lessons and playing guitar in his high school jazz band, a broken wrist encouraged him to take up resonator guitar. Gene Wooten became a close friend and mentor. Lou played on “Sidemen” nights at the Station Inn in Nashville and was in a band called Hiwassee Ridge that performed at the 1982 World’s Fair in Knoxville. Other bands he’s worked with include James Monroe and the Midnight Ramblers, The Dismembered Tennesseans, Cowjazz, Blue Moon Rising, and others. Continue reading

Nashville-based singer-songwriter/rhythm guitarist Denitia Odigie has just released her latest country-tinged compilation of soul-folk songs. Recorded in Music City U.S.A. with producer Darryl Swart, the 5 song EP, CONTRAST, is already making waves, selling unpredictably well at live shows from Tennessee to Texas to Montreal, Quebec. With beginnings as underground and DIY as her marketing and sales strategies, Denitia has just signed a publishing deal with Nashville’s Weston Boys Entertainment, quickly poising her for a launch from unheard to ubiquitous indie in 2009.
In the middle of the excitement of promoting her last independent project, Denitia is already back in the studio, recording more of the soul-folk-pop songs for which she is becoming known and loved.

Denitia has shared the stage with a variety of artists from Patrick Watson, Irma Thomas, Tim Finn, The Levees, and The Felice Brothers. Garnering increasing praise for her personal and moving live performances, Denitia tours regionally, playing coffeehouses, acoustic listening rooms, and rock clubs. With her raw and emotive stage presence and warm acoustic guitar playing, she “has found herself a beautiful formula for music, and if you can’t recognize a little wonderfulness in it, then you don’t like music (The Deli Magazine).”

Buck and Nelson, aka David Buchanan and Nelson Thomas, have been performing music together since the mid 1970’s.  They began learning the basics of music and playing string instruments around 1972.  Their first band was formed with three other performers.  About 1980 they began performing as a trio with Jimmy Waters, and finally as the duo they have been for the past 20+ years. Over those years they have also performed solo, with a number of other musicians, and at many venues,  including performing in “The Reach of Song” (Georgia’s Official Historical Drama).

Their main instrument is the acoustic guitar, which they play both with a flatpick and fingerstyle.  They often bring other instruments to perform on as well, including the mandolin, fiddle, old time banjo, bluegrass banjo, harmonica, and washboard.  They occasionally bring in something even more unusual to play a tune on or to keep a rhythm with.

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Music has always been LaTresa’s first love. She began performing professionally in high school with a series of bands. Her father, a singer/songwriter Church of Christ minister, moved the family around the heart of Dixie a lot. Hers was, at times, a hard scrabble childhood, as her parents struggled to put food on the table and clothing on their backs. Along the way she soaked up influences from the Mississippi Delta to Memphis to the Bluegrass of Kentucky and beyond.

Her music combines influences from the many places her youth has taken her and the many lessons her children Joshua and Olivia have taught her. She connects, delighting audiences with solid professional performances. She’s spent four years on Music Row, soaking up its songwriting expertise and production sounds.

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Charlie Morris is not your typical Blues rocker. Yes, there are red-hot solos on guitar, slide and organ. Yes, there are solid grooves to get your feet moving. But it’s Charlie’s original songs that set him apart. Rootsy, hook-based tunes with witty lyrics about the usual bluesy topics – drinking, gambling, cheating and other fun stuff. A few covers by the likes of Muddy Waters, Howlin Wolf and Ray Charles complete the mix. Charlie has released 4 CDs on the BluesPages label, and regularly tours the Southeastern US and Europe.

Originally from Saratoga Springs, NY, Johanna moved to Nashville in 2000 to work for Vanderbilt Sports Medicine as an Athletic Trainer. After 2 years at Vandy, and being introduced to the songwriting aspect of music, she decided to make a change…and was going to learn guitar and the art of songwriting. She has played the violin since first grade, and was fortunate to go on tour with the Empire State Youth Orchestra to Hungary and Austria, where they played in front of the Hungarian Army. So getting back to music was just a part of her nature!

In Nashville, Johanna became a member of the band, Shed and got the opportunity to open for Gretchen Wilson and Charlie Daniels.  Her songwriting has continued to grow and is getting  pitched to major label artists. In 2008, she released her own record, “What It’s Like To Fly.” Since then, she has been working at creating another album…with a little different sound! (Stay tuned!)