In case you missed the all-star Hiss Golden Messenger performance at Hopscotch this past weekend in Raleigh’s Fletcher Opera Theater–one of six shows M.C. Taylor played!–you’re in for a treat. The fine folks at NYC Taper have posted streams, free downloadable audio files, photos, and an essay documenting the extended set here on their site (they also took these photos.) Thanks, y’all!
Despite its mere seven inches, this is one big record by two of our favorite songwriters. For more details, to preview the songs, and to pre-order (check out the Hiss Golden Messenger and Elephant Micah pre-order bundles), visit our PoB-04 product page forthwith. The official release date is September 4th, 2012.
Today NPR’s Weekend Edition aired a remembrance and appreciation of Lumbee Indian musician and activist Willie French Lowery, with whom we worked closely to reissue Plant and See, the sole album released by his eponymous band and his first full-length recorded work. Willie passed away in early May.
Today is the official release date for Plant and See! Pick up your copy here or from your favorite discerning local record shop. If you’re in the area(s), please join us at one of our release party events, featuring the Paradise of Bachelors Soundsystem and DJ pals.
M.C. Taylor reveals some surprising inspirations in an eloquent “Writer of the Week” interview in American Songwriter magazine: “I write songs for my son and my wife and friends, and for what portions there are of my faith. I keep a Bible close at hand; it’s an important book full of lessons and folly and jokes. I look for strong melodic inspiration everywhere; I hear it most in contemporary pop music on the radio when I’m driving. We, as crafters of melody, should be listening to more Rick Ross and Katy Perry.”
The OA’s Walker Beauchamp writes that “Plant and See is a fitting tribute to a man who served as a cultural ambassador for his community for decades and wholly embodied the melting pot that is the South.” We wholeheartedly agree!
Plant and See is now streaming for a limited time only. Please join us at one of our three release parties in Carrboro, NC; Pembroke, NC; and Philadelphia, PA.
We are thrilled to announce that we are now officially taking pre-orders for the first-ever reissue of the self-titled 1969 LP by interracial North Carolina swamp-psych band Plant and See. For a limited, time, choose any additional record from the PoB catalog for only ten dollars more.
We are deeply saddened to hear of the passing of Willie French Lowery yesterday, May 3rd, 2012. Willie’s music and leadership have inspired countless people in his Lumbee community, across North Carolina, and beyond. It has been an honor and a privelege working with him over the past year to reissue some of his powerful and underrecognized recordings. Our thoughts and prayers are with his loved ones during this difficult time.
It’s almost May Day, with Cinco de Mayo and Derby Day hot on the heels of love, so if you’ve got a barge or dock, and you’re like Merle Haggard, you should consider making a record on that barge or dock while floating around Lake Shasta, as documented in this timeless photo. For obvious reasons, that picture is an avowed favorite of Hiss Golden Messenger chief M.C. Taylor, whose Poor Moon LP continues to garner a lot of attention and critical acclaim.
