MODERN.
UNDERGROUND.
COUNTRY.
Manzanita band the Cedar Shakes release
new album on vinyl, cassette and digital
Submitted photo by Justin Bailie
Manzanita band the Cedar Shakes is made of Travis Champ on guitar and vocals and James Owen Greenan on pedal steel.
T
There I was, nearly broke, slightly hun-
gover, driving my beat-up pickup truck
down the Oregon Coast in the rain after
my girlfriend had dumped me, when I
pushed in a cassette tape recently sent to
me in the mail and cranked up the volume.
A cassette of new country music.
A few hours later, I had listened to the
album three times and had heard some
exquisite throwback musicianship and
uniquely immortal lines like: “Sometimes
true love sends postcards to the ocean /
sometimes you’ll wish true love was over-
seas.” Or: “Jesus saves in Helvetica / last
chance for diesel till you hit the state line,”
from a song called “Helvetica.”
Yes, someone wrote a country song
about the generic ubiquitous font Helvet-
ica!
4 | March 12, 2015 | coastweekend.com
So let me declaim here: I have now
heard the new best voice of fresh country
music you’ll never hear on clichéd coun-
try radio stations, and I heard it on a cas-
sette tape released by a Manzanita band
called the Cedar Shakes. And I haven’t
stopped listening to it since that inaugu-
ral play.
Cedar Shakes consists of Travis
Champ on guitar and vocals and James
Owen Greenan on pedal steel. The al-
Coastal Life
Story by MATT LOVE
bum, their second, is called “This Western
Road” and it contains 10 stellar songs in
the genre that Champ calls, “modern un-
derground country.”
“I pulled influences from various de-
cades of country music,” said songwriter
Champ, “including George Jones, Ernest
Tubb, Waylon Jennings, Townes Van Zant,
as well as mid-late 20th century rock ‘n’
roll like Buddy Holly, The Band and Rich-
ard Hell.”
There was another significant influence
Submitted photo courtesy the Cedar Shakes
to the sound of “This Western Road,” ex-
plained Champ. “I listened to Bob Dylan’s The Cedar Shakes record their second album in Austin, Texas.
‘Highway 61 Revisited’ on a regular ba-
sis, and the recording process owes a great takes. The vocals were done on the third
deal to that record: the grittiness and im- day. The tracks were mixed on the fourth
mediacy of a live studio band, the simplic- and fifth days. We had a total of five stu-
ity of song structure allowing musicians dio sessions.”
with limited familiarity to the songs to
The Cedar Shakes’ new album is
sit down and allow their acquired musical
available in 12-inch vi-
tendencies to fill the space.”
nyl record released by
“This West-
Whatbang Records of
Quilcene, Washington,
ern Road” was
with digital downloads
recorded at Es-
ripped from the vinyl.
tuary Recording
For the time being,
in Austin, Texas,
digital
downloads
over three days.
will not be available
The tracks were
without purchase of
recorded live on
the vinyl. The tape
2-inch tape, and
release is a short-
mixed down to
run edition of 75
quarter-inch reels.
copies, and there
The entire process
will be no compact
from the recording
disc.
to the mixing to the
In
other
mastering was entirely
to
o
h
d p
Submit te
- words, you have
st
analog.
e
W
is
h
T
m, “
cond albu
to seek out the
Champ and Greenan
d their se
se
a
le
re
e
l.
v
a
a
it
h
s
ig
Cedar Shakes
were joined in the stu-
e
d
k
d
a
Cedar Sh
ssette an
music, but believe
dio by some high-pow- The Road,” on vinyl, ca
ern
me, it’s worth it, especially live.
ered Austin sidemen in
Bryan Mammel on pia-
n o And fortunately, in the coming days, local
and Rhodes, David Longoria on electric area music fans have a chance to see the
guitar, Matt Simon on drums and Aaron band perform.
For the time being, the Cedar Shakes
Goeth on bass.
“We only had one full band practice the will be playing out as a two-piece with
day before stepping into the studio,” said the possibility of full-band shows in the
Champ. “None of the final tracks are first future. They toured aggressively around
takes, but most of them are second of third the area in the winter to support the re-
cord and are back on the road this spring
with performances in Astoria at the Voo-
doo Room on Friday, March 20; in Man-
zanita at The Lighthouse on Saturday,
March 2; and again in Astoria at KALA
on April 10. Records and cassettes of
“This Western Road” will be available at
the shows.
I have now heard the new best voice of fresh country music you’ll
never hear on clichéd country radio stations, and I heard it on a
cassette tape released by a Manzanita band called the Cedar Shakes.
And I haven’t stopped listening to it since that inaugural play.