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CORY MORROW w/ Adam Hood
Saturday Nov. 14, 2009 at 10:00 PM
18+ Show
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Fifteen years, and thousands of live shows later, Morrow has emerged as one of the lone star state’s best-loved artists. Revered along with college pal Pat Green as a preservationist of the unique Texas music "sound," which combines elements of country, bluegrass, swing and blues, Morrow inspires a fierce loyalty in his fans. As an independent artist, he moved 200,000 discs through his own WriteOn label.
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Adam Hood | 9:00 PM
 The American South has a long history of serving as a fertile breeding ground for singer/songwriters who instinctively meld the various musical elements of their environs. Alabama native Adam Hood carries on that tradition. Like a really good gumbo, there are a lot of subtle flavors mixing together in his personal brand of Southern music – blues, folk, country, rock – all wrapped around lyrics that sound too insightful for someone his age.
“DIFFERENT GROOVE” marks Hood’s first effort for Little Dog Records and his full studio album. A true collaborative effort, Hood found a musical kinship with Grammy Award-winning producer/guitarist Pete Anderson (Dwight Yoakam, Roy Orbison, k.d.lang, Sara Evans, Buck Owens, Flaco Jimenez, Michelle Shocked) and entrusted him to help capture the spontaneity and compelling nature of his music within the parameters of a recording studio. In the end, they decided the only way to accomplish this was to cut the basic rhythm tracks live, pulling together some of the most soulful roots players in Los Angeles. Starting with this musical “roux,” Pete went on to add further seasoning to get everything just right. The results are obvious – this is a “deep” and riveting work, harkening back to the raw musicality of early recordings by Bob Dylan, The Band, and even Al Green.
A listen to “DIFFERENT GROOVE” is like a study in Southern roots music in a modern context. Check out “22 Days Too Long” with its driving beat and greasy slide work. “Car, Trucks and Me” takes the listener to church with its Gospel-tinged vibe. “Varnado” explores Cajun country while “Late Night Diner” is a country rock gem. “Fool of an Honest Man” would make a Stax Records fan proud. “DIFFERENT GROOVE” truly delivers the goods.
Hood has already built a strong following by touring nearly 300 days a year. Recently, he has been a regular opening act across the country for the legendary Leon Russell. He has also opened shows for such artists as Pat Green, Todd Snider, Delbert McClinton, Dave Alvin, Ian Moore, and Shelby Lynne, among many others. Hood is constantly in the Top 50 on the MySpace independent Acoustic, Country and Folk Charts, with nearly 1,000 plays each day on his MySpace page (www.myspace.com/adamhood). Additionally, a number of Hood’s songs from his EP “6th Street” have been licensed by Yahoo! and pre-loaded on millions of Dell computers. His song “Million Miles Away” has recently been released as a single by Texas artist/Nashville Star finalist Shy Blakeman.
All of this is a result of a single-mindedness and commitment to his art from an early age. Having taken up guitar at the age of 10 in his hometown of Opelika, Alabama, he started performing in church bands by fourteen. Two years later, he quit the football team and became a regular on the local music scene, performing gigs at the area’s restaurants. Hood laughs, “I found that I could either make money playing music, or sit on the bench. It wasn’t a tough decision.”
After high school, Hood decided to put music aside in lieu of stability and a “real job.” It quickly became apparent that he could not divorce himself from his musical muse. “I moved to the ‘big city’ -- Montgomery -- and tried to do the ‘right thing’ and go the nine-to-five route. But the music proved too powerful for me to fight. Eventually I gave in and moved back to Auburn near my hometown. I haven’t looked back since then.”
In 2001, Adam recorded a demo of his songs, which circulated among Auburn University students and quickly created a demand for a full length CD. Hood began to save money from his day gig as a land surveyor, eventually using the funds to record and self-release a live album, “21 To Enter.” Soon after, he hit the road full time to support his album and further hone his music.
Traveling as a solo artist with just his guitar, Hood began to gain a reputation as a modern-day troubadour, often playing twenty-five shows a month. “This was my real schooling. When you’re traveling and performing by yourself, it forces you to become completely self-sufficient, both emotionally and musically. It forces you to grow quickly.”
In 2003, he met up with fellow Alabama musician Justin Johnson who had played in such bands as Wayne and Secondhand Jive. Hood saw Johnson as a kindred creative spirit and soon headed down to his studio in Birmingham to demo some new songs. The two also began to write music and play shows together. The Johnson-produced tracks were eventually mastered in Birmingham’s Syncromesh Studio by Jason Elgin (Wayne, Collective Soul, Secondhand Jive) and became the basis for Hood’s EP “6th Street.” “6th Street” quickly garnered critical acclaim. Gritz wrote, “Adam is a true artist on the verge” while Texas Troubadours magazine claimed that “Hood has a knack for creating music that hits the deepest part of one’s soul.” An Honest Tune advised readers, “’6th Street’ is enough to signal the arrival of a new voice.”
Last year, Hood had a chance meeting with Pete Anderson, who was out on tour with another Little Dog recording artist. Expains Anderson, “We were in Little Rock and had just done our soundcheck. We were getting ready to go back to the hotel when I suddenly heard this amazing voice coming from inside the venue. I walked in to see who it was and there was Adam onstage just killing it. I was even more impressed when I found out he had written the songs.”
Anderson asked Adam to come out to his studio in Los Angeles to spend some creative time together. By the time Hood left, they had decided to make a record. “I really spent a lot of time getting this record just right. There is a raw beauty in Adam’s music and I wanted to be sure we could capture that, taking it from just Adam and his guitar to a full band sound.”
“DIFFERENT GROOVE” marks a major leap forward for Adam and his music. “Till now, I have been on this journey mostly by myself. Working with a real musical partner like Pete has allowed me to push myself into new musical territories and challenge myself to grow as an artist. I am really proud of this record. Now where’s my van? I’m ready to hit the road.”
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Cory Morrow | 10:00 PM
 It is fitting that a south of the border gamble nearly two decades ago would ultimately yield an acclaimed Texas troubadour. Cory Morrow’s humble artistic beginnings read like the gritty lyric of an unwritten Townes Van Zandt song. This straight-shooting musician, who drops his ninth solo release Vagrants And Kings on May 20th through Sustain Records, a branch of Universal Music, started strumming at the age of 15.
"My stepfather Joe brought home my first guitar after visiting a little Mexican border town," Morrow remembers. After quibbling with the shop owner over the price of the guitar, Morrow says Joe laid down $80 on the table, twice what the guitar was worth. "He took out a quarter and asked the shopkeeper, ‘Are you a gambling man?’ The guy said, ‘Yes.’ Joe said, ‘Call it. If it lands on what you call, then you take the money and keep the guitar. If it’s the opposite of what you call, I take the money and the guitar,’" Morrow recalls.
One lucky coin toss later, the six string gained a new owner. Morrow enlisted in music lessons during his high school years, and soon he was banging out songs by Led Zeppelin and ZZ Top. When Morrow moved on to college at Texas Tech University, friends introduced him to the rootsy, honky-tonk fare of fellow Texans Robert Earl Keen and Ray Wylie Hubbard.
Inspired to give expression to his own emotions, Morrow began penning guitar-based compositions in a similarly stripped down, organic style. In 1993, he pulled out of college and migrated south to Austin where he would pursue a career making music. Morrow dug into the local scene. He began playing gigs with a band, honing his songwriting craft and stretching his raw vocals by studying singers like Don Williams and Merle Haggard.
Fifteen years, and thousands of live shows later, Morrow has emerged as one of the lone star state’s best-loved artists. Revered along with college pal Pat Green as a preservationist of the unique Texas music "sound," which combines elements of country, bluegrass, swing and blues, Morrow inspires a fierce loyalty in his fans. As an independent artist, he moved 200,000 discs through his own WriteOn label.
His latest offering, Vagrants And Kings, finds Morrow at his strongest- artistically, personally and spiritually. Morrow’s rustic sound remains part singer/songwriter: poetic and acoustic at times. But it’s equal parts country rock: accessible, hooky and rowdy in the tradition of outlaws like the Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson.
Produced with Morrow band bassist Steve Cargill and recorded with the rest of his road crew (Hoyt Stacy on drums, J.J. Soto on guitars, Nick Worley on fiddle and Tim McDonald on keys, as well as Cargill) the 10-track album is an honest representation of Morrow’s artistry, whether in studio or on stage. The interstate warrior, who averages nearly 150 shows a year, tracked the album at his Austin home on a Pro-Tools rig acquired from producer friend Keith Gattis.
Morrow, who wrote or co-wrote every tune along with frequent collaborators Walt Wilkins and Liz Rose, among others, calls Vagrants And Kings a "snapshot” of his life. Notes Morrow, "The passion of the lyrics finally came through in the production of the music. I got to this place where everything made sense, where I was seeing life more clearly. Then the music started flowing."
Morrow’s last studio offering, the reflective Nothing Left to Hide (2005), highlighted the artist’s struggle through an intense period of soul searching. That batch of songs found Morrow grappling with issues of forgiveness and recovery following his 2005 arrest for what he calls "serious mistakes."
But Morrow has entered a new season. "Love Finds Everyone," a candid, buoyant track, sets the tone for the new CD: Even if you think you don’t need it, right when you think you’ll never feel it… Love finds everyone. "When I’m writing music, either I’m healing from the pains and wounds in my life or I’m celebrating the good things in my life," Morrow says. Songs like the tender "Radiates," the soulful, harmony-drenched "My Baby and Me" and the whimsical "I Can Wait" pay homage to a burgeoning, transformational love.
And Morrow is unabashedly forthright about the emotions he conveys in his new songs: "Since I met my fiancée, Sherry, the last two years have been amazing. There have been problems that every day brings, but the difference is I get to share it with her, and she gives me perspective. She’s increased my faith, and she’s brought me back to the realization that I don’t have to do things on my own."
Morrow’s first single, “He Carries Me,” continues the sentiment, albeit directed toward a higher realm. While themes of salvation and redemption are not new in Morrow’s work, on Vagrants And Kings he approaches such weighty issues with the fervor of a true believer. "Lord, You Devil," a Radney Foster co-write, is a humorous tune offering props to a mysterious, omniscient God. Morrow’s first radio single, the impassioned, gospel-tinged "(Sometimes I Stumble, That’s When) He Carries Me," perhaps best relays where Morrow has landed in recent days. Says Morrow, "For so long I tried to do it on my own. The thing is, you’re not supposed to do it alone. Why would you want to?"
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