I’ve been a fan of Small Sur for quite a while and have been asking Bob to do a microshow for almost 2 years now! We were grateful they were able to do one with us last month. It was a really beautiful night, full of amazing musicianship, wonderfully crafted songs and really nice people. Everything came together perfectly and it’s here now for you to take a peak in to their microshow. Hope you enjoy!

Bob Keal: Vocals, Acoustic Guitar
Austin Stahl: Drums, Vocals
Andy Abelow: Keyboards, Vocals, Alto Sax
Paul Kusner: Bass
Emily Hilliard: Violin

Engineered by Austin Stahl
Mixed by Mat Leffler-Schulman

Technical info: Bob’s vocals: Shure SM7, Acoustic: SM81, Kick: RE20, Snare: Fathead Ribbon, Overhead: Sputnik, Austin’s Vocals, AKG 414, Violin: AKG 414, Andy’s Vocals: SM81, Bass: 421

Download MP3s - 85.57 MB

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Austin Tally and Amanda Glasser who are better known together as Silent Whys were in the studio last year with Alex and me. Both are multi-instrumentalists, playing guitar, dulcimer, accordion, lap steel, dobro, banjo, mandolin, organ and drums. And sometimes at the same time when performed live. They play a diverse mix of music ranging from artsy-folk to gospel to avant.

I had the great opportunity to work with them for the better half of last year on their debut album. It came together wonderfully. Austin and Amanda took what they were doing very seriously and it shows in their record. It’s the perfect Friday evening dinner listen or great on a winter’s morning enjoying a great cup of tea.

The record has just been released on Lovasaurus Records and can be purchased here.

Waltz For October

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Lay Me Down

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I had the great pleasure of working with The Manly Deeds on their debut album last spring. The music they play is not that of our time. And it’s remarkably no less. They create a sense of nostalgia without being a novelty. They simply write and perform great music. It just happens to be with traditional folk instruments and sometimes blazingly fast tempos. That and a suitcase drum and many of beards to go around.

The record was recorded entirely live at the Hampden Baptist Church here in Baltimore on a brisk Saturday last March. The recording was amazing. The church (built in 1874) has a vibe. Not to mention some of the best natural reverb this city has to offer. It’s uncanny and you’ll hear it all over the record. Nothing artificial was added in the mix. Speaking of which, Alex masterfully mixed this record and you can sample two of my favorite songs from the album below. Oh the guests are a-plenty. Dave Hadley on pedal steel guitar, Cameron Blake on fiddle and Ruby Fulton on acordian. The record will be available at the CD release show November 23 at Joe². And you can preorder it here.

Hard Times For The Animal Kingdom

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Blacken The Sky

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The Manly Deeds came in a week or so ago for their microshow. It was a seriously fun hootenanny! Complete with banjo, acoustic guitar, mandolin, upright bass and three-part harmonies.

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Brad recently came in to Mobtown to track some songs he just wrote. Many of them are very new and raw and their energy and lyrics shine through. Brad is influenced by a lot of the mid- to late ’60s folk era (à la Dylan and Joni and Neil Young). Because of this aesthetic we chose to use a lot of ribbon mics and tube pre amps.

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