Willem Maker's Mark

Wanna know how to piss off a person who has access to new tunes across the board and listens to new music every single day? Give him another 600 songs he hasn't heard that are right up his alley. First, because I blame myself for not knowing WHY I didn't know about the artist and second, because...well...it's overwhelming. I can't post on all the tunes my separated-at-birth-music-twin Jeremy Kay gives me. Hell, I have been working for over a month now to get through the initial barrage of tunes he dumped in my lap. Here is an average song he gave me...which says a lot to his taste AND because this artist is ANYTHING but.
Willem Maker. Sounds scruffy right? Like he came straight from a southern porch scene? You're probably right. Willem Maker comes to us from the hills of Turkey Heaven Mountain (I'm not making this up), in Cleburn County on the east side of Alabama. Joining such staple porch-bred powerhouses like AA Bondy, Junior Kimbrough, Andrew Bird, Townes Van Zandt and the Black Keys, Willem Maker appropriately finds himself part of the Fat Possum Records line-up.




Willem Maker stepped out of the acoustic performances and bedroom demos with his rookie release in 2007. Maker now offers some more southern comfort with his 12-track New Moon Hand. Mr. JK sent me the lead-track yesterday brimming with whiskey scratched vocals, an honest tune of resonating slide guitar and the feeling that took me away from my desk and plopped me on a wooden slat porch overlooking a dirty river. When the song finished, I looked back at my computer. That sucked. Thanks JK.

Willem Maker - Black Beach Boogie

If this suits your fancy, scroll down on the blog as this song is a bull's eye in my library. Or, check out Joe Pug, William Elliot Whitmore, Lucero, Reverend Peyton's Big Damn Band or Stoll Vaughan.