UPDATE: Thanks to our colleauges at VuHaus and the Video Production department of West Virginia Public Broadcasting, we will be offering a live video webstream of this Sunday’s 35th Anniversary Celebration of Mountain Stage with Larry Groce.
UPDATE: As of 4:30pm Friday advance tickets have sold out. Any available tickets will be placed on sale starting at 5p.m. at the Culture Center Theater, first come first served.
ORIGINAL POST- November 29, 2019: Less than 50 tickets are available for this Sunday’s special Mountain Stage as Larry Groce and the gang celebrate 35 years of live performance radio from the Mountain State of West Virginia.
Advance tickets are general admission and can be purchased online or at Taylor Books in downtown Charleston while supplies last.
Larry will welcome long-time friend of the show Amy Ray, who makes her third appearance as a solo artist after seven performances with the Grammy Winning duo Indigo Girls. Ray’s new album Holler features guest spots from Derek Trucks, Vince Gill, Brandi Carlile, The Wood Brothers and Lucy Wainwright Roche among others. Banjo virtuoso Alison Brown, also featured on Holler, will appear this Sunday as part of Ray’s band.
Also on the bill are Canadian alt-rockers Crash Test Dummies, who are taking their own celebration on the road as they reunite for the 25th anniversary of God Shuffled His Feet. While the hits from that record, “Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm” and “Swimming In Your Oceans” among them, are how most of us got to know the band, their first appearance on Mountain Stage was nearly two full years before that album was released. It’s fitting to welcome them back as a band that has never been easily categorized, and they’ve always honored their artistic vision. Maybe we’ll recreate this shot from their 2001 appearance!
Crash Test Dummies backstage at Mountain Stage in August 2001.
It was 2007 when Anais Mitchell first performed a song from her folk-opera “Hadestown” on Mountain Stage. Now the critically acclaimed musical is in residency at the National Theatre in London and, as recently announced in the New York Times, it will debut on Broadway at the Walter Kerr Theatre on March 22.
Credit DavidMcClister
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Parker Millsap joins us this Sunday in Charleston to record for Mountain Stage.
Oklahoma native Parker Millsap will return for his third appearance on Mountain Stage- his first solo- and he brings songs from his latest Other Arrangements. Released in May, Rolling Stone Country calls Other Arrangements Parker’s “tightest, sharpest and most infectious set of songs to date.”
Credit Josh Saul
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West Virgina’s rock-n-roll lifer William Matheny brings his band to Mountain Stage for the second time this Sunday.
2018 was a great year for artists from our region, with the likes of Tyler Childers, Ona, The Parachute Brigade and Hello June making waves on the national scene. William Matheny has been one of the work-horses of the field since he released his critically acclaimed Strange Constellations in 2016. Matheny included his 2016 Mountain Stage performance on his EP Moon Over Kenova, which was followed earlier this year by a new single, “Flashes and Cables/Christian Name.” He and his band of Appalchia-based rockers return to the show this Sunday.
Be sure to follow Mountain Stage on social media, as we’re destined to spend a little bit of time roaming down memory lane in the next few days. We’re on Instagram and Twitter, and you can help spread the word by clicking “going” on our Facebook Event.
The lineup has been finalized for Mountain Stage’s 35th Anniversary show in Charleston, W.Va., Sunday December 2.
Host Larry Groce will welcome back Oklahoma native Parker Millsap, who wowed audiences with his 2016 appearance on Mountain Stage. Millsap will return Dec. 2 for a solo set featuring songs from his acclaimed CD Other Arrangements, released in May. He’s had a string of highlights in recent years including his network television debut on CONAN, a performance with Elton John at the Apple Music Festival in London, an Austin City Limits taping and an Americana Music Association nomination for Album of the Year. He has also received praise from The New York Times, The Boston Globe, LA Times, Austin Chronicle and Rolling Stone to name a few.
William Matheny and his band will return to Mountain Stage on Dec. 2.
Rounding out the lineup is West Virginia’s own rock-n-roller William Matheny and his band. Rolling Stone Country just named Matheny one of “10 New Country Artists You Need to Know” in October 2018, praising his “melodic, garage-influenced twang.”
In addition to countless miles on the road in 2018, Matheny released Moon Over Kenova, an EP of live tracks and rarities that also includes tracks from his 2016 Mountain Stage performance, and a new single, “Flashes and Cables/Christian Name,” both on Misra records. His 2017 full-length record Strange Constellations won praise across the board and includes, “Living Half to Death,” a favorite in the Mountain Stage office. Watch a live version on our VuHaus Channel.
Credit Courtesey of the Artist
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Amy Ray returns to Mountain Stage Dec. 2 with songs from her new record “Holler.”
Already scheduled to appear for the 35th Anniversary celebration are Indigo Girls’ Amy Ray, who has a new country album called Holler, reunited alt-rockers Crash Test Dummies, and venerable songwriter and playwright Anais Mitchell.
Tickets are available online, at Taylor Books in downtown Charleston and by phone at 877.987.6487. This episode will be scheduled for distribution by NPR Music in March 2019.
Stay tuned to Mountain Stage on social media as we’ll be announcing our first two live shows of 2019, our36th season, this Friday.
Rock and roller and WV native William Matheny has just released a new EP, “Moon Over Kenova,” that includes some B-Sides, covers and other rarities, including Matheny and his band’s 2016 set on Mountain Stage.
Matheny’s “Strange Constellations” was a favorite among Mountain Stage staff, including our host Larry Groce. Upon the release of “Strange Constellations,” Groce remarked “These constellations are exceptionally bright. ‘Living Half to Death’ is my new favorite song.”
The success of “Strange Constellations” led to the release of “Moon Over Kenova,” which includes a few cover songs, alternate takes, and the entire five song set from Matheny’s Mountain Stage performance.
"For me, Moon Over Kenova is a companion piece to Strange Constellations. We have some brand new music, some alternate versions of songs that have already been released, some covers that you may recognize if you've seen us live over the last couple of years, some demos and some live recordings (including our June 2016 set on Mountain Stage Radio Show). It's sort of like a final walkthrough an apartment or house before you lock it up and move on to your new place." – William Matheny
Matheny was accompanied by musicians Bud Carroll and Adam Meisterhans on guitar, Ian Thornton on bass and Rod Elkins on drums.
“Moon over Kenova” is available via digital retailers including Apple Music and Amazon, and streaming on Spotify.
This week’s broadcast of Mountain Stage proudly introduces two very deserving West Virginia voices: the first in special guest host Joni Deutsch, and the second in Mannington native William Matheny in his solo debut.
Here he performs “Living Half to Death,” from his new album Strange Constellations, on a show that also features sets by Lucius, Rachel Yamagata, Adia Victoria and Margaret Glaspy.
Like what you hear? Download the entire show right now on the Mountain Stage podcast (just look for Ep. 873). While you’re at it, make sure to subscribe, leave us a rating/review and send us a tweet with your favorite song: we’re @mountainstage.
From West Virginia Public Broadcasting and A Change of Tune, this is 30 Days of #WVmusic, the interview series celebrating the folks who make the West Virginia music scene wild and wonderful.
And today’s interview is with the Huntington drummer with the best seat in the house, keeping time for William Matheny and Tyler Childers. This… is Rod Elkins.
I’ve been into music pretty much my entire life. My dad has a band, The Elkins Brothers Band, and ever since I was a little kid, I’d go and watch him play. Mostly at the Milton Fire House or various VFWs, and I would just sit there, swinging my legs. It’s always been around, and I can never think of a time it wasn’t. I started playing drums in the 6th grade, enrolled in band at school and started playing in his band.
I always thought the drums were the coolest instrument on the planet. Every drummer my dad had, they were just cool dudes. I loved to be around them and loved watching them, and I thought it was the best instrument in the band. My dad’s a guitar player, kind of picked that up naturally. He would put one in my hand, teach me a few things, I would download songs off Napster when I came home from school and learn them.
He was really nurturing. I used to teach at Route 60 Music and people would tell me how they bought their kids electronic drum sets because they didn’t want to hear it. I always thought about how my mom and dad gave me a couple of hours to make as much noise as I wanted, but at like 8pm, if it wasn’t done… [laughing]!
On what he listened to growing up:
The classic country, outlaw stuff. My dad is a huge Waylon Jennings fan. I always thought he sounded like him when he sang.
I had a Fisher-Price record player, and I remember as a kid, I was just crawling across the floor, maybe 4- or 5-years-old, I took the Fisher-Price record off and waddled over to a stack of my dad’s records and pulled it out, and it was Creedence Clearwater Revival, one of the greatest hits records, “Down on the Corner,” was the first song. I was pretty hooked after that.
Credit Courtesy of the artist
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Rod Elkins as a Marshall University drummer.
On his jazz studies at Marshall University inform his Americana/rock drumming:
I always wanted to do music in college. I wanted to go to college because not many people in my family went to college. Me and my sisters did. My dad didn’t go; my mom went to beauty school. Staying in town just made sense.
I got really bored with just doing classical performance with symphonic band and percussion ensembles. Not that I don’t like the music or anything, but at the time, I was just really out of it and not really enjoying it. I think I was the only drum set major at the time in jazz studies. I took a little break and came back in 2012 and finished three years ago this December.
It helped playing with different groups, playing something you just got a week ago. Reading, making charts. Sometimes if we want to play a song now, the fastest way for me to learn it is if I jot it down on a piece of paper and chart it out. I got to see a lot of great drummers being in school. We had great faculty, and they would always bring great people in. It was really inspirational seeing them play.
On his favorite drummers:
Levon [Helm], for sure. I’ll never forget… me and Craig Burletic. I was in the music library, and I was supposed to be doing something but I wasn’t actively doing anything, and [Craig] comes in and says, “Dude, you got to stop what you’re doing and listen to this.” And I think it was the Rock of Ages video of The Band doing “Don’t Do It.” It was lifechanging, the way he played, the nuances and the sound he got out of the drums. That and Steve Gadd. I always wanted to play like Steve Gadd ‘cause that guy’s perfect.
Credit Melissa Stillwell
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Rod Elkins performing at The V-Club in Huntington, WV.
On what it means to be a drummer in the band:
Drummer is the bus, that’s what I always thought, and the bass player drives that bus. It’s a team effort, something to lean on. A good drummer doesn’t get in the way of the song. It’s a nice blanket for soloists or singers to lean on and to stay out of the way. That’s always a goal in my head when I play. I feel like I’m naturally strong, and I have to work hard at the drums to stay out of the way. I constantly worry that I’m too loud.
On his first bands playing in the #WVmusic scene:
I was playing in a VFW band called 60 East. I played guitar and sang. It was pretty good, right out of high school. James [Barker] and Craig Burletic had a rock band and a drummer who was moving away. I was late for a math class, and I didn’t go because I was late, I was getting coffee and [Craig] said, “You have to play in my band. I talked to James, and we don’t want anyone else. We want you.” I just wanted to do this original music. That was the first thing with Huntington music… Deadbeats & Barkers.
That transformed into like 68 consecutive Sundays at Shamrocks. [Shamrocks owner Ian Thornton] gave us a shot, and I think [Deadbeats & Barkers] already had the Sunday gig when they asked me to play. We dove right in, and it was great. That period… I understand why they call it the good old days. I met Bud Carroll for the first time, Doug Woodward, The Demon Beat. Anybody and everybody would come on Sundays. Sometimes it would be so special. We’d play a set, take a break and then anybody who’d want to jam could jam. I think I quit my job at Amazon because of Sundays because I had to be at work on 8 on Monday morning.
On joining up with Tyler Childers:
It was kind of a joke at first. Jack Browning, a good buddy of ours who lives in L.A. now, thought, “Y’all should play together and be the Food Stamps.” Tyler Childers opened for us at Shoops, and he sang and it was beautiful, everybody was shocked. I’ll never forget after the show I said, “Man, you’re great, you’ve got great songs. You want to party?” His response was, “Man, I’m 18 and 45 minutes from home, I think I need to go.”
We kept crossing paths, and then the joke came back around, and it was one of our friend’s birthday parties where we finally did it. A little bit later, we were goofing around playing covers, and I took the initiative to put our name in the hat for a music festival in Cincinnati. We went to Bud’s and cut some demos. We got in, and it was the first time we played Tyler’s songs, and we’ve been doing it ever since.
Credit Josh Saul
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Bud Carroll, Rod Elkins, William Matheny, Adam Meisterhans and Ian Thornton backstage before their June 2016 Mountain Stage.
Nothing short of magical. I love that guy to death. It’s kind of hard to place when I first met William because once I did, it’s like he’s been in my life forever, it’s like he’s always been there. He probably knows better than I do. I filled in for Bud [since] Bud was playing drums. I can’t remember why he couldn’t play, but I learned the songs, and after those strings of dates it was like, “Would you like to be in this band? We can put Bud back on guitar.” [Billy’s] songs are great, he’s a great person, a true bandleader. I’m fortunate enough to play with the two best songwriters in West Virginia. It’s been nothing short of great, I don’t know how I did it. I’ve been really fortunate to hang in there with some of the best.
Music featured in this #WVmusic chat:
Rod Elkins- “DonDon”
Tyler Childers and The Foodstamps- “Feathered Indians”
Rod Elkins- “PanGan-Anini”
William Matheny & the Strange Constellations- “Living Half to Death”
Support for 30 Days of #WVmusic is provided by Kin Ship Goods, proud supporter of DIY music and the arts. Locally shipped worldwide at kinshipgoods.com.
“[The Phantom Six] never went away. I’m not one of these guys who can get a record out every two years, but it’s consistent though. I’ve kept doing it for a long time. I don’t plan on stopping.”
From West Virginia Public Broadcasting and A Change of Tune, this is 30 Days of #WVmusic, the interview series celebrating the folks who make the West Virginia music scene wild and wonderful.
And today’s interview is with a longstanding pillar of the Morgantown scene who is a rocker, a songwriter, and even a producer. This… is Mark Poole.
A really good friend of mine named Scott Fetty, who lived in Morgantown for a long time and was a drummer, I got started through him. He had a band in junior high school, and I went to see them in the talent show [laughing]. I was blown away that I could have friends that were 14-years-old on stage playing “Taking Care of Business,” and they had explosives on stage. One guy, Gary Turner, had a top hat and jumped off a Fender Princeton amplifier when the explosion went off. And it was only ten inches tall, so it was a very Spinal Tap moment.
Credit Jeff Goodwin
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Mark Poole playing with Clint Sutton.
But Scott and I were skateboarding buddies and he was like, “If you get a guitar, I could probably get you in this band,” so that’s how it started. I’ve got to thank Scott for that. I convinced my parents to get me a guitar for Christmas. And by May of that year, Scott made good on his promise, and I was in that band playing house parties. I guess that was the first thing I did moving forward to actually become a musician. I started taking lessons from John Gallagher in Parkersburg; he owns a store there now called Gallagher’s Music. It seems like everyone in Parkersburg has taken lessons from John at some point.
I played in cover bands, and I just tried to get good at playing guitar; no singing, no songwriting until I was in my early twenties. But I played in cover bands all through high school, and we played in bars before we were 18.
On performing with The Larries:
The turning point was a band called The Larries. In early college, Todd Burge formed The Larries. I wasn’t in the band, I was just friends with them, but they were the only band in Parkersburg doing original music… and they really couldn’t play their instruments at the time. At all. The first gig I went to see them, Wes Poole (the drummer) had a Sony Walkman in his pocket, and he had to play the cassette play of the practice between songs so he knew what to do on drums [laughing]. They were really just starting out, and I had already made a little bit of a name as a guitar player in high school cover bands and things, so everybody thought I was crazy when I wanted to join. But I thought “I don’t want to play in cover bands all my life. I’d rather go with my friends and do original music.” That ran its course after three years. Todd moved to California to work for the record label that signed the band, and the whole thing kind of fell apart. Just another one of those stories of your first record label experience being bad.
Credit Courtesy of Todd Burge
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63 Eyes’ Mark Poole, Todd Burge and Wesley Poole in Boaz, West Virginia, in 1987.
Todd eventually moved back to West Virginia, and that’s when we formed 63 Eyes. That was the really big changing point for me. I started writing songs, singing a little bit. I got a real thrill out of being able to play a song I had written. 63 Eyes was around for ten years, and I developed as a songwriter during that period.
On working with Todd Burge:
Todd has been a big influence on me. He was the principal songwriter in The Larries and 63 Eyes, so I learned a lot by his methods. He was the person who demonstrated that it wasn’t that hard and it could be done. Todd was always like, “If you spend more than an hour on it, you’ve already overthought it.”
You know, we had some disagreements over the years, and there was maybe a little bitterness at times but we’re almost family. We’ve been together so long.
Credit William A Poole II
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The Phantom Six performing at 123 Pleasant Street in Morgantown, WV.
On playing in The Phantom Six:
We never went away, but if you trace the pattern of my musical career, it moves very slowly. I’m not one of these guys who can get a record out every two years, but it’s consistent though. I’ve kept doing it for a long time. I don’t plan on stopping. But it’s been five-and-a-half years since our last release came out.
After the record came out in late 2011, I basically spent all of 2012 trying to push it. We’re not really a band that can head out on the road for long periods of time. We’ve maintained pretty regular practice schedules. We shot two videos. We’re a very DIY band, so we made the videos ourselves. We played a good bit of gigs that year, and we did radio promotion (which is a lot of work to package 400 copies of your CD and send them out). After that, we just started writing songs for a new record, but we get two songs done a year. To me, it doesn’t feel like a reunion; just another slow process of trying to come up with 15 songs. And we’re almost there. We’ve been doing it separately since William Matheny’s been on the road a lot.
Credit William A Poole II
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The Phantom Six performing at Huntington’s The V-Club.
On the growth of the #WVmusic scene:
It’s cool seeing friends that have gone on to pretty impressive success. Todd’s had a successful career. Karma to Burn play in front of huge crowds all over Europe. Like I tell everyone, it’s good for all the West Virginia bands when any band is successful. The tide rises with their success, and everybody gets more notice.
The internet is a completely different way to go about things. In the 63 Eyes days, it was all done snail mail. The internet has changed everything. Maybe something’s lost; there was something really cool about that old method of doing stuff. I wouldn’t say it’s easier for bands now, but it’s easier to network. It seems like there were a lot more rock’n’roll bands when we started out, and there’s been a move towards singer-songwriter and newgrass bands. There’s a lot of music bringing back old-time sounds.
Music featured in this #WVmusic chat:
Phantom Six- Outta this Wasteland
63 Eyes- Trucker’s Misery
Phantom Six- Will (Don’t Let Me Down)
Support for 30 Days of #WVmusic is provided by Bunj Jam Music, featuring the album, Todd Burge Live on Mountain Stage (2006-2015). More information at toddburge.com.
Support for 30 Days of #WVmusic is provided by Kin Ship Goods, proud supporter of DIY music and the arts. Locally shipped worldwide at kinshipgoods.com.
