John Carter Cash “Blood of The Wolfman”
On Friday January 7th, Nashville Tennessee, received an open invitation to “Catch the Train” at The Rutledge for a rare and unique performance of unbounded creativity with John Carter Cash. The man of no creative limits has a true passion for being in the studio, Cash Cabin Studios in-particular, located in Hendersonville, TN on the Cash/Carter Family property, built by his father in 1978. Cash Cabin has been the recording Studio of choice by a large roster of over one hundred new and accomplished artists such as John Prine, Earl Scruggs, Elvis Costello and upcoming Nashville southern rock group Old Union.
Living up to his statement “my music is creative expressions with no expectations”, John Carter released his new album titled The Family Secret September 21st 2010. This album packages a perfect uniform silhouette of unbound, creative musical expression. When first discovering this new album myself, I have to say, based on the musical history of the Carter & Cash families, I had already made a preconceived perception of how John Carter’s music was going to sound.
Randomly selecting songs from the new album, I quickly discovered how mislead my perception was. The album was different, diverse, and unique, featuring all genres as distinguished elements. Track two on the album titled Cab Casket, is lyrically a deep, gloomy, but yet very pensive piano ballad of true power. Next bouncing to track ten titled “Uncle Sam Is Dead” immediately fires off into a heavy powered Zeppelin/Rush style melodic ax riff. Landing onto track eleven titled “If God Made Anything Better Than A Woman” was a short but sweet country song, that I found humorous and to the point.
Heading backwards to track three titled “Shadows Cross The Seine” starts with a soft & simple piano intro leading into ripping guitar filled riffs and grooves that take you for a ride. Track four was my next random play titled “The Family Secret”, opening up with a John Bonham style drum lick, falling into a fun song that speaks for itself about missing daddy, the blood of the Wolfman.
Arriving at The Rutledge Friday night I had a chance to speak with John Carter Cash about his new album and track fifteen titled “Killarny”, along with his passion for being a producer.
After interviewing John Carter and speaking with him off camera, sharing stories, you could really feel how humbly passionate he was about his path and position in life. John Carter left the room and we all headed down stairs to see Shane Ownby, one of the incredible opening artists this particular evening along with The Early Evening.
Coming from the green room, we re-entered The Rutledge to a packed house. John Carter and his lovely wife Laura Cash sat at a table located stage left, enjoying the unbelievable performance of Shane Ownby, with many guest artists sharing the stage such as Kenny Olson and Peter Keys. Awaiting his performance, John was greeted by many that filled the room, excited and eager to whiteness his rare, but intimate live show.
Immediately after the opening artists, John Carter steps onto stage to a standing and cheering crowd. A nicely dressed man in black, with his Father’s Cash Gibson Guitar on stage. Taking great pride in his Family history, making it very clear and known to the audience, he cherishes the Carter side close to heart, then proceeds into playing one of his more country style ballads from the recent 2010 released album “The Family Secret”.
Sharing the stage with many amazing accomplished musicians and vocal talents such as Kenny Vaughan on guitar, Peter Keys on keyboard, Adam Wheeley supporting vocal, and Shane Ownby supporting vocal, to mention a few names and many more. The stage slowly started to light up as you watched John Carter come into his own through each passing song, filling the room of humor,watching him feel joy, lively excited, in the moment.
Half way through the set John invited up his wife Laura Lynn Cash to accompany him on stage with her nationally known fiddle talents. She recently in 2010 released her own album titled “Awake But Dreaming” a traditional mix of country, swing, bluegrass and of course her very expressive fiddle talents.
It was purely a sweet treat to witness both of them sharing the stage, I could not help but think of John & June watching them enjoy each other, you could truly see their connection. Laura is a very distinguished fiddle player, every single note change is crisp, and clear, highlighted with very pronounced vibrato. But hearing her sing along side John Carter was truly amazing, listening to Laura on her album does not do her justice compared to her live vocals. She really has one of those vocals that just reaches out and grabs you, sucking you in, the kind you will always reminder, like Pasty Cline.
As if putting on a great showcase of the newly released album was not enough, John & Laura successfully succeeded in naturally involving the whole audience, as they sang along to the well known title “Keep On The Sunny Side”, popularized in a 1928 recording by the Carter Family. It was amazing, really adding a real southern feel to the whole room as everyone participated. You could just see John Carter & Laura lite up one stage with the warm support of the crowd, truly adding a very personal and unique vibe to the whole show.
Closing out the evening with the rocking song titled “The Family Secret”, John Carter and his crew ripped up the stage, singing about the Wolfman. It was great to see John Carter having so much fun on stage, jumping, moving all around. He really enjoys himself on stage and probably could play all night long. I have to say that the evening was a great experience and his live performance verses recorded album effectively compliment each other. I highly recommend Catching a Train Ride with John Carter Cash if he ever preforms in an area near you. One being as he is uncertain if or when he might tour. Two it’s truly is a remarkable and wholesome experience.
I want to personally thank John Carter Cash for taking time away from his evening, to interview with me and Amped Up Magazine. We look forward to covering & promoting other events John Carter may schedule in Nashville and this region. I personally look forward to visiting Cash Cabin Studios in the near future, as it will be a personal highlight for me and I look forward to writing and sharing this great experience with the fans of John Carter & Amped Up Magazine. You may also find more photos of this great event in our facebook photo section.
Please stay connected in support of John Carter Cash on his Facebook Fan Page or at www.johncartercash.com for more information about upcoming events and shows.
We also would like to thank The Rutledge Nashville for hosting such a great event, please stay connected with them at www.therutledgelmv.com for information on upcoming events and shows.
Everyone with Amped Up Magazine would like to thank you for following us and your continued support.
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Thank You For Reading,
Interviewer & Writer
