Steele Creek Takes Us Through The Dark and “Towards The Light” With Stellar New LP Release

Photo courtesy of Steele Creek

There’s such a beautiful delicacy to the magic of the open road. Growing up as I did in the backwoods of Upstate New York, there was never a shortage of treks to be taken to places, purposes, and people through the highways and byways of the dusts, farms, and greenery of those rolling reaches. Though I will admit, it’s only in recent years that I’ve come to appreciate these stretches of paths again now that I don’t have to drive around quite as frequently. Moving to a bigger place that didn’t require as much venturing out made me realize how desensitized I’d become to enjoying the simple sweetness in the thrill of travel.

It’s easy to take the little things for granted after all, especially when you see them quite so often.

These days, I relish the chances I get to to appreciate the moments when it’s just me, the music, and the viewmaster of the miles. Lately, I’ve had to make a few drives out-of-state, and that’s been an opportunity to let my mind drift along into the scenery as it skids gently by. Factories, fields, families… a thousand stories all wrapped into the heave of the highway and the rumble of earthen road beneath the wheels. A route of plentifully rural descriptions, and one that has brought me back to my recent coverage of New Orleans-area country-folk group Steele Creek, especially with the release today of their second album Towards the Light.

Photo Credit: Bruce France

Listening to these songs on Towards the Light, I can’t help but be struck by how smooth they are. This LP is as direct, simple, and pure as a glass of cold water on a hot midsummer’s day. There’s no getting tangled in the netting of complexity or the tenuous bask of high-minded layering here, and that’s a good thing. This album wears its heart on its sleeve with a song like “Ridgeline”, which has Steele Creek frontman Phil Cramer reflecting on the joy and hard work that’s required in fatherhood. Hard work is a common theme with Towards the Light, as characters on songs like “Marrow”, “Tidewaters”, and the title track ruminate on the salt-of-the-Earth search for sunshine amidst the clouds of struggle.

As Cramer says in the song “Serpent’s Prayer”, it’s worth the dogged fight. And that’s what Cramer so perfectly encapsulates in his lyrics across this entire album. There are no faux feel-good anthems or mantras, just the sweat of your brow, the loving ache in your heart, and the honesty to say I’m not alright, but I’m trying to get better. And that’s all we can do in this life, whether it comes to love, relationships, being a parent, or overcoming the burdens of the past and what faces us in the present. It’s about putting in the work, holding those loved ones a little closer, and pushing the boulder back up that hill.

Photo Credit: Bruce France

Towards the Light has the type of pastoral physicality that some people forget when they criticize the country genre after only hearing the mainstream milquetoast cooked up by the Nashville sound machine. Country isn’t simply beer, tractors, trucks, and women. It’s the hand-held connection of a song like “Cicadas” or the journey of a track like “Across The Mountains”. The type of imagery that makes me think of a couple old cowboys sitting around the campfire with guitars, just singing and telling stories against cloud-blued mountains in the background until the embers shrink low. THAT is the true spirit of the country, those blue-collar anthems that remind us of the full yardstick of every beautifully broken battle within the gain and loss of our humanity.

Steele Creek handles every twist and turn in that winding road on Towards the Light with a loving grace and depth that is every bit those beautifully delicate car trip scenes, with Cramer leading the way as a smooth-voiced JD Souther-esque lyricist shading in every paint of the palette with realism in every stroke.

So drink this in and enjoy Towards the Light with every mile, all season long.

Towards the Light is out today in physical and digital format across all streaming platforms! Check it out, watch a couple of music videos from the album below, and find out more about the band at steelecreekband.com!

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May 17, 2024 0

Phatt James Gives The Park City Music Hall Show Diary Day Rundown For OTBEOTB

I love the show diary experience. A MASSIVE thanks and shoutout to Erica D’Aurora from Gioia Communications for setting these up (and to Matt James of the band Phatt James for writing up this show diary of course). As I may have said in the past, it’s one thing to get my solitary opinion and perspective when it comes to the wild world of music. And I love playing that role and getting to share and connect with all of you on how music makes me feel. It’s the type of creative outlet that took a lot of searching within myself to find and talent I’m still eagerly cultivating.

But in the world of blogs and the internet, it’s not uncommon to find what I do, especially with the Pitchfork’s and Consequence of Sound’s of the world. So when the opportunity presents itself, I enjoy shifting the perspective from my character as analyzing journalist in the crowd to the electrical current of the creators onstage. What they do and how they feel on the day of a show. Basically, the best way that I can put you into their shoes for a day to get a true sense of what their world is like.

Here at OTBEOTB, we get musical AND interactive.

So let’s get interactive. I’ll now turn the floor over to one Matt James, who is the lead singer of alt-rock group Phatt James. You can check out a review I wrote for a really clever music video they did for their song “Seven Days” here, and needless to say, I’m a big fan of these guys. Matt was kind enough to write up a show diary day for a recent show Phatt James performed at Park City Music Hall in Bridgeport, CT opening up for the group Consider the Source.

Take it away, Matt.

We are Phatt James and we recently were given the opportunity to open for Consider the Source at Park City Music Hall in Bridgeport, CT. Phatt James is Chris Wilson, Matt Christoforo, and myself, Matt James. We are hailing out of New Haven, CT. This was our first Saturday night playing our own original set at this venue. We’ve had some great shows here some other days of the week, as well as one Saturday night as our Incubus tribute. To open for such a talented touring band was an honor. A lot of dedicated fans of ours and Consider the Source made it out, and it was great to see everyone come together for the love of music. I’d like to give you a little insight into our show day. Every show we have is important to us, and this particular one had some real special parts.

Pretty typical for starters, I wake up the day of show around 10am and make breakfast. This time, I went for some Counter Culture light roast in my cup and a plate of eggs with some homemade hash browns and veggies. Don’t forget the hot sauce!! Chris also went for some eggs to start his day. Who knows what Matty C ate? He probably just had a Dunkin’ iced coffee and called it a morning.

After breakfast, I took a walk around Shelton, CT, to get my mind right before practice with the boys in Fairfield. Shelton is a good little town with a nice walking path along the Housatonic River. The river always clears my head and I love to sing by it.

I headed out to Fairfield for a 1:00 practice. We also recorded a scratch track for a new song that we’d be playing later that night at Park City Music Hall. The song is called “Step Taken” and it was originally written in 2015 or 2016.

Once Matty C showed up, practice went super well. We felt very fresh and fueled up with show day excitement.

Headed out to Elicit Brewery in Fairfield for some pre-show rituals. I was very grateful to meet one of my best friends from high school there. My buddy, AC. I invited him out and this would be the first time he’d see me play since high school days around the fire. He was ecstatic, to say the least, and I was so hyped to share the experience with him. His eyes lighting up seeing how far we’ve come as a band really put some fire in me. I really appreciated his presence and support. Shoutout to Ace.

After some drinks, vibes, and meeting some of Chris’ friends who had also traveled a long way for the show, we headed to the venue!! We showed up to Park City Music Hall in Bridgeport for a soundcheck at 7pm, and after checking all our individual mics and amps, we played through a new cover, Local H’s “Bound for the Floor.” We’ve been meaning to cover this song and it worked out perfectly for this set. I practically already knew it because I listened to it religiously during my time in high school.

After soundcheck, we headed to the green room for some water, beers, tea, all different types of beverages and a beautiful spread of food provided by the venue. The chicken, sweet potatoes, rice and green beans really fills you up in the best way before a show. During dinner, we wrote out a set list for the night and chopped it up with our publicist, photographer, and some other special guests who made it out to the show. The support we had from new team members and creatives alike was so beneficial to the night.

A quick vocal warm up in the bathroom backstage because of its reverb, cutoff by Matty C yelling for me to come on stage, and we’re out. On stage, the floor had filled up with people since we’d been out and the energy was flowing. I was definitely a little nervous at first, but sometimes you just have to get comfortable by running the first track and let go a little bit. Then I’m good to go. When I let go of any ego or fear of failure and believe the music is a part of me and I am the music, it’s all good. It’s tough to always get in that mode and sustain it, but this show in particular I felt it so many times. I believe that was because of the crowd and the venue. A perfect match. A lot of fans I had not seen in a while, new team members, and lifelong friends. They created an energy in the room that makes for such a great show.