This began during a downtown Manhattan loft party on New Years Eve of 2008. A somewhat intoxicated Grant Maxwell, lead singer of The Morning Pages, was approached by an equally intoxicated Russell Simins, drummer for The John Spencer Blues Explosion. He had heard The Morning Pages EP and was impressed with the band's unique blend of Country, Soul and Rock n Roll. Simins and the band got to talking and eventually agreed he would produce The Morning Pages' debut album, Rising Rain.
Simins and The Morning Pages hunkered down in Brooklyn-based studio, Cowboy Technical Services (Ryan Adams, Steve Earle), and began work on the 11 tracks that make up Rising Rain. Surrounded by walls of vintage gear and faded Al Green and Waylon Jennings album covers, the band tore through material ranging from the raucous stomp of "With The Lord," the epic beauty of "My Name Is Lion" and the classic country-flavored duet of the title track. The Morning Pages brought in a cast of NYC's brightest up-and-comers to help out on the record, including sister-duo The Pierces who sing harmonies on over half of the record, Simins himself on percussion, Alec Higgins (Alberta Cross) on piano, and Gillian Rivers (Nicole Atkins) on fiddle.
With prominent influences such as The Band, Waylon, Willie, and Gram Parsons, The Morning Pages, who originally hail from Nashville, Austin, Tulsa, San Francisco, Ohio, and Massachussettes, bring a deep, rural passion to the New York City scene. Alongside contemporaries like The Felice Brothers and Blitzen Trapper, the band blends the speed and sophistication of the city with the organic depth of the country. Their debut EP, The Company You Keep, released in the summer of 2007, perked the ears of critics, with The Tripwire declaring: "The sound that these guys got onto tape comes from the mighty heavens. It's like American Beauty slept with Gram Parsons and Emmylou Harris while cheating on The Band's version of 'I Shall Be Released.'"
"Transcending the irony-drenched streets of its Brooklyn home, The Morning Pages write exceptionally organic and emotional music that pulls at the heart strings without inducing nausea. " -American Songwriter
"Rootsy combo the Morning Pages is based in Brooklyn but delivers a pleasingly vintage, warm, country-rock sound thats far more suggestive of Nashville. " -Time Out New York
"NYC artists on the rise . . . The guys have all kinds of chops and are yet another example of this burgeoning roots rock taking over the Big Apple." -The Deli
"The Morning Pages humbly and soulfully pick up where their predecessors left off. Combining honky tonk, roots rock, and folk, these five New Yorkers rock, roll, and wail more like scruffy Southern gentlemen than jaded Billyburg rawkers." -Flavorpill
"The sound that these guys got onto tape comes from the mighty heavens. It's like American Beauty slept with Gram Parsons and Emmylou Harris while cheating on The Band's version of "I Shall Be Released." -The Tripwire
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ElianJewel - Satisfied Mindby come2goministries7,574 views
The second song is great, keep make a music guys, we need the bands like Morning Pages !
suninthefall 4 weeks ago
what?! talking heads?! this music sounds any way like talking heads, and its sounds to me better than talking heads
suninthefall 2 years ago
nice work! reminds me a lot of Talking Heads
strangeritual 2 years ago