SPILL VIDEO PREMIERE: TIM EASTON – “SLIVER OF LIGHT”

TIM EASTON – “SLIVER OF LIGHT”

A SPILL EXCLUSIVE VIDEO PREMIERE

Today we have the pleasure of introducing you to the latest greatest single from an artist who was a key part of the 1990s burgeoning alt-country movement and also played a large role in ensuring that Americana would at last receive its own designation as a genre, at the Grammys and elsewhere. You would be right in saying that he was at the fore and, even BEFORE this development… And although he has been making great and significant music for decades, I unfortunately cannot say that this artist needs no introduction. If quality and fairness ruled all decisions taken in the musical world, this would certainly be the case.

Well known amongst avid fans of Americana, you will read time and time again how singer-songwriter Tim Easton is a legend in the making. For many, you could say he already is a legend. For others, he presumably hasn’t been heard by them – yet. Now based in Nashville, Easton’s music is as hearty, grounded, deep and catchy as can be, positioning him comfortably with such music legends as John Prine, Doc Watson, John Hiatt and Bob Dylan.

For as many years as he has been making music (including as part of alt-country outfit The Haynes Boys and then as a solo artist), Easton emits a well-seasoned quality. With a gritty yet reassuring voice and clever, laconic and poetic lyrics, Easton has much more going on than many of today’s roots-rockers. After all, as a musical nomad, he certainly has put more miles behind him than most contemporaries. On his new single “Sliver of Light”, he addresses a difficult issue that will ultimately affect every human soul.

This is a song alluding to the absence of power over the behavior of others and the lack of hope felt by some folks who might just need it the most. Literally inspired by a personal event and the thin line that exists between life and death, this single is released via Oklahoma-based Black Mesa Records.  The accompanying video, directed by Jamey Wood, was filmed in Pegram, Tennessee.

Penned with hope, “Sliver of Light’” finds him focusing on the present in the realization of how quickly and abruptly things can end. An organic offering, this song showcases his abilities as a songwriter and performer, and the breadth of his inspiration.

Easton explains, “I wrote the lyrics on a Dutch train during a European tour. I had just heard tough news from home. A friend who had fallen down was suddenly on life support. The words poured out fast and, when I arrived at my hotel, I immediately set the lyrics to music. Once back home in Nashville, the recording session was equally charged and completed in a few hours. Take one was the keeper track with me singing and playing guitar along with the band while a friend filmed us recording. Overdubs were added with some percussion, Wurlitzer keyboard and harmony vocals to complete a song that is two-thirds observation and experience and one-third baseball prayers”

Years before Americana music was recognized at the Grammy Awards with its own category, Tim Easton helped pioneer the genre’s mix of classic inspiration and contemporary interpretation. With reverence for the past and an outlook toward the future, Easton is easily among the greatest songwriters of our time. Pulling from a wide range of influences, his compositions lead you on a journey that blurs the lines between folk, blues, Americana and workingman’s rock & roll.

Born near the Niagara River and raised in upstate New York, Tim Easton spent his formative years in Tokyo, Japan and Akron, Ohio. Traveling early and often, he learned the ways of the road and rails, spending seven years as a modern-day troubadour, making his way around Europe, playing the streets and clubs, living in Paris, London, Madrid, Prague, Dublin and wherever he laid his hat. Here, he developed his songwriting style – folk-based storytelling and personal traveling tales, often peppered with bold confessions or “tell it as it is” reality. Rolling Stone Magazine praised him as “having a novelist’s sense of humanity.”

“There is a certain helplessness that is involved with the friends and family of people who are in active addiction that is never easy to understand. I have been in this frustrating place before, and all I have is songwriting to help me deal with it. Sometimes we are simply unable to help people get well. May this song bring comfort to those who are right on the edge, barely hanging on. You are not alone,” says Easton.

With 10 critically acclaimed solo albums to date, Tim Easton has had a burgeoning career that has seen him tour the world, perform with music legends, such as Lucinda Williams, John Hiatt, Townes Van Zandt and Kris Kristofferson, and recording with many equally talented musicians (his 2001 album ‘The Truth About Us’ featured three-fourths of Wilco).

His tenth album You Don’t Really Know Me (2020) was released by Black Mesa Records and will be followed in 2023 by several vinyl re-presses – Not Cool and Easton’s solo debut Special 20. This builds on a steady wave of great music from Easton, including North American Songwriter Volume 1 & 2, a 20-song project entailing the start of a series featuring acoustic recordings of favorite songs from Easton’s vast catalog of original material.

As of April 14, “Sliver of Light” will be available across fine digital platforms, including Apple Music, Spotify and Bandcamp. The single can be pre-saved at  https://bmr.link/te-sliver-of-light   Tim will also be supporting this single with a string of live concerts, the dates of which can be found at www.timeaston.com.

CREDITS

Written by Tim Easton
Recorded at Cartoon Moon Studios in Nashville, TN
Produced by T. Easton & Gabe Masterson
Engineered, mixed by G. Masterson
Mastered by Alex McCollough at True Easton Mastering
Tim Easton – acoustic guitar, vocals
Kevin Nolan – electric guitar, wurlitzer, organ
Matt Nolan – drums & percussion
Tommy Scifres – bass
Coralee – harmony vocals
Video filmed and directed by Jamey Wood
Released on Black Mesa Records

Please also enjoy Tim’s latest compilation album, the first in a series, released just a few months ago exclusively via Bandcamp:

Tim Easton
[Single]
Black Mesa Records
Release Date: April 14, 2023

Artist Links

Background Photo Credit: Michael Tittel