Nora Jane Struthers & The Party Line’s “(Til) I Kissed You”, a cover of the Everly Brothers classic, is part of a collection released today called “Native: Americana Spotlight.” Other artists include Amy Speace, Holly Williams, The Vespers, and many more! The whole album is only $7.99 for 15 songs, including Nora Jane’s! Get your copy here!
-Team NJS & TPL
The sun is in my eyes- I’m sitting shotgun in The Partyliner riding up I-65 N bound for Columbus, OH where we are kicking off our July Tour with a Free show tomorrow night (6pm- http://goo.gl/OAQEJ4). We’re playing live on WCBE at 2pm EST – you can tune in here: http://wcbe.org/listen.
I spent the holiday week hopping between family reunions in MN and TN – spent a short 36 hours at home during which I washed the Nebraska mud off our beloved van, mowed the lawn, took immense quantities of recycling to the recycling center, watered our bushy tomato plants, cooked food (including roasted beets with feta and basil from the garden), cleaned stuff (the tub!), bought a Wampler overdrive pedal for my electric rig and a new quarter inch cable, bought a new vintage top for the band photo shoot with the talented Todd Roeth (http://lookat.toddroeth.com/) on Thursday, started writing a new song with Joe, and watched “What About Bob?” for the second, and probably last, time in my life.
I really enjoy being at my home- I secretly didn’t have enough time there – but now, in the van with my best friends, I feel I am at home too. Brian’s driving and he’s got James Brown piping through the speakers. Drew and Josh are sleeping in the back; they drove from Virginia to our house this morning and now the fellas are tuckered. Joe’s playing Diablo 3 on the xbox. All feels right with the world.
I got an email confirmation that our Country EP has been delivered to Carlisle, PA – where we are playing on Saturday on the Dickinson College Campus at Bluegrass on the Grass (http://goo.gl/GjdSjV). I’m so excited to have it in my hands! Check out the cover art created by the ever-amazing Josh Gibson (http://giantstepdesign.com/GSD/).
After that we’re going to spend a few days Down the Shore at my parents’ house before heading up to camp out at Grey Fox! I’ve been looking forward to this festival since we got done playing it last year and I can’t believe it’s already time to go back! Big thanks to Chuck Wentworth and Mary Daub and Mart Burdette for all the love and support.
Hope to see you all soon. Happy July!
Love,
Born in Richmond, Virginia and raised in Carroll County, Maryland, Joshua Vana became a full-time member of the Party Line in 2014. Now 26, the multi-instrumentalist (electric and acoustic guitars, harmonica) grew up on his parents’ LPs and picked up an electric guitar at age eleven.
Please welcome Brian Duncan Miller to The Party Line! Brian was born in Bitburg, Germany and raised in various US states with several consecutive years in Ohio. This half-Swiss / half-Ginger artist started his musical journey in an orchestral setting. At an early age he comprised himself with the instrumentation of French Horn, Double French Horn, and Trumpet. By fifteen he acquired the Bass Guitar and for nearly two decades has been performing accompaniment on and off the road for assorted artists in the various styles of Rock, Indie, Funk, R&B, Hip Hop, Metal, and Country. Influences include James Jamerson, Bob Babbitt, Donald “Duck” Dunn, Jaco Pastorius, Victor Wooten, Lee Rocker, and Flea.
Dear Friends,
Merlefest was a milestone. We played three sets on three different stages over the course of two days. We played well, had a blast, and a lot of new people discovered our music that weekend. More than anything else, it was such a joy for me to share the stage with my friends, play my songs, and reflect on the road that has brought me to this point. I started out so green and now I know getting better is the greatest reward of this profession. One of the functions of making records documenting that growth. Check out our performance of “The Baker’s Boy” on the Cabin Stage here:
I am excited to announce two things.
Thing ONE: The Party Line has just signed on a full-time bass player which means….drum roll please…WE HAVE A FULLTIME BAND! Joe Overton, Drew Lawhorn, Josh Vana and now, friends, meet Brian Miller. He’s SO AWESOME! Not only is he an incredible musician, he is great cook, he has excellent taste in Scotch and Bourbon, and he’s just the nicest guy.
Thing TWO: WE’RE GOING TO RECORD A NEW STUDIO ALBUM IN JULY!!!!!!!!! The fellas and I are spending three days in Virginia next week to work up new material. We’ve already been adding new songs into our live shows and getting some good crowd feedback.
All for now. Thanks for reading friends.
Love,
Nora Jane
