Will McCranie loves music with every last bone in his body. It’s undeniable. He’s the exact opposite of the musician who only has time for his own music. He’s the guy who you see at every show, and he somehow already knows your friends before you even get a chance to make the introduction. This week, Will has an exciting solo release which I think is his best representation to date, produced masterfully by Matty Amendola. Have a look at The Making of Ain’t That Strange…
We’ve been following Georgia-bred, NYC-based musician Will McCranie’s career since early in 2009 when we came across his outstanding North/South EP. Since that time we’ve formed a friendship with Will and he’s even contributed concert reviews and played our fifth anniversary party back in October. While we appreciated his solo material, we’re particularly fond of the band he put together, the Will McCranie Trio or WM3, which features a hard-nosed blues-meets-indie sound.
Today WM3 has released a 25-minute, seven-track EP that shows off Will’s emotion-laden songwriting and gritty electric guitar skills as well as the intensity given to McCranie’s tunes by the rhythm section of bassist Noah Schipani-Trivier and drummer Tommy Walsh. WM3 will celebrate the release of the self-titled EP this evening at Arlene’s Grocery in NYC. For a taste of the EP and what you can expect tonight, here’s my favorite track from the release – Never Again:
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Will McCranie Trio – Never Again
Late in the evening on October 16, Hidden Track will hit the five year mark. We’ve got plenty in store that week, but we wanted to invite our readers to join us in celebrating the anniversary at NYC’s Village Lantern on October 14. Three bands will be on the bill with ties to our site – HT contributing editor Ryan Dembinsky’s D.O.T.S. C.O.N.F.U.S.E. M.I.N.D.S., contributor Will McCranie’s WM3 trio and HT faves The Whitewalls.
We wanted to share a track from each group to give you a taste of what you can expect at the Village Lantern on the 14th.
David Lott of The Whitewalls has spent the last few months working on some solo tracks, with a formidable lineup of musicians that includes Rob Heath (drums, Justin Townes Earle, Steve Earle), Tim Luntzel (bass, Roseanne Cash, Bright Eyes, Norah Jones) and Riley McMahon (recording engineer, keys, lap steel, New Warsaw Studio). Check out one of the fruits of Lott’s labor – Paint By Numbers…
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Next up, we’ve got Never Again and Dance.Dance.Dance. from the Will McCranie (WM3), which shows off a much harder, rockin’ side of Will’s songwriting than some of the solo stuff he was coming out with towards the beginning of his career…
Finally, take a listen to the super catchy Jenn You Whine from D.O.T.S.:
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The action starts at 10PM next Friday, October 14, at the Village Lantern on Bleecker between Sullivan and Thompson. We hope to see you there!
Every couple of weeks we take a look at a few under the radar bands for our beloved Blips column. Today, we kick off a new column, Blips Update, to take a more in-depth look at what one of the artists we’ve featured in Blips has accomplished since being profiled on our humble site.
Will McCranie [Blip'd: January 21, 2009]
Website / MySpace / 52/52 Project
When we last profiled Will, the Southern-bred singer/songwriter had just released a marvelous double EP called North/South and had moved up to NYC in an attempt to perform as much as possible. Will has succeeded not only in playing a shit-ton of gigs, but he has also written a huge batch of tunes. So what does an independent artist do with a boatload of songs to share? Will came up with the innovative idea of posting a song a week on a new website called the 52/52 Project.
Each week, McCranie posts a demo, live track, cover or whatever strikes his fancy on the 52/52 Project website with the goal of compiling the best tracks at the end of the year for a full length LP. He’s even opened the project up to his fans by encouraging them to remix or add their own tracks to any of his tunes. Everyone seems to win in this situation – Will gets his music out there, Will’s fans get a new song a week and the A&R staffers of the world get to check out the full range of McCranie’s music without leaving their desks.
While McCranie has obviously spent a lot of time on the website, he’s still playing a bunch of gigs. When we profiled Will for Blips he mainly performed solo but over the last six months he’s been performing with a band giving his originals a fuller sound in the live setting. Last Sunday, McCranie rocked a 52/52 Project launch party at NYC’s Rockwood Music Hall backed by the Not So Sober Novembers. Check out their version of Take Your Place…
Will McCranie’s next gig is at Asylum in Washington D.C. on February 9.
In our never-ending quest to dig up some great bands that cost less than a corned beef sandwich at Katz’s Deli, we bring you another round of Blips. Blips highlights some great bands that are largely still in their larvae stage, but will soon morph into their beautiful butterfly. In this edition, we have some really cool new music, so take a sec, poke around their various websites, and see what you think of these four under the radar musical groups…
Will McCranie
On one of the coldest days in recent memory, Will McCranie couldn’t stop sweating. When Will takes the stage – as he did on that bitterly cold evening for a record release party at Banjo Jim’s – he puts every ounce of energy into performing his heartfelt songs often leaving him in a pool of sweat. This two-time winner of the Lokal Loudness Award for Favorite Solo Act in Augusta, GA moved to New York City last year with eyes on furthering his musical journey in the big city.
READ ON for more on Will and three other Blips-worthy bands…
